Whiplash: Here are 4 blatant contradictions Trump just spewed out during his coronavirus briefing

President Donald Trump addressed the coronavirus pandemic during a press conference on Thursday, March 19. And true to form, his statements were full of contradictions and inaccuracies. Here are 4 of them.

1. Trump claimed that the FDA has approved the anti-Malaria drug Chloroquine as a possible coronavirus treatment.

One of the promises Trump made had to do with Chloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria. Trump said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved chloroquine to test as a COVID-19 coronavirus treatment. But when journalist Sam Stein fact-checked Trump, he tweeted, “Trump, once again, has just straight up over promised — if not outright lied —from the podium. This time on FDA approval of Chloroquine.”

2. Trump touted Chloroquine as reducing the spread of coronavirus.

On Twitter, Sarah Owermohle, @owermohle, explained, “Trump says if old malaria drugs chloroquine or hydroxy chloroquine work against coronavirus ‘your numbers are going to come down very rapidly.’ To be clear: FDA has NOT yet approved the meds for Covid-19 and there is not sufficient data yet that they work.

3. Trump criticized the Chinese government for not being up-front about the pandemic — despite having previously praised its ‘transparency.”

During the press conference, Trump slammed the dictatorship in Mainland China for not being up-front about the dangers of coronavirus — claiming that coronavirus could have been “stopped in its tracks” if the Chinese government had revealed it sooner. But this is the same Donald Trump who, on January 24, tweeted, “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

At the time, Trump was still downplaying the severity of coronavirus and its potential for destruction outside of Mainland China — even though health officials were warning that it could easily turn into a global pandemic and cause considerable suffering in the United States.

4. Trump attacked coverage of coronavirus 3 days after claiming the media has been “very fair.”

Trump used the press conference as yet another excuse to attack the mainstream media and its coverage of coronavirus. “We were prepared,” Trump claimed. “The only thing we weren’t prepared for was the media.”

Just three days ago, Trump sang an entirely different tune, telling the press “I think a lot of the media, actually, has been very fair.”