Trump: Pandemic Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better

The Associated Press reports:

President Donald Trump sought to paint a rosier picture of the coronavirus for the nation Tuesday but conceded the pandemic is likely to get worse for a time as he revived his daily briefings with an eye to halting a campaign-season erosion of support as new cases spike across the country.

The early evening show at the White House came as the next stage of the federal government’s response to the pandemic was being crafted on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and White House officials were opening negotiations on a trillion-dollar-or-more “phase four” rescue package.

“It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better,” Trump said from the White House, but he also touted a reduction in deaths and progress on vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, which Trump referred to repeatedly as a the “China virus.”

Breaking News: President Trump pivoted from rosy projections about the virus, saying it would “get worse before it gets better” and urging Americans to wear masks.https://t.co/8u4vJKSfUY pic.twitter.com/hDuyiqQmLP

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 21, 2020

Trump: “It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better.”

Also Trump: “The virus will disappear.” pic.twitter.com/PMRipkI36W

— The Recount (@therecount) July 21, 2020