Trump begins the April 23 #TrumpPressBriefing by claiming that he's spoken with unnamed "numerous" world leaders over the past two days and "they are saying we are leading the way" in the coronavirus response. (The US has the most cases and the most deaths.)
Trump claims "we're very close to a vaccine," but quickly walks it back. (We're likely still at least a year away.)
DHS official William Bryan: "Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect solar light appears to have on killing the virus on both surfaces & in the air. We see a similar effect with both temperature & humidity ... increasing them is unfavorable for the virus."
This slide summarizes some of the coronavirus research findings Bryan is highlighting
"The disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning. It gets in the lungs" -- Trump seems to suggests that injecting disinfectant inside people could be a treatment for the coronavirus
"I think a lot of people are gonna go outside all of the sudden" -- Trump on DHS's preliminary finding that the coronavirus doesn't do as well in sunlight as it does inside
Asked why he's stopped promoting hydroxychloroquine, Trump claims absurdly that he "hasn't at all." (He has in fact stopped promoting it in the last week.)
TRUMP: "I know a lot about economists and the answer is they have no idea. I think I have as good of an idea as anybody."
TRUMP: "Statistically we are doing phenomenally, in terms of mortality ... when you look, Germany and ourselves are doing very well." (Germany has 5,503 coronavirus deaths; the US has 49,605)
Trump says he doesn't agree with Dr. Fauci's claim that the US needs to do more to address its coronavirus testing shortfall
"We started with nothing ... we started with a broken test" -- Trump tries to pass the buck for the CDC botching the development of a coronavirus test in January and February of this year
"It is interesting that the states are in trouble do happen to be blue. It is interesting" -- Trump suggests Democrats are responsible for the financial troubles of blue states
Get a load of Dr. Birx's demeanor after Trump tells her, "I would like you to speak to the medical doctors to see if there's any way that you can apply light and heat to cure [coronavirus]."
"I'm the president and you're fake news" -- Trump to @PhilipRucker after he asks him if it's responsible to make all sorts of wacky and unproven suggestions about possible coronavirus treatments
"I hear the report was an incorrect report ... I think it was a fake report done by CNN ... don't talk to me" -- Trump denies reports that Kim Jong Un is in grave health and slams @kaitlancollins in the process
"I wasn't happy with Brian Kemp ... and I coulda done something about it if I wanted to" -- an angry Trump on Georgia governor's move to reopen businesses
Trump concludes the briefing by lamenting that "the media has not done the great job we've done" responding to the coronavirus. (The US has the most cases and deaths in the world.)
He also mixes in some whining about the Russia investigation and his impeachment.
Trump just mused about whether injecting humans with household disinfectants could treat coronavirus. Really. vox.com/2020/4/23/2123…
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Wow. Biden in Tampa on Trump: "He said there has to be punishment for women exercising their reproductive freedom ... maybe it's coming from that bible he's trying to sell. I almost wanted to buy one just to see what the hell is in it."
Biden: "It was a political deal to get rid of Roe, a political deal Trump made with the evangelical base of the Republican Party to look past his moral and character flaws in exchange for his commitment to appoint justices to SCOTUS who would overturn Roe."
Biden on a national abortion ban: "As long as I have the power of the presidency, it's never going to happen."
4 years ago today, Trump during his one of his covid disaster-pressers made his infamous, bonkers statement about "disinfectant" via "injection inside" being a miracle cure. But here are a couple other moments from that event you may have forgotten. (🧵)
As I noted at the time, Dr. Birx, who at the time as fawning over Trump on a daily basis, couldn't hide that she was appalled when Trump directed her to investigate his wild quackery.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Will your support for Trump continue even if he's convicted?
CHRIS SUNUNU: Yeah. This has been going on for more than a year and his poll numbers never go down.
S: But you're going to politics. I'm asking about right and wrong.
CS: This is about politics.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But I'm asking whether you're going to be swayed by a conviction
SUNUNU: Nobody should be shocked that the Republican governor is supporting the Republican president
STEPHANOPOULOS: Please explain given the fact you believe Trump contributed to an insurrection how you can say we should have him back in the Oval Office
SUNUNU: For me, it's not about him as much as it is having a GOP administration
S: But he will be the president! That doesn't make any sense to me. You believe that a president who contributed to an insurrection should be president again?
I'm going to put together a thread covering Trump's rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. Follow along for clips 👇
"We will quickly rebuild the greatest economy in the history of the world like we had it just four years ago" -- the unemployment rate in April 2020 was nearly 15 percent
Trump was deeply confused about how covid spread but that didn't prevent him from publicly agitating for the economy to reopen, suggesting that public health precautions would lead to mass suicide