October 27, 2020

As the Coronavirus Surges Again, Trump Claims We’re Basically Done With the Pandemic

I don’t know how many times we have to tell you this, but the pandemic is, in fact, not over.

Lev Radin/ZUMA

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

The United States is in the middle of its third coronavirus wave—a nascent surge that has already broken daily infection records—but President Trump is loudly insisting that the pandemic is on the brink of extinction. That patently false claim comes as Trump complains that the media is playing up the virus in order to sink his reelection campaign. “You won’t be hearing so much about it,” after the election, he asserted on Tuesday, once again falsely claiming that the media and his political opponents are only interested in using the pandemic to destroy him. 

Here are three samples from the last two mornings:

It’s a stunning closing message as the presidential race enters its final week. But it tracks with every instance of Trump’s deadly coronavirus denial, his efforts to downplay the virus, and his false, politically motivated promises that have punctuated his administration’s catastrophic response over nine months. Meanwhile, more than 225,000 people have died from the virus in the United States, and the outlook for the third wave is looking increasingly grim.

This story has been updated.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate