Embattled US President Donald Trump has once again taken aim at New Zealand over the recent resurgence of coronavirus, describing yesterday's five new cases as a "massive breakout" as US cases continue to grow by tens of thousand everyday.
Speaking to a crowd in Pennsylvania, Trump said: "You look at our mortality rates, you look at all the things but they like to compare us to others so they were talking about New Zealand.
"New Zealand, New Zealand, it's over for New Zealand, everything's gone, it's all over - they're beautiful," said Trump, referencing the global acclaim New Zealand received for its response.
"They had a massive breakout yesterday."
The US death toll from Covid-19 is rapidly approaching 175,000, while New Zealand's stands at 22.
On the day New Zealand recorded five new cases, the US recorded 46,500 according to the Centre for Disease Control.
Trump's comments are the third time this week he has referenced New Zealand as he attempts to paint his handling of the pandemic in a better light.
The US President, whose administration has been battling the highest recorded coronavirus case numbers in the world, said yesterday that his critics were using Kiwi success at fighting Covid-19 to make him look bad.
"New Zealand, by the way, had a big outbreak, and other countries that were held up to try and make us look not as good as we should look, and we've done an incredible job," he claimed.
"They're having a lot of outbreaks, but they'll be able to put them out, and we'll be able put them out."
Those comments followed some earlier this week, addressing a crowd in Mankato, Minnesota.
"They beat it, they beat, it was like front page [news], they beat it because they wanted to show me something.
"The problem is [there is a] big surge in New Zealand, you know it's terrible - we don't want that.
"This is an invisible enemy, that should have never been let to come to this country, to Europe to the rest of the world, by China, just remember it," he said.
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Comments
Trump must be the nearest to a brain dead president the US has ever had. It's sad how so many Americans are taken in by him. I look forward to seeing him in an orange jump suit.
So funny! I well remember the left saying "Just wait until Robert Mueller releases his report into Trump/Russia collusion"..."Trump is going to jail".
Tell me, how did that work out for you?
Well that's simple, it is called corruption and a GOP that has been taken over by an insidious sociopath. Trump is only supported by the corrupt and the gullible.
He would have been impeached over the investigate Biden v Military aid deal with the Ukraine had the Republican party not completely lost their moral compass. It's time they injected bleach.
And his opponent is already brain dead heaven help the free world
Apparently this outbreak is so big Trump is clearly fixated and has to keep flying around it like a moth around a flame.
Where is Susan Collins? Where is the National Party? New Zealand is being attacked and defamed on the world stage. Why are they not defending New Zealand?
Why isn't "Crusher" crushing this ignorant orange blimp who is attacking Kiwis?
Kiwis have a right to know whose side the Nationals are on.
One does wonder if Trump actually knows where NZ is. He thought Finland was part of Russia and wasn't aware that the UK was a nuclear power. It has been nearly as long as the US and the Brits were an integral part of its development along with other Europeans.