Trump Gets Brutally Factchecked After Claiming the Virus 'Affects Virtually Nobody'

President Donald Trump's response to the virus that's killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and unemployed millions more has largely been characterized by his dismissal of it.

In the early stages of the outbreak in the United States, Trump assured that the virus would disappear "like a miracle." He dismissed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines stressing the importance of wearing masks. He attacked governors and other local leaders for taking preventative measures to slow the spread of the virus.

And in an Ohio rally Monday night, the President once again minimized the threat it poses.

Watch below.

Trump said:

"It affects elderly people. Elderly people with heart problems and other problems. If they have other problems, that's what it really affects, that's it. Y'know, in some states, thousands of people, nobody young. Below the age of 18, like nobody ... But it affects virtually nobody. It's an amazing thing."

Trump's comments came just after the U.S. death toll from the virus passed 200 thousand—the highest number of deaths in the world.

The false statements also come weeks after tapes from a February interview between Trump and legendary journalist Bob Woodward, in which Trump acknowledged that he intentionally downplayed the virus in its early stages and continues to downplay it to his supporters.

He also noted that the virus doesn't spare the young, contradicting the claim he made at the rally:

"It's turning out it's not just old people. Just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out. It's not just old—older. Young people, too. Plenty of young people."

While young people are certainly less susceptible to the virus, they're far from immune, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the millions of U.S. cases and over 100 Americans between the ages of 0 and 17 have died of it.

Trump's continued willingness to dismiss the virus spurred rebuttals across the internet.

The President seemed incapable of considering the toll this virus has taken on the United States, and the threat it still poses.