Timeline of Trump’s COVID-19 Comments
President Donald Trump announced in the early hours of Oct. 2 that he and the first lady had tested positive for COVID-19. By late afternoon, the White House said that “out of an abundance of caution” the president was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he would spend the next few days.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the president has been downplaying the risks of COVID-19 — questioning the effectiveness of masks, touting unproven treatments and criticizing his own health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Here is a timeline of the president’s comments on COVID-19 and his administration’s handling of it.
January
In the early days of what would turn out to be a pandemic, the president repeatedly minimized the threat posed by the novel coronavirus.
Jan. 20: The first confirmed coronavirus case is reported in the United States.
Jan. 22: “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.” — Trump in a CNBC interview.
Jan. 30: The World Health Organization declares a public health emergency of international concern.
Jan. 30: “We think we have it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment — five — and those people are all recuperating successfully. But we’re working very closely with China and other countries, and we think it’s going to have a very good ending for us … that I can assure you.” — Trump in a speech in Michigan.
Jan. 31: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declares a public health emergency for the U.S.
Jan. 31: HHS Secretary Alex Azar announces travel restrictions, effective Feb. 2. The policy prohibits non-U.S. citizens, other than permanent residents and the immediate family of both citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China within the prior two weeks from entering the U.S.
February
Trump privately tells journalist Bob Woodward that the novel coronavirus is “deadly stuff,” but continues to tell the public that it is “under control,” even suggesting that it could go away in the spring.
Feb. 7: “It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch … You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And, so that’s a very tricky one. … It’s also more deadly than your – you know, your, even your strenuous flus. … This is more deadly. This is 5, you know, this is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. You know, so, this is deadly stuff.” — Trump in an interview with Woodward, released in September.
Feb. 10: “Now, the virus that we’re talking about having to do — you know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat — as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April. We’re in great shape though. We have 12 cases — 11 cases, and many of them are in good shape now.” — Trump at the White House. (See our item “Will the New Coronavirus ‘Go Away’ in April?“)
Feb. 14: “There’s a theory that, in April, when it gets warm — historically, that has been able to kill the virus. So we don’t know yet; we’re not sure yet. But that’s around the corner.” — Trump in speaking to National Border Patrol Council members.
Feb. 24: “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!” — Trump in a tweet.
Feb. 26: “So we’re at the low level. As they get better, we take them off the list, so that we’re going to be pretty soon at only five people. And we could be at just one or two people over the next short period of time. So we’ve had very good luck.”
“I think every aspect of our society should be prepared. I don’t think it’s going to come to that, especially with the fact that we’re going down, not up. We’re going very substantially down, not up.” — when asked if “U.S. schools should be preparing for a coronavirus spreading.”
“I want you to understand something that shocked me when I saw it that — and I spoke with Dr. [Anthony] 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. Over the last 10 years, we’ve lost 360,000.”
“But that’s a little bit like the flu. It’s a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.” — Trump at a White House coronavirus task force.
