Trump wouldn’t change much about coronavirus response, he says

President Trump said in a town-hall event broadcast on Wednesday night that he wouldn’t change how he’s handled the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked by Sinclair Broadcasting host Eric Bolling what he would change if he got a “do-over” on the public health crisis, the president replied, “Not much.”

With many states experiencing a surge of cases of COVID-19, Mr. Trump said the U.S. is testing more than any other country.

“Now, if we cut the testing in half, you’d have half the number of cases,” the president said. “And if we cut it in half again, you’d have another half the number of cases. We have the best testing in the world, but it shows the most cases. Other countries don’t test, they don’t have cases. It’s very simple.”

Public health experts say the rate of positive tests in many areas also is rising, a sign that the virus is spreading, and not simply a result of more testing.

The president suggested that other countries including China were under-reporting the number of cases and deaths, but wouldn’t say whether he thinks the U.S. is over-reporting its deaths.

“It gets too complicated, too controversial. I don’t want to be controversial for a change,” Mr. Trump said. “But we certainly report and other countries don’t.”

The event was recorded in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday.

Mr. Trump also criticized Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden for hiding much of his agenda, saying the former Vice President will support a plan to add seats to the Supreme Court and to grant statehood for the District of Columbia.

“They’ll take the District of Columbia and make it into a state, so you have two senators and numerous congressman and women, the whole thing is people have to know about this,” Mr. Trump said.