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COVID-19 pandemic
Main articles: COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
Further information: U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump administration communication during the COVID-19 pandemic
See also: Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
In December 2019, COVID-19 erupted in Wuhan, China; the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread worldwide within weeks.[451][452] The first confirmed case in the U.S. was reported on January 20, 2020.[453] The outbreak was officially declared a public health emergency by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar on January 31, 2020.[454]
Trump's public statements on COVID-19 were at odds with his private statements. In February 2020 Trump publicly asserted that the outbreak in the U.S. was less deadly than influenza, was "very much under control", and would soon be over.[455] At the same time he acknowledged the opposite in a private conversation with Bob Woodward. In March 2020, Trump privately told Woodward that he was deliberately "playing it down" in public so as not to create panic.