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coronavirus
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President Trump says he has always taken the coronavirus very seriously from early on,
pushing back at reporters who cite statements he's made in the recent past dismissing the
severity of the virus.
"No, I've always viewed it as very serious," Mr. Trump said on March 16. "There was no
difference yesterday from days before. I feel the tone is similar, but some people said it
wasn't."
But not so long ago, as the virus ravaged China and Europe and touched the U.S., the
president compared the number of deaths from COVID-19 to deaths from the flu.
"The flu, in our country, kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people a year," he said on
February 9, suggesting that it dwarfed the 15 cases of COVID-19 that had been reported in
the U.S. at the time. By March 31, though, his tone was different. He talked about a friend
who had slipped into a coma because of the disease. "This is not the flu. It is vicious," he
told reporters in the White House Briefing Room.
In February, when the federal government had confirmed just 15 cases of the virus, Mr.
Trump predicted the number would soon be near "zero." Now, the White House is
preparing the nation for the sobering possibility of 100,000 deaths, or maybe more.
Here is a timeline of the various ways the president has described the virus since January,
along with how many cases were reported in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins data.
Jan. 20:
First confirmed U.S. case of coronavirus announced in Washington state.
"We do have a plan and we think it's gonna be handled very well, we've already
handled it very well. — President Trump to CBS News White House correspondent
Paula Reid in Davos, Switzerland.
"We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. We have it
under control. It's going to be just fine." CNBC interview in Davos, Switzerland
President Trump issues his first tweet on coronavirus. "China has been working very
hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts
and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American
People, I want to thank President Xi!"
"Just received a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all of our GREAT
agencies, who are also working closely with China. We will continue to monitor the
ongoing developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are
on top of it 24/7!" the president tweeted.
"I had a long talk with President Xi — for the people in this room — two nights ago,
and he feels very confident. He feels very confident. And he feels that, again, as I
mentioned, by April or during the month of April, the heat, generally speaking, kills
this kind of virus," the president said during a White House meeting with governors.
"We're very much involved. We're very — very cognizant of everything going on.
We have it very much under control in this country," the president told reporters, in
response to a question about whether he had been updated on the coronavirus.
"The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with
everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard
and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!" the president
tweeted.
"I want you to understand something that shocked me when I saw it that — and I
spoke with Dr. Fauci on this, and I was really amazed, and I think most people are
amazed to hear it: The flu, in our country, kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people
a year. That was shocking to me. And, so far, if you look at what we have with the 15
people and their recovery, one is — one is pretty sick but hopefully will recover, but
the others are in great shape. But think of that: 25,000 to 69,000. ... "And again, when
you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close
to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done," the president said during a Coronavirus
Task Force Press briefing at the White House.
"It's going to disappear. One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear," the
president said during a White House meeting with African-American leaders.
"And we've done a great job. And I've gotten to know these professionals. They're
incredible. And everything is under control. I mean, they're very, very cool. They've
done it, and they've done it well. Everything is really under control."
— Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. One attendee from that
event later tested positive, and lawmakers who attended went under self-quarantine.
"Yeah, I think where these people are flying, it's safe to fly. And large portions of the
world are very safe to fly. So we don't want to say anything other than that. And we
have closed down certain sections of the world, frankly, and they've sort of
automatically closed them also. They'll understand that and they understand it better,
perhaps, than anybody. Yes, it's safe." — White House meeting with airline
executives.
"Anybody that wants a test can get a test. ... The tests are all perfect, like the letter
was perfect, the transcription was perfect, right?" — CDC headquarters in
Atlanta.
"So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common flu. It averages between
27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this
moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about
that!" the president tweeted.
"Well, this was unexpected. This was something that came out of China, and it hit us
and many other countries. You look at the numbers; I see the numbers with just by
watching you folks. I see it — it's over 100 different countries. And it hit the world.
And we're prepared, and we're doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay
calm. It will go away," the president said on Capitol Hill after meeting with
Republican senators.
"To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from
Europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The new rules will go into effect
Friday at midnight. These restrictions will be adjusted subject to conditions on the
ground." — Televised Oval Office address to the nation.
"I mean, think of it: The United States, because of what I did and what the
administration did with China, we have 32 deaths at this point. Other countries that
are smaller countries have many, many deaths. Thirty-two is a lot. Thirty-two is too
many. But when you look at the kind of numbers that you're seeing coming out of
other countries, it's pretty amazing when you think of it. So, that's it." — Trump
meeting with Irish prime minister at White House.
"We have 40 people right now. Forty. Compare that with other countries that have
many, many times that amount. And one of the reasons we have 40 and others have
— and, again, that number is going up, just so you understand. And a number of
cases, which are very small, relatively speaking — it's going up. But we've done a
great job because we acted quickly. We acted early. And there's nothing we could
have done that was better than closing our borders to highly infected areas." — Rose
Garden press conference.
"I've spoken actually with my son. He says, 'How bad is this?' It's bad. It's bad. But
we're going to — we're going to be, hopefully, a best case, not a worst case. And
that's what we're working for."
"They think August, it could be July," he said at a press briefing Monday, referring to
members of the White House task force. "Could be longer than that."— White House
Coronavirus Task Force briefing.
"I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter," the
president said of easing social distancing guidelines in parts of the country."
"I think Easter Sunday — you'll have packed churches all over our country." — Fox
News town hall.
"There is tremendous hope as we look forward and we begin to see the light at the
end of the tunnel." — White House Coronavirus Task Force Press briefing.
"The better you do, the faster this whole nightmare will end. Therefore, we will be
extending our guidelines to April 30th to slow the spread. ... We can expect that, by
June 1st, we will be well on our way to recovery. We think, by June 1st, a lot of great
things will be happening." — White House Rose Garden press conference.
"This could be a hell of a bad two weeks." Raises possibility of 100,000 deaths in U.S.
"This could be a hell of a bad two weeks. This is gonna be a very bad two — or
maybe even three — weeks," the president said. "This is going to be three weeks like
we haven't seen before." — White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing.
"But it's not the flu. It's vicious. When you send a friend to the hospital and you call
up to find out, how is he doing, it happened to me. Where he goes to the hospital, he
says goodbye, sort of a tough guy, little older, little heavier than he'd like to be,
frankly. And you call up the next day, 'how's he doing?' And he's in a coma? This is
not the flu. — White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing.
"I said it was going away - and it is going away." — White House Coronavirus Task
Force Briefing.