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, 20 tweets, 4 min read

Tired of hearing this "What else could Trump have done" garbage.
US and South Korea had same lead time. Both had first cases on Jan 21.
What did they do differently? /1

Within weeks of the outbreak in China, 4 Korean companies had manufactured tests from World Health Organization recipe and the country had a system that could assess 10,000 people a day. US did nothing. /2

Because of this, South Korea has now tested over 250,000 people. South Korea has tested 3,692 per million citizens. US has only tested 5 per million citizens.
They implemented drive thru testing immediately. /3

They also developed “walk-thru” test where people sit inside a transparent cubicle while medical worker collects sample using gloves attached to the front panel. This speeds up the testing process, minimizes the risk to medical staff, and reduces PPE use. /4

To encourage self isolation and slow the spread, South Korea implemented a basic payment for living expenses to anyone who would isolate. If someone tested positive, the govt posted their recent movements (without names) from movie theaters to restaurants to alert others. /5

South Korea decided to test as many people as possible as soon as possible.
Then they quarantined positives so they did not infect others.
Trump did just the opposite. He minimized the impact and made zero preparations. He thought he could BS a virus. /6

He did this because he didn't want to hurt his election chances. He put himself, his fragile feelings, and his poll numbers ahead of our health. When it finally became obvious something must be done, the testing has been intentionally slow to help the "numbers" /7

When South Korea was furiously manufacturing testing kits from WHO recipe, Trump turned it down.
When South Korea was testing everyone rapidly, Trump refused to take people off a boat that was infested. /8

When South Korea was setting up their drive thru testing, Trump was calling it a hoax.
Then when it finally started spreading at accelerated pace in US, Trump went golfing for two days and held a fundraiser. /9

When South Korea was educating their citizens on the dangers and how to avoid the spread of Covid-19, Trump was on FOX telling people it was not big deal and they should go to work even if infected. /10

When South Korea was listening to their expert scientists, Trump set up task force with minimal medical input, instead making it a political team designed to do damage control, lie to us, and his biggest concern is the stock market. /11

Cases in South Korea are low and they will have the virus under control soon.
The US is an out of control mess and we are all going to see how truly bad it is in about 2 weeks. /12

Trump could have a done a lot similar to South Korea. Competent Presidents of either party would have. We have the resources and knowledge to have surpassed South Korea's preparation. He did nothing to prepare. /13

Trump is still doing nothing. The testing is insufficient with many unable to get them. Several states are still not minimizing gatherings and the virus is spreading. There was no ramp up of supply production. /14

Instead of trying to catch up, Trump is putting on a daily reality show of lies desperately trying to keep us entertained. He doesn't get it and never will. You cannot talk your way out of a pandemic. You have to plan and work. He is incapable of this. /15

Even worse, Trump has conditioned others not to defy or disagree and they went along with his lack of preparation. So yes, Trump could have done a lot more. He didn't and we are all going to suffer for it. This is what happens when you put trust in a con man. /16

Additional note, Trump was briefed by intelligence on virus on Jan 3 and did NOTHING. Absolutely nothing.

Still ignoring on Feb 25th. This is criminal negligence.