Trump keeps bashing Obama's swine flu response. His own response to coronavirus has been much slower.


President Trump has repeatedly cited the Obama administrations' response to the 2009 H1N1 "swine flu" outbreak as a means of defending himself against accusations that his administration has been inefficient in its handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak. In a press conference on Friday, Trump falsely claimed that the Obama administration "didn't do testing like this" and that they tested "far too late" — neither of which is true.
Ronald Klain, the former chief of staff to then-Vice President Joe Biden, tweeted that "the Obama administration tested one million people for H1N1 in the first month after the first U.S. diagnosed case," a number that seems within reason seeing as Quidel, a maker of such rapid flu tests, produced some 8 million during the flu season prior to the 2009 outbreak. By comparison, the U.S. has tested some 11,000 people for COVID-19 since the first U.S. case on Jan. 21.
Trump additionally hammered the Obama administration for the death of 14,000 Americans during the 2009 outbreak. Again, that's misleading; Joanne Kenen, the health editor at Politico, noted it's actually even "a low number for flu season." By comparison, the CDC estimates there have been between 20,000 to 40,000 flu deaths in the U.S. so far in 2020.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Comparing swine flu and the novel coronavirus does no favors for Trump, either. "The spread of [swine flu] was much slower and the mortality rate was much lower than today's coronavirus," The Washington Post writes. "At the current rate, the United States would hit 20,000 cases [the point at which Obama declared a National Health Emergency] in a matter of weeks, not six months. What's more, the swine flu had a mortality rate of 0.02 percent — about one-50th of the lowest rate health officials are citing for the coronavirus today (1 percent)."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants