Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, have tested positive for Covid-19. The US president has given repeated conflicting, misleading and false statements on the pandemic.
President Donald Trump holds up his face mask during the first presidential debate in Ohio. Julio Cortez/AP
As Trump goes into isolation, here are some of his most criticised comments on the coronavirus:
On the virus being under control or disappearing
“ The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA .” In a tweet on 24 February.
“Because of all we’ve done, the risk to the American people remains very low.” Remarks at a White House press conference on 27 February.
Trump's changing reactions to coronavirus: from calm to closing borders – video report
“ It’s going to disappear. One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” At a White House meeting on 27 February.
“We’re very close to a vaccine and we’re very close to therapeutics, really good therapeutics. But even without that, I don’t like to talk about that because it’s fading away .” Speaking to Fox News on 17 July.
On face masks
“ I don’t think I’m going to be doing it … I don’t know, somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk. I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens. I don’t know, somehow I don’t see it for myself. I just, I just don’t .” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 3 April.
'I don't want to': Trump rejects CDC coronavirus face mask guidance – video
“My administration has a different approach: we have urged Americans to wear masks. And I emphasised this is a patriotic thing to do. Maybe they’re great and maybe they’re just good. Maybe they’re not so good .” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 13 August.
“When needed, I wear masks. I don’t wear a mask like him (Joe Biden) . Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.” At the 2020 presidential debate on 29 September.
Trump mocks Biden during first presidential debate: 'I don’t wear a mask like him' – video
On untested and dangerous treatments for the coronavirus
“ I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning ? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 23 April.
Trump floats dangerous coronavirus treatment ideas as Dr Birx looks on – video
“ Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light … and then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body , which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too. It sounds interesting.” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 23 April.
On the dangers of Covid-19
“ I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.” Comments to journalist Bob Woodward on 19 March.
“Now we have tested almost 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless. ” South Lawn speech at the White House on 4 July.
From miracle cures to slowing testing: how Trump has defied science on coronavirus – video explainer
With more than 208,000 Americans dead from the novel coronavirus, it was already apparent that Donald Trump had failed the country. With his positive diagnosis, it’s now clear that he even failed himself. See this with clear eyes: Our nation’s commander-in-chief is presently in isolation by way of his incompetence, paranoia, and denialism.
We will eclipse this Hannah Yoest / Shutterstock
This is not an accident. Unlike untold numbers of Americans, such as medical workers and first responders, who have contracted the deadly virus despite taking precautious, President Trump ignored science and prudence and commonsense. He taunted medical fate. Trump and his White House staff have ignored the most basic public health best practices: Masking. Social distancing. Avoiding crowds.
The president has held indoor rallies. He has gathered masses of people on the White House lawn, multiple times. He has mocked people wearing masks in order to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus. He badgered states to “open up” despite not having contained the coronavirus.
President Trump didn’t unwittingly contract coronavirus. He courted it. And, Republicans, eager to demonstrate their loyalty, followed his lead. They similarly held indoor events. They posted pictures to social media of themselves maskless, in crowds, as if to prove their defiance of basic science.
To say President Trump “failed” in his job to protect America isn’t quite right. Because he didn’t even try. What he did, instead, was focus on his reelection campaign to the exclusion of all else. People pleaded with him for months to take the virus seriously, and he refused. He lied to the public about it. He mocked those who were concerned by its progress. And he tried to pressure others—both within his administration and leaders at the state level—to do the same.
Donald Trump is the reason our country has been plunged into economic, medical, and institutional chaos.
And here it is important to make a distinction: Because unlike so many others, Donald Trump is not a victim of the coronavirus. He brought it on himself.
As he sits in isolation, facing the ramifications of his behavior, no one should hesitate to speak this basic truth.
Of course, everyone wishes Trump, his wife Melania, and other Trump staffers who have coronavirus well. We’ll hold them in our prayers. But, the country shouldn’t be in this situation.
And we wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for Donald Trump.
The president has held indoor rallies. He has gathered masses of people on the White House lawn, multiple times. He has mocked people wearing masks in order to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus. He badgered states to “open up” despite not having contained the coronavirus.
President Trump didn’t unwittingly contract coronavirus. He courted it.
If the spread of coronavirus is unique to Trumps failings and easy to prevent, why is the outbreak worse in France right now, with more than six months to prepare, than it is in the US?
Math not working for you bob? On a per capita basis, there are more new cases in France than the US. The last two days, for instance, if France had the same population as the US, there would have been 60,000 to 70,000 new cases in France each day.
donald Trump is the reason our country has been plunged into economic, medical, and institutional chaos.
Did you read the article you posted? But if you are now saying it's silly to blame one person for the spread of a highly contagious virus with no cure, than we agree.
breath, Sean, and start over. You just said that the spread of the disease is Trump's fault...
No, I didn't. Are you ever going to address why France, without Trump to blame, has a larger outbreak than the US right now? Or do you want to stick to your usual antics of yelling squirrel and avoiding actual facts?
. Are you ever going to address why France, without Trump to blame, has a larger outbreak than the US right now? Or do you want to stick to your usual antics of yelling squirrel and avoiding actual facts
It's the definition of an open question. I'm simply asking you, without any limits on your answer, to explain why France currently has a larger outbreak of the disease than the US.
Yesterday, the US had 54,000 plus cases and France had 12,000 plus. In raw numbers, the US is way ahead of France. If you do it on a per capita basis the number of each country is pretty much the same. 1.5 for the US 1.6 for France.
As stated earlier deaths are a lagging indicator and with the US in the 40K to 50K we will be seeing a lot more deaths down the road.
Currently, the US has 22,287 cases per million and France has 9,028 per million.
Deaths per million for the US are 645 and France is 492.
"If the spread of coronavirus is unique to Trumps failings and easy to prevent, why is the outbreak worse in France right now, with more than six months to prepare, than it is in the US?"
Two things.
Firstly, it is not unique to Trump's failings (and I'm surprised you of all people have admitted "Trump's failings"), because so many Americans have put their selfish "individual rights and freedoms" ahead of saving the health and lives of their friends, neighbours and family. But what has happened for the reasons already stated that it is also very much Trump;s fault.
Secondly, I'm not so sure that France's leadership is any smarter or more concerned about their citizens than the American leadership, and the people there just could be even more "devil-may-care" than Americans. There are third world countries and developing countries that have been more successful at containing the virus than America, let alone countries like New Zealand.
Truer words were never spoken - but notwithstanding that truth, his supporters will continue to praise him, insist that Trump is NEVER wrong - still they will NEVER admit to his having screwed the whole virus thing up, because Trump himself will never admit that he was wrong. They will choose instead to follow his lead and point and blame, point and blame,. Blame China. The virus may have originated in China, but even China brought it under control. Much lesser countries than the USA contained it, but why is it that probably the most advanced nation in the world failed to do so, and failed even after the first cases of it had hit the shores of the nation, and started to spread, and REFUSE to do what was necessary to contain it, universal strict adherence to the guidelines for containment, as other countries that have been successful HAVE done The answer is clear. It was the fault of Trump, who "played it down", blamed others, acted as if the economy was more important than American's health and lives, so it would not interfere with his reelection campaign - that was more important to him even though it led to more than 7 million American infections, more than 207,000 American deaths, and the numbers are climbing still. You will see the Trumpsters come up with desperate reasoning, such as the scientists themselves could not agree, or conspiracy theories such as China DELIBERATELY created the virus and DELIBERATELY released it to infect the whole world - even Adolph Hitler would not have done that, nor would ANY of the despots in history have done so.
I had a fascinating exchange, yesterday, with a TrumpTrueBeliever. He wanted to prove that France's response has been worse than America's. That isn't the case, of course...
Just for the sake of argument, let's imagine that France (or any other country) has a worse record than the US. So? What would that have to do with America's performance?
This has been the Trumpists' argument on every subject: someone else, somewhere, somewhen... has done worse. The criterion for "success" for the Trumpists is "better than the worst that anyone has ever done".
I guess trying to say that France has a worse problem than the US is deflection at it's best. He should be more concerned about the fricking fiasco that Trump has created in the US then looking for a country that has a bigger problem. The damn fact of the matter is the US is the poster child for COVID19.
In fact, they should spend more time concerned about the state they live in than France. WI is experiencing a huge surge in the virus and their Senator Johnson tested positive and knowing this attended an Octoberfest party.
President Trump has received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail being developed by the drug maker Regeneron, in addition to several other drugs, including zinc, vitamin D and the generic version of the heartburn treatment Pepcid, according to a letter from his doctor that was released by the White House on Friday afternoon.
The treatment from Regeneron is one of the most promising candidates to fight Covid-19. Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
In the letter, Mr. Trump’s doctor, Dr. Sean P. Conley, said he “completed the infusion without incident” and that he “remains fatigued but in good spirits.”
There are no approved treatments for Covid-19, but the Regeneron treatment is one of the most promising candidates. Initial results have suggested that it can reduce the level of the virus in the body and possibly shorten hospital stays — when it is given early in the course of infection.
In an interview Friday afternoon, Regeneron’s chief executive, Dr. Leonard S. Schleifer, said Mr. Trump’s medical staff had reached out to the company for permission to use the drug, and that it was cleared with the Food and Drug Administration.
“All we can say is that they asked to be able to use it, and we were happy to oblige,” he said. He said that so-called compassionate use cases — when patients are granted access to an experimental treatment outside of a clinical trial — are decided on a case-by-case basis and that Mr. Trump is not the first patient to be granted permission to use the treatment this way. “When it’s the president of the United States, of course, that gets — obviously — gets our attention.”
Dr. Schleifer has known Mr. Trump casually for years, having been a member of his golf club in Westchester County.
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy . I’m sure that’s what a lot of people were thinking when President Donald Trump announced on Friday morning that he and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, had tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
No matter your politics, you can’t help but think this was a long time coming. There are only so many times you can tempt fate before fate decides to remind you that you’re human, too.
How could this happen to someone like Trump, you ask? Let’s revisit a bunch of pictures and quotes that obviously show Trump taking the pandemic seriously. You be the judge.
U.S. President Donald Trump tosses a cap to supporters as he arrives for a campaign rally at Duluth International Airport in Duluth, Minnesota, on September 30, 2020 MANDEL NGAN / AFP (Getty Images
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (C) wears a face mask as U.S. President Donald Trump makes remarks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, May 13, 2020. Doug Mills-Pool (Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate Mike Pence acknowledge the crowd at the end of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016. Jeff J Mitchell (Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016. Chip Somodevilla Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport on September 25, 2020 in Newport News, Virginia. Drew Angerer Getty Images
When did the virus breach the Trump bubble? Inside a big Trump mystery Trump interacted with dozens of aides and hundreds of supporters throughout a series of widely attended events over the past week. Now his team is trying to figure out how widely the virus may have spread in his orbit.
The first sign of trouble sent a wave of worry through President Donald Trump’s team traveling on Air Force One: A beloved top White House aide, Hope Hicks, had fallen ill during a campaign trip to Minnesota.
After a fundraiser early Wednesday evening, Hicks stayed aboard the presidential aircraft as other Trump aides watched the airport rally that evening from the sidelines. She later isolated herself on the plane for the return trip to Washington.
Counselor to the President Hope Hicks arrives with President Donald Trump at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
By Thursday morning, Hicks had tested positive for Covid-19 — triggering a frenzy throughout the White House to handle a bombshell that would upend the final month of the 2020 campaign and reshape the president’s posture toward a virus that had already killed more than 208,000 Americans on his watch.
As the White House and campaign scrambled to chart a new plan for October with a hospitalized president, Trump’s aides and medical team were launching their highest-profile contact tracing exercise yet: dissecting the movements and interactions of the president, dozens of aides and perhaps hundreds of supporters throughout a series of widely attended events, from a Supreme Court nominee unveiling last Saturday to the first presidential debate in Ohio on Tuesday to a fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday, hours after the president already knew about the threat lurking within his team. By Friday afternoon, it remained far from clear whether Hicks or Trump himself or someone else entirely was the source of bringing the virus into the White House bubble.
The result of the sprawling effort carries high stakes for the president in the final stretch of a turbulent year. A detailed contact tracing effort could uncover more positive tests across Trump world, putting more staffers in quarantine with just over four weeks left until Election Day. Yet a failure to successfully recreate the steps of Trump and those in his orbit could allow a constant drip of Covid-19 news in the coming weeks that leaves the administration looking ill-prepared — especially after it faced criticism for a lackluster effort to fund and encourage robust contact tracing systems across the nation.
“It’s just dangerous for everyone,” one White House official said. “They put people’s lives in danger. They’re all trying to get on the same message. Some people are scared. Some people are pissed off because they were put into this position.”
Even Friday, once the world knew about the positive tests for the president, first lady and Hicks, the White House was still struggling to appear like it took the threat of the virus seriously. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows briefed reporters maskless — though most of the White House had been instructed to work from home.
“Why the f--- isn’t Meadows wearing a mask to brief?” another White House official asked.
Some aides were tracing their steps back to the events of the prior weekend, when Trump unveiled his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, in the White House Rose Garden. Some guests interacted at gatherings both inside and outside the White House before and after the event.
A Friday announcement by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) of his positive diagnosis led some attendees to wonder whether they may have been exposed there. Hundreds of largely unmasked guests attended the event, some of them seen hugging after the announcement. The University of Notre Dame president, who announced his positive diagnosis on Friday, said he had been tested before the Rose Garden event and “told that it was safe to remove our masks.” (Health officials say the virus could take up to 14 days to lead to a positive test.) Numerous officials who attended Saturday have since tested negative.
Following the Rose Garden ceremony on Saturday, several top aides and close advisers attended a small celebration in the Diplomatic Room of the White House alongside Barrett and her family to celebrate her nomination. Barrett had been diagnosed with Covid-19 over the summer but has since recovered, according to a person familiar with the situation.
On Sunday, the president held a news conference and a private candlelight reception with Gold Star families on the State Floor.
While Trump held other events Monday, including an announcement to repackage an earlier message about his coronavirus testing strategy, attention has focused squarely on a stretch from Tuesday’s presidential debate — which Hicks also attended — to Wednesday’s events in Minnesota to Trump’s Bedminster trip on Thursday.
Ahead of the debate on Tuesday in Cleveland, the president prepared at the White House with personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Aides and family members then traveled with Trump to Ohio to square off with Biden.
Speaking on ABC Friday morning, Christie said no one wore masks while in the room with the president as he got ready for the debate. Christie also said he tested negative on Friday.
Notably missing in Tuesday’s debate hall was Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, who tested positive for the virus on Wednesday after a family member also tested positive. (She had been at home in Michigan last Saturday, the RNC said. A day earlier, last Friday, McDaniel and GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York had visited the Trump 2020 headquarters. according to a campaign staffer.)
Later Tuesday night on the debate stage, the president said wearing a mask is “OK,” arguing he wears one “when needed.” But then he went on to mock the former vice president for excessive mask wearing.
“I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him he’s got a mask,” Trump said of Biden.
The same attitude was reflected by most members of Trump’s own family, who took off their masks after walking into the debate hall. The first lady did wear a mask during the debate.
Asked about the atmosphere of mask-wearing in the White House, one White House official said: “Some people wear them because they think it’s important. And I think some are probably embarrassed to wear them because there are some who think it’s dumb and they’re pretty loud about that.”
A person close to the White House added that staffers have been trying to follow Trump’s lead and his profound skepticism about the importance of mask-wearing. “It had less to do with weakness and more to do with reflecting the president’s behavior,” the person said. “The president’s behavior has a large impact on the staff.”
On Wednesday night, staffers started sensing that one of the closest people in Trump’s orbit was ill. The president traveled to Duluth, Minn. — for a fundraiser at a private home followed by a campaign rally — with a group of aides that included chief of staff Meadows and senior advisers Hicks, Stephen Miller and Derek Lyons.
Trump only spoke for about 45 minutes at the rally that night, an unusually short amount of time for the president’s freewheeling speeches. When asked why the rally was brief, one aide scoffed and said it was still 47 minutes long. Still, reporters traveling with Trump that night were struck by the short length of his speech — often the president will speak without a prompter for over 90 minutes.
On the flight back, Hicks displayed symptoms, according to a person familiar, and self-quarantined aboard Air Force One. She had traveled with the first family on Marine One earlier in the day.
The next morning, a Covid test came back positive.
News of Hicks’ diagnosis was closely held among a small group of aides at the White House. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany held a briefing for reporters late Thursday morning at the White House, and has said she did not learn that Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus until later that afternoon.
But soon after that news, the president was back aboard Marine One heading to another event. Some aides had been pulled from the trip as top White House officials grappled with the implications and sent some staffers home.
Only a handful of officials — including Tony Ornato, Brian Jack, John McEntee and Judd Deere — traveled with Trump to New Jersey, where the president gathered among dozens of donors outdoors at his Bedminster golf club.
That night, Trump said in a taped message to the Al Smith dinner that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”
Hours later, as word of Hicks’ positive test results spread publicly, Trump went on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program to discuss her situation and say he was awaiting his own test results.
“The first time I realized that something was up with him personally was the Hannity hit,” one White House official said. “He did sound a little different. … He just sounded a little bit congested to me.”
Trump announced his own results in a tweet early Friday morning, just before 1 a.m.
“It’s just dangerous for everyone,” one White House official said. “They put people’s lives in danger. They’re all trying to get on the same message. Some people are scared. Some people are pissed off because they were put into this position.”
...
A beloved top White House aide, Hope Hicks, had fallen ill during a campaign trip to Minnesota.
Do: Contact the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (202) 863-8000 (listed on web) and the Biden Campaign and tell Joe not to disarm in the face of a man wielding a political weapon! Be smart. Run your ads with discretion, but intent as well!
Trump has COVID.
I thought that it disappeared or we were rounding the corner on the virus.
Oh my, who to believe./s
Is Covid still a hoax or has there been a policy change while I was asleep?
What Donald Trump has said about Covid-19 – a recap
Throughout the pandemic, the US president has been accused of putting people in danger with false or confusing advice
President Donald Trump holds up his face mask during the first presidential debate in Ohio.
Julio Cortez/AP
As Trump goes into isolation, here are some of his most criticised comments on the coronavirus:
On the virus being under control or disappearing
“ The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA .” In a tweet on 24 February.
“Because of all we’ve done, the risk to the American people remains very low.” Remarks at a White House press conference on 27 February.
Trump's changing reactions to coronavirus: from calm to closing borders – video report
“ It’s going to disappear. One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” At a White House meeting on 27 February.
“We’re very close to a vaccine and we’re very close to therapeutics, really good therapeutics. But even without that, I don’t like to talk about that because it’s fading away .” Speaking to Fox News on 17 July.
On face masks
“ I don’t think I’m going to be doing it … I don’t know, somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk. I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens. I don’t know, somehow I don’t see it for myself. I just, I just don’t .” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 3 April.
'I don't want to': Trump rejects CDC coronavirus face mask guidance – video
“My administration has a different approach: we have urged Americans to wear masks. And I emphasised this is a patriotic thing to do. Maybe they’re great and maybe they’re just good. Maybe they’re not so good .” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 13 August.
“When needed, I wear masks. I don’t wear a mask like him (Joe Biden) . Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.” At the 2020 presidential debate on 29 September.
Trump mocks Biden during first presidential debate: 'I don’t wear a mask like him' – video
On untested and dangerous treatments for the coronavirus
“ I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning ? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 23 April.
Trump floats dangerous coronavirus treatment ideas as Dr Birx looks on – video
“ Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light … and then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body , which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too. It sounds interesting.” Speaking to reporters at the White House on 23 April.
On the dangers of Covid-19
“ I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because I don’t want to create a panic.” Comments to journalist Bob Woodward on 19 March.
“Now we have tested almost 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless. ” South Lawn speech at the White House on 4 July.
From miracle cures to slowing testing: how Trump has defied science on coronavirus – video explainer
These are the President's own words. I don't understand how anyone can hear them and not cringe...
They must wait for their flappers whack them on the ears. I guess Fox News would fill the bill as flappers.
Trump Caused This
COVID denialism has consequences.
We will eclipse this
Hannah Yoest / Shutterstock
This is not an accident. Unlike untold numbers of Americans, such as medical workers and first responders, who have contracted the deadly virus despite taking precautious, President Trump ignored science and prudence and commonsense. He taunted medical fate. Trump and his White House staff have ignored the most basic public health best practices: Masking. Social distancing. Avoiding crowds.
The president has held indoor rallies. He has gathered masses of people on the White House lawn, multiple times. He has mocked people wearing masks in order to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus. He badgered states to “open up” despite not having contained the coronavirus.
President Trump didn’t unwittingly contract coronavirus. He courted it. And, Republicans, eager to demonstrate their loyalty, followed his lead. They similarly held indoor events. They posted pictures to social media of themselves maskless, in crowds, as if to prove their defiance of basic science.
To say President Trump “failed” in his job to protect America isn’t quite right. Because he didn’t even try. What he did, instead, was focus on his reelection campaign to the exclusion of all else. People pleaded with him for months to take the virus seriously, and he refused. He lied to the public about it. He mocked those who were concerned by its progress. And he tried to pressure others—both within his administration and leaders at the state level—to do the same.
Donald Trump is the reason our country has been plunged into economic, medical, and institutional chaos.
And here it is important to make a distinction: Because unlike so many others, Donald Trump is not a victim of the coronavirus. He brought it on himself.
As he sits in isolation, facing the ramifications of his behavior, no one should hesitate to speak this basic truth.
Of course, everyone wishes Trump, his wife Melania, and other Trump staffers who have coronavirus well. We’ll hold them in our prayers. But, the country shouldn’t be in this situation.
And we wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for Donald Trump.
If the spread of coronavirus is unique to Trumps failings and easy to prevent, why is the outbreak worse in France right now, with more than six months to prepare, than it is in the US?
Did the president of France tell the people not to wear a mask?
I have no idea. If telling people to wear a mask stops the virus, why is the outbreak bigger in France than America right now?
It isn't. Not by a long shot.
Math not working for you bob? On a per capita basis, there are more new cases in France than the US. The last two days, for instance, if France had the same population as the US, there would have been 60,000 to 70,000 new cases in France each day.
And more deaths in the US.
Death is a lagging indicator, it reflect the spread a month to six weeks ago. Give it a month to six weeks and see where France’s numbers are.
OK. Until then... fewer deaths in France...
So why, if The spread of the disease is unique to trump, can’t France control it?
Who said that?
Yes, thats how the disease works. were you possibly unaware of that six months into the pandemic?
although a month might be too far out. With equal populations, France would have had about 700 deaths yesterday. The USA had 864.
Take a deep breath, Sean, and start over. You just said that the spread of the disease is Trump's fault...
ho said that?
People who say things like this?
Did you read the article you posted? But if you are now saying it's silly to blame one person for the spread of a highly contagious virus with no cure, than we agree.
No, I didn't. Are you ever going to address why France, without Trump to blame, has a larger outbreak than the US right now? Or do you want to stick to your usual antics of yelling squirrel and avoiding actual facts?
Seriously, Sean?
Your citation does not say - at all - what you would like it to.
. Are you ever going to address why France, without Trump to blame, has a larger outbreak than the US right now? Or do you want to stick to your usual antics of yelling squirrel and avoiding actual facts
No... I won't answer a closed question like that. Ever. On any subject.
Try an open question...
It's the definition of an open question. I'm simply asking you, without any limits on your answer, to explain why France currently has a larger outbreak of the disease than the US.
Yesterday, the US had 54,000 plus cases and France had 12,000 plus. In raw numbers, the US is way ahead of France. If you do it on a per capita basis the number of each country is pretty much the same. 1.5 for the US 1.6 for France.
As stated earlier deaths are a lagging indicator and with the US in the 40K to 50K we will be seeing a lot more deaths down the road.
Currently, the US has 22,287 cases per million and France has 9,028 per million.
Deaths per million for the US are 645 and France is 492.
The situation is far from satisfactory, though. Too many people ignore the preventive rules. Masks are worn any-which way. Distancing is lax.
There are lots of complaints about the rules.
The French can be pretty stupid, too.
Two things.
Firstly, it is not unique to Trump's failings (and I'm surprised you of all people have admitted "Trump's failings"), because so many Americans have put their selfish "individual rights and freedoms" ahead of saving the health and lives of their friends, neighbours and family. But what has happened for the reasons already stated that it is also very much Trump;s fault.
Secondly, I'm not so sure that France's leadership is any smarter or more concerned about their citizens than the American leadership, and the people there just could be even more "devil-may-care" than Americans. There are third world countries and developing countries that have been more successful at containing the virus than America, let alone countries like New Zealand.
Truer words were never spoken - but notwithstanding that truth, his supporters will continue to praise him, insist that Trump is NEVER wrong - still they will NEVER admit to his having screwed the whole virus thing up, because Trump himself will never admit that he was wrong. They will choose instead to follow his lead and point and blame, point and blame,. Blame China. The virus may have originated in China, but even China brought it under control. Much lesser countries than the USA contained it, but why is it that probably the most advanced nation in the world failed to do so, and failed even after the first cases of it had hit the shores of the nation, and started to spread, and REFUSE to do what was necessary to contain it, universal strict adherence to the guidelines for containment, as other countries that have been successful HAVE done The answer is clear. It was the fault of Trump, who "played it down", blamed others, acted as if the economy was more important than American's health and lives, so it would not interfere with his reelection campaign - that was more important to him even though it led to more than 7 million American infections, more than 207,000 American deaths, and the numbers are climbing still. You will see the Trumpsters come up with desperate reasoning, such as the scientists themselves could not agree, or conspiracy theories such as China DELIBERATELY created the virus and DELIBERATELY released it to infect the whole world - even Adolph Hitler would not have done that, nor would ANY of the despots in history have done so.
I had a fascinating exchange, yesterday, with a TrumpTrueBeliever. He wanted to prove that France's response has been worse than America's. That isn't the case, of course...
Just for the sake of argument, let's imagine that France (or any other country) has a worse record than the US. So? What would that have to do with America's performance?
This has been the Trumpists' argument on every subject: someone else, somewhere, somewhen... has done worse. The criterion for "success" for the Trumpists is "better than the worst that anyone has ever done".
That's a pretty low bar.
I guess trying to say that France has a worse problem than the US is deflection at it's best. He should be more concerned about the fricking fiasco that Trump has created in the US then looking for a country that has a bigger problem. The damn fact of the matter is the US is the poster child for COVID19.
In fact, they should spend more time concerned about the state they live in than France. WI is experiencing a huge surge in the virus and their Senator Johnson tested positive and knowing this attended an Octoberfest party.
He should be charged with assault...
Trump received an experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron
The treatment from Regeneron is one of the most promising candidates to fight Covid-19.
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
In the letter, Mr. Trump’s doctor, Dr. Sean P. Conley, said he “completed the infusion without incident” and that he “remains fatigued but in good spirits.”
There are no approved treatments for Covid-19, but the Regeneron treatment is one of the most promising candidates. Initial results have suggested that it can reduce the level of the virus in the body and possibly shorten hospital stays — when it is given early in the course of infection.
In an interview Friday afternoon, Regeneron’s chief executive, Dr. Leonard S. Schleifer, said Mr. Trump’s medical staff had reached out to the company for permission to use the drug, and that it was cleared with the Food and Drug Administration.
“All we can say is that they asked to be able to use it, and we were happy to oblige,” he said. He said that so-called compassionate use cases — when patients are granted access to an experimental treatment outside of a clinical trial — are decided on a case-by-case basis and that Mr. Trump is not the first patient to be granted permission to use the treatment this way. “When it’s the president of the United States, of course, that gets — obviously — gets our attention.”
Dr. Schleifer has known Mr. Trump casually for years, having been a member of his golf club in Westchester County.
— Katie Thomas
Why is the President receiving a drug that has not yet been approved?
Is that a good sign, or bad?
Yesterday over 54,000 Americans tested positive for COVID.
Trump must be at Walter Reed searching for the virus that according to him has disappeared.
Here Are a Bunch of Pictures of Donald Trump Taking the Pandemic Seriously
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy . I’m sure that’s what a lot of people were thinking when President Donald Trump announced on Friday morning that he and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, had tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
No matter your politics, you can’t help but think this was a long time coming. There are only so many times you can tempt fate before fate decides to remind you that you’re human, too.
How could this happen to someone like Trump, you ask? Let’s revisit a bunch of pictures and quotes that obviously show Trump taking the pandemic seriously. You be the judge.
U.S. President Donald Trump tosses a cap to supporters as he arrives for a campaign rally
at Duluth International Airport in Duluth, Minnesota, on September 30, 2020
MANDEL NGAN / AFP (Getty Images
makes remarks during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, May 13, 2020.
Doug Mills-Pool (Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate Mike Pence
acknowledge the crowd at the end of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016.
Jeff J Mitchell (Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech during the evening session
on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016.
Chip Somodevilla Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport on September 25, 2020 in Newport News, Virginia.
Drew Angerer Getty Images
There are more photos in the OA.
When did the virus breach the Trump bubble? Inside a big Trump mystery
Trump interacted with dozens of aides and hundreds of supporters throughout a series of widely attended events over the past week. Now his team is trying to figure out how widely the virus may have spread in his orbit.
After a fundraiser early Wednesday evening, Hicks stayed aboard the presidential aircraft as other Trump aides watched the airport rally that evening from the sidelines. She later isolated herself on the plane for the return trip to Washington.
Counselor to the President Hope Hicks arrives with President Donald Trump at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
By Thursday morning, Hicks had tested positive for Covid-19 — triggering a frenzy throughout the White House to handle a bombshell that would upend the final month of the 2020 campaign and reshape the president’s posture toward a virus that had already killed more than 208,000 Americans on his watch.
As the White House and campaign scrambled to chart a new plan for October with a hospitalized president, Trump’s aides and medical team were launching their highest-profile contact tracing exercise yet: dissecting the movements and interactions of the president, dozens of aides and perhaps hundreds of supporters throughout a series of widely attended events, from a Supreme Court nominee unveiling last Saturday to the first presidential debate in Ohio on Tuesday to a fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday, hours after the president already knew about the threat lurking within his team. By Friday afternoon, it remained far from clear whether Hicks or Trump himself or someone else entirely was the source of bringing the virus into the White House bubble.
The result of the sprawling effort carries high stakes for the president in the final stretch of a turbulent year. A detailed contact tracing effort could uncover more positive tests across Trump world, putting more staffers in quarantine with just over four weeks left until Election Day. Yet a failure to successfully recreate the steps of Trump and those in his orbit could allow a constant drip of Covid-19 news in the coming weeks that leaves the administration looking ill-prepared — especially after it faced criticism for a lackluster effort to fund and encourage robust contact tracing systems across the nation.
“It’s just dangerous for everyone,” one White House official said. “They put people’s lives in danger. They’re all trying to get on the same message. Some people are scared. Some people are pissed off because they were put into this position.”
Even Friday, once the world knew about the positive tests for the president, first lady and Hicks, the White House was still struggling to appear like it took the threat of the virus seriously. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows briefed reporters maskless — though most of the White House had been instructed to work from home.
“Why the f--- isn’t Meadows wearing a mask to brief?” another White House official asked.
Some aides were tracing their steps back to the events of the prior weekend, when Trump unveiled his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, in the White House Rose Garden. Some guests interacted at gatherings both inside and outside the White House before and after the event.
A Friday announcement by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) of his positive diagnosis led some attendees to wonder whether they may have been exposed there. Hundreds of largely unmasked guests attended the event, some of them seen hugging after the announcement. The University of Notre Dame president, who announced his positive diagnosis on Friday, said he had been tested before the Rose Garden event and “told that it was safe to remove our masks.” (Health officials say the virus could take up to 14 days to lead to a positive test.) Numerous officials who attended Saturday have since tested negative.
Following the Rose Garden ceremony on Saturday, several top aides and close advisers attended a small celebration in the Diplomatic Room of the White House alongside Barrett and her family to celebrate her nomination. Barrett had been diagnosed with Covid-19 over the summer but has since recovered, according to a person familiar with the situation.
On Sunday, the president held a news conference and a private candlelight reception with Gold Star families on the State Floor.
While Trump held other events Monday, including an announcement to repackage an earlier message about his coronavirus testing strategy, attention has focused squarely on a stretch from Tuesday’s presidential debate — which Hicks also attended — to Wednesday’s events in Minnesota to Trump’s Bedminster trip on Thursday.
Ahead of the debate on Tuesday in Cleveland, the president prepared at the White House with personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Aides and family members then traveled with Trump to Ohio to square off with Biden.
Speaking on ABC Friday morning, Christie said no one wore masks while in the room with the president as he got ready for the debate. Christie also said he tested negative on Friday.
Notably missing in Tuesday’s debate hall was Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, who tested positive for the virus on Wednesday after a family member also tested positive. (She had been at home in Michigan last Saturday, the RNC said. A day earlier, last Friday, McDaniel and GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York had visited the Trump 2020 headquarters. according to a campaign staffer.)
Later Tuesday night on the debate stage, the president said wearing a mask is “OK,” arguing he wears one “when needed.” But then he went on to mock the former vice president for excessive mask wearing.
“I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him he’s got a mask,” Trump said of Biden.
The same attitude was reflected by most members of Trump’s own family, who took off their masks after walking into the debate hall. The first lady did wear a mask during the debate.
Asked about the atmosphere of mask-wearing in the White House, one White House official said: “Some people wear them because they think it’s important. And I think some are probably embarrassed to wear them because there are some who think it’s dumb and they’re pretty loud about that.”
A person close to the White House added that staffers have been trying to follow Trump’s lead and his profound skepticism about the importance of mask-wearing. “It had less to do with weakness and more to do with reflecting the president’s behavior,” the person said. “The president’s behavior has a large impact on the staff.”
On Wednesday night, staffers started sensing that one of the closest people in Trump’s orbit was ill. The president traveled to Duluth, Minn. — for a fundraiser at a private home followed by a campaign rally — with a group of aides that included chief of staff Meadows and senior advisers Hicks, Stephen Miller and Derek Lyons.
Trump only spoke for about 45 minutes at the rally that night, an unusually short amount of time for the president’s freewheeling speeches. When asked why the rally was brief, one aide scoffed and said it was still 47 minutes long. Still, reporters traveling with Trump that night were struck by the short length of his speech — often the president will speak without a prompter for over 90 minutes.
On the flight back, Hicks displayed symptoms, according to a person familiar, and self-quarantined aboard Air Force One. She had traveled with the first family on Marine One earlier in the day.
The next morning, a Covid test came back positive.
News of Hicks’ diagnosis was closely held among a small group of aides at the White House. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany held a briefing for reporters late Thursday morning at the White House, and has said she did not learn that Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus until later that afternoon.
But soon after that news, the president was back aboard Marine One heading to another event. Some aides had been pulled from the trip as top White House officials grappled with the implications and sent some staffers home.
Only a handful of officials — including Tony Ornato, Brian Jack, John McEntee and Judd Deere — traveled with Trump to New Jersey, where the president gathered among dozens of donors outdoors at his Bedminster golf club.
That night, Trump said in a taped message to the Al Smith dinner that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”
Hours later, as word of Hicks’ positive test results spread publicly, Trump went on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program to discuss her situation and say he was awaiting his own test results.
“The first time I realized that something was up with him personally was the Hannity hit,” one White House official said. “He did sound a little different. … He just sounded a little bit congested to me.”
Trump announced his own results in a tweet early Friday morning, just before 1 a.m.
"beloved"???
Yeah - probably looking for loose change.
Most of that time was spent looking for it. He probably hasn't seen it in years.
Trump has no reason to be jealous of Bill Clinton in that regard.
Do: Contact the DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (202) 863-8000 (listed on web) and the Biden Campaign and tell Joe not to disarm in the face of a man wielding a political weapon! Be smart. Run your ads with discretion, but intent as well!
How Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis could change the U.S. election
By Graham Slaughter CTVNews.ca Writer
An interesting commentary by a Canadian journalist on Canada's CTV Television Network - includes a video.