In a sit-down-interview with The Wall Street Journal published Thursday, President Donald Trump shared how is balancing addressing the coronavirus outbreak, calls for racial justice and police reform and his reelection campaign.
Trump said he thinks the country is approaching the end of the coronavirus pandemic. He blamed China for the spread of the virus and explained his dislike of wearing a face mask and testing, even though he “created the greatest testing machine in history.”
Trump said he thinks that there is a “chance” that China intentionally allowed the coronavirus to spread internationally to wreak havoc on competing economies, but he has no intelligence to support his gut feeling.
“I don’t think they would do that,” Trump said of China allowing the coronavirus to spread globally. “But you never know.”
On masks, he said people touch them too much, which could result in a person contracting the virus.
“They put their finger on the mask, and they take them off, and then they start touching their eyes and touching their nose and their mouth,” Trump said. “And then they don’t know how they caught it?”
As for large-scale COVID-19 testing, the president thinks “testing is overrated.”
He said more testing results in an increase of reported confirmed cases which “in many ways, it makes us look bad.”
He said if a second outbreak hits the U.S., he will not look to implement such widespread testing efforts.
In dealing with calls for racial justice and police reform, Trump said he is interested in getting rid of racism.
He told the newspaper that his plan to help the country heal from police killings and racial injustices is to build a strong economy.
He said he hopes that any systemic racism that does exist will be rooted out and that the criminal justice system will improve.
He said his focus on his second term would be creating “a really strong, powerful economy,” adding his plan would focus on regulatory cuts and negotiating international trade deals.
The president said he is ready to get back on the campaign trail and can’t wait for Saturday’s rally in Tulsa.
“It’s going to be a hell of a night,” he said.
Trump has been criticized for holding a rally amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Trump campaign has said it will conduct temperature checks and provide attendees with masks. Rallygoers have to sign a waiver that they will not sue the campaign or venue if they get COVID-19.
Trump said he would be fine with his daughter and senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump attending the rally because “she’s young.”
Most of the people who have become very ill or died from the coronavirus have been older, he added.
He said “it’s a very small percentage” that some attendees may catch the virus.
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