Trump says pushing for fewer coronavirus tests was sarcasm


“I’m not kidding,” Trump said when journalists pressured him on Tuesday. “Let me clear it up.”

The president’s comments at the Tulsa rally sparked days of disputes between officials and White House aides to defend the president’s remarks. Vice President Mike Pence told governors that the president’s comments on the evidence were a “passing observation,” while White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump’s claim was “joking.”

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a House of Representatives committee Tuesday that the Trump administration was increased testing, without slowing it down.

The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases, a fact that Trump has repeatedly attributed to the expansion of virus testing. More than 2.4 million people have confirmed Covid-19 infections across the country, and almost 125,000 people have died.

“If we didn’t do tests, we wouldn’t have cases,” Trump said at the town hall Thursday in Wisconsin, echoing the statements he made during the past week. Twitter.

Trump also said Thursday that he expected a coronavirus vaccine before the end of the year.