From the virus will 'disappear' to the worst problem 'probably ever seen'
Trump previously suggested that coronavirus cases would drop as the weather warmed up. Now he’s signaling that 100,000 deaths would be considered a victory.
- Feb. 27 -- Cabinet Room meeting: \"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,\" Trump said.
- March 31 -- Coronavirus task force briefing: \"I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead.\" Trump said he anticipates the pandemic will be \"the worst thing the country has probably ever seen.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-coronavirus-briefing-05-gty-jef-200331_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: President Donald Trump points to a graphic, flanked by Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, right, during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, at the White House, March 31, 2020.
From several flu comparisons to ‘it’s not the flu’
While the number of infected Americans grew exponentially, President Trump repeatedly compared COVID-19 to the flu, even as health officials warned the novel virus appeared to be both more lethal and contagious. From his own packed rallies in February to just last Friday in the White House Briefing Room, the president said to \"call it a flu.\"
- Feb 26 -- Coronavirus task force briefing: \"This is a flu. This is like a flu,\" Trump repeated. \"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.\"
- March 31 -- Coronavirus task force briefing: President Trump acknowledged for the first time, \"it’s not the flu. It’s vicious.\"
From \"packed churches\" on Easter to \"very painful\" two weeks ahead
When stocks tumbled and jobless claims broke records last week, the president urged Americans to get back to work. Even after the White House initially proposed its social distancing guidelines on March 16, Trump grew more vocal that the country \"wasn't built to be shut down\" -- an argument he has appeared to have since dropped.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/trump-coronavirus-briefing-07-ap-jef-200331_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Alex Brandon/AP
PHOTO: Vice President Mike Pence gestures to a monitor as he speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, March 31, 2020.
- March 24 -- Fox News Town Hall: Trump said he envisioned \"packed churches\" on Easter, April 12. \"It’s such an important day for other reasons, but I’d love to make it an important day for this. I would love to have the country opened up, and raring to go by Easter.\"
- March 31 -- Coronavirus task force briefing: A somber Trump told Americans, \"We’re going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel but this is going to be a very painful, very very painful two weeks.\"
What to know about coronavirus:
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