Trump went golfing 25 times as a virus swept across the US and killed over 200,000 Americans

• President Donald Trump golfed 25 times from the first known death in the US from COVID-19 to Sept. 22.
• Over 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Trump says his administration deserves an A+ in terms of its response to the pandemic.
• The US has the highest reported death toll from the virus in the world.
• More Americans have died from COVID-19 than all US soldiers killed in battle in wars since 1945 combined.

In the course of roughly seven months, more than 200,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus. No other country in the world has more confirmed fatalities from COVID-19 than the US. The US also has the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases of any country: more than 6.8 million.

As the virus swept across the US, President Donald Trump downplayed the threat, deflected blame to others, and routinely visited his properties to play golf. From the time of the first known death from COVID-19 in the US (February 6) to the present day, Trump golfed at least 25 times, according to Trump Golf Count, which tracks the president's golf outings.

Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of Americans died from a virus that Trump deliberately downplayed in an effort to avoid causing "panic."

All presidents take breaks from the job, but Trump spent years criticizing his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for golfing while serving as commander-in-chief. "Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter," Trump tweeted in October 2014.

—Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) May 23, 2020

According to a CNN analysis from May, Trump had already spent more time golfing as president than Obama had at the same point in his first term.

Trump on the campaign trail in 2016 also said he wouldn't have time to golf if elected. "I'm going to be working for you, I'm not going to have time to go play golf," Trump said in August 2016.

The president's visits to his properties have also raised ethics concerns in relation to the amount of tax-dollars spent on each trip. Sunday marked Trump's 394th visit to one of his properties and 297th visit to one of his golf clubs as president.

As Trump golfed, people were dying across the country.

There have been an average of more than 858 COVID-19 deaths per day in the US since the first known death on February 6.

More Americans have died from COVID-19 than all US soldiers killed in combat in every war since 1945 combined.

Trump maintains that his administration did an excellent job responding to the virus. The president on Monday said he deserves an "A+" in terms of his overall handling of the pandemic, but a "D" on public relations.

—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 21, 2020

"We've done a phenomenal job. Not just a good job. A phenomenal job. Other than public relations, but that's because I have fake news, you know, I can't — you can't convince them of anything, they're a fake. But we have done — on public relations, I give myself a D," the president said during a phone interview on "Fox and Friends."

"On the job itself, we take an A+, with the ventilators and now with the vaccines that are years ahead of schedule," Trump added.

Top public health experts have said Trump's response to the virus has been "abysmal," and that his anti-science approach undoubtedly contributed to the outbreak spiraling out of control in the US.