In February, 2020, he said: “It’s going to disappear one day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
He also said in the same month: “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.”
In February, he said: “This is a flu. This is like a flu. It’s a little like a regular flu that we have flu shots for, and we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”
He later compared the number of deaths caused by flu with the then 22 fatal cases of Covid-19 in the US.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
In late April, Mr Trump suggested checking whether disinfectant could be injected into humans to combat Covid-19 or if light could be used. He said: “I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.”
In April, Mr Trump announced guidance recommending that Americans wear face coverings in public to help fight the spread of the virus.
However, he followed up the announcement by saying: “I’m choosing not to do it. It’s a recommendation, they recommend it. I just don’t want to wear one myself.”
In February, he said: “This is a flu. This is like a flu. It’s a little like a regular flu that we have flu shots for, and we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.”
He later compared the number of deaths caused by flu with the then 22 fatal cases of Covid-19 in the US.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
During a campaign rally in the swing state of Ohio on September 21, Trump told supporters: “Now we know it. It affects elderly people. Elderly people with heart problems and other problems. But they have other problems, that’s what it really affects, that’s it. But it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.”