President Trump has been widely recognised as a perpetrator of dangerous falsehoods but these false claims have gathered steam during the pandemic. Below are some instances when he made dubious claims, misleading people into believing statements that could prove dangerous for them.
Misinformation about how many people die each year of the fluOct 6, 2020"Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!"
On being asked about the pandemic worriesJan 22, 2020"No, not at all. We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine."
Children are immune to the virus"Children are almost immune to the virus. It's a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation." Studies show that children can get the virus as easily as anyone else.
Trump on black AmericansJune 3, 2020"The fact is I've done more for the Black community than any President since Abraham Lincoln," Trump said. "Nobody can dispute it. It's true."
Trump talking about tariffs on ChinaOctober 8, 2020"Nobody ever even heard of tariffs. They never even heard of tariffs. Nobody. In fact, when I first started doing it, they didn't even know what it meant." That was a tall claim indeed.
Trump on job creation during pandemicSeptember 7, 2020"In the past four months, we've added a record-smashing 10.6 million jobs -- never been close to that. Four months, 10.6 million jobs."
'Disinfectant' can kill COVID-19April 24, 2020
Sunlight kills COVIDApril 24, 2020"So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just a very powerful light - and I think you said that hasn't been checked because of the testing. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or some other way, and I think you said you're going to test that, too".