Trump's final mention of the pandemic as president includes racist conspiracy theory, downplayed deaths, and no regrets


President Trump used the past tense to talk about the pandemic in his farewell address to the country, one day after the 400,000th American died of COVID-19. "As bad as the pandemic was," he told his assembled crowd of about 200 supporters, "we were hit so hard like the entire world was hit so hard."
Trump went on to repeat a racist and debunked conspiracy theory about the origins of the virus, calling the "China virus" a "horrible thing that was put onto the world … so be careful, be very, very careful." He additionally claimed that he believed COVID-19 numbers would "skyrocket downward," and that he was leaving the country in "a position like it's never been in before, despite the worst plague to hit since, I guess you'd say since 1917, over 100 years ago" — an apparent reference to the 1918 influenza pandemic.
Trump further acknowledged "the people and families who suffered so greatly" in the pandemic, but stressed he had no regrets about his handling of the outbreak. "We have left it all, as the athletes would say, we have left it all on the field," he said. "We'll never say, in a month, when we're in Florida, we're not going to be looking at each other and saying, 'You know, if we'd only worked a little bit harder…'"
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.
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.
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
June 25 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons include war on a loop, the New York City mayoral race, and one almighty F-bomb
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump says Iran and Israel agreed to ceasefire
Speed Read This followed a night of Israeli airstrikes on Tehran and multiple waves of missiles fired by Iran
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment