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The Big Lies › 2020 › File PF-0079
Bad Call

Politico: Trump Treats Coronavirus as a 'Hoax'

Politico's rally story was headlined as Trump rallying his base to treat coronavirus as a 'hoax' and said he called the virus 'their new hoax.'

First reported Feb 28, 2020 · Politico
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: factcheck.org. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Democrats

It supported the line, later used by Democratic campaigns, that Trump called the virus a hoax.

What was reported

Politico's rally story was headlined as Trump rallying his base to treat coronavirus as a 'hoax' and said he called the virus 'their new hoax.'

What actually happened

At the South Carolina rally, the 'hoax' line came nearly a minute after Trump mentioned the virus and was aimed at Democrats' criticism of his response, which he compared to the Russia probe and impeachment; he said so the next day. FactCheck.org and PolitiFact concluded he did not call the virus itself a hoax. He did downplay the threat at the time, so the context was real, but the virus-is-a-hoax wording did not match his words. Politico did not issue a correction as of early March.

The proof

FactCheck.org's and PolitiFact's reviews of the full rally remarks, plus Trump's Feb. 29 clarification.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Politico: Trump Treats Coronavirus as a 'Hoax' — Bad Call. FactCheck.org's and PolitiFact's reviews of the full rally remarks, plus Trump's Feb. 29 clarification. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/politico-trump-coronavirus-hoax/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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