Speaking to reporters at the White House, US President Donald Trump argued the COVID-19 global pandemic impact on the United States eclipses certain other infamous events in the country's history, such as 9/11 and the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese military in 1941.
"This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. And it should have never happened," Trump said.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks took place on 11 September, 2001, resulting in the deaths of about 3,000 people and the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York.
The Imperial Japanese Navy attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor occurred on 7 December, 1941, precipitating the United States' entrance into World War II.
The US president mentioned that he is going to announce new members of his coronavirus task force whose focus now shifts to medical treatments and to relaxing the restrictions imposed on business and social life amid the ongoing pandemic.
Also, Trump said he did not wear a mask during a tour on Tuesday of a Honeywell International Inc factory in Arizona after consulting the company's chief executive, though he apparently did try one on backstage.
Total number of people in the United States infected with COVID-19 has now surpassed the 1.2 million mark, with the disease claiming over 70,000 lives.