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Did Trump really tell coronavirus-infected people to ‘get out and vote?’

'I don't care how sick you are.'

 

Mikael Thalen

Tech

Posted on Apr 11, 2020   Updated on Apr 11, 2020, 12:26 pm CDT

A video making the rounds on Twitter appears to show President Donald Trump encouraging his supporters to vote in the upcoming election even if they are sick with the coronavirus. But is it true?

Just one version of the video has already amassed over 100,000 views and is being shared alongside numerous coronavirus-related hashtags.

“You got to get out there November 8th. I say kiddingly, but I mean it,” Trump says in the video. “I don’t care how sick you are.”

The president goes onto urge his supporters to participate in the election even if they are on the verge of death.

“I don’t care if you just came back from the doctor and he gave you the worst possible prognosis, meaning it’s over,” Trump adds. “You won’t be around in two weeks. Doesn’t matter. Hang out till November 8th. Get out and vote.”

So did Trump actually encourage terminally ill voters to participate in the election before dying? Yes. But is the video related to the 2020 election? No.

Trump’s statement isn’t related to the coronavirus either. In fact, the video is not even new.

As noted by Snopes, the clip is actually from a campaign rally Trump held in Nevada on Nov. 6, 2016, before he was even president.

Although the then-candidate received criticism at the time for the remark, Trump was not referring to a specific disease or virus.

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H/T Snopes

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*First Published: Apr 11, 2020, 12:25 pm CDT