Fact check: Trump falsely suggests he was right when he predicted ‘close to zero’ virus cases in February

Washington CNN — President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, said in late February that the coronavirus was “no problem.” Fauci didn’t say that. This is going to blow over.” Facts First: Trump is wrong that Fauci publicly said the virus was “no problem” and would “blow over.” While it is true that Fauci said in late February that Americans did not need to change their behavior patterns at that time, he also clarified that these conditions could change and coronavirus could develop into a major outbreak. For context, here’s what Trump said in February: “When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.” On Tuesday, Acosta invoked Trump’s faulty prediction from February while asking for his reaction to the news that the United States officially surpassed 1 million confirmed cases. Speaking in the East Room Tuesday afternoon, he claimed that he “closed down” the US and its borders, adding, “I did a ban on China from coming in, other than US citizens.” Earlier in the day with DeSantis, the President also said “ultimately we did a ban on Europe.” Facts First: It’s not true that Trump “closed down” the country entirely.