The morning after he was discharged from Walter Reed hospital, where he was treated for COVID-19, President Trump tweeted that "we have learned to live" with the approaching flu season, "just like we are learning to live with" the coronavirus, claiming that the flu is actually a greater risk for "most populations."
It's a case Trump has made frequently since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year, but one that had seemingly taken a back seat more recently as COVID-19 fatalities crossed the six-figure threshold. Now it seems that Trump's own bout with the virus, which may not be done, has him circling back to the questionable argument.
The president's latest comments were off the mark, statistically. Influenzas are indeed serious viruses, but there haven't been 100,000 flu deaths in the United States since the 1968 pandemic, and more people have died this year from the coronavirus than the last five flu seasons combined. Tim O'Donnell
The Week
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