Axios' Jonathan Swan sat down with President Trump last Tuesday for a lengthy interview, broadcast on HBO Monday night, about the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia, the anti-racism protests sweeping the U.S., and the late civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who was lying in state at the U.S. Capitol as the two men spoke in the White House.
Swan started with COVID-19. "Those people that really understand it," Trump said, "they said it's incredible the job that we've done." "Who says that?" Swan asked, but Trump had moved on. "I think it's under control," Trump said later. "How?" Swan asked. "A thousand Americans are dying a day." "They are dying, that's true," Trump conceded. "And it is what it is." He later added that the pandemic is "under control as much as you can control it."
Subscribe to 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.
-
'Solitude has become a notable, and worrisome, trend of our times'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Blake Lively accuses rom-com costar of smear jobSpeed Read The actor accused Justin Baldoni, her director and costar on "It Ends With Us," of sexual harassment and a revenge campaign
-
Germany arrests anti-Islam Saudi in SUV attackSpeed Read The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg left five people dead and more than 200 wounded
-
California declares bird flu emergencySpeed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study findsSpeed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes riskSpeed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 raceSpeed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burgerSpeed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cowSpeed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and earlySpeed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
-
US bans final type of asbestosSpeed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
