Nostalgia is a powerful drug that can make you miss the strangest things. But it’s safe to say that the COVID pandemic is the exception. What kind of weirdo would look back wistfully at mask mandates, lockdowns, and, y’know, our loved ones dying off in droves.
Enter Donald Trump, who’s just delivered a typically bonkers speech at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum. Trump seems rather sunny about the pandemic, the worst months of which occurred on his watch, with his decisions costing tens of thousands of lives.
Trump on the covid pandemic: "We became the king of ventilators. What a period of time that was for all of us. It was an amazing time." pic.twitter.com/hirnIsu3d3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2025
“We did great and then we started doing the gowns and the masks and the goggles… the ventilators. We were sending ventilators all over the world. We became the king of ventilators.What a period of time that was for all of us. But despite that we had the greatest economy in the… the greatest economy in the history of the world. I’ll tell you, uh, it was pretty, it was an amazing time.”
The responses indicate that, for most people, this deadly pandemic was decidedly not a highlight of their lives:
The worst part is many died all alone, as loved weren't allowed into the hospitals.
— Blue Lantern (@leesharon59) November 20, 2025
“We did a great job”
— Johan de Koning (@JohandeKoning55) November 20, 2025
Just posted something similar about ventilators. Plus he seems excited about a time that many, many suffered and died, while he created division.
— Forever Curious(@ForeverCurious8) November 19, 2025
I’m getting miserable just thinking about it
I mean, sure, if you were a ventilator or PPE manufacturer, the pandemic was one amazing day after another. But then I’m sure vultures are also ecstatic when they come across a mass grave, too.
Trump’s assertion that during COVID the United States had “the greatest economy in the history of the world” is also alarmingly insane. As anyone who was laid off and struggling to find work during it can attest, the economy was estimated to have shrunk by 15-20% during COVID.
Maybe the only silver lining during this time was the intense drama after Trump himself came down with COVID. To this day, I still low-key curse the White House aide who advised Trump that leaving hospital and tearing open his shirt to reveal a Superman t-shirt was a bad idea…
