Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Day by day: What Trump said about the pandemic (June 16-30, 2020)

 

Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

June 30, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,778,426 (+49,717 which is 8.3% of current total

June 30, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,618.505 (+11,534)


ABC News, 6/30/2020
As cases began to surge, Trump defended his administration's handling of the virus, repeating a strongly criticized statement that slowing down testing would lead to a lower number of cases reported. 
"We have the greatest testing program. We've developed it over a period of time. And we're up to almost 30 million tests. That means we're gonna have more cases," Trump said during remarks in Wisconsin last week. "If we didn't want to test, or if we didn't test, we wouldn't have cases. But we have cases because we test. Deaths are down. We have one of the lowest mortality rates. We've done an incredible, historic job."


June 30, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 131,267 (+721), which is 21.7% of current total.

June 30, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 604,069 (+272)

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Things didn't improve until we dismissed the Carnival Barker from his job.


June 29, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,728,709 (+43,441 which is 8.1% of current total

June 29, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,607,897 (+11,842)


The Atlantic, 6/29/2020
COVID-19 infections peaked on April 24, or so Americans assumed. State health authorities reported 36,738 new cases that day, a record. By mid-May, the United States had reduced that rate of infection by nearly half, to 17,618 on May 11. The accomplishment had come at a tremendous cost: the lockdown of much of the national economy, Great Depression levels of unemployment, the shift to online schooling for millions of children, families denied final visits to dying loved ones. Still, these sacrifices had delivered the desired result. Had that progress continued, the American people—and the American economy—could have likely foreseen a further decline in cases and perhaps a near end to the pandemic, even before a vaccine. 
But that’s not what happened. On June 24, the number of infections surpassed the April 24 peak. On June 25, the number surpassed that of June 24. On June 26, the country suffered almost 46,000 new infections—nearly 10,000 more in one day than on the worst day in April. All of the sacrifices of the past weeks have been thrown away. 
The first coronavirus spike, in late April, can be blamed on President Donald Trump’s negligence. The second spike, in June, is his own doing. This is Trump’s plague now.

 

June 29, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 130,546 (+355), which is 21.6% of current total.

June 29, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 603,758 (+289)

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YouTube screenshot of group

June 28, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,685,268 (+42,223 which is 7.6% of current total

June 28, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,592,329 (+11,881)


Politico, 6/28/2020
The disturbing trend did not stop Trump and other senior administration officials from visiting an Arizona mega-church this week for a “Students for Trump” rally, where MAGA ball caps were far more ubiquitous than face masks. Images from the event — showing hundreds of mask-less teenagers sitting in close quarters for the president’s remarks — embodied the predicament Trump now faces: Many of his Christian supporters rushed to embrace the country’s reopening, which has included the return of in-person worship services in many states. Now, re-imposing previous restrictions to protect other Americans could impair the president’s relationship with his own base.

June 28, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 130,191 (+314), which is 21.6% of current total.

June 28, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 603,597 (+308)

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Tweet reprinted at The Wrap

June 24, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,507,800 (+39,782 which is 7.3% of current total

June 24, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,551,819 (+11,310)


"Way down"?  Yes, but then look at the rest of the graph.   Deaths peak against in August 2020 and are WAY UP in January and February 2021.  As Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over til it's over."

Worldometer (arrow added)



June 24, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 128,110 (+920), which is 21.1% of current total.

June 24, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 602,562 (+305)

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Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

June 23, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,468,018 (+37,323 which is 7.3% of current total

June 23, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,537,764 (+11,370)


Asked whether his comment on slowing down testing was a joke, President Trump told reporters “I don’t kid" as he departed the White House for campaign events in Arizona. Trump again said that testing is a "double-edged sword" and praised the country's testing program saying the US has the "greatest testing program anywhere in the world."

 

June 23, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 127,190 (+877), which is 21.1% of current total.

June 23, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 602,164 (+309)

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Thesaurus entry from Merriam-Webster

June 22, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,430,195 (+32,274 which is 7.2% of current total

June 22, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,524,838 (+11,243)


 Miami Herald, 6/22/2020
In a video posted to Twitter, Scripps reporter Joe St. George asks Trump whether he requested a slowdown in coronavirus testing. Trump does not directly answer the question. 
If it did slow down, frankly, I think we’re way ahead of ourselves, if you want to know the truth,” Trump replies. “We’ve done too good of a job.” 
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on Twitter that the United States would “show fewer cases” if it did less testing.

June 22, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 126,313 (+372), which is 20.9% of current total.

June 22, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 601,730 (+311)

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Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster


June 21, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,397,921 (+23,871 which is 7.2% of current total

June 21, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,509,001 (+11,138)


After a three-month break from rallies, Trump returned to regular themes, including boasts about the pre-pandemic economy and complaints about the media. He made no mention of some of the flashpoints roiling the nation, including the abrupt firing of a U.S. attorney in Manhattan, the damaging new book from his former national security adviser or the killing of George Floyd. 
Trump aired pent-up grievances about the coronavirus, which he mocked as the “Kung flu,” a racist term for COVID-19, which originated in China. He tried to defend his handling of the pandemic, even as cases continue to surge in many states, including Oklahoma. 
He complained that robust testing was making his record look bad and suggested the testing effort should slow down. “Here’s the bad part. When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more cases,” Trump said. “So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down.’ They test and they test.”

 

June 21, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 125,941 (+280), which is 20.9% of current total.

June 21, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 601,442 (+300)

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Thesaurus entry from Merriam-Webster

June 20, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,371,050 (+24,124 which is 7% of current total

June 20, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,504,936 (+11,527)


At his rally in Tulsa on Saturday, President Trump called coronavirus testing “a double-edged sword” and said he asked officials to conduct fewer coronavirus tests to keep case numbers down. After claiming the United States has tested 25 million people, Trump said: “When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please!’ ”

June 20, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 125,661 (+580), which is 20.% of current total.

June 20, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 601,352 (+301)

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Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

June 19, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,346,926 (+34,071 which is 7% of current total

June 19, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,497,177 (+11,606)


Mr. Trump said testing for Covid-19 was overrated and allowed for the possibility that some Americans wore facial coverings not as a preventive measure but as a way to signal disapproval of him. Many public-health experts say testing followed by quarantining sick individuals and their close contacts is crucial to contain the spread of the virus. 
The president said his bigger problem with masks was that many people fidget with the coverings, which he said made them more likely to be infected. The federal-government guidelines stipulate that wearing cloth face coverings helps slow the spread of Covid-19 and recommends washing hands before putting on the mask. 
“They put their finger on the mask, and they take them off, and then they start touching their eyes and touching their nose and their mouth,” Mr. Trump said. “And then they don’t know how they caught it?”


June 19, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 125,081 (+741), which is 20.8% of current total.

June 19, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 601,183 (+301)

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Dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster

June 18, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,301,865 (+28,857 which is 6.7% of current total

June 18, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,475,952 (+12,294)


Speaking to the Wall Street Journal’s Michael C. Bender on Wednesday, President Trump caught himself. 
He was boasting about the recent positive uptick in the economy, as measured by indicators including improvements in the stock market. 
“Nasdaq hit 10,000 for the first time, an all-time record,” Trump said. “Nasdaq, that was three, four days ago. In the middle of the pandemic, not in the middle, toward the end of the pandemic.”

 

June 18, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 124,341 (+759), which is 20.4% of current total.

June 18, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 600,524 (+312)

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Thesaurus entry from Merriam-Webster

June 17, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,273,008 (+27,679 which is 6.4% of current total

June 17, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,465,570 (+12,819)


President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would not close businesses again as several states reported rising numbers of new coronavirus infections. 
“We won’t be closing the country again. We won’t have to do that,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Channel. 
Trump’s comments come after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin both said the United States could not shut down the economy again.

What happens when leaders dither and fuck around during a pandemic,


CNBC, 3/11/2021

Air travel plunged, caar sales sank, restaurants went to zero, so did movie theaters, a gasoline glut.


June 17, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 123,582 (+828), which is 20% of current total.

June 17, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 600,244 (+332)


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Trump:  Virus goes away by the end of the year.

Yeah, right!  The 7-day average of new reported cases peaked on Janaury 9, 2001, less than two weeks before the end of Trump's presidsency.


June 16, 2020.   U.S. total Covid cases =  2,245,329 (+26,933 which is 6.4% of current total

June 16, 2021.  U.S. total Covid cases = 33,452,993 (+13,721)


U.S. News, 6/16/2020
Trump offered more rosy talk Tuesday, predicting that a vaccine would be available by year’s end and adding that “even without it, it goes away.” He offered that optimistic outlook just one day after he attributed surging positive cases to testing in the United States that is “so much bigger and more advanced than any other country.”


June 16, 2020.   U.S. total Covid deaths = 122,754 (+863), which is 20% of current total.

June 16, 2021.  U.S. total Covid deaths = 599,875 (+341)


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

Related series of official/sycophants posts:


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