Trump Downplays Coronavirus Cases, Calling Them “Fake News Gold”

President Donald Trump continues to downplay the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. In a tweet earlier this morning, the president said the high number of tests for the virus “is a good thing,” but added that more testing “equals more Cases, which is Fake News Gold.”

“They use Cases to demean the incredible job being done by the great men & women of the U.S. fighting the China Plague!” the president added, reviving a phrase which, much like “China Virus,” has been characterized as a racist dog whistle.

Earlier this morning, the president claimed that he “no longer has a very good relationship” with China’s Xi Jinping even as he and his administration face heated criticism for using China as a scapegoat for the virus.

The president’s tweet comes after he urged Americans to stop politicizing the virus, only to blame China moments after his suggestion.

“We must stop politicizing the virus, but instead must be united in our condemnation of how this virus came to America, how this virus came to the world,” Trump said during yesterday’s White House press briefing on the coronavirus. “And we’re going to figure it out and we’re going to find out and we’re very angry about it.”

Mere moments later, the president blamed China was discussing a freeze to home evictions as a result of the pandemic.

“It’s not their fault,” Trump said of people facing eviction. “The virus came from China. It’s China’s fault.”

Alan Ryland

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.