Reality of Coronavirus Not Allowed To Rain on Donald Trump's Parade

[bodysong]

Aaron Rupar ✓
Twitter › atrupar

"The president listened to the recommendation" -- Dr. Fauci begins
the April 13 #TrumpPressBriefing by trying to subtly trying to walk back
comments he made to Jake Tapper yesterday about how lives could've been
saved by an earlier federal coronavirus response

13 minutes ago

Dr. Anthony Fauci pointed out the obvious about the federal coronavirus response.
Trump responded by amplifying a call to fire him.

5 hours ago

"disingenuous"

Trump has often in the past shown his anger with critics within his own
administration by retweeting the negative or taunting comments of others —
sometimes marginal figures such as Lorraine — rather than saying anything
himself. It allows him to cry “fake news” when the media interprets the
retweeted material as reflecting his views.

While he may or may not actually want to fire Fauci, he has used Twitter
to discredit the views of officials with whom he disagrees, retweeting stories
and commentary from his favorite news outlets, notably Fox News and more
recently OANN, the One America News Network.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/13/trump-fire-fauci-coronavirus/

 

[hogjack]

While he may or may not actually want to fire Fauci...

Definitive insight.

The writer may or may not be a fucking idiot.

 

[bodysong]

Trump's Entire Coronavirus Response is Massively Corrupt

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-checks-name-slush-fund-ventilators.html

A Million U.S. Coronavirus Test Kits Are Stranded in a Chinese Warehouse
Due to Export Rules, Says Report

Over a million coronavirus test kits and other urgently needed medical items
bound for the U.S. are sitting in Chinese warehouses because suppliers don’t
have the necessary new export clearances from officials in Beijing, The Wall
Street Journal reports. Health-care equipment maker PerkinElmer, based in
Massachusetts, has reportedly blamed new Chinese export restrictions for a
delay in the shipping of 1.4 million test kits for COVID-19 from its factory
in Suzhou. The restrictions were brought in this month, apparently to ensure
the quality of the exported medical products and to prevent needed items from
being shipped out of China. The Journal has obtained one memo sent from the
U.S. State Department this week that said China’s policies have “disrupted
established supply chains for medical products just as these products were
most needed.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet

Trump: "I do not feel like doing my job. Too much work."
Trump passes the buck to governors of states.
(While Trump secretly acts out private vengeance on defiant states
that do not bend to his self-crowned Kingship.)
Jared Kushner's lie becomes the truth. Magic!

Trump suggests Democratic governors are staging a ‘mutiny’
as states form pacts to coordinate reopening

April 14, 2020

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/14/nation/cuomo-says-trump-is-not-king-cant-force-states-reopen/

 

[bodysong]

Coronavirus: Japan declares nationwide state of emergency

16 April 2020

A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Japan due to
the country’s worsening coronavirus outbreak.

The move allows regional governments to urge people to stay inside,
but without punitive measures or legal force.

The state of emergency will remain in force until 6 May.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-52313807?intlink_from_url=&link_location=live-reporting-story

Hokkaido became the first region in Japan to declare a state of emergency due
to the coronavirus in late February, and lifted the state of emergency on 19 March.
However, it was re-imposed this week because of a second wave of infections.

James C.Coyne
Twitter › CoyneoftheRealm

link bbc.co.uk

11 hours ago

Coronavirus lockdown: Lessons from Hokkaido's second wave of infections

16 April 2020

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52305055

"The new state of emergency is officially due to finish on 6 May,
the end of Japan's "Golden Week" holiday."

 

[bodysong]

Trump has also refused to send lifesaving ventilators and other much-needed
medical equipment to states or localities run by Democrats.

Instead, he's distributing urgently needed equipment like a dictator or mafia boss,
as rewards to his court and other sycophants. In essence, Trump is intentionally
hurting and killing those Americans who he deems to be "disloyal" to him and
his regime.

https://www.salon.com/2020/04/17/donald-trump-is-not-a-supervillain--he-just-wants-to-be/

 

[Leather_Lesbian]

Trump has also refused to send lifesaving ventilators and other much-needed
medical equipment to states or localities run by Democrats.

Instead, he's distributing urgently needed equipment like a dictator or mafia boss,
as rewards to his court and other sycophants. In essence, Trump is intentionally
hurting and killing those Americans who he deems to be "disloyal" to him and
his regime.

https://www.salon.com/2020/04/17/donald-trump-is-not-a-supervillain--he-just-wants-to-be/

Trump is a threat to America’s National Security

 

[allison22]

Hot spots erupt in farm belt states where Republican governors insist lockdowns aren’t needed

The only hospital in Grand Island, Neb., is full. The mayor has asked for a statewide stay-at-home order that the GOP governor insists isn’t needed. More than one-third of those tested for coronavirus in the surrounding county are positive — and there aren’t enough tests to go around.


Grand Island is the fourth-biggest city in a state President Donald Trump and his top health officials repeatedly name check for keeping the virus at bay without the strict lockdowns 42 other states have imposed.

Except that new cases there and in Iowa, South Dakota and other parts of the heartland are starting to spike, raising concern about new hot spots that could quash Trump’s push to reopen the economy and extend the public health crisis well into the summer.

Trump and red state governors for weeks have fairly bragged about how large parts of the farm belt have escaped the ravages of the virus without the enforced shelter-in-place policies common on both coasts. It’s still unclear whether the states actually “flattened the curve,” or if the virus just reached there later. But now, cases are erupting, threatening a local population that doesn’t always have easy access to the same health care as more urban areas. And the outbreaks are striking the heart of the nation’s farming and meatpacking industry, potentially disrupting the national distribution of food as meat processing plants close down and truckers who move food across the country are sidelined by illness.


Grand Island and surrounding Hall County have 214 confirmed cases of coronavirus, nearly a quarter of the state’s total. At least 28 workers at JBS USA beef plant, Grand Island’s largest employer, have tested positive.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/h...QXlU9m7wHTkrxdfQc6utDtyBRHlZRmnGvz0A2pr_nZzqE

 

[KeithD]

Trump is a threat to America’s National Security

Yep, but he was a long time before the virus issue dropped in our laps. He's a functional espionage asset of Vladimir Putin and has been since before he was "elected" to the presidency. Everything he has done as president exhibits that he is owned and directed by the Russians.

 

[allison22]

Trump PR Stunt Falls Flat, as White House Video Exposes His Failure to Prepare for Pandemic

Trump smiled on Monday as he tricked the news networks into broadcasting a taxpayer-funded testimonial to his own leadership, in the form of a video highlight reel of presidential statements on the coronavirus crisis, set to stirring music, unveiled during the president’s 29th daily briefing on the pandemic.

The video, which was riddled with errors and deceptively edited, was apparently intended to rebut a damning report on the front page of Sunday’s New York Times that detailed how slow Trump had been to take the threat posed by the virus seriously. While Trump was obviously pleased by the production — he pointed to the screen with a look of smug triumph at several points — he seemed unaware as it was unspooling in the White House briefing room that it contained a fatal flaw that helped reinforce the central argument of The Times report.

The compilation of clips, selected by the White House social media director, Dan Scavino, attempted to create an alternative history of the first months of the crisis, according to which the American media initially “minimized the risk,” but the president “took decisive action” nonetheless, only to be unfairly maligned by his political opponents, before the nation’s governors came together to sing his praises.

The centerpiece of the video was a timeline of actions by Trump and his administration, highlighting the partial ban on travel from China he ordered on January 31, and his declaration of a national emergency on March 13.

But, as CBS News correspondent Paula Reid pointed out to Trump after the video ended, there was a huge gap in the timeline: It mentioned absolutely no action by him in February and there was, as the Times had noted, a period of “six long weeks” after the travel restrictions until he “finally took aggressive action to confront the danger the nation was facing.”

In fact, the only entry on the video timeline for February — the month Trump held mass campaign rallies and described criticism of his handling of the virus from Democrats as “their new hoax” — was February 6: “CDC Ships First Testing Kits.” The fact that those test kits were defective, a massive failure at a critical moment, seems like an odd thing to brag about.

Well into March, Trump was downplaying the new coronavirus as no more threatening than the flu.

https://theintercept.com/2020/04/14...house-video-exposes-failure-prepare-pandemic/

 

[allison22]

Ex-ethics official explains why Trump’s ‘weird propaganda video’ may have been illegal in 3 different ways


President Donald Trump has been criticized in numerous media outlets for the weeks he spent downplaying the dangers that the coronavirus pandemic posed for the United States. But when Trump held a coronavirus-related press conference on Monday, he showed journalists a video making the ludicrous claim that it was the mainstream media — not Trump — who downplayed COVID-19’s severity.


And according to attorney Walter Shaub, the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the video “may have violated a legal prohibition against using appropriated funds for the dissemination of unauthorized publicity or propaganda.”


In an article for the website of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Shaub writes, “The video, which had the feel of a campaign ad, prompted stunned reactions on social media and among news outlets. It opened by falsely characterizing media outlets as having downplayed the pandemic ‘WHILE PRESIDENT TRUMP TOOK DECISIVE ACTION.’ The capital letters in this statement appeared in the video. It also featured selected clips of President Trump and set them to dramatic music.”


Shaub continues, “Overlaid above various images was a timeline that omitted most of the month of February — the period when critics say President Trump failed to take needed action, choosing instead to visit his golf course and hold political rallies. The video closed with clips of state governors praising President Trump for his personal role in the pandemic response.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/ex...eo-may-have-been-illegal-in-3-different-ways/

 

[KeithD]

Oh, we're well beyond anyone in the Trump "administration" worrying about doing illegal stuff--or any Trumpette being bothered by it either.

 

[bodysong]

Aaron Rupar ✓
Twitter › atrupar

The US has the most coronavirus deaths in the world, but Trump begins the April 18
#TrumpPressConf by claiming America "has produced better health outcomes
than any other country, with the possible exception of Germany."

4 hours ago

Daniel Dale ✓
Twitter › ddale8

Trump alleged tonight that Democratic governors are deliberately not using
available testing capacity. There is zero evidence of this. He then suggesting
Democrats are the only governors complaining about the testing situation.
Not even close to true.

18 minutes ago


As Trump proclaims the testing situation hunky-dory, here's what Republican
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his health chief said yesterday.

(link)

daytondailynews.com

1 hour ago


Dayton Daily News ✓
Twitter › daytondailynews

10,222 cases, 451 deaths reported from coronavirus, the Ohio Department of Health
reports

7 hours ago

Apr 17, 2020

"The United States has seen more than 617,000 total cases and 35,000 deaths,
the most for any country in the world. Unlike other states like New York
(16,000+ deaths) and Michigan (more than 2,000 deaths), Ohio (418 deaths)
acted quickly and proactively to stem the spread of the virus, and those
efforts have worked. But infections are still climbing."

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-an...information-in-cleveland-like-mike-trivisonno

COLUMBUS, Ohio -

Hundreds of protestors gathered at the Ohio Statehouse for around two hours
Saturday afternoon, demanding Gov. Mike DeWine reopen Ohio immediately.

Many wore red Make America Great caps, wove American flags and carried
signs decrying liberties that have been taken away during the global pandemic.
They chanted “U-S-A,” and “We are not sheep!”

Others packed in cars, pickups and sport-utility-vehicles and circled Ohio
Capitol Square numerous times, blaring their horns -- which added a lot
of noise to a downtown area that has been dead quiet in recent weeks.

Idiots
— justin harper (@deathtocrazy) April 18, 2020

As of Saturday, 10,222 Ohioans have been infected with coronavirus and 451 people
have died.

https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020...us-against-ohio-coronavirus-restrictions.html

This idiot ?

April 17, 2020

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-an...information-in-cleveland-like-mike-trivisonno

Officials also announced more business and government closures.
They also struck a somber tone with the reality of testing -- t
hat most people who will get sick will not be tested.

“Do not be afraid if you cannot get a test. I want you to treat this like a very bad flu,”
said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, a licensed preventive
medicine physician. "And I want you to listen to our governor, and we will come
to you every day, and talk you through what is ahead. And we will do this together.”

We have a shortage of tests,” Acton said, explaining that there are more people
with the illness who haven’t been tested.

Coronavirus is twice as contagious as the flu and 20 times as deadly, he said.

https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020...-wednesday-march-18-coronavirus-briefing.html

looked, but could not find the comment about test kits to cleveland dot com...

 

[Schlank]

Trump accused by ex-diplomats of ’embarrassing the United States’ with his coronavirus antics

Appearing on MSNBC early Sunday morning, Business Insider political editor John Haltiwanger said former U.S. diplomats are furious with Donald Trump over his coronavirus failures, saying he has become a source of embarrassment when viewed from overseas.

Speaking with host Kendis Gibson, the journalist was asked about the president’s latest press conference — where Trump went on rants about his perceived enemies — and how it was received, in particular his claim that the U.S. is handling the health crisis better than any other countries have.

“The U.S. is the number one in both [COVID-19] cases and deaths, so what do you make of this picture he’s trying to paint that our nation’s response compared to the rest of the world is actually better?” host Gibson asked.

“I spoke with a number of former U.S. diplomats and officials over the past two weeks about the U.S. response and how it’s been viewed on the global stage,” the journalist replied. “They essentially said that Trump has embarrassed the United States on the world stage and opened a void that’s been filled with China in terms of global leadership.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/tr...cs-msnbc-guest/?utm_source=push_notifications

 

[bodysong]

Names That Are Making A Splash in the Toilet Bowl That is Trump's Brain*

*special thanks to Steve Bell at the Guardian, for his political cartoons

Trump’s old friend Piers Morgan watches briefings ‘with mounting horror,’
urges president to stop ‘self-aggrandizing’

April 20, 2020

The whirlwind news conferences were becoming “almost like a rally to him —
almost like what’s more important is winning the election in November,”
Morgan said.

“No it’s not, Donald Trump. What is more important right now is saving
American lives,” he said.

“What I’ve noticed with Boris Johnson and with Donald Trump is an apparent inability
to segue into being war leaders. They’re still playing the old games of party politics
” journalist @piersmorgan says, adding that President Trump “is failing the
American people.”

— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) April 19, 2020

Morgan is one of the 47 people or companies, among them the Trump properties,
that the president follows on Twitter.

So far none of that past criticism has crumbled their friendship, or appeared to
have had much of an effect. But Morgan told Stelter on Sunday he did not
“really care about the niceties about whether Donald Trump is going to be
offended by what I’m saying.”

“He has to put the country before himself. He has to put Americans before
electioneering,” Morgan said. “He has to remind himself every day, what
can I do today to prevent more lives being killed? Not how can I score
more petty points, and stand here for two hours … and try to have
arguments with the media.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/20/morgan-trump-coronavirus-briefings/

 

[Schlank]

T The buck never stops anywhere near Trump.

Agreed.

Remember when Trump was pushing hydroxychloroquine as some sort of miracle drug that could be used to treat COVID-19? Over and over again, Trump kept promoting this unproven drug as a game-changer that would save us all.

Well, now a new study of patients at a VA medical center finds the drug not only has no benefit, it's basically killing people.

Suddenly, Trump is distancing himself from the drug, acting like he never had anything to do with promoting it and trying to get people to forget he even mentioned it.

 

[Jesus_Ateo]

Agreed.

Remember when Trump was pushing hydroxychloroquine as some sort of miracle drug that could be used to treat COVID-19? Over and over again, Trump kept promoting this unproven drug as a game-changer that would save us all.

Well, now a new study of patients at a VA medical center finds the drug not only has no benefit, it's basically killing people.

Suddenly, Trump is distancing himself from the drug, acting like he never had anything to do with promoting it and trying to get people to forget he even mentioned it.

Trump is rapidly losing support among voters age 60 and above. The main reason that Trump is losing their support is they see his reckless and irresponsible behavior as dangerous. He's getting people killed and Trump's attempts at blame-shifting, denials and distractions aren't enough to regain their support.

Trump called the virus a "hoax", he told people to go back to work, he attacked doctors and nurses, he told us to ignore scientists and medical experts, he encouraged large public gatherings and he loudly advocated hydroxchloroquine as a wonder-drug that would fix everything.

And now people are dying in numbers too large to ignore.

Trump can't lie his way out of this one.

 

[bhurry]

your all fucking nutcases

 

[Fuzzy1975]

your all fucking nutcases

A very well thought out and intelligent response..oh wait, seems that is your answer in all these threads..chuckles

"I love the poorly educated" Donald J Trump, bhurry is a prime example of the "poorly educated"

 

[bodysong]

Rumors from Trump's lips, on his daily election campaign TV show, prove deadly
/end bodysong comment

April 23, 2020

Washington Post reporter Phil Rucker took a welcome stand against (Presiderp)
Donald Trump on Thursday by calling him out for spreading baseless —
and frankly, extremely dangerous — rumors during the day’s coronavirus
press briefing.

Trump’s briefings have long outlived any usefulness, as he frequently turns them
into a stage to launch attacks on the press or promote the businesses of his friends.
Most egregiously, he often spreads false and misleading information about the
ongoing pandemic, some of it dangerous to the health of Americans. But on
Thursday, he took the danger to a new level. While he has previously advocated
the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 despite his own
health experts’ cautions, on Thursday he launched into a bizarre list of frankly
delusional ideas for treating the disease, some of which are clearly hazardous
to human health.

He suggested ultraviolet light, applied to the body (perhaps internally?) might help
treat the disease. And then, even more preposterously, he suggested that a disinfectant
could be used to treat the disease, perhaps by “injection” or through some method
that “gets in the lungs.” There is, of course, no basis for this, and it’s completely
irresponsible for him to make such baseless suggestions on national TV.
He indicated that experts should “check” his suggestions and that
“you’re going to have to use medical doctors,” but there’s no telling
who might take his wild and boundless speculation seriously and try
to self-medicate. In fact, it seems this already happened with deadly
consequences following the president’s advocacy of hydroxychloroquine.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/a-...nfounded-rumor-and-he-lashes-out-in-response/

Don't eat or inject yourself with disinfectant, warns FDA commissioner

From CNN Health’s Jen Christensen

US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn.

CNN

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump suggested that scientists may want
to explore bringing UV light inside the body to kill a Covid-19 infection,
or should consider the use of disinfectant that "knocks it out in a minute ...
by injection inside or almost a cleaning."

""I certainly wouldn't recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant,"
said US Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn,
who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force."

Speaking on CNN's global coronavirus town hall, Hahn added that it's
a "natural question" given that there is some preliminary data showing
that light therapy can have an impact on the coronavirus.

Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner, agreed that nobody
should be ingesting bleach or other disinfectants.

"I don't think there's any need to hedge on that," she said.

"Do not try these things at home, and follow your doctor's advice
and follow good public health guidance."

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-04-23-20-intl/index.html

Daniel Dale ✓
Twitter › ddale8

"CNN is fake news. Don't talk to me."

3 hours ago

(Presiderp Donald is not happy to answer questions about coronavirus.)

 

[bodysong]

During the briefing, Trump was joined by Bill Bryan, who heads the science
and technology directorate at the Department of Homeland Security.
Bryan presented more information on how the virus reacts to heat,
humidity and light on surfaces and when it is airborne.

He said the virus survived best indoors, in dry conditions. UV rays and hotter,
more humid temperatures seem to cut down the half-life of the virus ...
but was at pains to say the research is ongoing.

After that Trump wondered whether UV light therapy or disinfectants could be
a way to treat people, something that was dismissed by medical professionals,
including his own coronavirus task force co-ordinator, Deborah Birx.

Medical professionals have since taken to Twitter to warn people to disregard
the president’s comments.

Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu)

Injecting disinfectant into your body will kill you. While it feels completely unnecessary
to even say this, people drank fish tank cleaner containing chloroquine because of what
they heard from rumors about the substance. We must fight deadly misinformation
no matter how stupid.

April 24, 2020

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...as-ramadan-restrictions-are-imposed-indonesia

Does Heavy dot com lie about politics ?

Apr 23, 2020

Bryan Faced Controversy About His Nomination to the DHS Position
After Accusations of Corruption Emerged in 2019

2019 report in CQ Roll Call, a whistleblower submitted a complaint accusing
Bryan of using his former position in the Department of Energy to funnel business
to a private energy company.

2018, The New York Times reported Bryan had questionable ties to Ukrainian energy interests.

https://heavy.com/news/2020/04/william-bill-bryan-dhs/

 

[bodysong]

Crooks and Liars ✓
Twitter › crooksandliars


How long until people start dying from injecting themselves with LYSOL or bleach?

#COVID19 #donaldtrump #coronavirus

5 hours ago

 

[bodysong]

Has Trump found his Mirror of Erised ?

"I show not your face but your heart's desire"

From the Harry Potter book series-

When Harry returned for a third straight night to stare into it he was greeted
by a waiting Dumbledore, who explained exactly how it works. “It shows us
nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts.”
Not everyone would want their deepest, most desperate desires shared with
the world, so it’s a good thing the visions are personal to the gazer, hidden
from anyone else who looks. But that tantalizing vision is why it can be so
dangerous, as Dumbledore explained.

On Pottermore, J.K. Rowling has written about the dangers further:

“The advice to ‘hold on to your dreams’ is all well and good, but there comes a point
when holding on to your dreams becomes unhelpful and even unhealthy. Dumbledore
knows that life can pass you by while you are clinging on to a wish that can never be –
or ought never to be – fulfilled.” Just because you see something doesn’t mean you can
ever have it, and maybe more importantly, that you ever should.

https://archive.nerdist.com/fantastic-beasts-mirror-of-erised-dumbledore-grindelwald/

 

[bodysong]

No. Just no.

- James Joyner

Saturday, April 25, 2020

For President Trump, who adores the pomp and precision of military ceremonies,
this was the year he would finally get one of the special perks of being president -
delivering the commencement address at West Point, the only service academy
where he has not spoken.

But the graduation was postponed because of the coronavirus, the cadets were sent
home and officials at the school were not sure when it would be held or even whether
it was a good idea to hold it.


"...last Friday, the day before Mr. Pence was to speak at the Air Force ceremony
in Colorado, Mr. Trump, never one to be upstaged, abruptly announced that he
would, in fact, be speaking at West Point.

That was news to everyone, including officials at West Point, according to three people
involved with or briefed on the event. The academy had been looking at the option of a
delayed presidential commencement in June, but had yet to complete any plans. With Mr
Trump’s pre-emptive statement, they are now summoning 1,000 cadets scattered across
the country to return to campus in New York, the state that is the center of the outbreak.

"...nothing had been decided until last Friday, April 17, when, at a news conference,
Mr. Trump was asked about Mr. Pence’s coming trip to the Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs.

https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/t...ets-back-to-west-point-for-graduation-speech/

“Trump Speech to Bring 1,000 West Point Cadets Back to Campus“

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-west-point.html

 

[bodysong]

Has Trump found his Mirror of Erised ? (continued)

"I show not your face but your heart's desire"

From the Harry Potter book series-

Intelligencer ✓
Twitter › intelligencer

The White House's position is that there is literally no other way for the administration
to know what the media is saying than to have the president personally devote most
of his waking hours to binge-watching cable. @jonathanchait

3 hours ago

Jonathan Chait ✓
Twitter › jonathanchait

White House staff insists president personally binge-watching TV all day
is only possible way to run the White House

(link to New York magazine's Intelligencer section)

3 hours ago

bodysong comment- Every media outlet imaginable, including the crazies
that John McCain spoke about.

 

[bodysong]

President Donald Trump's Monday coronavirus news conference
in the White House Rose Garden was shorter than usual

April 27, 2020

Trump still made false and misleading claims, most of them repeats from past briefings.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/politics/fact-check-trump-coronavirus-briefing-april-27/index.html

Trump gave Mike Pence a chance to lie

Vice President Mike Pence accused a reporter of a misunderstanding about testing
that Pence's own words had created weeks earlier.Pence's testing promises

Facts First:

If there was a misunderstanding, Pence's own remarks helped create it.

When Pence said on March 9 and on March 10that 4 million tests would be distribute
before the end of the week, in addition to 1 million already distributed,
he did not explain that those millions of tests could not be processed anytime soon.
Here's what Pence said on March 9: "Over a million tests-
have been distributed. Before the end of this week, another 4 million tests
will be distributed. But as I said before, with the deployment of the commercial labs,
we literally -- we literally are going to see a dramatic increase in the available --
availability of testing, and that's all a direct result of the President's leadership."

Pence did not add a caveat about how the system was currently unable to deal with
the 4 million tests. And he specifically mentioned commercial labs immediately
after mentioning the 4 million tests, creating the impression that the labs would
be able to handle the tests.

Similarly, Pence said on March 10: "Over a million tests are out, thanks to the diligent
work of (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and (the Department of
Health and Human Services). More than 4 million will go out this week.
You've worked with commercial labs to expand testing, and that will continue
to increase by the day."

There were, again, no caveats, and he again mentioned the labs.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/politics/fact-check-trump-coronavirus-briefing-april-27/index.html