Calls Democratic criticism of his coronavirus response 'their new hoax' at rally

At a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump said Democrats were 'politicizing the coronavirus' and declared 'this is their new hoax,' equating scrutiny of his administration's pandemic response with the impeachment and Russia inquiries he also branded hoaxes. He praised his own handling as 'one of the great jobs' as the outbreak reached U.S. community spread and markets fell. He later said the 'hoax' referred to Democratic criticism, not the virus, but fact-checkers and public-health observers noted the framing minimized a mounting public-health threat against expert warnings. The remarks fit a pattern of dismissing the pandemic's seriousness during the last week of February 2020.

"They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything. They tried it over and over. They'd been doing it since you got in. It's all turning. They lost. It's all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax." Quote verified against source