Fact check: In his first coronavirus briefing since April, Trump repeats a handful of classic false claims

07/22/2020 Health, World


Trump, reading the prepared comments, acknowledged a “troubling increase” in cases in the South (he had previously ruled out the sharp increase as mere evidence of how many people are being evaluated) and said the situation will worsen before it improves (he previously he had already stated in June that the virus was disappearing).

But Trump’s new tone, like Trump’s new new tones, didn’t last long.

He continued to boast that the United States has conducted far more tests than other countries, ignoring the fact that many peer nations controlled the virus much better than they have needed to continue conducting as many tests.

He went on to say that the virus “will go away,” and declined to acknowledge the inaccuracy of his previous suggestions that it would go away without causing much harm to the American public, or the possibility that the virus would take years to eradicate, if it goes away at all.

And Trump repeated some of the specific false claims that we and others repeatedly verified in the early stages of the crisis: his claim that he inherited “empty closets” of supplies and fans, that he closed the United States’ borders to China and Europe, and that the governors do not need anything from the federal government.
He also repeated one of his favorite non-pandemic lies: that he was the one who approved the Obama-era Veterans Choice health program after others had tried and failed for decades.

Here are some of the false claims he repeated on Tuesday:

Veteran’s Choice

At Tuesday’s coronavirus briefing, Trump echoed his false claim that his administration passed the Veterans Election Act, which provided the Department of Veterans Affairs with more resources to improve veterans access and allow them to seek care from providers who they are not from the VA.

“We have Veteran’s Choice, no one thought that would be possible, as they have spent many decades trying to choose veterans,” Trump said.

Facts First: The Veterans Choice bill was a bipartisan initiative led by Sens. Bernie Sanders and the late John McCain, which was enacted by President Barack Obama in 2014. In 2018, Trump signed the VA Mission Law, which expanded and changed the program.

This is one of the President’s most repeated false claims. Since CNN began counting on July 8, 2019, Trump has repeated that statement more than 60 times.

Empty cabinets

The president tried to blame his predecessor for his administration’s late response to the coronavirus pandemic, claiming once again that he inherited “very empty cabinets.”

Done first: The National Strategic Reserve was not empty before the coronavirus pandemic. For example, the pool contains enough smallpox vaccines for every American, among other medical resources. And while the stock of some critical supplies that could be used to fight the coronavirus was drained and not replenished, Trump had three years in office to rebuild those depleted stocks.

Trump also previously claimed that the United States had no fans when he took office or when the coronavirus pandemic occurred. However, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to CNN in late June that there had been around 19,000 fans in the national reserve for “many years,” including 16,660 fans that were ready for immediate use in March 2020. ; The spokesperson confirmed that none of those 16,660 were acquired by the Trump administration.

Ultimately, Trump ignored the experts’ warnings and was unable to replace the masks and prepare other supplies to combat a possible pandemic.

You can read a longer data check on Trump’s claims about inheriting an empty supply closet here.

Travel restrictions against Europe and China

Claiming the actions his administration took to address the coronavirus, Trump said: “We closed the border with China, we put the ban on it.” Then he added: “I closed the borders from Europe.”

Facts First: It is misleading for Trump to say that he closed the United States border to travel from China and Europe because both policies contained multiple exemptions, including for US citizens and permanent residents; European politics exempted entire countries. Only foreigners who had been to China, the Schengen area of ​​Europe, the United Kingdom, or Ireland in the past 14 days were totally prohibited from entering the United States.

You can read more about Trump’s travel restrictions here.

Tremendous supplies

Trump said that governors are receiving “everything they need” from the federal government and that there are “huge amounts” of critical medical supplies available to states that need them.

“The governors are working very, very hard and we are supporting them 100%, they get everything they need, and we are taking great care of ourselves,” Trump said. “We have huge supplies and a great supply chain. Whether it’s fans or robes or just about anything else they need.”

Facts First: Trump is selling more than the federal pandemic response. Some governors have what they need, but others have said the Trump administration is falling short. And even though he says “huge supplies” are available, some hospitals and health workers still don’t have enough protective gear, and experts say Trump’s slow decision-making is partly to blame.

The country is in better shape than it was a few months ago, but there are still reports of equipment shortages. Some front-line healthcare workers still ration their personal protective equipment.
CNN previously reported that the Trump administration has not fully used the Defense Production Act to stimulate the manufacture of critical supplies such as masks, gowns, and gloves. Some efforts are underway, but experts say it is not enough and that the law was invoked too late. Because of that, smaller medical offices and assisted living facilities are currently in short supply.

As for the governors, Trump is exaggerating.

CNN contacted governors’ offices across the country earlier this month, after Trump made a similar claim that the governors had everything they needed. Democratic governors in the states of Washington, Colorado, Michigan and Illinois said they needed more supplies from the federal government. A Republican governor told CNN that Trump’s comment was accurate.
Trump is a repeat offender on this front. He also said in April that governors were satisfied with the supplies they received, even when governors on both sides said they were facing a shortage of medical equipment.

Fatality rate

The president previously boasted that the United States has the lowest coronavirus death rate in the world. During Tuesday’s press conference, it was less definitive.

“Our case fatality rate has continued to decline and is lower than that of the European Union and almost everywhere in the world,” Trump said.

Then he added: “We have done much better than most and with a lower death rate than most.”

Facts First: According to various measures, the death rate from the US coronavirus is one of the highest in the world.

While the observed case fatality rate has decreased since the beginning of this month, as of Tuesday morning, the case fatality rate of 3.7% in the US was lower than just nine of the 20 countries most affected by covid- 19, according to Johns Hopkins data. In terms of per capita coronavirus deaths, the United States ranked third.

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