Striking how many of the coronavirus “achievements” touted by Trump campaign for February are just briefings, botched rollouts (like the Feb 6 CDC test kits and the Feb 14 CDC surveillance) or delayed decisions (like the Feb 29 FDA policy that should’ve been issued weeks before).
Trump’s campaign touts 20 bolded line items for what Trump “did to combat coronavirus in February”
— Seven are briefings of a sort, like “Trump vowed to take all necessary steps” in State of the Union
— Three are variants of “CDC was waiting on China for permission to travel”
— Seven are briefings of a sort, like “Trump vowed to take all necessary steps” in State of the Union
— Three are variants of “CDC was waiting on China for permission to travel”
— Two are botched CDC rollouts, like the well-known test kit failures and the surveillance system that failed to launch
— Two are decisions, like the Feb 24 emergency funding request and the Feb 29 lab policy, that public health experts had urged for weeks
— Two are decisions, like the Feb 24 emergency funding request and the Feb 29 lab policy, that public health experts had urged for weeks
That leaves six remaining line items, including three pharma deals and two travel-related moves.
What’s notably not on the Trump campaign’s list:
— Successfully setting up widespread testing
— Ordering enough protective equipment
— Directing industry to ramp up production
What’s notably not on the Trump campaign’s list:
— Successfully setting up widespread testing
— Ordering enough protective equipment
— Directing industry to ramp up production
