Trump on COVID origins: 'I believe it was a terrible accident, but I believe it came from the lab'

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Trump: COVID a 'terrible accident' that escaped from Wuhan lab

Former president weighs in on latest coronavirus developments in exclusive 'Hannity' interview

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he believes the coronavirus pandemic is the result of a "terrible accident" during an exclusive interview on "Hannity."

Addressing the latest developments in the Wuhan lab-leak theory, Trump told host Sean Hannity that while the pandemic was a "horrible" experience that claimed more than three million lives across the globe, he is fairly certain that it was accidental on China's part.

"I believe it was a terrible accident, but I believe it came from the lab," Trump said.

"I really hope, and I believe… it was incompetence," he continued. "I guess some people don't necessarily agree with that. They think maybe there was purpose to it, which would be absolutely terrible. But we have to find out more about it, why did it happen, how did it happen, how could anybody be so incompetent."

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Hannity questioned Trump's theory, arguing that "there is actually video out now of bats in the Wuhan virology lab – we knew that they studied coronaviruses, and we now know from the emails from the great Dr. Fauci…that gain of function research was being done there, so it seems like the most logical conclusion."

"Why do you think it was an accident?" Hannity pressed.

Trump touted his administration's efforts to halt U.S. funding for gain-of-function research and credited the travel restrictions he imposed on China at the onset of the pandemic for saving "tens of thousands of lives."

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The 45th commander in chief was one of the first people to suggest that a lab leak might have been the source of the outbreak, with warnings dating back to April 2020. While the lab-leak theory was initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory amongst Democrats and mainstream media, it has since gained credence with more experts saying it's possible or even likely. Dr. Anthony Fauci has since acknowledged the theory as a serious possibility.

As the country moves to reopen and recover from over a year of restrictions, Trump also said returning children to in-person instruction should remain a top priority.

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"Frankly, we are lucky we have the vaccine, but the vaccine on the really young people is something that you've got to really stop," he said. " You have to get back to running your country -- I mean, I don't see reasons -- and I am a big believer in what we did with the vaccine, it is incredible what we did. You see the results. But to have every schoolchild, where [the rate is] 99.99%, they just don't -- you know, they are just not affected or affected badly, having to receive a vaccine, I think it is something that you should start thinking about because I think it is unnecessary."