Coronavirus: Trump says Covid-19 must be 'quickly forgotten' when pandemic ends

'The horror of the Invisible Enemy, except for those that sadly lost a family member or friend, must be quickly forgotten'

Donald Trump said the global coronavirus pandemic must be "quickly forgotten" when the United States opens "sooner rather than later" in an angry Twitter storm that included attacks on the Democratic Party and mainstream media.

"Once we OPEN UP OUR GREAT COUNTRY, and it will be sooner rather than later, the horror of the Invisible Enemy, except for those that sadly lost a family member or friend, must be quickly forgotten," the president wrote on Wednesday. "Our Economy will BOOM, perhaps like never before!!!"

His comments came as the US reported nearly 400,000 Covid-19 cases, according to tracking data published by Johns Hopkins University, and the vast majority of Americans remained under some form of stay-at-home orders issued by local governments. The White House has also recently extended its 15-day initiative to "flatten the curve" by encouraging social distancing measures nationwide for an additional 30 days.

Just minutes before posting about the pandemic, Mr Trump derided “the Radical Left Democrats” and claimed Democratic officials “have gone absolutely crazy” over his daily press briefings about the administration’s response to the novel virus.

“They actually want me to STOP!” he claimed. “They used to complain that I am not doing enough of them, now they complain that I ‘shouldn’t be allowed to do them.’”

He also alleged Democrats “tried to shame the Fake News Media into not covering” his briefings, which typically run on primetime hours on every single major network in the country.

“That effort failed because the ratings are through the roof according to, of all sources, the Failing New York Times,” he continued, alleging his briefings with leading infectious disease experts receive “Monday Night Football, Bachelor Finale type numbers”.

“Sadly, they get it [sic] $FREE,” the president wrote, adding a dollar sign before the word “free”, adding: “Trump Derangement Syndrome!”

Mr Trump has said he wants to reopen the country and revive its sinking economy far sooner than estimates some health officials have offered in recent days, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Sunday night that he’d “love” to open the country “with a big”.

“So we are looking at two concepts, we are looking at the concept we open up sections and also looking at the concept where you open up everything,” he said. “I think New York is getting ready if not already, but getting ready to peak and once it peaks, it will start coming down and it’s going to come down fast.”

Before extending the White House initiative through the month of April, Mr Trump previously said he hoped to reopen the country on Easter Sunday, calling for “packed churches” during the religious holiday.