Since he became United States president, two words have come to define Donald Trump's opinion of the media: "fake news". Whether in his constant stream of tweets or in press briefings, "fake news" has become his go-to response to reports he disagrees with, especially if they imply any criticism of his actions.

Yet, according to The Washington Post, Trump has himself made over 20,000 false or misleading claims since becoming president. Nearly a thousand of them relate to the coronavirus pandemic, and if taken at face value they could have had – and probably have had – severe consequences in undermining the fight against the disease.  

In March, for example, he stated, "You can call it a germ, you can call it a flu, you can call it a virus, you know you can call it many different names. I'm not sure anybody even knows what it is." He said this despite warnings from public health experts about the dangers of equating COVID-19 with flu, as it was known to be transferred between people far more easily and had a mortality rate ten times higher.    

The pattern of denial and bluster demonstrated by Trump points to a leader who is unable to grasp the severity of the problem facing him.

Trump would be well advised to bear in mind the Chinese saying, "隔行如隔山" (ge hang ru ge shan), which translates as, "Mountains stand between different professions." Amid the coronavirus pandemic, for a businessman-turned-politician to off-handedly dismiss the opinions and observations – and even the advice – put forward by professionals in the field of disease control, is a dangerous path to follow.

So, it's fortunate that the American media have been undaunted by the president's attacks, and have been unrelenting in their criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back on March 20, 2020, ABC News published an online report under the headline, "Trump's own words contradict claim he's always viewed coronavirus as 'very serious'." It was followed by the stark accusation: "The president has made many questionable or false statements about the virus."

Four months later, in an interview on Fox News Sunday that aired on July 19, Trump claimed that the U.S. had the "… number one low mortality rate" in the world. Challenged about this, he predictably dismissed as fake news the assertion that the U.S. was suffering 900 COVID-19 deaths in a day.

Interviewer Chris Wallace then pressed him on the high death rate. "But, sir, we have the seventh highest mortality rate in the world," he argued. "Our mortality rate is higher than Brazil, it's higher than Russia, and the European Union has us on a travel ban."

Trump was scarcely swayed, insisting, "I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world." This response, though appearing to represent a slight concession in the face of the evidence, suggests either that he's determined to reject the reality, or is in denial.

Another statement made by Trump in the same interview points to something perhaps even more alarming: complacency.

"I'll be right eventually," was the president's response after being shown a series of video clips in which he made claims about the coronavirus that subsequently proved false. These ranged from, "It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine," said on January 22, to "I think we're gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that's going to sort of just disappear," stated as late as July 1.

On July 21, the U.S. recorded over a thousand COVID-19 deaths in a single day for the first time since the end of May. The number of infections has currently passed four million. 

So, while in many parts of the world the first tentative steps are being taken to restoring normality, the situation in the U.S. is going from bad to worse – a fact that even the president has now had to admit.

"It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better – something I don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is," Trump said at a July 21 press briefing.

Sadly, and all too late, it seems he may be proved right about something.