However, as is often the case with these briefings, Trump’s written message eventually turned into a series of false and misleading claims about the state of the pandemic. At one point, Trump claimed that “large portions” of the United States are “crown free” (not true). He also claimed that the protests in Seattle and Portland were leading to key cases there (also not true).
Trump again touted what he claims are the benefits of hydroxychloroquine as a successful drug for fighting the coronavirus, despite numerous studies that do not confirm it. Despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, Trump even claimed that the drug was completely safe to use.
“It is safe. It doesn’t cause problems,” Trump said, anecdotally noting that “he had absolutely no problem” when he took the drug earlier this year. “I didn’t feel different. I didn’t feel good, bad, or indifferent.”
Facts First: The FDA has said that there are many safety concerns with using hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus, including kidney injury, heart rhythm problems, liver problems, and more.
In a July 1 update of the Safety Issues Review for the treatment of patients with Coxic-19 with hydroxychloroquine, the FDA notes many health problems that may occur, including “serious heart rhythm problems and other safety concerns, including disorders of the blood and lymphatic system, kidney damage, and liver problems and failure. ”
The FDA also revoked the drug’s emergency use authorization, which initially allowed the drug to be used against the coronavirus, for certain patients on June 15 because studies showed that “the suggested dosage for these drugs is unlikely to kill or inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19. ”
For a more complete verification of Trump’s previous comments on hydroxychloroquine, click here.
Neglecting the spread of the virus
Trump tried to paint an optimistic picture of how well the country is responding to the coronavirus by minimizing its spread and saying that the virus has been largely eliminated in the country.
“We are seeing improvements in major metropolitan areas, and at most access points, you can see large portions of our country, it has no crown. But we are looking very carefully at California, Arizona, Texas and most of Florida, it is starting to head down in the right direction. And I think you’ll see it quickly go down very soon. ”
Facts First: This is misleading. No area of the country has eliminated the virus, and the only places that are “crown-free” have no human population, or are rural areas that have an extremely small population.
All US states reported new cases of Covid-19 last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 13 states posted their highest 7-day averages for new cases daily yesterday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The president did not clarify what “large portions” of the country he was talking about, but CNN’s Covid-19 case tracker shows that the virus is not slowing down nationally, and the number of cases in the United States is currently at way to double every month. Additionally, a model frequently cited by the White House predicts 200,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by October 1.
The three-day average data from Johns Hopkins University shows that 30 states are experiencing an upward trend in new cases, with 20 states having a flat or downward trend, although many that are experiencing a downward trend have recently emerged from their maximum number of new cases. . No state is crown free.
There is some truth to the President’s claim that some states are heading in the right direction, and in the past week several of the states he has mentioned have begun to flatten the curve for new cases, but they are still exponentially higher than They were two months ago and show no signs of “going down fast too soon.”
The seven-day average Florida daily case is currently 10,530 cases, for example, according to Johns Hopkins University; A slight improvement compared to two weeks ago when it exceeded 11,800 daily cases on average, but it is still more than 1,700% more than the average number of daily cases it had in May.
Tribal communities
Trump touted his administration’s work serving tribal communities, noting that “under CARES we provide $ 8 billion” to tribal communities that are “very vulnerable to this horrible plague.” He also stated that it is “the largest investment in the Indian country in the history of the United States. There has never been such a large investment in the Indian country.”
Facts First: It is not true that the Trump administration has provided $ 8 billion to tribal communities. While the CARES Act allocated $ 8 billion in funds to tribal communities, only 60 percent of them have been disbursed so far, and that only happened after a lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration to release the money. . It is unclear if and when the rest will be released.
Although the CARES Act provided $ 8 billion in funds for tribal communities, the Treasury Department failed to meet the deadline set by Congress to distribute the money within 30 days of the bill’s passage.
After tribal communities sued the Trump administration for the delay and sued the administration for which tribal communities qualify for aid, the Treasury Department released only 60% of that aid or $ 4.8 billion to communities. tribal. The Treasury Department will release the remaining aid based on employment and expense data from tribes and tribal entities.
Portland and Seattle protests
As the protests in Portland, Oregon continued until July, Trump sent federal police to reduce the violence. After those officers arrested several protesters last week, tensions escalated.
Protests also erupted in Seattle, against the actions of federal officials in Portland, resulting in additional arrests.
Trump claimed that coronavirus cases in both cities have increased as a result of these recent protests.
“In the wake of the recent mass gathering that Americans have witnessed on the streets of Portland and Seattle, we are also following a significant increase in cases in both metropolitan areas because of what is happening,” Trump said.
Facts First: There is no evidence to support the President’s claim here. While protests in Portland and Seattle have been ongoing since shortly after George Floyd’s death, it is too early to know whether recent clashes over the presence of federal law enforcement officers have impacted anyone’s rate of coronavirus cases. from cities, since it can take up to 14 days for symptoms Appear after possible exposure.
Although Seattle King County is experiencing an upward trend in coronavirus cases recently, other counties in Washington have been worse in terms of weekly cases per capita, according to an analysis of local and state data from the New York Times. Oregon’s Multnomah County, which includes Portland, is also experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases, but local media reports that most new cases are unrelated to the protests.
The Oregon Health Authority found that the first waves of Black Lives Matter protests in May and June did not contribute significantly to spikes in the state’s coronavirus cases. The situation was similar in Seattle, as health researchers tracked less than 5% of the more than 1,000 positive cases in a Washington county to protesters.
Seattle and Portland are not unique in this regard. Several other cities that experienced large and repeated protests, including New York City, Minneapolis and Chicago, saw no spikes in confirmed cases in the weeks following the protests. A study published in late June by the National Bureau of Economic Research found no evidence that protests in more than 300 of the largest US cities contributed to an increase in coronavirus cases in the weeks after protests.
Despite these gatherings of sometimes large numbers of people, the protests have had limited impact on coronavirus cases so far, possibly in part because the protests took place outdoors, where the virus is transmitted less efficiently than in interior spaces; possibly in part because a significant percentage of protesters wore masks; and possibly because some non-protesters may have reduced their interaction in person by trying to avoid protests.
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