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Trump Claims Doctors Make 'More Money' When They Lie About COVID-19 Deaths

President Donald Trump defied logic at his Michigan rally Friday, claiming that physicians “get more money” when they falsely inflate the number of COVID-19 deaths.

And he repeated a story earlier at a Wisconsin rally that, when asked by a friend recently to name someone more famous than he is, the only name Trump could come up with was Jesus Christ. The crowd went wild.

Trump falsely insisted to his Michigan crowd that reports of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. inflate the actual toll because doctors, for some reason, collect more money from coronavirus fatalities — so they lie about them to boost the numbers.

“You know, in Germany, if you have a bad heart and you’re ready to die, or if you have cancer and you’re going to be dying soon, and you catch COVID ... we mark it down to COVID. Our doctors get more money if somebody dies of COVID,” Trump said. “With us, when in doubt, choose COVID.”

The U.S. has suffered more than a quarter of a million COVID-19 deaths, and cases are soaring to new records in a number of states. The total number of deaths this year is about 300,000 over the average, according to data, indicating that COVID-19 deaths have actually been higher than reported.

Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress in May that deaths from COVID-19 are “almost certainly higher” than reported. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said many victims die at home without a diagnosis and aren’t counted in the statistics.

Health care workers and relatives lashed out at Trump’s accusation.

As for comparing himself to Jesus Christ, Trump explained that he demurred when a pal told him he was the most famous man in the world. Asked to name anyone more famous, the one Trump named was Jesus.


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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.