Donald Trump

==== Pressure to abandon pandemic mitigation measures ====
{{Further|COVID-19 testing in the United States}}

In April 2020, Republican-connected groups organized [[Protests in the United States over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic|anti-lockdown protests]] against the measures state governments were taking to combat the pandemic;<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Jason|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/far-right-coronavirus-protests-restrictions|title=The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions|date=April 17, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Andone|first=Dakin|url=https://cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/protests-coronavirus-stay-home-orders/|title=Protests Are Popping Up Across the US over Stay-at-Home Restrictions|date=April 16, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Trump encouraged the protests on Twitter,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|last2=Mervosh|first2=Sarah|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-governors.html|title=Trump Encourages Protest Against Governors Who Have Imposed Virus Restrictions|date=April 17, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> even though the targeted states did not meet the Trump administration's guidelines for reopening.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493701-trump-support-for-protests-threatens-to-undermine-social-distancing|title=Trump support for protests threatens to undermine social distancing rules|last1=Chalfant|first1=Morgan|last2=Samuels|first2=Brett|date=April 20, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, he first supported, then later criticized, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] Governor [[Brian Kemp]]'s plan to reopen some nonessential businesses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump approved of Georgia's plan to reopen before bashing it|url=https://apnews.com/article/a031d395d414ffa655fdc65e6760d6a0|work=[[AP News]]|access-date=April 28, 2020|date=April 24, 2020|first1=Jonathan|last1=Lemire|first2=Ben|last2=Nadler}}</ref> Throughout the spring he increasingly pushed for ending the restrictions to reverse the damage to the country's economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/18/trump-reopening-economy-193885|title=Trump's unspoken factor on reopening the economy: Politics|last=Kumar|first=Anita|date=April 18, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref>
Trump often refused to [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|mask]] at public events, contrary to his administration's April 2020 guidance to wear masks in public<ref name=99days>{{cite web|last=Danner|first=Chas|title=99 Days Later, Trump Finally Wears a Face Mask in Public|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/trump-finally-wears-a-face-mask-in-public-covid-19.html|access-date=July 12, 2020|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=July 11, 2020}}</ref> and despite nearly unanimous medical consensus that masks are important to preventing spread of the virus.<ref name="WAPost_Mask">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/25/trumps-dumbfounding-refusal-encourage-wearing-masks/|title=Trump's dumbfounding refusal to encourage wearing masks|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=June 25, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> By June, Trump had said masks were a "double-edged sword"; ridiculed Biden for wearing masks; continually emphasized that mask-wearing was optional; and suggested that wearing a mask was a political statement against him personally.<ref name="WAPost_Mask" /> Trump's contradiction of medical recommendations weakened national efforts to mitigate the pandemic.<ref name=99days /><ref name="WAPost_Mask" />

In June and July, Trump said several times that the U.S. would have fewer cases of coronavirus if it did less testing, that having a large number of reported cases "makes us look bad".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/14/trump-says-us-would-have-half-the-number-of-coronavirus-cases-if-it-did-half-the-testing.html|title=Trump says U.S. would have half the number of coronavirus cases if it did half the testing|last=Higgins-Dunn|first=Noah|date=July 14, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/23/trumps-right-that-with-less-testing-we-record-fewer-cases-fact-thats-already-happening/|title=Trump is right that with lower testing, we record fewer cases. That's already happening.|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=July 23, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> The CDC guideline at the time was that any person exposed to the virus should be "quickly identified and tested" even if they are not showing symptoms, because asymptomatic people can still spread the virus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/26/cdc-quietly-revises-coronavirus-guidance-to-downplay-importance-of-testing-for-asymptomatic-people.html|title=CDC quietly revises coronavirus guidance to downplay importance of testing for asymptomatic people|last=Feuer|first=Will|date=August 26, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html|title=The C.D.C. changes testing guidelines to exclude those exposed to virus who don't exhibit symptoms.|date=August 26, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> In August 2020 the CDC quietly lowered its recommendation for testing, advising that people who have been exposed to the virus, but are not showing symptoms, "do not necessarily need a test". The change in guidelines was made by HHS political appointees under Trump administration pressure, against the wishes of CDC scientists.<ref name="CNN-testing-pressure">{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2020/08/26/politics/cdc-coronavirus-testing-guidance/|title=CDC was pressured 'from the top down' to change coronavirus testing guidance, official says|date=August 26, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|first1=Nick|last1=Valencia|first2=Sara|last2=Murray|author-link2=Sara Murray (journalist)|first3=Kristen|last3=Holmes|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref><ref name=Gumbrecht>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/18/health/covid-19-testing-guidance-cdc-hhs/|title=Controversial coronavirus testing guidance came from HHS and didn't go through CDC scientific review, sources say|date=September 18, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|first1=Jamie|last1=Gumbrecht|first2=Sanjay|last2=Gupta|author-link2=Sanjay Gupta|first3=Nick|last3=Valencia|access-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> The day after this [[Trump administration political interference with science agencies|political interference]] was reported, the testing guideline was changed back to its original recommendation.<ref name=Gumbrecht />

Despite record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. from mid-June onward and an increasing percentage of positive test results, Trump largely continued to downplay the pandemic, including his false claim in early July 2020 that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are "totally harmless".<ref>{{cite news|last=Blake|first=Aaron|title=President Trump, coronavirus truther|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/06/trump-throws-caution-wind-coronavirus/|access-date=July 11, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-factcheck.html|title=Trump Falsely Claims '99 Percent' of Virus Cases Are 'Totally Harmless'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 5, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|first1=Roni Caryn|last1=Rabin|first2=Chris|last2=Cameron}}</ref> He began insisting that all states should resume in-person education in the fall despite a July spike in reported cases.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/07/888157257/white-house-pushes-to-reopen-schools-despite-a-surge-in-coronavirus-cases|title=Trump Pledges To 'Pressure' Governors To Reopen Schools Despite Health Concerns|last=Sprunt|first=Barbara|date=July 7, 2020|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref>