99 problems with Trump's latest coronavirus claim President Trump and his aides have argued that a sudden increase in covid-19 cases is the result of more widespread testing. That's not true. Unlike other developed nations, the United States failed to flatten the curve early in the outbreak and the disease is now spreading — hence, more cases. But then Trump took it further. "We have tested over 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless," he said at the White House on the Fourth of July. Wow. Really? Ninety-nine percent? That's amazing. Why are we taking all these precautions? Because it's false. At the moment, the data show that slightly more than 4 percent of the cases in the United States have led to death. The count at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which lags behind private data, indicates a death rate of nearly 4.5 percent. Johns Hopkins University, in a comparison of the observed case-fatality rate of the 20 countries most affected by covid-19, calculates that the United States ranked seventh worst, with 4.4 percent. The United States ranks second-worst in terms of deaths per 100,000 people. The World Health Organization in March said that "for covid-19, data to date suggest that 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% are severe infection, requiring oxygen and 5% are critical infections, requiring ventilation." A review of 21 reports in April indicated that as few as 5 percent and as many as 80 percent are asymptomatic. Neither of those figures comes close to 99 percent. For the full fact check, click here. Sign up for The Post's Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked within the newsletter are free to access. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. Horsing aroundDon Bolduc, who is running in the New Hampshire Republican primary for Senate, had a distinguished military career. He served 10 tours in Afghanistan, was awarded two Purple Hearts and five Bronze Star medals and even survived a harrowing friendly-fire episode when an American B-52 dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on his position, killing three Green Berets. With that kind of background, there would be little need to embellish one's military credentials in a campaign ad. Yet, for some reason, Bolduc's campaign has suggested he was a member of the famous "horse soldiers" depicted in a Hollywood movie and done little to correct the record when the news media has inaccurately reported this supposed affiliation. The images in Bolduc's ad — some of them displayed out of context to conform to the Hollywood-movie storyline — imply that Bolduc was part of a 12-man team, Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595, featured in the film "12 Strong," starring Chris Hemsworth. Bolduc arrived after the events depicted in the movie as a member of Special Operations Command and Control Element (SOCCE) 52, which had tactical control of ODAs 574 and 583, and he was stationed in a different part of the country (south, not north). We gave his campaign Two Pinocchios. For the full fact check, click here. Read 'em and weepOur new book is now a national bestseller. "Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth," published by Scribner last month, tells the story of a president who has racked up more than 19,000 false or misleading claims — and what it's like to fact check him. Over 386 pages, we debunk a host of statements and tweets the president has made on the economy, immigration, foreign policy, his impeachment, the Russia probe, the coronavirus pandemic and more. The book is as comprehensive as it is reader-friendly, divided into chapters by subject. It's available in print, e-book and audiobook. Reviewers have called it "a great public service," "an extremely valuable chronicle" and "an authoritative and pull-no-punches guide through Trump's alternate universe." You can find it wherever books are sold or follow the link in the book title. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @mmkelly22, @SarahCahlan) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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