WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans normally hear from President Donald Trump when he is opining on Twitter, riffing from a rally stage or otherwise improvising. This past week was different as he sat in the Oval Office with a script laid out for him to read on a matter grave enough for a prime-time address to the nation.

He addressed the coronavirus crisis that is spreading germs and fear. But his words were as factually fraught as many of his tweets.

Most broadly, Trump hailed American exceptionalism in health care and science — "The virus will not have a chance against us" — even as the public heal...