Trump’s Fox & Friends Pronouncement Virus Will Just “Go Away” Part Of Months Long, Longtime Pattern
Watch the Video HERE
NEW VIDEO: As much as @realDonaldTrump hopes, #coronavirus and the devastating effects of his failure to confront it are not going away. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/24cBcr67pU
— Coronavirus War Room (@Covid19WarRoom) August 5, 2020
Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room is today releasing a new video highlighting the fact that Donald Trump has repeatedly ignored the experts and continues to lie about the virus magically disappearing.
This morning, Donald Trump appeared on Fox & Friends to offer a ridiculous and incorrect but familiar refrain: “This thing is going away.”
It’s part of his larger effort to undermine his own experts and spread misinformation about everything from these claims the virus will vanish to peddling harmful miracle cures like hydroxychloroquine and insisting testing is to blame for our skyrocketing infection rates.
The results of his failed leadership have been catastrophic, as more than 156,000 Americans have died, 4.7 million have been infected, and millions more are out of work and reeling from an historic, catastrophic economic collapse.
As much as Donald Trump hopes, the virus and the devastating effects of his failure to confront it are not going away.
BACKGROUND:
Trump On February 10: “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.”
- “Feb. 10. Said during a meeting with governors. Cases at the end of that day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University: 12. ‘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.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On February 25: “So I Think That’s A Problem That’s Going To Go Away.”
- “Feb. 25. Said during a roundtable in New Delhi. Cases: 53. ‘[China is] getting it more and more under control. So I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On February 27: “One Day — It’s Like A Miracle — It Will Disappear.”
- “Feb. 27. Said during a photo opportunity at the White House. Cases: 60. ‘We have done an incredible job. We’re going to continue. It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear. And from our shores, we — you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We’ll see what happens. Nobody really knows. The fact is, the greatest experts — I’ve spoken to them all. Nobody really knows.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On March 6: “It’ll Go Away.”
- “March 6. Said during a bill signing. Cases: 278. Deaths: 14. ‘It’ll go away.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On March 10: “We’re Prepared, And We’re Doing A Great Job With It. And It Will Go Away. Just Stay Calm. It Will Go Away.”
- “March 10. Said during a meeting on Capitol Hill. Cases: 959. Deaths: 28. “‘We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On March 12: “You Know, We Need A Little Separation Until Such Time As This Goes Away. It’s Going To Go Away. It’s Going To Go Away.”
- “March 12. Said during a bilateral meeting. Cases: 1,663. Deaths: 40. ‘You know, we need a little separation until such time as this goes away. It’s going to go away. It’s going to go away. I was watching [former FDA administrator] Scott [Gottlieb] — I was watching Scott this morning, and he was saying within two months. … It’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20
Trump On March 30: “You Know It Is Going Away, And It Will Go Away.”
- “March 30. Said during a coronavirus news briefing. Cases: 161,807. Deaths: 2,978. ‘It will go away. You know it — you know it is going away, and it will go away. And we’re going to have a great victory. … I want to have our country be calm and strong, and fight and win, and it will go away.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On March 31: “It’s Going To Go Away, Hopefully At The End Of The Month.”
- “March 31. Said during a coronavirus news briefing. Cases: 188,172. Deaths: 3,873. ‘It’s going to go away, hopefully at the end of the month. And, if not, hopefully it will be soon after that.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On April 3: “I Said It’s Going Away, And It Is Going Away.”
- “April 3. Said during a coronavirus news briefing. Cases: 275,586. Deaths: 7,087. ‘It is going to go away. It is going away. … I said it’s going away, and it is going away.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On April 28: “I Think What Happens Is It’s Going To Go Away. This Is Going To Go Away.”
- “April 28. Later in Tuesday’s news conference, Trump again claimed that the virus would simply go away, just as he had two months and two days earlier, when there were those 15 cases that would be gone in a few days. ‘I think what happens is it’s going to go away. This is going to go away.’” [Washington Post, 4/28/20]
Trump On May 15: “It’ll Go Away At Some Point.”
- “President Donald Trump said the U.S. will overcome the coronavirus crisis with or without an effective vaccine, saying that the disease will “go away at some point” either way… ‘It’ll go away at some point, it’ll go away,’ Trump said. ‘It may flare up and it may not flare up, we’ll have to see what happens, but if it does flare up we’re going to put out the fire and we’ll put it out quickly and efficiently. We’ve learned a lot.’” [CNBC, 5/15/20]
Trump On July 1: “I Think That At Some Point That’s Going To Sort Of Just Disappear.”
- “’I think we’re going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope,’ Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network. When asked if he ‘still’ believed the virus would ‘disappear’ at some point as he had suggested earlier in the year when the pandemic first hit the U.S, Trump said, ‘I do.’” [NBC News, 7/1/20]
Trump On August 5: “This Thing’s Going Away. It Will Go Away Like Things Go Away.”
- “President Donald Trump said the coronavirus pandemic is ‘going away,’ as the U.S. continues to see tens of thousands of new daily cases and recorded 1,380 deaths on Tuesday. ‘This thing’s going away. It will go away like things go away,’ Trump said Wednesday morning in a telephone interview with Fox News. He said the U.S. is in ‘very good shape’ while touting economic indicators.” [Bloomberg, 8/5/20]
Dr. Anthony Fauci On July 31: “I Do Not Believe It Would Disappear Because It’s Such A Highly Transmissible Virus.”
- “White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday the coronavirus is so contagious it won’t likely ever completely go away, contradicting statements made by President Donald Trump who has repeatedly said Covid-19 will eventually vanish. ‘I do not believe it would disappear because it’s such a highly transmissible virus,’ Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a House Select Subcommittee hearing on containing the coronavirus outbreak.” [CNBC, 7/31/20]