N. Texas Republican, Democratic Leaders Differ Over President Trump's Tweets About Coronavirus

NORTH TEXAS (CSBDFW.COM) - Before President Donald Trump walked out of the Walter Reed Medical Center Monday, he tweeted, "Feeling really good! Don't be afraid of COVID. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs and knowledge."

Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Rick Barnes said Tuesday he doesn't believe the President is downplaying the coronavirus.

"He's telling us not to live in a doom and gloom society, and not to let the reality of what's going on with COVID ruin our lives and ruin our future. And frankly, I think that's what American people want to hear from a President."

Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Deborah Peoples said Tuesday the President isn't being honest with the American people. "He has to try to put this positive spin on it for his base. But in doing so, and trying to win an election, he is misleading this country."

Another post from the President Tuesday morning said "Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000 and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with COVID, in most populations far less lethal."

Twitter flagged the tweet for misinformation, and Facebook removed the same post.

The CDC website says nearly 22,000 people in the U.S. died of the flu last season.

Johns Hopkins University says more than 210,000 people in the U.S. have died of the coronavirus.

While Peoples believes the President is hurting himself politically, Barnes doesn't see it that way.

He said, " We have a president that has numerous things that he's done positive for the country over the past three and a half years, versus a guy who has been in office for 47 years who can't speak of hardly anything that he brought to the table."

Peoples said the President should encourage people to wear masks and stay socially-distanced, "People don't trust him. All he's done is amplified that and I think it hurts Republicans all the way down the ballot."

The President tweeted he will be back on the campaign trail soon.

Before testing positive for COVID-19, he was scheduled to come to Dallas and Houston Wednesday.

No word yet if he will make the trip to Texas later this month.

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