Rudy Giuliani falsely claims that 'people don't die' of COVID-19 anymore
Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer and the former mayor of New York City, told a crowd in Philadelphia on Monday that people are no longer dying of the coronavirus — a statement that is not at all true.
Giuliani made the outrageous claim during a Columbus Day celebration with Italian American Trump supporters. "People don't die of this disease anymore," he said. "Young people don't die at all. Middle-aged people die very little. And even elderly people have a 1 percent chance of dying."
At least 214,000 Americans of all ages have died of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that in the last seven days, more than 4,886 Americans have died, including 141 people in Pennsylvania.
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.
The Philadelphia event did not follow CDC guidelines — it was held inside, in a crowded room where people did not follow social distancing precautions, HuffPost reports. Giuliani, who also flouted medical advice and did not wear a mask, has spent a considerable amount of time in Pennsylvania, a battleground state. On Saturday, he spoke to about 200 people on a sidewalk in Scranton, where he made fun of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for wearing a mask. Face coverings are "not science," Giuliani proclaimed. "It's political bullsh-t. It's worse than that. It's intended to scare people."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Sudoku medium: November 30, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
