President Trump on Monday downplayed concerns of a rising number of coronavirus cases in states across the country, indicating that the increase was due to more testing.
“If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any,” Trump said during a White House event highlighting administration actions to help senior citizens.
Trump has frequently made inconsistent comments on testing. At times he has sought to downplay the severity of the coronavirus pandemic by saying the U.S. has tested more people than any other country, and as a result, the number of confirmed cases is higher.
Other times, Trump has complained that the positivity rates and case counts are too high, because the country has been testing so many people.
Trump’s dual views on testing were on full display in a message tweeted Monday morning.
“Our testing is so much bigger and more advanced than any other country (we have done a great job on this!) that it shows more cases. Without testing, or weak testing, we would be showing almost no cases. Testing is a double edged sword – Makes us look bad, but good to have!!!” Trump tweeted.
