19:16

Asked why he didn’t take the virus seriously in the early phases of its spread in the US, the president repeated his claims about that his travel restrictions against China made a difference and saved many lives: “People should say I acted very early.”

In fact, the administration’s travel policy did not cut off all travel from China. Although non-US citizens were prohibited from entering the country if they had traveled to China within the previous two weeks, American citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members were exempt. Similarly, Trump’s European travel restrictions exempted citizens, residents and their families. And initially, the restrictions didn’t apply to the UK and Ireland, as well as most Eastern European countries.

Epidemiologists have told the Guardian that these policies likely had little impact, as they were enacted after the virus was already spreading within the US.