Trump reportedly lashed out at Kushner over increased COVID-19 testing: 'I'm going to lose, and it's going to be your fault'

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 02: Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner and U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the press briefing room with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force April 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. The U.S. government reported an unprecedented 6.6 million jobless claims this morning as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

• A new report by The New York Times examined the contentious relationships within the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
• It alleges that President Donald Trump lashed out at son-in-law Jared Kushner over COVID-19 testing.
• "I'm going to lose," Trump reportedly told Kushner during debate prep. "And it's going to be your fault, because of the testing."
• The White House denied the conversation happened, telling The Times, "President Trump has led the largest mobilization of the public and private sectors since WWII to defeat COVID-19 and save lives."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Throughout the course of the pandemic, President Donald Trump lashed out at his son-in-law Jared Kushner over testing and mask-wearing, according to a report by The New York Times.

According to The Times, during a meeting of top aides in the Oval Office on August 19, Trump grew angry with increased COVID-19 testing in the US, which he blamed for higher case numbers. "You're killing me! This whole thing is! We've got all the damn cases," Trump reportedly yelled at Kushner.

Trump continued, The Times reported, by telling Kushner, "I want to do what Mexico does. They don't give you a test till you get to the emergency room and you're vomiting."

The report alleged that Trump viewed testing "as a mechanism for making him look bad by driving up the number of known cases."

 Trump also lashed out at Kushner about testing during debate preparation, according to the report.

"I'm going to lose," Trump said according to The Times. "And it's going to be your fault, because of the testing."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to The Times, a White House spokesperson said that the conversation with Kushner "never happened." 

"President Trump has led the largest mobilization of the public and private sectors since WWII to defeat COVID-19 and save lives," White House spokesman Brian Morgenstern told The Times.

Read the full report at The New York Times »

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