The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on March 17, 2020 in a White House news conference: “I\'ve always known this is a real, this is a pandemic. I\'ve felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * National * Public Health * Coronavirus * Donald Trump ![\\"President](\\" President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing with the coronavirus task force. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ![\\"Jon](\\" By Jon Greenberg March 18, 2020 # Trump says he always felt coronavirus was a pandemic. He didn’t talk that way #### If Your Time is short * In January, Trump said there were no worries about a pandemic. * In late February, he said the virus was \"very much under control.\" * Trump did activate federal measures to contain the spread in late January. See the sources for this fact-check In the early days of the coronavirus crisis, President Donald Trump aimed to reassure the public. Now, he has called for a 15-day push to shut down transmission. \"By making shared sacrifices and temporary changes, we can protect the health of our people and we can protect our economy,\" Trump said in a March 17 press conference. When a reporter asked if there had been a shift in tone, Trump shot back. \"I\'ve always known this is a real, this is a pandemic,\" Trump said. \"I\'ve felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.\" Trump re-emphasized that point in a tweet the next morning. \"I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the ‘borders’ from China,\" Trump tweeted March 18. > I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good > job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the > “borders” from China - against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were > saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false! > > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020 Trump and his administration acted to keep the virus out of the United States, but his words in public downplayed the threat for many weeks. Moves in Washington and worldwide On Jan. 20, about three weeks after China first reported the new virus, the World Health Organization reported cases in China, Japan, Thailand and South Korea. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activated its emergency response center on Jan. 21. On Jan. 29, the White House formed the Coronavirus Task Force, headed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and coordinated by the National Security Council. On Jan. 30, Trump effectively banned all non-Americans from entering the country if they had been in China in the previous two weeks. Americans could come back, but they would be quarantined. Azar declared a public health emergency. The same day, WHO declared a global health emergency. It was the fifth time WHO issued such a warning since 2005. Trump aims to reassure Fears of a pandemic were in the air by mid January. The federal response came as Trump painted a more comforting picture. On Jan. 22, in an interview with CNBC, Trump was asked, \"Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?\" #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 17, 2024 in an Instagram post CDC warns a third of adults may die from dangerous bacteria in ramen noodles. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 18, 2024 \"No,\" Trump replied. \"Not at all. We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.\" Two days later, he gave the sense that the virus would be kept in China. \"China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus,\" Trump tweeted Jan. 24. \"The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well.\" > China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United > States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work > out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank > President Xi! > > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020 Trump maintained that upbeat tone at a Jan. 30 rally in Iowa. \"We think we have it very well under control,\" he said. \"We have very little problem in this country at this moment — five. And those people are all recuperating successfully.\" In a Feb. 2 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump repeated the idea that transmission was unlikely. \"We pretty much shut it down coming in from China,\" he said. \"We’re going to see what happens, but we did shut it down.\" Trump also suggested that warmer weather in April would beat back the virus. As late as Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, Trump continued to paint a picture of a virus corralled. He tweeted that the virus was \"very much under control in the USA,\" and added \"Stock Market starting to look very good to me!\" In India, he said \"we have very few people with it,\" and they were getting better. This was at a time when WHO had reported 76,000 cases worldwide. A pandemic is when a new disease spreads worldwide. On March 11, WHO formally declared the coronavirus to be a pandemic. Our ruling Trump said that he’s \"always known this is a real, this is a pandemic. I\'ve felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.\" Until late February, Trump spoke as though the U.S. problem was limited and well under control. That description is at odds with the nature of a pandemic. We can’t know what was in Trump’s mind when he aimed to reassure the public, but his words did not fit with the threat of a pandemic. Trump’s claim that he was always aware of it being a pandemic is contradicted by his many early comments. His statement now is not accurate. We rate this claim Pants on Fire! #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources White House, Daily Coronavirus Pandemic Briefing, March 17, 2020 Donald Trump, Tweet, March 18, 2020 CNBC, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SITS DOWN WITH CNBC’S JOE KERNEN AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN DAVOS, SWITZERLAND, Jan. 22, 2020 Donald Trump, Tweet, Jan. 24, 2020 Donald Trump, Tweet, Jan. 27, 2020 Donald Trump, Political Rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 30, 2020 Fox News, Coronavirus: President Trump said US authorities \'shut it down.\' Here\'s what that means, Feb. 3, 2020 White House, Remarks by President Trump to National Border Patrol Council Members, Feb. 14, 2020 Donald Trump, Tweet, Feb. 24, 2020 White House, Remarks by President Trump in Press Conference, India, Feb. 25, 2020 White House, Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding the President’s Coronavirus Task Force, Jan. 29, 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Situation summary, March 17, 202 World Health Organization, Situation report, Jan. 21, 2020 World Health Organization, Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus, Jan. 30, 2020 World Health Organization, What is a pandemic?, Feb. 24, 2010 World Health Organization, WHO Director-General\'s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19, March 11, 2020 New York Times, Coronavirus Outbreak Sours Japan on Chinese Tourist Boom, Jan. 24, 2020 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Jon Greenberg ![](\\" ![](\\" Tucker Carlson stated on November 8, 2022 in election night coverage on Fox News: “Electronic voting machines didn\'t allow people to vote” in Maricopa County, Arizona. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 9, 2022 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on November 8, 2022 in a tweet: “There is no chain of custody” for ballots placed in Box No. 3 at Maricopa, Arizona, polling sites. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 8, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Ryan stated on November 1, 2022 in a town hall event: “J.D. Vance said nothing about” the attack on Paul Pelosi. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • November 3, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mark Kelly stated on October 26, 2022 in a newspaper interview: Blake Masters “wants to privatize” Social Security. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 28, 2022 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on October 25, 2022 in an Instagram post: The documentary “2,000 Mules proves” Democrats “cheated on the 2020 elections.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • October 28, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Blake Masters stated on October 15, 2022 in a tweet: Immigrants illegally in the country are treated “better than military veterans.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • October 21, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Katie Hobbs stated on October 9, 2022 in an interview on CBS News\' Face the Nation: Kari Lake has “gone on the record saying she supports Arizona\'s complete abortion ban. She\'s called it a great law.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 12, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on October 9, 2022 in an interview on CBS News\' Face the Nation: “Katie Hobbs voted for allowing a baby who survives an abortion — that the hospital would refuse medical care and allow the baby to die on a cold metal tray.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 12, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Ryan stated on September 27, 2022 in a campaign ad: “I voted with Trump on trade.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • October 4, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mark Finchem stated on September 22, 2022 in a Secretary of State debate: Ballot harvesting “altered the outcome” of a city council election in Yuma County, Arizona. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • September 23, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Saving Arizona PAC stated on September 8, 2022 in a campaign ad: “Mark Kelly voted against the Keystone pipeline, which caused higher gas prices.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • September 16, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 28, 2022 in an interview on CNN: \"40% of the folks who have student loans do not have a college diploma, four- year diploma. These are people who are truck drivers and who are nail technicians and nurses’ aides.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • September 13, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Hillary Clinton stated on September 6, 2022 in a tweet.: “I had zero emails that were classified.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Jon Greenberg • September 13, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Scott stated on August 10, 2022 in an interview on Fox News: “The Congressional Budget Office says 90% of the revenue generated from the new IRS agents will come from people making less than $200,000 … and the revenue generated will be $300-plus billion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jon Greenberg • August 17, 2022 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bob Good stated on August 10, 2022 in a tweet.: “Democrats are voting to add an army of 87,000 IRS agents who will target middle class taxpayers and conduct at least 1 million more audits each year. ” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Warren Fiske • August 17, 2022 ### Trump says he always felt coronavirus was a pandemic. He didn’t talk that way * ![](\\" ![](\\" House Majority PAC stated on September 9, 2024 in a television ad: Laurie Buckhout is “trying to get to Congress to pass a national abortion ban, allowing politicians to ban abortions with no exceptions and prosecute women if they get an abortion, treating women right here like criminals.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: “Less than three months ago, Kamala Harris and her administration blocked 300,000 unvetted Haitian migrants from being deported out of our country.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 30, 2024 in an X post: Photo shows President Joe Biden lounging on the beach \"while towns all over America were being wiped out” by Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 30, 2024 in in social media posts: “Biden Announces: ‘2.4 billion more to Ukraine’ but ‘no more aid for Hurricane Helene.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 24, 2024 in a post: “Olympic boxer Imane Khelif fails gender test, stripped of all titles, lifetime ban and $25 million prize money revoked!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 30, 2024 in a press conference in Georgia: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was calling President Joe Biden after Hurricane Helene but \"hasn\'t been able to get him.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 29, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Video shows Kamala (Harris) responding to someone talking through her earrings that she allegedly wore during the Trump vs. Harris debate.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 30, 2024 in a Meta ad: U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers “believes he should make that decision” about whether to end pregnancies. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 26, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Kamala involved in P-Diddy’s rapes and assaults.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 30, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" ✕ * * *
I have always known this is a real this is a pandemic I have felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic