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President Donald Trump said Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic would probably worsen before improving, but said getting a vaccine is a “top priority” and “we’re going to get it taken care of.”
Appearing at White House coronavirus briefing for the first time since April, Trump said “it will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better, something I don’t like saying about things but that’s the way it is.”
Trump’s revival of the briefings came as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 in the U.S. rose above 3.8 million on Tuesday.
Trump lags presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in polls before the November election, and more Americans disapprove of his handling of the pandemic than approve.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that Americans’ views of Trump’s handling of the outbreak have deteriorated. The survey showed 38% approved of his handling of the pandemic, down from 46% in May. Sixty percent disapprove, up from 53% in May. In a Quinnipiac University poll released July 15, two-thirds of respondents said they didn’t trust information Trump was giving about the coronavirus.
Trump at the briefing also urged Americans to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert was notably absent at the briefing. He told CNN he wasn’t invited. Trump said Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, was “right outside” the room.
In recent days, Trump has called Fauci “a little bit of an alarmist,” as Fauci has defended his own response to the outbreak.
Trump had regularly appeared at the White House briefing room podium until late April, when he suggested that injecting toxic disinfectant could help treat the coronavirus.
In recent speeches, Biden has criticized Trump for what he says is his failure to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He’s quit on you. He’s quit on this country,” Biden said of the president in a speech on Tuesday.
Read:Biden unveils $775 billion plan for universal preschool, expanded child and elder care.
