PRESIDENT TRUMP SHOULD JUST SHUT-UP ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS

…The president telling “stories” about the Coronavirus

Trump has contradicted other Trump officials at least 14 times regarding the coronavirus.

OK, let’s look at the coronavirus through the eyes of Donald Trump and his administration:

Initially, Trump said  warmer weather would kill it. Then he said it wouldn’t.  The number of cases would soon be close to zero. Then they rose.

He then said It should then be treated like the flu. Except that  the experts said that Americans should know it is deadlier than the flu.

But Trump said as many as 1 million people could be tested by the end of last week. Until they weren’t.

As President Trump has tried to contain the potential health, economic and political consequences of the coronavirus over the past month, he and administration officials have repeatedly undercut one another’s messaging about their efforts to combat the virus.

Over the past weeks, Trump and members of his administration have contradicted other Trump officials at least 14 times on various parts of the coronavirus response.

Often, Trump has sought to play down the threat with a mix of selectively presented facts and totally false statements.

At other points, Trump officials have focused some of their remarks on praising the president during interviews and press conferences about the virus.

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield had truthfully said: “This virus is probably with us beyond this season or beyond this year.”

But then that same Robert Redfield, praised President Trump on his swift action to combat the coronavirus, “I want to thank you [the president] for your decisive leadership in helping us put public health first.”

I guess the CDC Director didn’t remember what he said previously about the coronavirus.

As another example of our ignorant president, Trump said Feb. 10: “I and a lot of people think [the coronavirus] goes away in April with the heat,”

Then, laying out his administration’s response to the virus at a news conference, Trump said Americans should “view this the same as the flu.”

One week later, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress that the coronavirus mortality rate is “multiple times” higher than the seasonal flu.  But later that day, Trump told Fox News that based on his “hunch,” the World Health Organization’s coronavirus mortality rate was a “false number.”

On multiple occasions, Trump has suggested that a coronavirus vaccine may be available sooner than expected, even as Fauci has repeatedly said a potential vaccine wouldn’t be available for at least a year. The White House has also issued conflicting messages about whether it is past the point of working to contain the virus and instead working on dealing with its effects.

Even as the administration has tried to clarify how many coronavirus tests are available for Americans, Trump told reporters Friday that “anyone who wants a test can get a test,” contradicting what Vice President Pence said just 24 hours before.

“We don’t have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward,” Pence said at a 3M plant in Minnesota.

On Saturday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar clarified further.

“You may not get a test unless a doctor or public health official prescribes a test,” Azar said during an off-camera briefing.

Trump said on a Monday: “Anybody that needs a test gets a test. They’re there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful."

Pence said the next day: "We don't have enough tests today to meet what we anticipate will be the demand going forward.”

In February, Trump was asked whether Americans should worry about making summer travel plans.  “We think…we hope…that it’s going to be in good shape by that time. But, you know, they’re going to have to remain a little bit flexible,”

Trump then said. “When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”

Minutes earlier at the same news conference, CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said more coronavirus cases were expected.

Less than two weeks later, there were more than 600 cases in the United States and more on the way.

Needless to say, no one should listen to the US President about anything, especially the coronavirus.

Copyright G. Ater 2020