President Trump said the coronavirus pandemic is “the worst attack” in U.S. history, exceeding even the scale of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump pointed out the sheer magnitude of the crisis, which has killed more than 72,000 people in the United States.
“We went through the worst attack we’ve ever had in our country. This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. There’s never been an attack like this,” Trump said, according to a White House press pool report.
In terms of scale, about 3,000 people died on Sept. 11, 2001. More than 2,300 people were killed when the Japanese bombed the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, which plunged the U.S. into World War II.
Additionally, the coronavirus has now killed more U.S. citizens than the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq combined.
Also, while speaking to reporters Wednesday, Trump said the White House Coronavirus Task Force “will continue on indefinitely,” a departure from what Vice President Mike Pence had said the day prior.
