Thursday, April 15, 2021

Day by day: What Trump said about the pandemic (April 1 -15, 2020)


Actually, it would be another 270 days when the U.S. reached its peak of new cases (7-day average).  254,909 on January 10, 2021.


April 15, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  669,759 (+31,955), which is 2.1% of current total. 

April 15, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,444,600


"The battle continues, but the data suggests that nationwide, we have passed the peak on new cases," Mr. Trump said at his daily coronavirus briefing. "Hopefully that will continue, and we will continue to make great progress."  [emphasis added] 
"These encouraging developments have put us in a very strong position to finalize guidelines for states on reopening the country, which we'll be announcing," he added.


April 15, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 33,417 (+2,670), which is 6% of current total.

April 15, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 553,926

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Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster


April 14, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  637,804 (+30,460), which is 2% of current total. 

April 14, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,369,400


The plans to reopen the country are close to being finalized and we will soon be sharing details and new guidelines with everybody. I will be speaking to all 50 governors very shortly and I will then be authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a reopening and a very powerful reopening plan of their state at a time and in a manner as most appropriate. The day will be very close because certain states, as you know, are in much different condition and in a much different place than other states. It’s going to be very, very close, maybe even before the date of May 1st. So that will be for some states. Actually, there are over 20 that are in extremely good shape and we think we’re going to be able to get them open fairly quickly and then


April 14, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 30,707 (+2,635), which is 5.4% of current total.

April 14, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 562,944

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Dictionary definition by Merriam-Webster

April 13, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  607,344 (+26,893), which is 1.9% of current total. 

April 13, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,292,100


CNBC, 4/13/2020
“You looked at the charts and the models from early predictions where 100,000 and 120,000 people it looked like, if they did well, they were going to unfortunately perish and we are going to be hopefully way, way below that number,” Trump said. “That will be a sign of people doing things right, but it’s still just a horrible thing.” Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said the outbreak in some metropolitan areas outside of t

 

April 13, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 28,072 (+1,711), which is 5% of current total.

April 13, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 562,007

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From Easter 2020 to Easter 2021

New York Times (arrows added)

April 12, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  580,531 (+22,563), which is 1.9% of current total. 

April 12, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,219,600


Land Line, 3/29/2021 (highlight added)


St. Luke's first in-person services will take place next Sunday, more than a year after the start of the pandemic.


April 12, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 26,361 (+1,772), which is 4.7% of current total.

April 12, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 561,527

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The label of 'failure' was appropriately affixed to Trump's lapel early on during the pandemic.


Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

April 11, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  553,978 (+30,438), which is 1.8% of current total. 

April 11, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,171,400


New York Times, 4/11/2020
The president, though, was slow to absorb the scale of the risk and to act accordingly, focusing instead on controlling the message, protecting gains in the economy and batting away warnings from senior officials. It was a problem, he said, that had come out of nowhere and could not have been foreseen.


April 11, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 24,589 (+2,079), which is 4.4% of current total.

April 11, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 561,231

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Thesaurus entry from Merriam-Webster

April 10, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  525,540 (+34,677), which is 1.5% of current total. 

April 10, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,107,200


PBS News Hour, 4/10/2020
“I want to get it open as soon as possible,” he said at a Good Friday briefing, while adding: “The facts are going to determine what I do.” 
[snip] 
“In the midst of grief and pain, we’re seeing clear signs that our aggressive strategy is saving countless lives,” he said, pointing to models that are now forecasting far fewer U.S. deaths than had originally been predicted.


In Trump's defense -- not a phrase Retiring Guy's often uses -- he based his statement on a April 9 forecast, likely flawed, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

CNN, 4/9/2020

The actual August 1st number turned out to be much higher.



April 10, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 22,510 (+2,292), which is 3.6% of current total.

April 10, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 560,531

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April 9, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  478,863 (+34,465), which is 1.5% of current total. 

April 9, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 31,025,200


New York Times, 4/9/2020
Yet the publicity-obsessed president is unlikely to relinquish his grip on the evening sessions: Mr. Trump has told aides he relishes the free television time and boffo ratings that come with his appearances, administration officials say.  [emphasis added]


April 9, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 20,218 (+2,147), which is 3.6% of current total.

April 9, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 559,575

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Thesaurus entry from Merriam-Webster

April 8, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  454,398 (+33,190), which is 1.5% of current total. 

April 8, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,944,100 


Rev, 4/8/2020 (highlights added)


"Sooner than people think"?  On the last day of Trump's presidsency, the U.S. reached its peak of active cases.



April 8, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 18,071 (+2,249), which is 3.2% of current total.

April 8, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 558,580

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Dictionary definition by Merriam-Webster

April 7, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  421,208 (+32,277), which is 1.3% of current total. 

April 7, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,870,900


Rev, 4/7/2020
America continues to perform more tests than any other nation in the world, and I think that’s probably why we have more cases. Because when you look at some of these very large countries, I know for a fact that they have far more cases than we do but they don’t report them. We’ve performed 1.87 million tests today. So that’s 1,870,000 million tests. Think of that 1,870,000 tests to date. And now we’re performing them at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.

 

 The U.S. "performed" 170,166 tests on April 7, 2020, according to the Covid Tracking Project.  (The subsequent columns are all cumulative totals.)


Later in the month, Trump received a "Pants on Fire" ruling from PolitiFact for repeating this claim.


April 7, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 15,802 (+2,252), which is 2.4% of current total.

April 7, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 556,016

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Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster


April 6, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  388,931 (+32,740), which is 1.3% of current total. 

April 6, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,808,800


Rev, 4/6/2020 (highlights and arrows added)


April 6, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 13,540 (+1,514), which is 2.4% of current total.

April 6, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 555,109

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April 5, 2020 theme:  The light at the end of the tunnel

(The red arrow represents the long tunnel through which we continue to travel)

April 5, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  353,197 (+26,471), which is 1.1% of current total. 

April 5, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,732,200


Rev, 4/5/2020


April 5, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 12,026 (+1,435), which is 2.2% of current total.

April 5, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 554,579

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(arrows added; longer arrow indicates extent of "tremendous control" 
exerted by Trump administration over the virus)


April 4, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  326,726 (+34,986), which is 1.1% of current total. 

April 4, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,695,500


Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

ABC News, 4/4/2020
"You know, they want to see basketball and baseball and football and hockey. They want to see their sports. They want to go out onto the golf courses and breathe nice clean, beautiful fresh air," Trump said. "No, I can't tell you a date, but I think it's going to be sooner rather than later." 
He said that sports aren't "designed" for closures, which he said is also true of the country, emphasizing that he wants citizens to get back to work. 
"It has to get open. This country was not designed to be closed," Trump said. "Think of it. We're paying people not to go to work, how about that? How does that play?"

Sooner rather than later?  In April 2021, plans to reopen spots and entertainment venues in the U.S. are in various stages of planning and implementation as a variant and an increase in new cases complicate matters.


April 4, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 10,588 (+1,515), which is 1.9% of current total.

April 4, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 554,302

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April 3, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  291,740 (+33,535), which is 0.95% of current total. 

April 3, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,631,700


Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

Rev, 4/3/2020
So with the masks it’s going to be, really, a voluntary thing. You can do it, you don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it and that’s okay. It may be good, probably will. They’re making a recommendation. It’s only a recommendation, it’s voluntary.


April 3, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 9,013 (+1,302), which is 1.6% of current total.

April 3, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 553,554

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April 2, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  258,205 (+31,049), which is 0.84% of current total. 

April 2, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,562,800


Beyond "witch hunts" and poll numbers, Trump tells the aboslute truth for once:  "Ive already done extraordinary damage to our country in recent years."

Rev, 4/2/2020 (White House press conference transcript with highlights added)

As for Trump's precious poll numbers, he actually peaked on April 1, 2020 -- a joke, perhaps? -- but left office with the worst numbers of any president.  And except for a few days at the beginning of his presidency, he was always underwater.



April 2, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 7,711 (+1,312), which is 1.4% of current total.

April 2, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 552,593

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April 1, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  227,156 (+27,748), which is 0.75% of current total. 

April 1, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 30,485,200


Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster
CNN, 4/1/2020
“I think also, and looking at the way — the contagion — it is so contagious. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this, where large groups of people all of a sudden, just by being in the presence of somebody, have it,” Trump said at the coronavirus task force briefing Wednesday.  [emphasis added]

Funny how these contagious diseases spread.  (Highlights added.)




April 1, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 6,499 (+1,268), which is 1.2% of current total.

April 1, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 551.638


Related series of posts:
Day by day:  What Trump said about the pandemic. 

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