FAUCI: You Can’t Call Trump’s Coronavirus Response ‘Terrific’
September 22, 2020
Trump thinks he’s done a phenomenal job handling the coronavirus, but Dr. Fauci says there is nothing “terrific” about his response as Trump continues to downplay the virus, the country nears 200,000 deaths, states still experience near peak cases, the chaos continues, and frontline workers still can’t get the supplies they need.
Despite Trump’s claims, Dr. Fauci said that Trump’s pandemic response was far from “terrific.”
CNN: “Fauci: You can’t look at US response to pandemic and say ‘that’s terrific’”
The country is on the verge of 200,000 confirmed deaths, and even more people have likely died as a result of the pandemic, while a third of the states are still seeing new cases at at least 75% of their peaks.
Washington Post: “A third of states are still seeing new cases at at least 75 percent of their peaks”
Washington Post: “That’s confirmed deaths; the country has already certainly experienced far more than 200,000 deaths as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, as made obvious by the country’s year-over-year increase in deaths.”
Trump continued to downplay the virus and said it affects “virtually” no young people after privately admitting that “plenty of young people” were affected.
Washington Post: “Trump incorrectly claims that coronavirus affects ‘virtually’ no young people”
Washington Post: “In a March 19 interview with Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward, however, Trump acknowledged that ‘plenty of young people’ were affected and admitted that he had downplayed the risks of the virus.”
The Trump administration’s response has been chaotic and continues to send mixed messages after the CDC retracted guidance from its website.
CNN: “CDC retraction shows chaos of Trump’s Covid response”
CNN: “New chaos at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over revised guidance on the spread of Covid-19 is a fresh sign of mixed messaging that long plagued the White House’s failed pandemic response.”
Frontline workers are still experiencing mask shortages while the Trump administration insists there aren’t shortages and it has done enough, despite Trump’s failure to adequately use the Defense Production Act to ramp up N95 production.
Washington Post: “Six months later, that shortage persists, leaving health-care workers exposed, patients at risk and public health experts flummoxed over a seemingly simple question: Why is the world’s richest country still struggling to meet the demand for an item that once cost around $1 a piece?”
Washington Post: “But for N95s and other respirators, Trump has used this authority far less, allowing major manufacturers to scale up as they see fit and potential new manufacturers to go untapped and underfunded. The organizations that represent millions of nurses, doctors, hospitals and clinics are pleading for more federal intervention, while the administration maintains that the government has already done enough and that the PPE industry has stepped up on its own.”
The Pentagon funneled taxpayer money meant for masks and swabs to defense contractors to make jet engine parts and body armor.
Washington Post: “A $1 billion fund Congress gave the Pentagon in March to build up the country’s supplies of medical equipment has instead been mostly funneled to defense contractors and used for making things such as jet engine parts, body armor and dress uniforms.”