Trump admits coronavirus isn't under control but thinks his response is 'very good'

Donald Trump said on Monday that while the coronavirus outbreak is not under control, his response is. This contradicted his comments from a day earlier.

At a press conference about the administration’s response to the pandemic, Trump said that when he previously said things were under control, he did not mean that things were under control.

“We are doing a very good job, within the confines of what we’re dealing with. We’re doing a very good job,” he argued.

“You’re talking about the virus, no, that’s not under control for anyplace in the world,” he conceded. “I was talking about what we’re doing is under control, but I was not talking about the virus.”

The comments came as much of the nation has ground to a halt in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus by social distancing.

On Sunday, however, Trump claimed the outbreak itself was contained.

“We see what’s happening. We see what’s going on in other countries. We’re looking at — we’re learning from watching other countries, frankly,” he falsely claimed. “This is a very contagious — this is a very contagious virus. It’s incredible. But it’s something that we have tremendous control over.”

Trump has frequently downplayed the crisis, claiming for weeks that everything was “totally under control.”

In February, he boasted, “Because of all we’ve done, the risk to the American people remains very low. … When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. That’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”

As of Monday, the CDC has confirmed more than 3,480 cases and 68 deaths in the United States, though experts say many more people are already carrying the coronavirus undetected.

Still, Trump continued Monday to congratulate himself, awarding himself a 10 out of 10 for his handling of the crisis.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.