'WE HAVE TO BE WARRIORS'
Donald Trump brands coronavirus ‘an attack worse than Pearl Harbor or 9/11’ and compares Covid fight to war
DONALD Trump has branded the coronavirus a "worse attack than 9/11 or Pearl Harbor" and compared the pandemic to fighting in a war.
Speaking in the Oval Office as the US death toll approached 75,000, the president said the US economy couldn't remain closed indefinitely, adding: "We have to be warriors".
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“We went through the worst attack we’ve ever had in our country,” he said.
“This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had.
"This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center.
"There’s never been an attack like this.”
A total of 2,977 people were killed in the September 11 attacks, while 2,403 died at Pearl Harbor.
Last week also saw the US death toll from coronavirus exceed the approximately 58,200 Americans killed in the Vietnam War.
Trump has in recent weeks voiced support for those who want to see the US lockdown lifted, tweeting: "We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself."
The statements have brought him into conflict with many economists and state governors, who argue the economic impact of lifting the lockdown too early will be worse than keeping it in place.
“We have to be warriors,” Trump said last night.
“We can’t keep our country closed down for years and we have to do something.
“Hopefully that won’t be the case, but that could very well be the case.”
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He continued: “I view the invisible enemy as a war.
"I don’t like how it got here, because it could have been stopped, but no, I view the invisible enemy like a war."
Last week saw a number of states begin to lift their lockdowns, allowing certain businesses to reopen and people to move around more freely, but social distancing guidelines remain in place.
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