In The Battlegrounds: Democrats & Health Care Workers Slam Trump For Breaking His Promise on Testing

Around the one month anniversary of the Trump administration promising that 27 million coronavirus tests would be available by the end of March, Democrats and health care workers across the battlegrounds are calling Trump out for his failure to provide these tests and his chaotic response to this crisis. 

In Florida:

The Florida Democratic Party and elected officials held Trump and DeSantis accountable for failing to institute statewide testing in Florida, putting more lives at risk each day.

Florida Democratic Party Chair, Terrie Rizzo in the Palm Beach Post: “Actions — and inactions — have consequences, and Americans deserve to know how Trump’s negligence worsened this crisis. This president could and should have taken decisive action months ago to slow the spread of this virus, but instead of preparing Americans for a deadly health crisis, he chose to ignore the experts, downplay its threat to the public, and delay crucial decisions to mitigate the spread. We are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and Donald Trump’s erratic and delayed leadership has tragically made it worse.”

Florida Politics:  “‘We need a President and a Governor who put the health and safety of Americans and Floridians first,’ said Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo. ‘President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis are already turning their attention to relaxing the social distancing measures that continue to be critical to limiting the spread of COVID-19 here. However, Trump has not taken the steps necessary to open the economy safely and still does not have a strategy to implement mass COVID-19 testing. Public health experts have been crystal clear: We need national mass testing before we can relax social distancing.’”

WJHG (CBS 7):Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo argued testing needs to be dramatically increased before reopening is considered… Specifically, Rizzo said 500,000 tests should be conducted a day nationwide to reopen the country. That number currently stands at 145,000 tests a day.”

Herald Tribune:Leading Florida Democrats said Monday that the state’s economy should not reopen until more coronavirus testing is available.  The key to controlling the virus is ‘testing, testing, testing,’ said U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who ran the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under former President Bill Clinton. ‘Gov. DeSantis cannot be weak, he has to be a leader,’ Shalala said.”

In Michigan: 

On the one month anniversary of the Trump administration promising 27 million tests would be made available by the end of March, Michigan Democrats released the following statement

Michigan Democratic Party: “‘Donald Trump’s chaotic COVID-19 response has left Michigan without the tests it needs after repeated broken promises,’ said Michigan Democratic Party spokesman Christian Slater. ‘Donald Trump can desperately attempt to pass the buck, but the truth is he has nobody to blame but himself for his failures.’”

In Nevada:

The Nevada State Democratic Party called out the consequences of the Trump administration’s failure to deliver 27 million tests by the end of March:

Nevada State Democratic Party: “One month ago today, the Trump Administration promised there would be 27 million coronavirus tests available by the end of March, but we’re still waiting and Nevada is suffering because of it. We need more tests if we plan to reopen our economy safely.”

In Ohio:

Ohio Democratic Party released a statement on the Trump administration’s failure to adequately respond to the coronavirus outbreak and its failure to follow through on its promise to provide 27 million tests: 

Ohio Democratic Party: “From Lordstown to health care to student debt, Donald Trump has broken one promise after another to the people of Ohio, and the latest example is his administration’s failure to deliver on their pledge to expand coronavirus testing,’ said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. ‘Trump wasted months downplaying the coronavirus threat instead of ramping up our testing capacity, and now he’s falsely blaming governors for testing shortages. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to go on national television to beg the federal government for their help to expand testing access. And four weeks after Marion County’s public health experts called for more coronavirus tests — and the Trump administration promised a massive ramp-up — that community is the site of the worst coronavirus outbreak in the nation.’”

In Pennsylvania: 

Pennsylvania Democrats released a statement on the Trump administration’s failure to follow through on its promise to provide 27 million tests: 

Pennsylvania Democratic Party: “‘President Trump failed to prepare our nation for this crisis, he failed to deliver on testing, and he continues to fail to provide the steady leadership we need during this pandemic,’ said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Spokesman Andres Anzola. ‘Pennsylvanians need a trusted leader in the White House who tells the truth, is guided by experts and science and makes decisions without regard to their personal politics. Donald Trump has failed that test and we’ll continue working around the clock to hold him accountable.’”

In Virginia:

The Democratic Party of Virginia released a statement on the Trump administration’s failure to follow through on its promise to provide 27 million tests: 

Democratic Party of Virginia: “‘Trump’s chaotic, failed coronavirus response is putting Virginians in danger. No matter how much he tries to downplay this crisis or shift blame on others, he can’t spin this horrific reality. We need tests, we need equipment, and we need them now,’ said DPVA Press Secretary Carson Brown.” 

In Wisconsin: 

Ahead of Mike Pence’s visit to Madison, Wisconsin Democrats convened a tele-conference call with Rep. Mark Pocan, state Senator Dave Hansen, frontline nurse Shari Signer, and Wisconsinite Susan Berna, who lost both of her jobs due to COVID-19, to emphasize the administration’s failure to deliver on promises to provide PPE and testing in the states. 

Associated Press’ Scott Bauer: “Ahead of @VP Mike Pence visit to GE Healthcare in Madison today, @MarkPocan shares letters from FEMA, CDC showing how short Wisconsin is on requests for supplies to fight COVID-19. Pocan says Pence needs to answer for that while touting ventilator production at GE.”

Wisconsin Public Radio: “On a Tuesday morning call with reporters, Pocan said the administration has failed to supply Wisconsin with requested tools to fight the disease, including components of testing kits like chemical reagents and swabs. ‘I’m pretty outraged today,’ Pocan said. ‘(Pence is) here to tout our preparedness and our production capacities and while it’s great we have a local company stepping up and doing ventilators … the bottom line is the federal government response has been pathetic.’ 

  • “Shari Signer, an inpatient nurse in Madison, spoke with reporters on the Tuesday call…She and her husband are both nurses… ‘It is outrageous that health care workers continue to show up for a battle against a deadly virus without the protection, resources and support that we need to safely do our jobs,’ she said.”

Taurean Small from Spectrum News: “Ahead of @VP Mike Pence’s visit to a Madison GE manufacturing plant this afternoon, @repmarkpocan called out the federal response to Wisconsin’s repeated requests for PPE and medical supplies. ‘If we can’t test, we can’t open up.’”

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat who represents Madison and the surrounding area, called the federal response to the pandemic ‘pathetic.’ ‘Where the hell is the federal government response for places like Wisconsin?,’ Pocan said. ‘If we can’t test, we can’t open up. Where the hell are the supplies for the state of Wisconsin and the people who live here?’ 

The Cap Times: Senator Tammy Baldwin: “The facts speak for themselves. President Trump dismantled and diminished our country’s preparedness by closing the White House pandemic office. When health experts and our intelligence agencies were sounding the alarm about the coronavirus pandemic, Trump dragged his feet and instead chose to trust China — and even praised China’s authoritarian government for their ‘transparency.’… And when states like Wisconsin faced shortages for critical medical supplies, Trump instead attacked governors and refused to use his authority to unlock the full power of the Defense Production Act to support a robust national testing plan and massively scale up production of the testing supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) our health care workers need to protect themselves, test and treat patients, and save lives.”