Trump is claiming that "countries with Malaria" regularly take chloroquine, and so covid-19 infections have not taken hold there. This is insane, terrifying, grotesque, and yet aside from some angry tweets, the entire nation is basically just shrugging this horror show off.
Trump agrees that things are going "to be bad" with coronavirus infections, and then says things are bad with flu deaths too, with "50,000" dying.
What Trump doesn't say, but is clearly implying, is that we don't shut the country down for flu, so why shut it down for this?
What Trump doesn't say, but is clearly implying, is that we don't shut the country down for flu, so why shut it down for this?
Trump is returning to this theme again. Lots of people die from the flu, lots of people die in car accidents, he says, and we don't shut down for that.
And again Trump strongly implies, but avoids saying, what he obviously means: So why are we shutting things down for this?
And again Trump strongly implies, but avoids saying, what he obviously means: So why are we shutting things down for this?
Dr. Birx is such a disgrace. She's now saying that Rand Paul didn't need to be tested for covid-19 because if he'd been 'doing what he should have been' with hand washing and six feet distance, he wouldn't have risked infecting others anyway.
And then Dr. Birx said when *she* had a low grade fever this weekend, she immediately got a covid-19 test!
But covid-19 tests aren't necessary in general because, for example, a senator who h as been infected with the virus can just wash his hands a lot.
But covid-19 tests aren't necessary in general because, for example, a senator who h as been infected with the virus can just wash his hands a lot.
Trump has used the phrase "incredible learning experience" at least 6 times so far to describe the restriction measures.
In other words, the whole point of the quarantine was to learn stuff, and now that we learned the stuff, we don't have to do it anymore.
In other words, the whole point of the quarantine was to learn stuff, and now that we learned the stuff, we don't have to do it anymore.
Trump says that "other countries are going to do what they have to do," but that "in our case," "because of the magnitude of our economy," we can't do a quarantine and harm the economy any more than we already have.
Trump is super excited about the prospect of combining a two trillion stimulus package – which was done with the intention of dealing with a months-long shut down – with a sudden end to the quarantine by next week.
Dr. Birx is again a disgrace. She says it was never ever contemplated that a flu-like pandemic could strike at the same time as regular flu season, so no one was prepared for it.
It is literally flu season somewhere on the planet for the majority of the year.
It is literally flu season somewhere on the planet for the majority of the year.
Dr. Birx is asked directly if she agrees with President Trump's decision to reopen the country next week. She refuses to answer: "What the president has asked us to do is to assemble the data, and give him our best medical opinion."
Dr. Birx says the mortality rate is "almost exclusively" those with preexisting conditions and the elderly.
This is such a dangerous lie. Those with preexisting conditions/the elderly are more affected, but nowhere near to a degree that can be described as "almost exclusively."
This is such a dangerous lie. Those with preexisting conditions/the elderly are more affected, but nowhere near to a degree that can be described as "almost exclusively."
Trump: "People live, they don't live, we'll see what happens." This was part of a broader point about how lots of people are asymptomatic, so this virus isn't as dangerous as we used to think.
Trump, asked about whether he's concerned an extended shutdown could cause a depression, answers yes, but then clarifies that he's not talking about an economic depression, he's talking about "people who suffer massive depression and commit suicide."
It was a bit of disjointed word salad, but I think it's a fair interpretation of Trump's comments that he believes a quarantine is more deadly than not having a quarantine, because if we quarantine then a "tremendous" number of people will kill themselves.
There have now been like ten questions from reporters that can all be summarized as "Mr. President, are you sure disregarding the advice of all your medical advisers is a good idea?", as if they expect him to give any answer other than "I'll make a great decision."
Trump, asked a question about mass shortages of medical equipment across the nation, gives the response that any decent Trump bot could have auto-generated: there are no shortages, we're doing a fantastic job,
By dismissing every other official from the press briefing except for Pence, Trump has made it certain that everything said for the rest of the press briefing will be reality-free rally fodder. There's no one on stage who will ruin his fun by giving answers based on reality.
I hope hydroxychloroquine is a miracle cure for covid-19. I hope remdesivir and tocilizumab are too. I hope they all are! But we have no scientific evidence of that yet.
What Trump is doing is hyping an untested fantasy for his personal political benefit.
What Trump is doing is hyping an untested fantasy for his personal political benefit.
Clinical trials for hydroxychloroquine had already started in the U.S.! There was no need for Trump's involvement to make that happen. His focus on this one drug as a miracle cure is undermining the entire process, with the only benefit being a political advantage to him.
