Tag: Trump COVID-19 lies

Anatomy of a character assassination: Trump goes all-in against Dr. Fauci

AlterNet logoDonald Trump has targeted a new pandemic villain: Dr. Anthony Fauci. Among his transgressions, the nation’s leading infectious disease physician relied on facts and science to contradict Trump’s talking points and criticize his policies. Even worse, he has outperformed Trump in public opinion polls.

So rather than declare war on a coronavirus outbreak that he has mismanaged at every turn, Trump has attacked Dr. Fauci and the truth.

Round 1: Trump vs. Dr. Fauci on Hydroxychloroquine

Mar. 19: Despite the absence of scientific evidence proving its safety or effectiveness, Trump touts hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19. Continue reading.

Amid rising coronavirus deaths, Trump paints a rosy picture of America’s present and future

Washington Post logoPresident Trump painted a wishful view Wednesday of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, in which existing treatments can almost cure patients flooding hospitals, all schools will safely reopen this fall, and the country’s soaring cases are confined to a handful of states.

But the rosy assessment he issued at a White House news briefing — alone at the lectern without any top public health experts — was undermined by the alarming reality that on Wednesday, almost every metric showed just how badly America is losing its fight against the virus.

The number of daily deaths on Wednesday surpassed 1,100, the first time that mark had been reached since May 29. And total deaths in the United States since the start of the pandemic increased to more than 140,000. Continue reading.

5 COVID-19 myths politicians have repeated that just aren’t true

The number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has jumped to around 50,000 a day, and the virus has killed more than 130,000 Americans. Yet, I still hear myths about the infection that has created the worst public health crisis in America in a century.

The purveyors of these myths, including politicians who have been soft peddling the impact of the coronavirus, aren’t doing the country any favors.

Here are five myths I hear as director of health policy at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center that I would like to put to rest. Continue reading.

Jim Jordan tells Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro he wants Congress to investigate governors for coronavirus shutdown orders

AlterNet logoAnger at COVID-19 shutdown orders boiled over on Fox News on Saturday night.

As ABC, CBS and NBC aired the Global Citizen “One World: Together At Home” concert to raise money for the World Health Organization’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic, Fox chose to air “Justice” with former Judge Jeanine Pirro.

The show began with an angry rant from the host about a “Wuhan virus” for which China must be punished. Continue reading.

The GOP is not a pro-life party

Washington Post logoAmericans have not experienced anything quite like the coronavirus-induced recession in decades, if ever. It is not simply unemployment (which is anticipated already to be in double digits) and the loss of health-care coverage. According to the latest Monmouth poll, “Four in ten (41%) have lost income due to a decrease in work (up from 35% in late March). Income loss has hit households at all income levels (42% of those earning less than $50,000 a year, 40% of those earning $50,000 to under $100,000, and 43% of those earning $100,000 or more). Just over 1 in 5 (22%) report having struggled to pay bills because of the health crisis.”

There is also a sense among many Americans that they are living in a developing country:

Just over half (52%) report there are items they need right now they cannot find in stores or online. Topping this unfulfilled shopping list is toilet paper (23%). Health and cleaning supplies are also reported as missing in action, including hand sanitizer (16%), disinfectant spray (10%), antibacterial wipes (9%), rubbing alcohol (5%), and bleach and other cleaning supplies (10%), as well as other paper products such as paper towels and tissues (11%). Face masks (10%) and other medical items (2%) are also mentioned. Some also report they cannot find certain types of fresh food (13%) or other food items (4%).

Continue reading.

Conservative Site Posts Damning Supercut Of Trump’s Lies About Coronavirus

On Jan. 22, Trump said he had no concerns coronavirus would become a pandemic. On Tuesday, he said he’d always known it would be one.

The Bulwark ― a conservative news and opinion website ― released a supercut on Tuesday chronicling President Donald Trump’s reckless slew of misleading or false statements since the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, leading up to his recent pivot.

The video dropped the same day Trump declared at a news conference that he had “always” known the threat was real, and that he “felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

The first clip is dated Jan. 22, when the U.S. had recorded only one case of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The president was asked during a CNBC interview if there were concerns about the novel coronavirus in China becoming a pandemic.  Continue reading and view the video here.