Doctors, Biden rip Trump over virus conspiracy claim
WASHINGTON – Medical groups are criticizing President Donald Trump for resurfacing a conspiracy that doctors are inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. to drive up profits during the pandemic.
“You know, our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right?” Trump told a rally in Waterford Township, Mich., on Friday, resurfacing a claim he has made for weeks. “I mean, our doctors are very smart people ... so, what they do is they say, ‘I’m sorry, but, you know, everybody dies of COVID.’ ”
Trump is running for reelection during a pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Democratic opponent Joe Biden has made the Trump administration’s handling of the virus a central theme.
Medical groups, including the American Medical Association, have denounced Trump’s assertion that doctors are inflating the number of deaths. Dr. Susan Bailey, the AMA president, called Trump’s claim “malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided.”
“Rather than attacking us and lobbing baseless charges at physicians, our leaders should be following the science and urging adherence to the public health steps we know work: Wearing a mask, washing hands and practicing physical distancing,” she said in a statement that did not mention Trump by name.
The American College of Emergency Physicians released a statement earlier this week saying the group was “appalled” by the president’s claim.
“To imply that emergency physicians would inflate the number of deaths from this pandemic to gain financially is offensive, especially as many are actually under unprecedented financial strain as they continue to bear the brunt of COVID-19,” the group said in an Oct. 25 statement.
Biden also criticized Trump for the claim.
“Doctors and nurses go to work every day to save lives. They do their jobs. Donald Trump should stop attacking them and do his job,” the Democratic nominee told a drive-in rally in Minnesota on Friday.