Trump: ‘It is what it is’
The president says his administration has done an “incredible” job handling the pandemic.
President Donald Trump said his administration has done an “incredible” job handling the coronavirus pandemic, and despite rising deaths, the outbreak is “under control” in a wide-ranging and contentious interview that aired on HBO Monday night.
Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan began the interview by asking Trump if his sometimes “wishful thinking” and “salesmanship” were suitable during a crisis that has killed more than 155,000 people in the USA.
“I think you have to have a positive outlook; otherwise, you would have nothing,” Trump said. As he frequently has done in defending his record on the pandemic, the president pointed to the travel restrictions he imposed on China and Europe, arguing hundreds of thousands – a number he later put in the “millions” – more would have died without those actions. He added that even one death is too many.
A study in the journal Science found travel limitations across the globe helped slow the spread of the pandemic but more was needed to contain it.
“You have to have a positive outlook; otherwise, you would have nothing.” President Donald Trump In an interview with Axios that aired on HBO
Trump said he thinks the outbreak is “under control.” Swan asked how he could say that after the average number of daily deaths climbed back up past 1,000.
“They are dying, that’s true. And it is what it is,” Trump said. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control, as much as you can control it.”
When Swan cited rising deaths from COVID-19 in the USA, Trump argued that in comparison with other nations, the United States handled the virus well.
The USA does have a lower percentage of deaths per confirmed cases than several nations, including most members of the European Union. But the U.S. rate is higher than 98 other nations, including Australia, Japan and South Korea, according to data compiled by Statista.
Trump on Lewis’ legacy
Trump declined to praise John Lewis, who died last month from pancreatic cancer. The president’s three predecessors honored the Democratic congressman at his funeral.
Swan asked Trump how he thought history would remember Lewis, a leading member of the civil rights movement who was jailed and endured police beatings, spoke at the historic March on Washington and was a member of the original Freedom Riders.
“I don’t know. I don’t know John Lewis. He chose not to come to my inauguration,” Trump said. “I never met John Lewis, actually, I don’t believe.”
Lewis skipped Trump’s inauguration in 2017, arguing that he didn’t see him as a “legitimate” president because of Russian interference in the 2016 election. He refused to attend events with Trump, including the dedication of a civil rights museum in Mississippi.
Former Presidents George W. Bush,
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama delivered remarks at his funeral in Atlanta. Trump did not pay his respects at the Capitol, nor did he attend Lewis’ funeral.
The president shrugged off the civil rights icon’s record when asked whether he found him impressive.
“I can’t say one way or the other. I find a lot of people impressive. I find many people not impressive, but no, he didn’t come to my inauguration,” he said. “He should’ve come. I think he made a big mistake.”
‘I do wish’ Maxwell well
Trump stood by his statement July 21 at a White House news conference where he said, “Frankly, I wish her well,” when asked about the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell on charges of helping procure teenage girls for investment banker Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell last year.
The president, who used to socialize with Epstein and Maxwell, implied he meant he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.
“Her boyfriend died in jail. And people are still trying to figure out, ‘How did it happen? Was it suicide? Was he killed?’ And I do wish her well. I’m not looking for anything bad for her. I’m not looking bad for anybody,” said Trump, who has often called for the incarceration of his political opponents.