Trump: We’re rounding the turn on the coronavirus pandemic
President Donald Trump discusses Hurricane Sally response efforts, Woodward interview backlash, and his coronavirus response on ‘Fox & Friends.’
President Trump in an interview on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday claimed a vaccine for coronavirus could be approved “in a matter of weeks.”
“I’m not doing it for political reasons, I want the vaccine fast,” Trump said of the push for a vaccine, called “Operation Warp Speed. “You wouldn’t have a vaccine for years … I speeded up the process with the FDA… We’re going to have a vaccine in a matter of weeks, it could be four weeks it could be eight weeks … we have a lot of great companies.”
It comes as several Democrats have cast doubt on the safety of a potential vaccine due to the accelerated process: Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his vice-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., have expressed concerns about potential political pressure they said could lead to a vaccine being approved too early.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally at Xtreme Manufacturing, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, in Henderson, Nev. Trump said Tuesday that a coronavirus vaccine could be available in “a matter of weeks.” (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“I will not take [Trump’s] word for it,” Harris said when asked by CNN if she would take a vaccine approved before Nov. 3.
“I would want to see what the scientists said,” Biden responded to a question about a vaccine.
North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham also said Sunday in a debate against Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Sunday that he would be hesitant to take a vaccine that’s approved by the end of the year.
Republicans have accused them of irresponsible rhetoric.
On the coronavirus pandemic, Trump was also asked about his interviews with journalist Bob Woodward whose recently-released book about Trump detailed conversations in which Trump said he was downplaying the threat of the virus.
“I don’t want to create panic,” Trump said in response. “I don’t want to build it up.”
He added that the U.S. is in a better spot now on the pandemic than it was earlier this year.
“We’re rounding the turn on the pandemic,” Trump said. “Texas is coming down Florida is doing great,”
During his “Fox & Friends” appearance, the president also spoke about Hurricane Sally, slammed Woodward cohort Carl Bernstein for critical comments the journalist made about him — he called Bernstein a “nutjob” — and accused liberal cities of “getting weak and soft” against crime in the wake of a shooting of two Los Angeles Police Department officers.
Trump further slammed Biden for allegedly using teleprompters during remote interviews. The Biden campaign has declined to say whether he uses them.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“You look at Biden and he’s reading notes and he’s reading teleprompters all the time,” Trump said. “Then when his guy gets asked about that and he makes a fool of himself … the man is shot, let’s face it, we can’t have a man who’s shot.”
Trump’s comments come with less than two months before the presidential election. Polls show Biden in the lead nationally and in a number of key swing states, but Trump has pulled closer in some swing-state polls.
The election is happening against a backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed more than 190,000 Americans and amid racial unrest in many cities.
>>>details