Trump says Spanish Flu 'probably ended the Second World War'

The current trajectory of COVID-19 falls far short of the 1918 Spanish Flu, which infected an estimated 500 million people, killing at least 10% of patients.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US President Donald Trump stands in front of a US flag as he participates in a roundtable on donating plasma during a visit to the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, US, July 30, 2020 (photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA/FILE PHOTO)
US President Donald Trump stands in front of a US flag as he participates in a roundtable on donating plasma during a visit to the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, US, July 30, 2020
(photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA/FILE PHOTO)
US President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the "2017" Spanish Flu "probably ended the Second World War" at a White House press briefing on Monday night - even though the Spanish Flu occurred 21 years prior to World War II.
The president probably meant to refer to World War I, and while the 1918 (not 1917) pandemic arose during the final months of the conflict, it has not been attributed to the end of the war.
"In 1917, they say the great pandemic certainly was a terrible thing, where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million people, probably ended the Second World War. All the soldiers were sick, it was a terrible situation," Trump said at the briefing.

About 50 million people died in the 1918 pandemic, the worst in modern history - killing an estimated 675,000 Americans.
The current trajectory of COVID-19 falls far short of the 1918 Spanish Flu, which infected an estimated 500 million people, killing at least 10% of patients.
Reuters contributed to this report.