Throughout the Coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., which has claimed the lives of over 2,200 Americans and counting as of early Sunday morning, President Donald Trump has failed to grasp the science at the core of the situation. In the early days, he claimed that concern over the virus’s spread was a “hoax,” and he’s also claimed — among other things — that the virus would quickly disappear like a “miracle.” He’s even touted unproven supposed Coronavirus cures that may have no effect on the illness’s progression. On Twitter, Hillary Clinton newly dragged Trump for putting Americans at risk with his ineptitude.
On Friday, she commented:
‘A month ago, Trump said: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” Yesterday, he said: “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators.” What will it take to get @realdonaldtrump to listen to experts instead of his own hunches?’
A month ago, Trump said: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
Yesterday, he said: “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators.”
What will it take to get @realdonaldtrump to listen to experts instead of his own hunches?
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 27, 2020
It’s true — during an appearance on Fox News with host Sean Hannity last week, Trump dismissed the idea that the state of New York alone might need the tens of thousands of ventilators that they’ve been after. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) promptly corrected Trump, insisting that the president was “grossly uninformed” about the reality of the situation. Any ventilators that the state does have on hand, he explained, would seemingly likely need to be used, and they need more assistance beyond that level.
It’s worth noting that Trump did a complete turnaround on ventilators — mostly — and turned the question into a political football to lob at his opponents. He tore into General Motors for coming up short of their supposed ventilator production promises, and he said that he had invoked the Defense Production Act’s powers to order them to step up production. Still, none of that takes away from the other supply problems that Trump has exacerbated — he even publicly admitted that he told the Coronavirus task force not to call struggling governors back if they weren’t appreciative.
REPORTER: What more specifically do you want the [governors] to do?
TRUMP: All I want them to do — very simple — I want them to be appreciative. I don’t want them to say things that aren’t true. … You know what I say? 'If they don't treat you right, I don't call.' pic.twitter.com/vl3GPLw2ra
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) March 27, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response to Clinton below…
