Trump's Excuse For Holding Rallies Amid Growing Pandemic: He Can't Remember Them

President Donald Trump on Monday resorted to questioning whether a campaign rally he held in March had actually taken place after he was caught in a lie claiming that he hadnt left the White House in months.

I dont know about rallies, I really dont know about rallies, Trump said at his press briefing when PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor mentioned his continued campaign events during the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

I know one thing, I havent left the White House in months, except for a brief moment to give a wonderful ship, the [USNS] Comfort, he said.

When Alcindor pointed out that he had held a campaign rally on March 3, Trump said: I dont know, did I hold a rally? Im sorry, I hold a rally. Did I hold a rally?

Trump held five campaign events in February and one in March.

WATCH: @Yamiche asked President Trump why he held a campaign rally in March as the coronavirus pandemic intensified if, as he says, he \"acted very early\" to combat virus.

\"Did I hold a rally? I'm sorry I hold a rally.\" pic.twitter.com/4Vn3uzRTrx

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I'm sorry I hold a rally.\" pic.twitter.com/4Vn3uzRTrx PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) April 21, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1252395185469714432/img/oECb_tlFlbDBvoZ9.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"PBS NewsHour on 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WATCH: @Yamiche asked President Trump why he held a campaign rally in March as the coronavirus pandemic intensified if, as he says, he "acted very early" to combat virus.

"Did I hold a rally? I'm sorry I hold a rally." pic.twitter.com/4Vn3uzRTrx
PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) April 21, 2020

The exchange occurred after Alcindor asked Trump to acknowledge whether he believed his downplaying of coronavirus in the early stages of the outbreak had resulted in people getting sick. She cited an interviewee who said theyd attended a funeral in mid-March and their family members fell ill because they were following cues from the president, who wasnt taking it seriously, wearing a mask or telling people to stay home.

Trump responded to this question by saying: A lot of people love Trump, right? He then patted himself on the back for issuing travel restrictions on China on Jan. 31 and declared that people should say I acted very early.

Critics noted that the Jan. 31 move, which banned foreigners who had been in China in the last 14 days from entering the United States, made sense, but required a simultaneous effort to establish widespread testing, equip hospitals with proper medical supplies and limit the spread of the virus.

Yet in late February, Trump labeled the virus a hoax during a South Carolina rally. On March 9, when more than 500 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19, he compared coronavirus to the common flu.

The outbreak was declared a global pandemic two days later and Trump subsequently canceled his upcoming rallies out of an abundance of caution.

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