“We have cases because you test. Deaths are down,” President Trump said at a shipbuilding plant in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Thursday. He later added: “It came from China, and it hit 188 countries -- not good, not good.”

Trump has paid little heed to a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases, announcing no new steps to curb the outbreak as infections jump to near-record levels and continuing with a normal schedule of meetings and travel as hospitals fill with sick patients.

Trump hasn’t asked Americans to change their daily routines, and top administration officials say there will be no repeat of the lockdowns that collapsed the U.S. economy in March. When Trump travels or stands close to other officials, he doesn’t wear a mask, a precaution urged by health officials.

But the growing number of cases -- there were nearly 35,000 reported on Wednesday -- could prevent the kind of economic rebound Trump has been promising by year’s end and further damage his standing in polls that show Democrat Joe Biden ahead nationally and in key swing states. A mounting death toll adds to Trump’s re-election concerns as new modeling predicts the virus will kill 180,000 Americans by October.

Officials have downplayed the resurgence, saying it remains contained to about a dozen states and that deaths haven’t begun to climb.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm

QUICKTAKE ON SOCIAL:
Follow QuickTake on Twitter: twitter.com/quicktake
Like QuickTake on Facebook: facebook.com/quicktake
Follow QuickTake on Instagram: instagram.com/quicktake
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2FJ0oQZ
Email us at quicktakenews@gmail.com

QuickTake by Bloomberg is a global news network delivering up-to-the-minute analysis on the biggest news, trends and ideas for a new generation of leaders.