Thread by @saletan

For four days, we’ve watched Republicans lie about Trump’s mismanagement of the coronavirus.

Now it’s time to tell the truth. This article documents everything he did to multiply the death toll. Here are a few key facts and excerpts to read and share. /1 bit.ly/3fImz7h

Trump says China deceived him about the virus. But Trump actually collaborated with Xi to deceive the rest of us. Here’s a phone call in which Xi fed Trump a rosy talking point that US health officials called misleading. Trump then used that talking point at a campaign rally. /2

This chronology shows that Trump downplayed the virus and said it was going away 1) after he was told it was spreading, 2) after he was told that China was understating the crisis, and 3) after his own health officials warned it would overwhelm the US. /3 bit.ly/3b0kHpN

The story Trump tells about the China travel ban — that he demanded it, while his advisers opposed it — is total BS. The time line shows that when Fauci and others endorsed the ban, Trump held back. He didn’t want to offend China. He didn’t yield till airlines forced his hand. /4

Why did Trump collaborate with Xi? To get China’s money and win reelection. Here, Bolton reports that he witnessed Trump “pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win.” Trump told Xi that Chinese ag purchases were crucial to the US farm economy and the election. /5 on.wsj.com/3jiZkCO

Video of this Feb. 10 rally confirms that Trump cut the deal with Xi to win reelection. Trump calls it a “trade agreement with China that will defeat so many of our opponents.” He tells the crowd the virus will “work out fine,” based on Xi’s assurance. /6 bit.ly/2YCSMXJ

The fatal 3 weeks were Feb. 24 to March 16. That’s when Trump stepped in to silence officials who wanted mitigation. CDC estimates that in those 3 weeks, US COVID infections multiplied by more than 1,000. The final 2 weeks of delay in mitigation caused more than 50,000 deaths. /7

In his convention speech, Trump says he “introduced a ban on Europe very early.” Bull. For six crucial weeks, despite knowing the virus was in Europe, he refused entreaties to cut off travel from the continent. CDC later confirmed that this delay seeded the pandemic in the US. /8

Trump tried to muzzle anyone who told the truth. When a CDC official proposed mitigation, Trump threatened to fire her. When an inspector general reported a shortage of medical supplies, Trump replaced her. When a Navy captain reported an outbreak, Trump endorsed his demotion. /9

One blatant case of deceit: On Feb. 26, aides gave Trump proof that the virus was spreading undetected in the US. Hours later, he told the public that infections were “going down, not up... We’re testing everybody that we need to test. And we’re finding very little problem.” /10

At the convention, Ivanka said her father “rapidly mobilized the full force of government” to “build the most robust testing system in the world.”

LOL, no. Contemporaneous records show the US testing program was fatally slow and constricted, because Trump liked it that way. /11

Remember when Trump said he had told his people to “slow the testing down”? Here he is at CDC on March 6, arguing against more testing. Instead of “proactively looking to see where there’s a problem,” he recommended “sitting back and waiting.”

Without testing, we were blind. /12

Trump’s derision of masks led to needless deaths. In polls, support for Trump was the #1 predictor of mask refusal. His voters were 10 times as likely as Biden voters to seldom or never wear masks. A COVID model attributed nearly 40,000 prospective deaths to non-use of masks. /13

Pence, at the convention, said Trump “directed us to forge a seamless partnership with governors" to fight COVID.

What a howler. Trump openly threatened governors. He bragged on camera that he had told Pence not to talk to governors who needed help but weren’t nice to Trump. /14

And why, despite years of warnings that a pandemic was likely, did Trump neglect and weaken our defenses? Here are his verbatim answers:

“I have a lot of things going on.”
“I’m not thinking about this.”
“Some of the people we cut, they haven’t been used for many, many years” /15

There’s a lot more in the article, plus a time line that shows what Trump knew when. With hundreds of links to transcripts, videos, and other records.

So when you see people spreading the lie that Trump stood up to the "China virus," send them this. /END bit.ly/3fImz7h