Jared Kushner says 'yes,' the US coronavirus death toll of 170,000 is a 'success story,' doubling down on comments from April

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Jared Kushner says 'yes,' the US coronavirus death toll of 170,000 is a 'success story,' doubling down on comments from April
Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner prepares to talk to FOX News outside the White House on May 8, 2020.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image
  • Forgoing any expression of humility, senior White House adviser and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said he still considers the nation's coronavirus response to be a "success story" even as the nation's death toll tops 170,000.
  • Kushner was asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer "Are 170,000 dead Americans — would you still suggest that this has been a success story?"
  • "Yes," Kushner responded, without taking a beat. "Look, there's a lot of challenges. This has been a global pandemic, a lot of unprecedented challenges."
  • Blitzer followed up to ask Kushner, "1,000 Americans dying every day, that's not a success, right?"
  • Kushner responded, "One American, you know, dying every day is too much, but if you look at where we were back in April, we had 2,500 Americans dying a day."
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Jared Kushner once again gave a bullish assessment of the United States' coronavirus response on television, despite the nation leading the world in cases and deaths.

The president's son-in-law and senior adviser doubled down on comments from April, where he called the administration's efforts a "great success story" and that the country would be "really rocking again" by July.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Kushner "Are 170,000 dead Americans — would you still suggest that this has been a success story?"

"Yes," Kushner responded, without taking a beat. "Look, there's a lot of challenges. This has been a global pandemic, a lot of unprecedented challenges."

Blitzer followed up, giving Kushner another opportunity to demonstrate some humility.

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"One thousand Americans dying every day, that's not a success, right?"

Kushner did not fully agree.

"One American, you know, dying every day is too much, but if you look at where we were back in April, we had 2,500 Americans dying a day."

April was when Kushner made the biggest splash of any of his public appearances by making the "great success story" comments that Blitzer was asking him about in the first place.

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