Trump now says he 'up-played' virus threat after having told Woodward he wanted to 'play it down'
By Brett Samuels - 09/15/20 08:54 PM EDT
President Trump on Tuesday claimed that he "up-played" the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, despite telling Bob Woodward in March that he "wanted to always play it down."
The president was asked during an ABC News town hall in Pennsylvania why he minimized COVID-19 when the virus has proved to be particularly lethal for communities of color.
"I didn't downplay it. I actually, in many ways, I up-played it, in terms of action," Trump said. "My action was very strong."
Trump cited his move to curtail travel to the United States from China in January and his decision to bar most travel from Europe in March. The president referred to them as bans, though neither was a blanket ban.
"So that was called action, not with the mouth but in actual fact," Trump said. "We did a very, very good job when we put that ban on."
"Whether you call it talent or luck, it was very important," Trump continued. "So we saved a lot of lives when we did that."
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/516615-trump-says-he-up-played-virus-threat-despite-telling-woodward-he
