Trump says getting the coronavirus was a ‘blessing from God’

President Donald Trump called it a “blessing from God” that he got coronavirus, a disease that has killed over 211,000 Americans this year.

“I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it,” the president said of COVID-19 in a video message outside the White House on Wednesday.

Trump tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday and spent three days hospitalized at Walter Reed medical center before returning to the White House on Monday.

The U.S. leads the world with over 7.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 211,000 dead so far.

The president also said he was feeling “great — I feel, like, perfect” and touted his recovery: “For me, I walked in, I didn’t feel good, a short 24 hours later, I was feeling great.”

Trump received top-notch medical care for free, including experimental treatments — something out of reach for most Americans.

The president has repeatedly downplayed the threat of coronavirus since it began to spread in the U.S. in the spring. Since he himself got coronavirus, he’s continued to do so, tweeting on Monday: “Don’t be afraid of Covid.”

Coronavirus is highly infectious and Trump and over two dozen others surrounding him have tested positive for the virus in recent days after flouting public health guidance by not wearing masks or social distancing.

• This article originally appeared on HuffPost.