Donald Trump One Year Ago Today: Coronavirus “Will Go Away”

“Just stay calm.” Watch.

Trump on March 10, 2020Ron Sachs/CNP/Zuma

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By March 10, 2020, the novel coronavirus was already spreading unchecked in the United States. Six hundred cases of COVID-19 were confirmed, and 26 people had died—numbers that would rise precipitously in the following days.

When asked about the potential economic impact of the virus, Trump responded, “We’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”

As for testing, which the administration struggled to scale up in the early weeks of the outbreak, Trump said, “The testing has gone very well.  And when people need a test, they can get a test.”

At the beginning of what would turn out to be the most dreadful year in recent memory, Trump concluded, “A lot of good things are going to happen.”

Watch the video:

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

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