Ledger · First term · № 135

next week

'1.4 million tests on board next week and 5 million within a month'

Never delivered

“We'll have 1.4 million tests on board next week and 5 million within a month.”

Promised

March 13, 2020, Rose Garden national emergency declaration

Stated deadline

“next week” → March 20, 2020

Overdue by

6 years, 6 months as of September 22, 2026

Re-promised

2 times with a fresh deadline

Topic

COVID-19

Era

First term

What happened

Roughly 894,000 tests in total had been run nationwide by March 29-30, 2020, well behind the promised weekly volumes. Asked about the gap between tests 'distributed' and tests actually performed, Trump replied, 'I cannot explain the gap.'

Sources

1. Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in a Press Conference Trump White House Archives, Mar 13, 2020
2. White House Promised 27 Million Coronavirus Tests By End of March, But U.S. Just Hit 1 Million Newsweek, Mar 30, 2020
3. Trump, Pence Promised Millions Of Tests Talking Points Memo, Mar 30, 2020