One of the tools available to the CDC is a chart that tracks all the deaths in the USA. When the information shows there is an excess of deaths more than expected the CDC begins to follow the trend to find the cause and protect the people of the USA.
This graph begins in January 2017 and ends on April 1, 2020. There are excess deaths noted on January 1 of 2017 and 2018 as noted by red crosses/Xs. The green verticle lines record the actual number of deaths. These graphs can run from one to nine weeks behind the actual statistics because of the processing of death certificates and recording those certificates into recorded statistics.
The solid orange horizontal line is the expected excessive deaths. In other words statistically more or less. The blue horizontal lines above the normal expected death rate is COVID-19 which was recorded statistically in March 2020.
Trump's denial of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the USA was not correct; not by a long shot. These statistics were picking up COVID-19 deaths as Trump denied there was such a danger to Americans. Attempting to hide a dangerous virus among flu statistics would never work. Trump didn't know that as he lied to the country.
Americans in the USA are some of the most protected people in the world from any form of harm recorded by their government. A president is unable to pretend that a deadly episode of disease is not taking the lives of the people. His denial to supposedly protect economics was never going to be upheld by the reality of information.
Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19 (click here)