200,000 virus deaths milestone 'a shame': Trump

Reacting over two-hundred thousand deaths due to COVID-19 in the US, President Donald Trump said that it was a shame that the U.S. had reached the milestone. He also said that if his administration hadn't taken all the actions it did, that number would "be substantially more."

Washington: President Donald Trump was asked to comment on the grim milestone reached this week of two-hundred thousand deaths due to COVID-19.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said it was “a shame” that the U.S. had reached the milestone. But he said if his administration hadn't taken all the actions it did, that number would "be substantially more."

“I think if we didn’t do it properly and do it right, you’d have 2.5 million deaths,” said Trump. He added that the United States is now “doing well” and “the stock market is up.”

Trump also responded with his often-repeated broadside that China was at fault for the pandemic and argument that the death toll could have been much worse.

Trump also said he's getting "very, very close" to making a decision on a Supreme Court nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The president said he's planning on making an announcement on the nominee Saturday at 5 pm ET.

Defending his decision to make a nomination just over a month before Election Day, Trump said he has "a constitutional obligation" to make sure there are 9 justices on the high court.

He also said it's important to have the court fully seated before the election because the Democrats are "trying to sow confusion and everything else" with mail-in voting.

Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that Democrats are seeking to rig the election by urging voters to use absentee and mail-in ballots.