– Covid-19 will go away ‘like a miracle’
Since the start of the outbreak, Mr Trump has repeatedly said that the virus will go away. In February, 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.”
– Covid-19 affects ‘virtually nobody’
During a campaign rally in the swing state of Ohio on September 21, Mr Trump played down the scale of the virus. He 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.” He added: “But it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.”
–He suggested checking if disinfectant could be injected into humans
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.”
– Not wanting to wear a mask
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,” Mr Trump said. “I just don’t want to wear one myself.”
– Covid-19 is like flu and should be treated as such
Mr Trump has repeatedly compared Covid-19 to the seasonal flu.
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.”