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Trump Campaign Press Release - FACT CHECK: President Trump Did Not Call The Coronavirus a 'Hoax'

October 07, 2020

[See APP Note.]

This false claim has been debunked by 8 fact checkers.

Joe Biden continues to repeat a lie debunked by at least 8 fact checkers. The president never called the coronavirus a hoax.

  • The Washington Post gave Biden's claim 4 Pinocchios for manipulating video to falsely make it appear that President Trump called the coronavirus a "hoax."

  • AP News: "Biden distorts Trump's words on virus 'hoax'"

  • CNN: "Biden ad misleadingly suggests Trump called Covid-19 a 'hoax'"

  • Politifact: "Biden's video is inaccurate. We rate it False."

  • FactCheck.org: "Trump said that when he used the word "hoax," he was referring to Democrats finding fault with his administration's response to coronavirus, not the virus itself."

  • Check Your Fact: "Trump referred to the alleged 'politicizing' of the coronavirus by Democrats as 'their new hoax.' He did not refer to the coronavirus itself as a hoax."

  • Lead Stories: "Trump Did NOT Call Coronavirus A 'Hoax' Or 'Political Conspiracy"

  • Snopes: "Trump did not call the coronavirus itself a hoax."

APP Note:  This document was NOT prepared by the APP, nor does its inclusion here reflect any APP judgment, pro or con, on it's accuracy.  This is a campaign press release from the Trump Campaign--one of many we have archived (as we have archived many from the Biden Campaign). The controversy relates to remarks Trump made in a campaign rally on February 28, 2020.

Donald J. Trump, Trump Campaign Press Release - FACT CHECK: President Trump Did Not Call The Coronavirus a 'Hoax' Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/345654

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