Trump Suggests China’s Role in Covid-19 May Have Been Intentional

During a Saturday White House press briefing, US President Donald Trump suggested that it was possible that China may have intentionally allowed the Covid-19 pandemic. “It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t, and the whole world is suffering because of it,” Trump said. “If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake.

But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences.” The President provided no suggestions as to what punishment the US might use against China and he presented no evidence that China intentionally released the virus.

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The press briefing included a chart that reported the death rates from China, Iran, the US and several of the largest countries in Western Europe. Using the chart, Trump questioned China’s Covid-19 data saying “Does anybody really believe this number?” He then went on to point out that most of Western Europe has had a higher death rate than the US. He made what some have called a self-serving, the false remark that “The United States has produced dramatically better health outcomes than any other country, with the possible exception of Germany.”

In contrast, according to data developed at Johns Hopkins University, as of April 16 there were 90 countries with a lower case fatality rate than the US.