During a September 16, 2020 town hall hosted by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Trump said COVID-19 would go away quickly, even without a vaccine, due to herd immunity.

TRUMP: I’m not looking to be dishonest. I don’t want people to panic. And we are going to be OK. We’re going to be OK, and it is going away. And it’s probably going to go away now a lot faster because of the vaccines.

It would go away without the vaccine, George, but it’s going to go away a lot faster with it.

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: It would go away without the vaccine?

 

TRUMP: Sure, over a period of time. Sure, with time it goes away.

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: And many deaths.

 

TRUMP: And you’ll develop — you’ll develop herd — like a herd mentality. It’s going to be — it’s going to be herd-developed, and that’s going to happen. That will all happen.

But with a vaccine, I think it will go away very quickly.

The threshold for herd immunity, and how long natural antibodies last, were still unclear. However, with the United States’ 3% death rate, half the population contracting COVID-19 corresponds to approximately 5 million deaths.

During the same interview, Trump blamed political opponent Joe Biden for failing to implement a mask mandate, despite only being a candidate.

On the day of the town hall, the United States totaled 6,855,605 cases and 201,351 deaths.

ABC News – Trump’s ABC News town hall: Full transcript
The Washington Post – The problem with Trump’s ‘herd mentality’ line isn’t the verbal flub. It’s the mass death.
The New York Times – What if ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Closer Than Scientists Thought?
The Hill – Trump defends claim coronavirus will disappear, citing ‘herd mentality’
Worldometer – Coronavirus, United States