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Donald Trump made his way to the golf course on Friday, kicking off the long weekend of Independence Day hitting the links even after the country set a one-day record for new cases of coronavirus.
On Thursday, more than 55,000 new cases were reported across the country. That marked the sixth time in nine days that the United States set a new record for confirmed cases. In addition, eight states set single-day records on Thursday. There have been 2.7 million confirmed cases in the United States, with at least 129,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Trump did not choose to stay in the White House on Friday morning to snuggle up with his coronavirus task force or speak to governors about local efforts to stop the spread in many Sun Belt states and California.
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A journalist in the group of the day, the group of journalists who narrates the movements and comments of a president, sent a dispatch that the Trump caravan transported him to his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, 42 kilometers northwest of the White House.
After about 40 minutes by car, the pool reporter noticed a sign on the road saying “Trump is a traitor.” But one man gave the go-ahead on a hot and humid day in Washington.
Earlier this week, Trump said again that the coronavirus will soon, somehow, “go away.” However, he did not say how he could do this, nor did he offer any scientific or medical evidence to support his prediction.
“I think we will be very good with the coronavirus. I think at some point that will just go away,” Trump told Fox Business Network before adding this qualifier: “I hope.”
Fox Business White House reporter Blake Burman asked the president if he still thinks, as he has said for months, that the virus will simply go away. The President said, “Yes, I want to.”
Trump seemed to suggest that his prediction was linked to efforts to develop a vaccine.
“I think we are going to have a vaccine very soon too,” Trump said.
But its top infectious disease official, Anthony Fauci, told Congress this week that he is betting that a vaccine will be implemented sometime next year, after Election Day.
The president is scheduled to leave the White House around 5 pm for South Dakota, where he will hold an event on July 4 with commentary and fireworks on Mount Rushmore. Attendees will not be required to wear masks or social distance.
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