Trump’s new guidelines to reopen the country are just another attempt to pass blame and avoid responsibility.

In his new vague guidelines, Trump once again passed blame onto others while trying to avoid responsibility for this crisis.

Washington Post: “President Trump started the week declaring he had ‘total authority’ to unilaterally lift state restrictions to curb the novel coronavirus. By Thursday, Trump pivoted hard by handing the governors the responsibility – and with it, any blame – for reopening their states, albeit with federal guidelines for how to do so.”

CNN: “And it was an indication that even as he tries to ease the country out of its virtual shutdown, Trump will place responsibility elsewhere should cases spike again.”

More testing is necessary to safely reopen the economy, but Trump’s guidelines don’t include a national testing strategy as testing plateaus. 

CNBC: “The US economy can’t reopen without widespread coronavirus testing. Getting there will take a lot of work and money”

Axios: “The number of coronavirus diagnostic tests being completed every day has plateaued over the last week — at a number that falls far short of what experts say is needed.”

Washington Post: “Governors have said one of the most important factors in making those determinations is testing data, but Trump’s plan does not contain a national testing strategy. Senior administration officials said that although the federal government will try to facilitate access to tests, states and localities will be responsible for developing and administering their own testing programs.”

Trump’s guidelines are vague, inconsistent and outline the same strategy that states are already using, while not addressing the difficult questions.

New York Times: “The federal guidelines outline much the same strategy that a number of local and state governments have already adopted in anticipation of the day when social restrictions are eased, interviews with health officials in a half-dozen states show.”

New York Times: “The 18-page document released by the White House provided mostly general guidance and did not confront some difficult questions, including how to finance the billions of dollars necessary for expanded testing; whether travel should be restricted between states; when the ban on international travel from Europe and elsewhere would be lifted; and how the states should deal with future shortages of protective equipment if the virus resurged in the fall. The guidelines assume the ability to quickly contain future outbreaks by quarantining sick people and their contacts, but they provide no specifics about how strained public health systems around the country will achieve that goal.”