US President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday — one year to the day since then-President Donald Trump did the same.
But their presidential prime time speeches couldn’t have been more different, as this video shared on Twitter by The Recount shows:
In the supercut, above, Trump is seen on Mar. 11, 2020 boasting about the United States being more prepared than any other nation to combat Covid-19.
“We will defeat the virus,” he claimed, saying its risk was “very, very low.”
Trump would later downplay the threat of the virus in public (while privately admitting its “deadly” nature), mock people who wore masks and tout unproven treatments and cures before being hospitalized with Covid-19 himself.
Biden on Thursday, meanwhile, solemnly marked the American death toll from the crisis, which is now the highest in the world, and lamented the economic turmoil it has caused ― also suggesting the vaccination program could mean “you’ll be able to get together and have a cookout or a BBQ in your backyard” on July 4.
Nationwide, the pandemic has now killed more than 530,000 people.