Previously, President Donald Trump received criticism for downplaying the coronavirus threat back in January by claiming that it was completely under control. Lately, however, it appears that the POTUS is completely reversing his previous stance and is now saying that he always felt it to be a pandemic.
“This is a pandemic,” Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, NY Times reported. “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
However, the publication noted that the POTUS’s recent statement about the coronavirus is inconsistent with his previous utterances. For instance, he said in January that the situation is totally under control and that it’s just one person from China.
“No, not at all,” Trump told a CNBC reporter on January 22 when asked if there were concerns about the virus becoming a pandemic. “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
A month after, President Donald Trump was still confident in the country’s ability to contain the coronavirus. “We’re going to be pretty soon at only five people,” Trump commented on the U.S.’s first coronavirus case on February 26. “And we could be at just one or two people over the next short period of time. So we’ve had very good luck.”
“It’s going to disappear,” he expressed his optimism once more on February 27 during a White House meeting. “One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.”
“No, I’m not concerned at all,” the President said on March 7 when asked if he is concerned that the virus could spread closer to Washington. “No, I’m not. No, we’ve done a great job.”
That’s why it was surprising for political observers to note Trump’s change of tone lately. But when a reporter asked him why his tone is getting more serious about the subject, the President denied any change at all.
“No, I’ve always viewed it as very serious,” the POTUS said. “There was no difference yesterday from days before. I feel the tone is similar, but some people said it wasn’t.”
Trump also reiterated it on social media. “I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the “borders” from China – against the wishes of almost all,” he wrote on Twitter on March 18. “Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!”