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Fact check: Fake Trump quote about battling coronavirus, his body

The claim: President Trump claimed doctors said 'they've never seen a body kill the coronavirus' like his body

Just after midnight on Oct. 2, President Donald Trump announced that he and his wife tested positive for COVID-19.

In the week since, he has posted video messages to his supporters — including multiple from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center — nearly every day with updates on his health.

A post on Facebook purports to provide a closed-caption transcription of his remarks in one clip, superimposed on a still image from the video.

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"The doctors said they've never seen a body kill the Coronavirus like my body," the closed caption reads. "They tested my DNA and it wasn't DNA. It was USA."

The user behind the widely shared post did not respond to a request from USA TODAY for comment.

In videos, Trump didn't claim doctors had 'never seen a body' like his

The image in the post is a screenshot of a video that Trump posted to Twitter on Oct. 3, speaking from a desk at Walter Reed.

But he never made a statement about his body or his DNA in the four-minute video, or suggest that doctors had said they had "never seen a body" handle COVID-19 like his.

To the contrary, he noted that his wife, Melania Trump, was still at the White House and handling the virus "very nicely" due to the fact that she is "just a little, tiny bit" younger than he.

He also said, "I came here, wasn't feeling so well, I feel much better now," and called potential cures "miracles coming down from God."

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None of the other six clips he's posted in the last week contained the supposed quote, either. Still, it's true that Trump boasted about his health and quick recovery.

Earlier on Oct. 2, as he informed the nation he was headed to Walter Reed, he said he felt "very well." On Oct. 4, he shared about "great reports" from his doctors.

On Oct. 5, after he left Walter Reed, Trump spoke of how "great" he felt.

"Two days ago, I could have left two days ago," he said. "Two days ago, I felt great, like better than I have in a long time. I said just recently, better than 20 years ago."

On Oct. 7, he claimed he "didn't have to" go to Walter Reed, where he spent four days, and credited an antibody therapy made by Regeneron with his rapid improvement.

"I walked in, I didn't feel good. A short 24 hours later I was feeling great," Trump said. "I feel great. I feel, like, perfect. So, I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it. This was a blessing in disguise."

He reiterated his support for the antibody cocktail manufactured by Regeneron in another video on Oct. 8.

"I went into the hospital a week ago, I was very sick, and I took this medicine, and it was incredible, it was incredible," he said. "I could have walked out the following day, sooner."

In fact, Trump had a single dose of Regeneron prior to his transfer to Walter Reed, per the New York Times. At the hospital, he received Remdesivir and steroids.

Trump previously had financial stakes in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences Inc., which manufactures Remdesivir, per USA TODAY.

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Our rating: False

Based on our research, the claim that President Donald Trump said doctors have "never seen a body kill the Coronavirus" like his body and that he has "USA," not "DNA," is FALSE. Though he did brag in multiple videos about his rapid recovery, Trump credited it to an antibody cocktail made by Regeneron, not his body or his genetics. The quotes are fabricated.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Trump quote about virus, his body is fake