Given that the White House daily coronavirus briefings ended in April, Donald Trump and his federal public health chiefs often seem to abandon even the appearance of unity when facing the pandemic.
Their messages have diverged more and more as Covid-19 is emerging in many US states amid a rapid reopening, setting recent records in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and California. Despite the previous global hotspot, New York, improving, the United States as a whole now exceeds 2.3 million cases and 121,000 deaths.
This is what the president and his main experts say, in contradiction to each other.
How widespread is the coronavirus in the U.S.
Donald Trump:
June 17: “We are very close to a vaccine … but even without that … it is fading, it is going to fade away.”
June 17: “The numbers are very tiny compared to what it was. It’s dying “.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and a member of the White House coronavirus task force:
June 9: The coronavirus will not “burn with simple public health measures … we are going to need a vaccine for everyone.” It is her “worst nightmare … where will it end? We are still at the beginning of this.”
June 23: “We are now seeing a disturbing increase in infections … the virus will not go away.”
Managing the pandemic
Triumph:
May 1: “I think we did a spectacular job … I would rate it a 10.”
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
June 23: “We have all done the best we can to combat this virus and the reality is that it has brought this nation to its knees.”
Testing in the US
Triumph:
June 15: “If you don’t try, you have no case. If we stopped testing at this point, we would have very few, if any, cases. ”
Donald J. Trump
(@realDonaldTrump)Our tests are much larger and more advanced than any other country (we’ve done a great job on this!) Showing more cases. Without evidence, or weak evidence, we would be showing almost no cases. The proof is a double-edged sword: it makes us look bad, but it’s good to have them!
June 15, 2020
June 18: “Personally, I think testing is overrated, even though I created the best testing machine ever … in many ways, it makes us look bad.”
June 20: “The test is a double-edged sword … you will find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘Slow down the tests, please!’ ”
Fauci:
June 23: “I know for sure that none of us have been told to slow down the tests. That is just a fact. In fact, we’ll do more tests … when you get an increase in the percentage of tests that are positive, that’s an indication that you have additional infections. ”
Redfield:
June 23: “All of us have been and remain committed to increasing prompt and timely access to testing.”
More expensive
Triumph:
May 7: Tell attendees that using one would “send the wrong message.”
May 21: He says he would not wear a mask in public because “he did not want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”
May 26: “Oh okay, you want to be politically correct,” to the reporter who refuses to remove his mask during the White House press conference.
June 20: “There was a time when people thought it was worse to wear a mask. I let people make their own decision … if people want to wear masks, I think it’s great. I won’t be. Not as a protest, but I don’t feel like I’m in danger. “
Dr. Deborah Birx, Coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force:
May 24: “There is clear scientific evidence now … to demonstrate that a mask prevents the drops from reaching others … out of mutual respect, we need to wear masks in public when we cannot socially distance ourselves.”
Fauci:
May 27: “I want to protect myself and others, and also because I want it to be a symbol for people to see that that’s the kind of thing you should be doing.”
Dr Jerome Adams, US Surgeon General:
June 13: “Just a reminder: wearing a face covering is a small inconvenience that brings great benefits.”
U.S. Surgeon General
(@General Surgeon)Just a reminder: wearing a face covering is a minor drawback that brings great benefits and gives us the best opportunity for an effective and long-lasting reopening of the United States. If everyone does their part to stop the spread, everyone wins! Https: //t.co/p9quSwl3rE
June 13, 2020
Reopening of the economy.
Triumph:
May 4: “We did the right thing and now we are bringing the country back.”
May 5: “We have to open our country, we cannot keep our country closed … will some people be seriously affected? Yes.”
June 20: “We have to get back to business. We have to relive our lives. I can’t do this any longer. And I think it’s very safe. “
Fauci:
May 5: “How many deaths and how much suffering are you willing to accept to return to what you want to be a form of normality, sooner rather than later?”
June 16: “When I watch television and see images of people congregating in bars when the location indicates that they shouldn’t be doing that, it’s very risky.”
Cuomo Prime Time
(@CuomoPrimeTime)“If you” jump off the frog … you’re inviting the bounce, “says Dr. Anthony Fauci of some states’ plans to open earlier than many scientists recommend.
“Bouncing will give you spikes and spikes will give you the kind of (death) numbers,” new studies suggest. pic.twitter.com/PkNSYIIjxC
May 5, 2020
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