Trump has claimed without evidence that 99% of coronavirus cases in the United States are "completely harmless." In fact, many states have announced record numbers of new cases COVID-19. In Texas alone, 7.890 patients are being treated after 238 more people were admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours.
Trump, who has criticized the way he handles the pandemic, said China should be "held accountable" for failing to curb the epidemic.
The government had staged a fireworks display over the National Mall as night fell after Trump's speech, although Washington Mayor Muriel Bauser had warned that a crowded event would defy the health authorities' instructions. pandemic.
A few steps away from where Trump delivered his speech, protesters marched peacefully on blocked roads around the White House, the area recently renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza and the Lincoln Monument. They were in front of other protesters shouting slogans such as "USA! USA! ”, But no violent incidents were reported.
Millions of Americans are protesting against police brutality and racial inequality following the May 25 murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man who was killed during a violent arrest by police in Minneapolis. In addition to carrying out police reforms in some cities, some protesters unfurled statues of Confederate generals and other symbols reminiscent of the American slavery era.
"There have always been those who wanted to lie about the past in order to gain power in the present, those who lie about our history, those who want to be ashamed of who we are," Trump said. "Their goal is disaster."
Trump's comments on July 4 follow his speech a day earlier on Mount Rasmor in South Dakota, where he accused "angry mobs" of trying to erase history and presented himself as a shield against left-wing extremism.
A few months before the November presidential election, polls in major states show that Trump is behind his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden. On July 4, Biden published an opinion paper in stark contrast to the Republican president, accusing him of finding "new ways to tarnish and dismantle our democracy."
In a separate letter to sponsors, Biden said: "We now have the opportunity to offer the marginalized, the demon-possessed, the isolated, the oppressed, a normal share in the American dream."
Trump also said in a speech that the United States would have a vaccine or treatment for the virus "long before" the end of 2020. Such a success could help the US economy and Trump's chances of being re-elected. US presidency.