The Many Times Trump Has Praised China's Handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic (CNN Politics) — Hearing Document, The Unemployment Pandemic: Addressing America's Jobs Crisis

Summary

A printed copy, dated 6/18/2020, of the CNN article The many times Trump has praised China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic by Jennifer Hansler, Curt Merrill and Isaac Yee, first published on April 21, 2020 and updated on May 19, 2020 after President Donald Trump wrote to the World Health Organization threatening to permanently pull US funding. CNN says it identified at least 37 separate instances in which Trump praised China since January, and sets them out as a dated timeline of interviews, tweets, speeches and briefings. The timeline opens with a January 22 CNBC interview in which Trump says 'we have it totally under control' and a January 24 tweet thanking President Xi. In a March 21 briefing entry, Trump says China was very secretive and that he wished it had told the United States earlier.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Congressional Hearing
Case: Hearing The Unemployment Pandemic Addressing America S Jobs Crisis Attendance Added 06 18 2020 At 05 51 Pm

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“The Many Times Trump Has Praised China's Handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic (CNN Politics) — Hearing Document, The Unemployment Pandemic: Addressing America's Jobs Crisis.” Original at docs.house.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/hearing-the-unemployment-pandemic-addressing-america-s-jobs-crisis-attendance-added-06-18-2020-at-05-51-pm/, SHA-256 69ce9830f17e9cef91478fe868a6840371814908289466456a8d421456b510cb.

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6/18/2020 China: The many times Trump has praised Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic - CNNPolitics

The many times Trump has praised China's handling of
the coronavirus pandemic
By Jennifer Hansler, Curt Merrill and Isaac Yee, CNN
Updated 12:36 PM ET, Tue May 19, 2020

Editor's Note: Editor's Note: This story was published on April 21, 2020. It was updated on May 19 after
President Donald Trump wrote to the World Health Organization threatening to permanently withdraw US
funding.

(CNN) — President Donald Trump is escalating his threats against the World Health Organization, telling the agency
he will permanently pull US funding if it does not "commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days."

Trump challenged the WHO to "demonstrate independence from China," in the letter that he posted on Twitter late
Monday. L IV E T V

In April, Trump repeatedly criticized the WHO for being "China-centric" and failing to "objectively assess the
situation on the ground and to call out China's lack of transparency" as the coronavirus death toll increases
globally.

Trump's heightened rhetoric comes as he and his administration are facing scrutiny over their own handling of
the pandemic, with early missteps that included downplaying the threat the virus posed and delays and shortages
in coronavirus testing.

Although Trump has recently expressed some displeasure
with China, his tough comments of late are a far cry from his
past statements on the nation and its leader, Xi Jinping,
whom he praised for his transparency and management of
the outbreak.

Trump's stance contrasted with those of other senior
members of the administration, including Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, who have called out Beijing for its failures to
share key information at the outset of the pandemic,
hindering the global response and costing lives.

Related Article: Trump and Biden launch CNN identiﬁed at least 37 separate instances where Trump
battle over China that could deﬁne 2020 praised China since January, including one as recent as April
election 1. Here is a timeline of those remarks:

Covid-19.
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January 22
CNBC interview

Joe Kernan: Before we get started -- with- we're going talk about the
economy and a lot of other things. The CDC has identiﬁed a case of
coronavirus -- in Washington state. The Wuhan strain of this. If you
remember SARS, that a ected GDP. Travel-related e ects. Do you --
have you been briefed by the CDC?

Trump: I have

Kernan: Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?

Trump: No. Not at all. And we’re -- we have it totally under control. It's
one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's
going to be just ﬁne.
L IV E T V
Kernan: And President Xi -- there's just some talk in China that
maybe the transparency isn't everything that it's going to be. Do you
trust that we're going to know everything we need to know from
China?

Trump: I do. I do. I have a great relationship with President Xi. We just
signed probably the biggest deal ever made. It certainly has the
potential to be the biggest deal ever made. And -- it was a very
interesting period of time. But we got it done, and -- no, I do. I think
the relationship is very, very good.

January 24
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

China has been working very hard to contain the
Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their
efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular,
on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President
Xi!
127K 5:18 PM - Jan 24, 2020

Covid-19.
42.2K people are talking about this

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January 27 Covid-19 in your area.

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6/18/2020
y China: The many times Trump has praised Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic - CNNPolitics

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

We are in very close communication with China concerning
the virus. Very few cases reported in USA, but strongly on
watch. We have offered China and President Xi any help
that is necessary. Our experts are extraordinary!
119K 10:56 AM - Jan 27, 2020

32.2K people are talking about this

January 29
L IV E T V
Remarks at the Signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement,
Washington, DC

“I think our relationship has never been better. We're very much
involved with them, right now, on the virus that’s going around. We're
working very closely. I spoke to President Xi. We're working very
closely with China. And, honestly, I think, as tough as this negotiation
was, I think our relationship with China now might be the best it's
been in a long, long time.”

January 29
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Just received a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all
of our GREAT agencies, who are also working closely with
China. We will continue to monitor the ongoing
developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the
world, and they are on top of it 24/7!

Covid-19.
Your local resource.
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71.6K 8:06 PM - Jan 29, 2020

26.9K people are talking about this

January 30
Political rally in Des Moines, Iowa

“In fact, maybe, we've never had a better relationship and we're
working with them very closely on the coronavirus. We're working with
them very, very closely. We only have ﬁve people, hopefully,
everything's going to be great. They have somewhat of a problem, but
hopefully, it's all going to be great. But we're working with China, just
so you know, and other countries very, very closely so it doesn’t get L IV E T V
out of hand.”

January 30
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement celebration speech in Warren,
Michigan

“We've taken in billions and billions of dollars from China. Billions and
billions of dollars from China. And then they agreed to sign the
agreement. Now we're working very strongly with China on the
coronavirus -- that's a new thing that a lot of people are talking about.
Hopefully it won't be as bad as some people think it could be. But
we're working very closely with them and with a lot of other people
and a lot of other countries. And we think we have it very well under
control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment --
ﬁve. And those people are all recuperating successfully. But we're
working very closely with China and other countries, and we think it's
going to have a very good ending for it. So that I can assure you.”

January 30
Fox News interview

Peter Doocy: Speaking of health care, coronavirus, how concerned
Covid-19.
are you and do you believe what China is telling us about how bad it
is? Your local resource.
Set your location and log in to ﬁnd
Trump: Well what I'm doing is resources
local we're dealing very closely
and information on with
SetChina.
Location
Covid-19 in your area.
We'll be making certain announcements over the next 24 hours and
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48 hours and we are in great shape. China is not in great shape right
now, unfortunately. But they're working very hard. We'll see what
happens. But we're working very closely with China and other
countries.

January 30
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Working closely with China and others on Coronavirus
outbreak. Only 5 people in U.S., all in good recovery.
134K 6:04 PM - Jan 30, 2020

L IV E T V
33.3K people are talking about this

February 2
Interview with Fox News

Sean Hannity: Coronavirus. Disney's closed.

Trump: Yeah

Hannity: Movie theaters are closed. Hospitals are being built. I think
we're now up to our eighth case in the United States. Um, how
concerned are you?

Trump: Well, we pretty much shut it down coming in from China. We
have a tremendous relationship with China, which is a very positive
thing. Getting along with China, getting along with Russia getting along
with these countries --

Hannity: Have you o ered the Chinese President help with the
coronavirus?

Trump: Oh yeah, no we're o ering them tremendous help. We have
the best in the world for that. We've done a tremendous job in many
other instances also on that even recently. No, no, we've o ered
China help, but we can't have thousands of people coming in who
may have this problem, the coronavirus. So we're gonna see what
Covid-19.
happens, but we did shut it down, yes.
Your local resource.
Set your location and log in to ﬁnd
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February 4
Covid-19 in your area.

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February 4 China: The many times Trump has praised Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic - CNNPolitics

State of the Union Address

“Protecting Americans' health also means ﬁghting infectious diseases.
We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely
together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will
take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.”

February 7
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump · Feb 7, 2020
Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with
President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully
focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus.
He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in
a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but... L IV E T V

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

....he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to
warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.
Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi
strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We
are working closely with China to help!
52.6K 6:31 AM - Feb 7, 2020

14K people are talking about this

February 7
Press gaggle before boarding Marine One (at the White House)

Q: Are you concerned that China is covering up the full extent of
coronavirus?

Trump: No. China is working very hard. Late last night, I had a very
good talk with President Xi, and we talked about -- mostly about the
coronavirus. They're working really hard, and I think they are doing a
very professional job. They're in touch with World -- the World -- World
Organization. CDC also. We're working together. But World Health is
Covid-19.
working with them. CDC is working with them. I had a great
Your local resource.
conversation last night with President Xi. It's a tough situation. I think
they're doing a very good Set
job.your location and log in to ﬁnd
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Covid-19 in your area.
Q: Are you concerned about its potential impact on the global
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y p p g
economy?

Trump: I think that China will do a very good job.

February 7
Remarks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit in Charlotte, NC

“I just spoke to President Xi last night, and, you know, we're working
on the -- the problem, the virus. It's a -- it's a very tough situation. But
I think he's going to handle it. I think he's handled it really well. We're
helping wherever we can. But we have a great relationship. It's
incredible.”

February 10
L IV E T V

Address to the Governors’ Business Session at the White House

“And I think they're doing a good job on that, on the virus. I had a long
talk with President Xi -- for the people in this room -- two nights ago,
and he feels very conﬁdent. He feels very conﬁdent. And he feels that,
again, as I mentioned, by April or during the month of April, the heat,
generally speaking, kills this kind of virus. So that would be a good
thing.”

February 10
Political rally in Manchester, NH

“Last month, we signed a groundbreaking trade agreement with
China that will defeat so many of our opponents. The money that's
pouring in, people don't even believe it. And by the way, the virus,
they're working hard. Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it
gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that's true. But
we're doing great in our country. China, I spoke with President Xi, and
they're working very, very hard. And I think it's going to all work out
ﬁne. Rough stu , I tell you, rough, rough stu . But I think it's going to
work out good. We only have 11 cases, and they're all getting better.”

Covid-19.
February 10 Your local resource.
Fox Business Interview Set your location and log in to ﬁnd
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Trish Regan: President Xi, I know you spoke to him recently about
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g , y p y
coronavirus.

Trump: I did.

Regan: Some concerns that their economy is really going to tank
because of this and that that could have a spillover e ect here.
What's your sense of their transparency right now, whether they're
being more accommodating in terms of telling us what's going on and
how it a ects our economy?

Trump: Well, I think China is very, you know, professionally run in the
sense that they have everything under control. I really believe they are
going to have it under control fairly soon. You know in April,
supposedly, it dies with the hotter weather. And that's a beautiful date
to look forward to. But China I can tell you is working very hard. We're
working with them. You know, we just sent some of our best people
over there, World Health Organization and a lot of them are composed
of our people. They're fantastic. And they're now in China, and we're L IV E T V
helping them out. We're in very good shape. We have 11 cases and
most of them are getting better very rapidly. I think they'll all be
better.

February 13
Geraldo Rivera Interview

Geraldo Rivera: Mr. President, are you worried that the stock market
and the big economic boom are in peril because of this coronavirus
spreading epidemic and you know China's closing for business,
they're not buying cars from Europe right now. They're -- everything --
everybody's in a panic. You've got those poor people stranded on
that cruise ship in Japan. Are you worried about this virus a ecting, I
mean, obviously you're worried about the virus and people getting
sick but what about the economy as you know is another victim of the
–

Trump: Well, we're working on it very closely. I spoke to President Xi
two days ago. They're working on it very professionally. It's a problem,
we think and we hope, based on all signs that the problem goes away
in April because -- which is not too far down the road, because heat
kills this virus, we think. Now we're going to ﬁnd out, Geraldo, but we
think, and they are having di culty in China but they're working very,
very hard. We're working with them. We're sending a lot of people and
Covid-19.
CDC has been great but it is -- it's a problem in China. Has not been
Your local resource.
spreading very much. And in our country, we only have, basically, 12
cases and most of those people are recovering
Set your location and log in toand
ﬁnd some cases fully
local resources and information on Set Location
recovered. So it's actuallyCovid-19
less. But --
in your area.

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Rivera: Did the Chinese tell the truth about this?

Trump: Well, you never know. I think they want to put the best face on
it. So you know, I mean, if somebody -- if you were running it, you'd
probably -- you wouldn't want to run out to the world and go crazy
and start saying whatever it is because you don't want to create a
panic. But, no, I think they've handled it professionally and I think
they're extremely capable and I think President Xi is extremely
capable and I hope that it's going to be resolved. Again, the April date
is very important. But you know this is a big thing. The April date is
very, very important because if that's the case, if heat does, in fact,
kill that's when it starts getting hot and this virus reacts very poorly to
heat and dies. So we'll see what happens.

February 14 L IV E T V
Address to the National Border Patrol Council

“And I spoke with President Xi of China, and he's working very hard on
this. It's a tremendous problem. But they're very capable and they'll --
they'll get to it. There's a theory that, in April, when it gets warm --
historically, that has been able to kill the virus. So we don't know yet;
we're not sure yet. But that's around the corner, so that'll be a great
thing in China and other places.”

February 18
Press gaggle at Joint Base Andrews

Q: Mr. President, are you still satisﬁed with how President Xi is
handling the coronavirus?

Trump: I think President Xi is working very hard. As you know, I spoke
with him recently. He's working really hard. It's a tough problem. I
think he's going to do -- look, I've seen them build hospitals in a short
period of time. I really believe he wants to get that done, and he
wants to get it done fast. Yes, I think he's doing it very professionally.
We're also working with him and helping him, as of the last few days,
as you know.

Q: Some people don't seem to trust the data coming out of China.
Are you worried about that?
Covid-19.
Trump: Look, I know this: President Xi loves the people of China, he
Your local resource.
loves his country, and he's doing a very good job with a very, very
Set your location and log in to ﬁnd
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Covid-19 in your area.

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February 25
Press conference in New Delhi

“But in the meantime, we're working with China very much on the
virus. We feel that's something. And I have to tell -- I spoke to
President Xi the other day. He is so committed to solving that
problem. He is -- he is working very hard. He is very capable. The
country is very capable. And it snuck up on him, but I think he's going
to do well.”

February 26
White House coronavirus brieﬁng
L IV E T V
“China, you know about it, where it started. I spoke with President Xi.
We had a great talk. He’s working very hard, I have to say. He’s
working very, very hard. And if you can count on the reports coming
out of China, that spread has gone down quite a bit. The infection
seems to have gone down over the last two days. As opposed to
getting larger, it’s actually gotten smaller. In one instance where we
think we can be — it’s somewhat reliable, it seems to have gotten
quite a bit smaller.”

...

Q: Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to get to China. At
the beginning of this outbreak, the Chinese Communist Party covered
it up. That has been — that has been the general consensus of
everyone. How can you now legitimately trust President Xi and the
Chinese —

Trump: Xi.

Q: — Communist regime? President Xi. And the Chinese Communist
regime —

Trump: Took me awhile to ﬁgure that one out.

Q: — to be forthcoming and forthright with this pandemic?

Trump: Well, I can tell you this: I speak to him; I had a talk with him
recently. And he is working so hard on this problem. He is working so
hard. And they’re very tough and very smart.
Covid-19.
Your
And it’s a signiﬁcant — it’s a local
signiﬁcant resource.
group of very talented people
that are working. And they’re calling
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to ﬁnd
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our people. We’re dealing with them.
Covid-19 in yourWe’re
area. giving them certain
advice We actually have through World Health we have them over
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advice. We actually have — through World Health, we have them over
there also. And we have a lot of our people making up that group that
went over there.

No, he’s working very hard. It would be very easy for me to say, you
know — it doesn’t matter what I say, really. I can tell you, he is working
— I had a long talk with him the other night. He is working really, really
hard. He wants it to go away from China and go away fast, and he
wants to get back to business as usual.

...

Q: Are you working with China right now?

Trump: Yes.

Q: And speciﬁcally, in what areas? Also, do you worry about the —

Trump: We’re working with China. We just did the biggest trade deal
in history. We did two of them. Between USMCA and the China deal, L IV E T V

it’s the biggest in history. The relationship with China is a very good
one. And I can tell you that, again, President Xi is working really hard.
He wants this problem solved. As hard as you can work.

February 27
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Congratulations and thank you to our great Vice President &
all of the many professionals doing such a fine job at CDC &
all other agencies on the Coronavirus situation. Only a very
small number in U.S., & China numbers look to be going
down. All countries working well together!
95.9K 10:39 PM - Feb 27, 2020

32.3K people are talking about this

February 29
White House coronavirus brieﬁng
Covid-19.
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. You mentioned the drop of spread in
Your local resource.
China, the coronavirus cases. Is the US government considering
Set your location and log in to ﬁnd
evaluating similar measures
localin the USand
resources in case the on
information situation Set
getsLocation
Covid-19 in your area.
worse?
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Trump: Some measures. We’ve been in very close contact with China,
including myself with President Xi. He very much wanted this to
happen. He wanted this to get out and ﬁnished and be done. He
worked — he’s been working very, very hard, I can tell you that. And
they’re making a lot of progress in China. You probably saw Starbucks
are now opened again. You probably saw that — as I mentioned, Tim
just came out and he said Apple is back to normal in terms of
production in their facilities in China. They’ve made a lot of progress.

...

Q: Thanks. Thank you very much, President. I’m just wondering what’s
the communication with China look like right now. And does the
experience and lessons coming from China will help the US dealing
with the current situation?

Trump: Well, I think our relationship with China is very good. We just
did a big trade deal. We’re starting on another trade deal with China L IV E T V

— a very big one. And we’ve been working very closely. They’ve been
talking to our people, we’ve been talking to their people, having to do
with the virus.

No, our relationship with China is very good. Maybe it’s closer
because of what’s happened here, because it was — you know, in a
certain way, this can bring the world closer, if you want to know. It can
really do that.

March 3
Coronavirus brieﬁng at the NIH

“We made an early decision based on a little bit of luck, I suspect, but
that was the original decision on China itself. And China, in all fairness
to them, they never blamed us. It was, you know, a tough decision for
them, but they fully understood. They were very reasonable about it.”

March 4
Fox interview

“And we're getting along very well with China. We're dealing with

Covid-19.
China. President Xi, who I speak with, President Xi is working very,
very hard in China. They have a big problem. But their numbers have
Your local resource.
gotten much better with respect, with respect to the coronavirus, very
Set your location and log in to ﬁnd
much better.” local resources and information on Set Location
Covid-19 in your area.

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March 6
Remarks during a tour of the CDC Headquarters in Atlanta

“We're working together with China. We're working together with
everybody.” ...

“I mean, if we could ﬁnd something that's beneﬁcial, we want to give
it to China like they're going to want to give it to us. China is working
very closely with us.”

March 13
White House coronavirus brieﬁng
L IV E T V
Q: I’m wondering how much conﬁdence does this give you to control
the virus in the United States. And do you see the data China has
been sharing with the United States has been helpful?

Trump: I think it has been helpful. We’ve been working very much with
China. I’ve spoken, as you know, with President Xi. They went through
hell, and their numbers are starting to look very good. They’re really —
they’re really looking very good. We’re very happy about that. We are
sharing data, yes. In fact, we’re sharing quite a bit of data, including
the fact that some of our pharmaceutical companies are working over
there right now with large groups of people.

...

Q: My question is to Mr. President: Are you happy from the Chinese
response? What correctly really told you — what really happened
those days?

Trump: And as far as President Xi — likewise, he’s a friend of mine. I
believe that we are dealing in good faith. And we just worked to, as
you know, and as I just said — we just worked an incredible deal. A
big deal. One of the biggest deals ever made of any kind. Big even by
the standards of some of the people here — the deal with China. But I
think that they want to get to the bottom of things also.

March 20 Covid-19.
White House coronavirus brieﬁng
Your local resource.
Q: Mr. President, China has
Setbeen in communication
your location and log in to ﬁnd with the United
local resources and information on Set Location
States and also WHO about coronavirus
Covid-19 —
in your area.

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Trump: Right. That’s true.

Q: — since January.

Trump: That’s true.

Q: And the US shuttered its border to travelers from China on
February the 2nd. Also, Wuhan has been in lockdown since January
the 24th, and this all happened almost two months ago. Why did you
say if you could have known earlier? And also, you have been calling
coronavirus —

Trump: Well, I have to say this: We have — and I can speak for myself,
but I have a very good relationship with China and with President Xi. I
have great respect for President Xi. I consider him to be a friend of
mine. It’s unfortunate that this got out of control. It came from China.
It got out of control. Some people are upset. I know — I know
President Xi. He loves China. He respects the United States. And I
have to say, I respect China greatly and I respect President Xi. L IV E T V

March 21
White House coronavirus brieﬁng

Q: Since this story keeps popping up, when did you ﬁrst learn that
this was going to be a problem?

Trump: Well, you know, when I learned, I started doing the closings.
So, you know, probably around that time. We didn’t learn much. I
think you’re going to ask a little bit about China responsibility. I do
think that — again, I have great respect for China. I like China. I think
the people of China are incredible. I have a tremendous relationship
with President Xi.

I wish they could have told us earlier about what was going on inside.
We didn’t know about it until it started coming out publicly, but I wish
they could have told us earlier about it because we could have come
up with a solution.

Tony Fauci and all of the people — the talent that we have — would
have loved to have had three or four months of additional time, if you
knew what this was going to be happening. They didn’t have that
time. They read about in the newspapers like everybody else. China
was very secretive, okay? Very, very secretive. And that’s unfortunate.
Covid-19.
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wish they were able to — I wish they
Covid-19 in would
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that they were having a problem Because they were having a big
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6/18/2020 China: The many times Trump has praised Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic - CNNPolitics
that they were having a problem. Because they were having a big
problem and they knew it, and I wish they could have given us an
advanced warning. Because we could have done — we could have
had a lot of things — as an example, some of the things that we’re
talking about, where we order them as quickly as we can. If we had a
two- or three-month di erence in time, it would have been much
better.

Yeah, please.

Q: Can I follow up on that?

Trump: Yeah.

Q: Because, as you were saying, China was extremely secretive about
this. Several of your advisors have been warning — have been critical
of China. Secretary Pompeo was talking about it yesterday and he
had been saying so —
L IV E T V
Trump: Yeah.

Q: — for quite some time. So, why then, on January 24, did you tweet
that “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus,”
that “the United States greatly appreciates their e orts and
transparency. It will all work out well.”

Trump: Because it’s true.

Q: Why were you saying that, though?

Trump: Because it’s true. China has worked very hard. China has lost
thousands and thousands of people.

Q: But you said they weren’t transparent, right?

Trump: No, they weren’t transparent. They were transparent at that
time, but when we saw what happened, they could have been
transparent much earlier than they were.

March 22
White House coronavirus brieﬁng

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to ask about China and
President Xi. When was the last time you had a conversation with
him?

Covid-19.
Trump: Well, I don’t want to exactly say that, but I have spoken to
President Xi about this — Your local
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6/18/2020 China: The many times Trump has praised Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic - CNNPolitics
upset t C a, be o est t you, because as uc as e
President Xi and as much as I respect the country and admire the
country — I have great admiration for the country, what they’ve done
in a short period of time. … But they should have told us about this.
And I did ask him whether or not we could send some people, and
they didn’t want that — out of pride. I think, really, out of pride. They
don’t want — they don’t want us sending people into China, to help
them. You know, China is a strong country. They have — they have
their scientists and they have their doctors — very smart. A lot of
people. And, you know, but I did discuss that about sending our
people in. And, they didn’t really respond. We went again; they didn’t
respond. If they went in, they would have been able to tell us — give
us a much earlier indication.

March 26 L IV E T V
Fox News interview

Sean Hannity: We know this now as a fact. It's indisputable. They hid
it. They lied about it. Mike Pompeo said China is still not being
forthcoming, even went further. He also said Russia's not being
forthcoming and Iran. We know the conspiracy theory that they've
been pushing in -- in China against the United States. I know you --
you've said it di erent times you get along with President Xi. You have
this new -- ﬁrst part of this trade deal, $220 billion in two years. What
do you -- what are you going to say about him and withholding
information and -- and moving forward, why did they lie to us?

Trump: Well, let's go back. First of all, you mentioned Russia, Russia's
looking like they're having quite a bit of a problem and people weren't
bringing that up with the whole thing with the virus. Iran, we know
about that. That's been really, really bad. And we've o ered -- o ered
them assistance. We have the greatest in the world. We have the
greatest people at this kind of thing in the world. And with China, they
said that some of our soldiers caused the problems. We're saying
what soldiers? What are you talking about? It wasn't by him, I don't
believe. But nevertheless, it got out there and I started calling it the
Chinese virus And everybody picked it up And you know I'm not

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