Lincoln Project wishes Donald Trump ‘happy birthday’ with video reminding him of Covid deaths

Donald Trump has been reminded of time he branded pandemic a ‘hoax’

Former US President Donald Trump addresses the NCGOP state convention on June 5, 2021 in Greenville, North Carolina. (Getty Images)

US political action committee The Lincoln Project has wished Donald Trump a “happy birthday” with a new video asking Americans to mark the day by commemorating the lives of the more than 500,000 people in the US killed by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a video posted on Twitter with the message “happy birthday, Donald”, The Lincoln Project lambasted Mr Trump over his past words about the pandemic, including branding it a “hoax”.

Noting that 14 June is Mr Trump’s birthday, the video shows a birthday cake with candles gradually burning out as the former president’s past words about the pandemic play.

Among the statements played out are claims from Mr Trump that the pandemic would likely “go away” by April and that Covid-19 is “the same as the flu”.

Noting that more than 500,000 Americans have now died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the video blames Mr Trump for their deaths, asserting that “because of his inaction, 500,000 Americans celebrated [their birthdays] for the last time”.

“So, while Donald Trump celebrates his birth ... celebrate their lives instead,” the video states.

In a tweet sharing the video, Tara Setmayer, a senior advisor at The Lincoln Project wrote: “Let’s not Trump forget the over 400k Americans who won’t have the privilege of celebrating another birthday because of Trump’s sadistic, failed Covid-19 response.”

“Damn Trump. Celebrate the lives of those lost,” Ms Setmayer said.

As of Monday, 599, 796 people in the US have died of Covid-19, according to an online tracker maintained by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

More than 33 million people have contracted the virus in the US, according to the JHU.