Trump believes the media is creating coronavirus 'mass hysteria' to hurt his presidency, even as his GOP allies self-quarantine after CPAC exposure
- On Twitter, Donald Trump continued to promote the conspiracy theory that the press was creating hysteria around coronavirus to harm him politically, even as his closest allies in Congress self-quarantined.
- At least five members of Congress -Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Doug Collins, Rep. Paul Gosar, and incoming chief of staff Mark Meadows - opted to self quarantine as a precaution, after coming into contact with an infected person at CPAC.
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President Donald Trump continued to blame the press for creating hysteria around the coronavirus outbreak, and claimed it is being used as a political weapon against him, even as some of his top Republican allies in Congress voluntarily entered self-quarnatine.
In recent days, Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Doug Collins, Rep. Paul Gosar, and Trump's own incoming White House chief of staff, Rep. Mark Meadows, all announced they were taking precautions after disovering they had been in close proximity with a coronavirus patient at CPAC in February. None have reported symptoms. (Rep. Louis Gohmert, another ardent Trump supporter, said he was in proximity to the infected individual but refused to enter quarantine.)
On Tuesday, Trump retweeted a possible sockpuppet account that proclaimed that the "mainstream media" was creating "mass hysteria" with the "sole purpose of politically hurting the President."
The Twitter account proported to belong to a professor at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo, but no individual with that name appears on the university's faculty list. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump also tweeted that "Our CoronaVirus Team has been doing a great job. Even Democrat governors have been VERY complimentary!"
The day before, Trump had accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, of using the coronavirus for "political weaponization" after Cuomo said the administration was sending "mixed messages" about the coronavirus response. Trump also attempted to downplay the danger of coronavirus by comparing to deaths from the flu.
There are a reported 423 cases of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A total of 19 people have died, the CDC reports.
Trump has reportedly not been tested for coronavirus, despite coming into contact with two of the quarantined congressmen since their possible exposure. On Friday, he shook hands with Rep. Collins upon arriving in Georgia for a visit to the Centers for Disease Control, and on Monday, he flew on Air Force One with Rep. Gaetz.
"The President has not received COVID-19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms," White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told Reuters. "President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him."
The president also shook hands with supporters in Florida, despite the CDC's warnings to the public to limit human contact.
Rep. Gaetz, who learned of the possible contact on Monday while flying with Trump on Air Force One, told the Washington Post's Ben Terris that he had isolated himself in a separate section of the plane, but Trump had sought him out anyway and attempted to bring him to the front of the plane.
"He was not hyper cautious about being in the same space that I was in," Gaetz told The Post. "I refused to go into his office, I stood outside the door. I told him he could talk from that distance."
The White House did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
President Donald Trump has not been tested for the new coronavirus, White House says