NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Strikes Down Trump’s False Claim of a Coronavirus “Surge” in Her Country

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded to President Donald Trump’s claim that the country is currently struggling with the virus after containing the outbreak. On the same day that New Zealand reported just nine new cases, the United States reported 40,612.

“We are still one of the best-performing countries in the world when it comes to COVID,” Ardern said earlier today. “Our workers are focused on keeping it that way.”

“Obviously it’s patently wrong,” Ardern said when journalists asked her about Trump’s comments. “I don’t think there’s any comparison between New Zealand’s current cluster and the tens of thousands of cases that are being seen daily in the United States. Obviously, every country is experiencing its own fight with COVID-19. It is a tricky virus, but not one where I would compare New Zealand’s current status to the United States.”

You can watch Ardern’s statements below.

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Yesterday, Trump suggested that New Zealand’s response to the virus had faltered.

“The places that they were using to hold up, they’re having a big surge. And I don’t want that, I don’t want that. But they were holding up names of countries, and now they’re saying, ‘Whoops!’ ” Trump said. “In fact, even New Zealand, do you see what’s going on in New Zealand? They beat it, they beat it, it was like front page, ‘They beat it,’ because they wanted to show me something,” Trump said. “The problem is, big surge in New Zealand. So you know, it’s terrible.”

Alan Herrera

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