Donald Trump Says America’s Rising COVID-19 Death Toll ‘Is What It Is’

Donald Trump Says America’s Rising COVID-19 Death Toll ‘Is What It Is’ President Donald Trump recently sat down for an interview with Axios’ Jonathan Swan to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the interview, Trump appeared to grow defensive and frustrated when questioned about the United States’ growing death toll.

After claiming that the pandemic was “under control,” Trump spoke about those dying, saying “it is what it is.” Donald Trump, via CNN When pressed further about America’s death toll, Trump refused to acknowledge COVID-19 deaths as a “proportion of population.” Instead, Trump repeatedly acknowledged the deaths as a “proportion of cases,” effectively downplaying the devastating statistic.

Donald Trump, via CNN The U.S. currently accounts for 26 percent of the world's confirmed COVID-19 cases, but only around 4.5 percent of the world's population.