President Trump said no number of American deaths was acceptable to him even as he continues to press for reopening the economy more swiftly than public health experts recommend.

The president embellished on a tweet he’d sent shortly before the daily White House news conference in which he alleged the media wanted to tank the economy to aid in his defeat come November. Like a political rally, he railed against the “fake news” that want to see him fail even though the White House has done “one hell of a job,” he said.

“And it’s lucky that you have this group here right now for this problem,” he said, with public health leaders Deborah Birx and Anthony S. Fauci standing behind him. “You wouldn’t even have a country left.”

Trump dismissed the idea of widespread testing to save more lives, but rejected a question that there was a certain number of deaths that were acceptable to him.

“None,” Trump said.

He went on to say that many states don’t need that kind of robust testing and could reopen now because they are having little spread, indicating that he could call for lifting social restrictions geographically.

“We don’t have to test the entire state in the Middle West or wherever they may be. I think it’s ridiculous,” Trump said. “A lot of those states could go back right now, and they probably will, because at some point in the not-too-distant future, certain states are going to come off the rolls. Maybe New York can’t. And maybe California can’t.”

Trump also defended the inclusion of $25 million in the economic relief package for the Kennedy Center, first claiming that he supported helping the shuttered performing arts center and then saying it was a handout to Democrats. He claimed to be a big fan of the Kennedy Center, but said he hasn’t been there.