AP FACT CHECK: Trump is not credible on virus death tolls

WASHINGTON (AP) — Truth can be a casualty when President Donald Trump talks about deaths from the coronavirus in the United States.

He's claimed that the United States is on par with Germany in keeping down COVID-19 deaths, which is not the case in mortality reports. He's brushed off projections that deaths in his country will double from earlier forecasts, misrepresenting how the numbers were calculated.

These distortions emerged over the past week alongside his relentless bragging about the U.S. testing system, which failed in the crucial early weeks and remains globally subpar. Pushing to get the country back to normal, Trump also suggested that children are safe from the coronavirus. ignoring the several thousand kids known to have been sickened by it, some gravely.

A look at his remarks and how they compare with the facts:

DEATH COUNTS

TRUMP on pandemic deaths: “Now, Germany — we’re very close to Germany. We have a very good relationship with Germany. Germany has done very good. They have a very low mortality rate like we do. We have a low mortality rate also." — remarks Thursday in meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas.

THE FACTS: The U.S. is not in Germany's league in this regard.

The U.S. is experiencing far more reported COVID-19 deaths as a proportion of its population than is Germany. The U.S. has reported COVID-19 deaths at a rate of 234 per 1 million people. For Germany, that rate is 90 deaths per million. The U.S. surpasses many other countries in reported deaths per million, too, and it leads the world in deaths from the virus overall.

Because countries track COVID-19 deaths somewhat differently, exact conclusions can't be reached when comparing nations.

The mortality rate is a different measure from deaths per million. It refers to what...