Trump and several prominent conservative media personalities characterized coronavirus as a scam prior to the pandemic .
The poll found that President Trump was the least-trusted source of information about the outbreak , at 46 % overall , although 88 % of Republicans expressed trust in the president , second only to their trust in the CDC.  : //www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/sixty-percent-believe-worst-yet-come-u-s-coronavirus-pandemic-n1159106  : //www.politico.com/news/2020/03/17/poll-americans-lack-trust-in-trump-on-coronavirus-information-133576 During the initial weeks of the outbreak , Trump and several prominent conservative media personalities downplayed the danger of the situation , characterizing it as a `` hoax , '' a `` scam '' and a `` conspiracy '' to destroy the president.  : //www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/on-fox-news-suddenly-a-very-different-tune-about-the-coronavirus/2020/03/16/7a7637cc-678f-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html
2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States