Actor turned artist Jim Carrey updated an old cartoon of his Thursday, adding a recording of President Donald Trump telling Bob Woodward he knew how “deadly” COVID-19 was in early February.
The original cartoon, released in August, depicts a Trump supporter hospitalized because of the coronavirus.
“180,000 deaths and counting,” the comedian captioned the drawing, which featured a man on a breathing machine. He updated his figure Thursday to account for those who’ve died in the two weeks since the first drawing came out: “191,000 deaths – conservatively. Neutered CDC now suppressing numbers for Trump. Woodward recording proves he knew it was deadly back in February!”
The man in the drawing is visibly struggling, showcasing protruding veins, bulging eyes, flushed skin and a baseball cap in the style of Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” hats. This one says, “Make America Die for Him.”
On Wednesday, audio was released of one of Woodward’s on-the-record interviews with the president for his forthcoming book, “Rage.”
Trump told the journalist he was intentionally downplaying the danger of COVID-19 despite acknowledging how “deadly” the virus was.
“To be honest with you, I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on March 19, according to audio published in the Washington Post. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
In an interview conducted a month earlier — sampled by Carrey — Trump said COVID-19 was deadlier than the flu — a stark contrast from the president’s public comments at the time comparing the virus to the seasonal flu.
Check out Carrey’s updated cartoon, below:
https://twitter.com/JimCarrey/status/1303945053203656704