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Trump vs Covid 19

6 times Trump contradicted public officials about the coronavirus pandemic


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6 times Trump contradicted public officials about the coronavirus pandemic

Mark Abadi, Jacqueline Baylon and Robin Lindsay
 
23 hours ago
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  • President Trump has misled the public on the seriousness of the coronavirus, the number of testing kits, the virus's death rate, and the timeline of a possible vaccine.
  • For months, he expressed minimal concerns when asked about COVID-19, saying "it's going to disappear like a miracle," even after it arrived in the United States. 
  • Public health officials, including those in his own administration, often contradicted the president's statements.
  • Here are six notable examples of public officials contradicting Trump's statements on the coronavirus pandemic.
  • One contributing factor to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the US is the lack of testing available. 
    Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged as much on March 5, saying "We don't have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward."
    But just two days later, Trump falsely stated that "Anybody that needs a test gets a test — they're there," adding that they have the tests. And the tests are beautiful."

'Our Big War.' As Coronavirus Spreads, Trump Refashions Himself as a Wartime President

Trump’s rhetorical shift to saying the country is at war reflects a strategy to blunt criticism and push blame onto a foreign power. By positioning the virus as an enemy, Trump can go on the attack at a moment when he’s on the defensive about the sluggish government response to the virus so far. And by assigning blame to a foreign menace, Trump is attempting to justify why the tanking economy isn’t his fault after spending much of his presidency crowing about and tying his own reelection bid to a booming economy.
A White House official concedes that those decisions were made much later than they could have been. “The problem is, if you are waiting for the data before you make these key decisions, you are actually two to three weeks late because you need an incubation period for the virus,” the official says. “You need for the thing to manifest itself and for people to test it, which takes time.”
“The President does deserve credit for the China ban early on. The problem was, that bought us a month,” the official says. “And that month should have been much better spent.”
“Wartime presidents — the advantage they have is they No. 1, get public attention, and then there is a sense of unity when people believe they are in a wartime situation and they are willing to be supportive or at least not critical of a President,” says Kumar. “But it’s a risk, too, because you have to show you’re winning that war.”

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