During President Donald Trump’s Tuesday coronavirus press briefing, Trump revealed that, apart from three or four families of friends and business associates, he hasn’t yet called to console any American families who lost loved ones to the coronavirus epidemic.
The U.S. has had over 1.03 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 58,955 deaths since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case in the U.S. on January 21.
“Mr. President, you’ve spoken about your friend who passed away,” a reporter began during the press briefing. “I was wondering if you’ve spoken to the families of anyone else who has lost loved ones to COVID-19 and if there are any particular stories that have affected you.”
“Well,” Trump responded, “I have many people. I know many stories, I’ve spoken to three–maybe, I guess, four families–unrelated to me, I did. I lost a very good friend. I also lost three other friends, two of whom I didn’t know as well, but they were friends and people I did business with.”
“And it’s a bad death,” he continued, “It’s not a—it’s a bad thing. It grips on to some people. Now we found out that young people do extraordinarily well—that’s why I think we can start thinking about schools. Of course, we’re ending the school season, so, you know, you wouldn’t be back for too long.”
According to the CDC, 283 people below the age of 34 have died of coronavirus thus far.
“I notice where Purdue University, a great school in a great state, wants to open and have students come in,” Trump continued. “I think that’s correct. Some colleges, I think I saw Harvard wants to have students come back in the fall. I would hope that they have students.”
“I think that the whole concept of computer learning as well is wonderful,” Trump went on. “But it’s not the same thing as being in a classroom in a great college or a college of any kind: college, university. There’s nothing—you can’t replace that. So hopefully they’re going to be coming back. Young people do very well with this horrible scourge. They do very well.”
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.
On February 26, the U.S. had 15 confirmed cases, and President Trump said, “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”
When asked about this quote at the Tuesday briefing Trump replied, “Well, it will go down to zero, ultimately.”
During his Tuesday briefing, Trump also hinted that he might make federal coronavirus funds available to some U.S. cities based on “sanctuary city adjustments.”
The Trump administration has long opposed sanctuary cities where municipal laws and local law enforcement agencies can refuse to aid US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants.
