“We are confident that we will have a vaccine at the end of this year,” said the US president.
Lincoln Memorial
Trump was interviewed by two Fox News presenters in front of the Lincoln Memorial in the US capital, Washington. According to correspondent Erik Mouthaan, that location is special.
“The Memorial is almost a sacred place for Americans. When you get there, runners take their caps off, you’re asked to speak softly.”
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Can last 18 months
The US authorities previously reported that a vaccine is likely to be delayed for 18 months. Top medical adviser Anthony Fauci added last week CNN that he expects the vaccine to be ready in January.
“But I can’t guarantee that,” emphasized Fauci, Trump’s chief adviser. According to him, there are numerous uncertainties that can delay the vaccine.
Hostile press
During the TV interview, President Trump also answered viewers’ questions. When asked why Trump does not respond to journalists at press conferences, he says the press is “very hostile” to him.
He also says he has been “treated worse than President Lincoln.” Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States from 1861. He was murdered in 1865 because of his policy.
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“Amazing that the Lincoln statue didn’t get up and walk away,” someone wrote on twitter:
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Trump goes on to say that he wants to open the US schools again in September and that the economy should start ‘again at some point’. “We cannot remain completely closed as a country, then there will soon be no country left.”
Death toll continues to rise
In the past 24 hours, more than 1,450 Americans have died from the effects of the corona virus. The death toll in the US thus rises to 67,674.
Trump told the Fox News interview that between 80,000 and 100,000 Americans will die from the effects of the corona virus. In April, he said that 50,000 to 60,000 Americans could die from the effects of the virus.
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More than 1.1 million Americans are infected with the virus. More than 3.5 million people worldwide are infected with the coronavirus.
‘Made a terrible mistake’
During the interview, Trump also discusses the theory that the coronavirus may have been made in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. “I think they made a terrible mistake and didn’t want to admit it,” said the US President. “My opinion is that they made a mistake, tried to hide it, but failed.”
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said yesterday that there is “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus was developed in a Chinese laboratory. He did not want to reveal exactly what that evidence is.
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