Trump’s ‘Don’t Be Afraid of Covid’ Tweet Is Denounced by Democrats

President Trump’s exhortation “Don’t be afraid of Covid” was denounced by Democrats and others who criticized him for taking a dismissive tone about a disease that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, sickened more than 7.4 million and upended daily life across the country.

“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter after announcing his plan to leave Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he was brought by helicopter on Friday after testing positive for the coronavirus. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”

His statement quickly resonated in the political world, with some Democrats denouncing it as cavalier, saying it implicitly suggested that those who died after contracting the virus were weak. And several warned that minimizing the dangers posed by a virus that is spreading across the country — and the highest levels of government — sent a dangerous message at a moment health officials are pleading with the public to take precautions, wear masks and practice social distancing.

“‘Don’t be afraid of Covid’ is an evil thing to say to those of us who lost our loved ones to Covid 19,” Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota whose father died from complications of Covid-19, wrote on Twitter. “This man is unfit to be President, he lacks the compassion and humanity it takes to lead our country.”