President Donald Trump rejected assertions that he had downplayed the spread of the novel coronavirus for weeks, saying Tuesday that he maintained a rosy public outlook while working behind the scenes because he felt the president needed to be a “cheerleader” for the country.

“The cases really didn’t build up for a while, but you have to understand, I’m a cheerleader for this country,” Trump said during a daily coronavirus briefing at the White House. “I don’t want to create havoc and shock and everything else. But ultimately, when I was saying that, I’m also closing it down. I obviously was concerned about it.”