PHILADELPHIA (AP) – President Donald Trump is denying he played down the threat of the coronavirus earlier this year, although in recent audio recordings, he says that he did purposely to prevent panic.
Trump is also continuing to cast doubt on the widely accepted scientific conclusions of his own administration strongly urging the use of face coverings.
He says, “There are people that don’t think masks are good.” The president participated in a televised town hall Tuesday with uncommitted voters, hosted by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. In an exchange with one voter, Trump said he actually “up-played” the virus threat.
Scott Jennings a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and a former campaign adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Jennings, in his opinion, the town hall did not to well. Jennings says that he gives Trump credit for agreeing to a road game in a hostile gym.
The event was billed as a conversation with “uncommitted” voters, which is, charitably, baloney. Most of the questions were hostile, and several of the questioners quite clearly have no intention whatsoever of voting for Trump.
"You've been trying to strike down pre-existing conditions."
In a @ABC2020 town hall, @GStephanopoulos presses Pres. Trump on claim he's preserving pre-existing conditions—as his administration argues in court against Obamacare, which protects them. https://t.co/iePFpo7jZG pic.twitter.com/9d0dOgbXwM
— ABC News (@ABC) September 16, 2020
After Pres. Trump claims "a lot of people think the masks are not good," @GStephanopoulos asks: "Who are those people?"
"Waiters," Trump responds, saying he's seen servers constantly touching their face masks.
More from the special @abc2020 town hall: https://t.co/novyV8AWRR pic.twitter.com/25KVhP1zrk
— ABC News (@ABC) September 16, 2020
See full townhall here.
