Coronavirus testing: Anthony Fauci says task force 'seriously considering' new strategy
Category: News & Politics
Via: it-is-me • 4 years ago • 125 commentsBy: By Jim Acosta and Sam Fossum, CNN
Here's how CNN reports !
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Friday that the White House coronavirus task force is "seriously considering" pool testing for Covid-19 and acknowledged to The Washington Post that the Trump administration's current testing strategy has proven inadequate.
Although President Donald Trump has repeatedly downplayed the need for increased testing -- and suggested last week that he asked for testing to be slowed down -- the nation is experiencing a surge in confirmed cases, demonstrating the nation's inability thus far to get a grip on the spiraling pandemic.
Fauci first mentioned the discussions in an interview with The Washington Post published on Friday morning.
"Something's not working," Fauci said of the nation's current approach in an interview with The Post. "I mean, you can do all the diagramming you want, but something is not working."
The way "pool testing" works is by mixing together several samples together into a "batch," or pool, and then test the pooled sample with one diagnostic test. This way you can test a group of, for example, 25 people with one test rather than 25 separate diagnostic tests. If the test comes back negative, then you have eliminated 25 people with one test. If you get a positive result, you go back and test people individually.
"What you need to do is find the penetration of infected people in your society," Fauci told The Washington Post. "And the only way you know that is by casting a broad net."
Fauci also told the Post that the high levels of asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus are forcing health experts to rethink how to approach mitigating the spread of Covid-19.
"We now know the level of virus in an asymptomatic person is about the same as the level of virus in somebody who has symptoms," Fauci said. "So it's like, oh my goodness, how do you address that?"
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First of all...…. WTF ?
Second …… Isn't Dr. Fauci the Trump administration ?
third ……. Isn't Dr. Fauci the one that started this entire thing off, telling us "Nothing to worry about, he would do the worrying for us" ?
fourth ……. WTF ?……. Again !
It's President Trumps Fault !
First of all...…. WTF ?
...........................You can say that again!
Second …… Isn't Dr. Fauci the Trump administration ?
...........................He is simply an adviser, no actual power of his own.
third ……. Isn't Dr. Fauci the one that started this entire thing off, telling us "Nothing to worry about, he would do the worrying for us" ?
...........................•Former White House advisor Steven Bannon says Anthony Fauci, director of the Centers for Control and Prevention, said ...........................Americans shouldn't "worry" about corona-19.
...........................•In late January, Fauci twice said the country shouldn't fret.
...........................•But both times, he added that the situation could change.
........................... Did Fauci tell U.S. 'not to worry about' coronavirus?
fourth ……. WTF ?……. Again !
...........................You can say that again!...AGAIN!!
Trump repeatedly refused to take advise from his various experts about this pandemic, refused to take any meaningful actions on this pandemic, and even undercut many recommendations for dealing with this pandemic.
So yes, that Coronavirus is still growing and killing more and more Americans IS TRUMPS FAULT!!!
tRump essentially ignored all warnings until it was essentially too late for the U.S.
Plus tRump dissolved the Pandemic Response Team that President Obama put in place. We know that made quite a difference as well.
[deleted]
Really….which ones ?
Joe did say Trump was being a xenophobe for trying to stop travel to this country.
Is that one of them ?
Maybe When Dr. Fauci said "Nothing to Worry about", and Trump didn't shut things down right then and there ?
That One ?
Maybe for not stopping the likes of Cuomo, from depositing Virus laden folks in "Elder Homes" ?
That ?
Maybe because Trump didn't grab State leaders by the ear and make them run their State like they were hired to do ?
Could Be ?
Maybe it was when he said Kung Flu", that really messed things up ?
Maybe ?
Just a few !
Sure....that caused ALL the problems.
Who knew "The Team" hadn't already been trying to find a cure for something not one damned expert knew about.
Dr. Fauci has changed his mind again..... Now What ?
I didn't say it caused ALL the problems.
Just one more fuck up from 'president' fuck up
You didn't read the "Obama color by numbers Questionnaire" your touting, did you !
Decisions where and still are made at the state level. You do know that Governors run the states?
Even if that were true (and we know it's not true because both Drs. Fauci and Birx have repeatedly said that Trump sought out and followed their advice), it's evident that wouldn't have done much. Because after months of sickness, study, and analysis, all our resident "expert" has to offer is: "something's not working." So what makes you think taking his advice however many months ago would have accomplished anything?
Would you care to provide a picture of Trump wearing a mask while out in public???
You know I provided quotes, and a link to what Fauci actually said, continuing to claim otherwise just makes you look foolish.
You understand that the federal government has job when there is a national emergency....right? That job is NOT to pass the buck.
Show me a picture of Trump wearing a mask. Show me a picture of Trump social distancing.
iitts truly not funny
Interesting picture you chose. The disease expert in the photo is doing neither of those things. Looks like Trump is listening to scientists again.
But anyway:
Coronavirus: Donald Trump seen wearing a face mask on visit to Ford plant in Michigan
He posed for the picture, then took it off for the actual tour of the plant. And yes, here is the video as evidence.
Trump Goes Without Mask For Public Tour of Michigan Factory, Says He ‘Didn’t Want to Give the Press the Pleasure’ of Seeing Him Wearing One
Do I care? No. You asked for a picture of Trump in a mask and you got it. But rather than accept it [[deleted]] you want to say it doesn't count. By the way, I never claimed Trump wore masks. Apropos of absolutely nothing, you demanded the picture. Just for grins, I gave it to you. You're welcome.
Meanwhile, you still haven't been able to support your bogus claim that Trump refuses to take advice from experts. In fact, I can direct you to evidence - from the scientists themselves - that he actually does take their advice.
See @3.2.6
Will you face these facts and change your opinion? Unlikely!
tRump ignores all scientific advice from the experts.
Since when?
I just wish the ugly mofo would wear a mask all the time, just because.
I loved Brad Pitt as Fauci on an SNL cold opening. It was perfect.
WHEN?
You are correct, I asked for a simple, basic, picture of trump wearing a mask. If I'd remember him posing for this photo I would have specified, in a public place, but I didn't so congratulations.
Your evidence consists of "Fauci says". I want to see action that he is listening and following, not hearsay from an employee in fear of his job.
No-- here's merely one of several advisors. Trump has the great power of the presidency-- Fauci does not.
(I'm wonder why so many people don't know that....
???)
One of two or three that we always see at the podium ?
Of course, that "One", testified that Trump NEVER told him to slow down, like the Media tell's you Trump did.
What makes you think Fox News is not media?
No, the media didn't say that, tRump did. Those words came directly from the turds' mouth.
"Opinion Shows"...… ALL
But I suppose.....the others are just "News" ?
like the Media tell's you Trump did
What makes you think Fox News is not media?
You missed the word " Testified " in my comment ?
Of course....the Media NEVER said Trump told Dr. Fauci to slow down...….
Yes, that is exactly what Faux 'news' is, an 'Opinion Show'
That's right. He didn't tell Fauci to slow down testing.
The other ones are Standup Walter Cronkite types.
That's right - tRump just pulled Federal funding for testing
Why is it some people only post partial stories.............rhetorical
13 sites is 5 states. That'll make a HUGE impact........./s
Since Fauci has nothing to do with the testing process, why would he have told him this anyway?
As Houston runs out of ICU rooms and Children's Hospital in Harris County starts to admit Adults with COVID.
Bad timing at best and an Administration that must be blind to the political optics.
Why don't we just try to kill healthcare for 16 million people and bring the separated children on the border back into the news?
My bad, nevermind.../s
"As Houston runs out of ICU rooms and Children's Hospital in Harris County starts to admit Adults with COVID.
Bad timing at best and an Administration that must be blind to the political optics.
Why don't we just try to kill healthcare for 16 million people and bring the separated children on the border back into the news?
My bad, nevermind.../s"
People are literally dying.
People not using common sense precautions and guidelines is killing them.
As Houston runs out of ICU rooms and Children's Hospital in Harris County starts to admit Adults with COVID.
And then we have this:
And this
And this:
Fauci was the #1 health advisor and the President took all of Dr Stragelove's advice, including shutting down the economy for that "peak two week - which morphed into two fuckin months period. This BS of blaming the President is no surprise. We all knew the left was going to do it.
Yes-- I totally agree!
After all,, as many people have pointed out, President Trump repeatedly refused to take advise from his various experts about this pandemic, refused to take any meaningful actions on this pandemic, and even undercut many recommendations for dealing with this pandemic.(Not the least of which is refusing to wear a mask himself...which sends a clear message!
Wonder what would have happened if Trump "Took Over" every States leadership roles ?
"refused to take any meaningful actions on this pandemic"
Like Stopping Travel into this country.
That "Try" went well....didn't it ? The Not on our watch Leaders were just wonderful !
At least Dr. Fauci noted.....2 months later.....it was time to really wear masks. Great Timing.
"Wearing masks 3 months in to a pandemic is like handing out condoms at a baby shower."
'Wonder what would have happened if Trump "Took Over" every States leadership roles ?'
I'm still waiting for tRump to 'Take Over' a 'president's' leadership role
It Is Me doesn't wear a mask in public.
He told me that months ago.
According to CDC data , 31.28 million tests have been performed and 2.95 million of those tests were positive. That means 9 pct of the tests provided useful information.
From those results we could expect that testing all 320 million people in the United States would result in 28.8 positive results. And a negative result does not mean the tested individual has not been infected or won't become infected. The test only indicates when an individual can actively spread the virus. Those who test negative would need to be retested on a regular schedule until they become infected.
We are wasting a lot of resources and creating a lot of biohazard waste to obtain information of questionable value. Since the test cannot differentiate between those who been infected and those who have not been infected, at this point in the pandemic the test results aren't really providing an indication of risk within the population.
It's the wrong type of test for the current stage of the pandemic. The pandemic has progressed too far at this point to limit further spread of the virus through testing and contact tracing. Environmental testing (primarily air sampling) may be more useful at this point in progression of the pandemic.
I wonder why we don't here about those that test "Negative" for the virus. How many of those types are there ?
Does it matter ?
It just means that they don't have it at the time of that test. Nothing more.
They can turn up positive later in days or months from now.
I know. Last week we had one day here where there were 1,300 "new cases"...............out of 20,000 tests conducted.
It actually does.
Gotta keep the electorate hunkered down ?
Compared to "Population" in this country...… 2,494,579+ or - that they say have the virus, ain't huge on the percentage scale.
Spread that count in a 3.8 Million square mile land mass (America), and it would be just as hard to find them, as it is trying to find Waldo.
Not my idea.
New guesstimate is that 20 million have already had the virus with or without minimum symptoms.
Found 4 more in my bride's downtown office high rise this week- just checking them in the lobby for fever.
- her firm sent everyone back to working from home for two more weeks.
According to the CDC data, 91 pct of those being tested are negative. Of course, we don't know how many of those testing positive were tested more than once.
The number of tests performed doesn't correspond to the number of people that have been tested because of the need for repeated testing. That's why complaints about shortage of testing persist. That's also why reporting the number of negative results would be meaningless.
We've had the same thing going on here. no one has died that we know.
My Family thinks some of us had it back in the last week of November (Based on what they said Symptoms are supposed to be). Some members were out sick for almost 2 weeks. Everyone was better by Christmas.
Unless they Tested 20 million, Another Killer, the Flu, was going on at the same time also.
Or even sooner than tha...
Its even possible you could go to get tested (when you don't have the virus), then immediately go shopping in a supermarket-- and get the virus!
I should have put a comma after later, lol.
According to CDC data , 31.28 million tests have been performed and 2.95 million of those tests were positive. That means 9 pct of the tests provided useful information.
Assuming the tests were accurate. (Which, after listening to Trump downplaying the the tests, leads me to believe they aren't all that reliable).
In addition while I'm not questioning Trump's medical expertise , I hav eheard him severely criticizing the CDC on several occasions.. So I'm not sure I'd trust their data :
According to CDC data , 31.28 million tests have been performed and 2.95 million of those tests were positive. That means 9 pct of the tests provided useful information.
IIRC its still to early to generalize as different localities have been using different tests!
In fact the administration said that some tests were received from China (the home of the so-called "Kung-Fu" Virus!) So it should be no surprise that, as President Trump has mentioned, those tests turned out to be of poor quality and the results were misleading..to say the least!!!
From those results we could expect that testing all 320 million people in the United States would result in 28.8 positive results
Or zero results-- or 20,000, given all the false assumptions that people are making (as I have pointed out, see my previous comments)..
The fact is-- as dr. fauci has mentioned on numerous occasions--there's a lot we still don't know about the virus.
Boy! This is really the kind of thing that inspires confidence, isn't it? And we're supposed to gleefully worship everything that comes out of the mouths of these people. Write laws. Set policy. Radically alter lifestyles. All based on "something's not working." That's deep.
Well.....he is a "God" with the Hate Trump Movement. I wonder how many times he and the others can change their mind, before questioning by "Those" members actually start.
Maybe NEVER ?
WTF??? If that's the case-- why does Trump keep him on?
Do you know how hard it is to get rid of an entrenched Federal bureaucrat???? Fauci is such a bureaucrat. I doubt that he's actually seen a patient in the last 50 years.
What makes you think so? Could it be because he agrees with the "thoughts" (emotions) of those who hate Trump above everything else, including the health and safety of the nation?
'Do you know how hard it is to get rid of an entrenched Federal bureaucrat???? Fauci is such a bureaucrat. I doubt that he's actually seen a patient in the last 50 years.'
'What makes you think so? Could it be because he agrees with the "thoughts" (emotions) of those who hate Trump above everything else, including the health and safety of the nation?'
All your comments make no sense whatsoever.
How the hell is Dr. Fauci an entrenched Federal bureaucrat?
He's a brilliant doctor and scientist.
What does not seeing a patient 'in the last 50 years' have to do with it?
'What makes you think so? Could it be because he agrees with the "thoughts" (emotions) of those who hate Trump above everything else, including the health and safety of the nation?'
Is everything a conspiracy against tRump?
I'll take Dr. Fauci's expertise over tRumps.
Here's some information regarding Dr. Fauci:
About NIAID
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director
Dr. Fauci was appointed Director of NIAID in 1984. He oversees an extensive research portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat established infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis and malaria as well as emerging diseases such as Ebola and Zika. NIAID also supports research on transplantation and immune-related illnesses, including autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies. The NIAID budget for fiscal year 2020 is an estimated $5.9 billion.
Dr. Fauci has advised six Presidents on HIV/AIDS and many other domestic and global health issues. He was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that has saved millions of lives throughout the developing world.
Read Dr. Fauci's Biography
Read about how NIAID is conducting and supporting research on SARS CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Profiles, Awards, and Honors
March 8, 2020
November 8, 2019
October 2, 2019
Publications and Articles
May 16, 2020
May 11, 2020
February 28, 2020
Dr. Fauci in the News
April 29, 2020
April 28, 2020
April 25, 2020
Congressional Testimony
June 23, 2020 (link is external) pdf
Videocast and Testimony: Oversight of the Trump Administration's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
May 12, 2020 (link is external) pdf
Videocast and Testimony: COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Laboratory of Immunoregulation
Dr. Fauci also is the long-time chief of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR). He has made many contributions to basic and clinical research on the pathogenesis and treatment of immune-mediated and infectious diseases. He helped pioneer the field of human immunoregulation by making important basic scientific observations that underpin the current understanding of the regulation of the human immune response.
Add this to his list of titles - HE SCREWED UP BIG TIME!
Mr. Fauci didn't screw up anything.
tRump is the screw up.
Ignoring all warnings until it was too late.
Disassembling the pandemic response team that President Obama put in place.
"A CHAOTIC DISASTER"
'The pandemic response team did nothing or we would have been able to test in mass had coordination with the private sector had PPE THEY DID SHIT AND GOT SHIT CANNED'
Well how the hell could they DO ANYTHING when the tRump turd disassembled them?
Well at least he's honest!
I'd rather hear the truth than the endless lies from brain-dead politicians that keep reassuring us that everything's fine, we have it under control, ...or even those morons who early on assured its the virus is all a big hoax..its"The Common Cold"!
Its the flu. All this talk of the Corona Virus being all that deadly doesn't reflect reality!
Oh listen, I have no problem with the man or his honesty.
I have a problem with media and politicians (and commenters) who treat every word that comes out of his mouth as obvious gospel truth as if they themselves are in a position to judge.
I have a problem with those same people treating others as dangerous heretics for even questioning either his words or whether the policies based on those words might be the best course of action.
I have a problem with people who try to score political points every time it seems like Trump or anyone else might not be in lock step with the good doctor word for word. This is the main reason partisans on the Left worship him.
And I also have a problem with people who just straight up lie and declare that Trump has been ignoring all advice from this guy because that is definitely not true. Fauci has said so, and so has Birx. But those are words from the good doctors that some people just refuse to hear.
Three brainless bimbos!!!!!
'And I also have a problem with people who just straight up lie and declare that Trump has been ignoring all advice from this guy because that is definitely not true.'
He has, straight up, been ignoring all advice. That is definitely true.
Well, there are a lot of stupid people on both sides of the aisle.
But I'm wondering why you don't seem to have a problem with Trump's persistent lying?
(Well, its possible I am wrong about that . . . ?)
I'll wait for the book by Fauci and /or Birx. They are really in bad position to say anything right now
and obviously they aren't ready to retire, just waiting out the storm.
If you believe that, you are ignorant of the facts.
Fauci says Trump listened to his advice about coronavirus mitigation
Fauci says Trump 'got it right away' on data that suggested need to extend social distancing guidelines
Fauci: Trump ‘Does Listen’ To Him And White House Coronavirus Advisors
I think it's ridiculous to try to have it both ways like this. You can't cite disagreements or conflict between the Drs and the president and simultaneously claim they are afraid to say what they really think.
No, tRump is ignorant about everything .
Sure I can. Had a fair amount of jobs and bosses and knew instinctively how "honest" I could be
without getting fired for what I really wanted to say.
How many IG's and US Atty's have been fired for either speaking their mind or investigating the POTUS's "acquaintances"?
How many times have Birx and Fauci contradicted the President recently? Even as the President is saying he ordered less testing, the task force was interviewed as a group to confirm that there was no such order.
They would rather be fired as a group than individually?
I have evidence supporting my opinion. Get back to me when you have more than your conspiracy theory.
Then you have a pretty active imagination. Is this article about Trump? No. Were we talking about Trump's honesty? No. Did I say anything about it? No.
So you just decided to come after me with same made up stuff. I'd ask why, but it's not justifiable, so don't bother. Deflection attempt, I would guess.
They are not the only ones who sent reports to him - CDC and intelligence officials did as well, in JANUARY, but what the hell, who cared about them, eh?
virus -crisis-early...
https://www. washingtonpost .com/national-security/us-intelligence- reports -from- january ...
https://www. axios .com/ trump -corona virus -warnings-46ea8006-2e19-4810-82c1-0f10f4f9aa97.html
Apparently Trump did, which is probably why he restricted travel from China by the end of the month.
Your typical reaction to inconvenient facts. How unsurprising.
I've seen no facts supplied by you on the matter.
He restricted travel from China? That's it for January, and what about February, and into March? Oh, but I understand your point, because he said the virus would disappear, like magic so why bother doing anything else?. Closing the borders was always his big wish anyway.
Yes you have. In @3.2.6. But you didn't look? BIG surprise!
This attempt to crucify Trump for the virus is partisan, ignorant, and pathetic.
You guys claim he ignored all scientific advice. So then what happens? I show you that the scientists say the exact opposite and you ignore it.
Then you move the goalposts so that you claim he was specifically ignoring the scientists in January. So what happens? I show you you're wrong about that, too.
Now you want to move the goalposts and again and say it wasn't enough. This game is bullshit. You guys claim to care about things like facts and reason, but you don't. You ignore or disregard facts that don't support your anti-Trump fantasies and you dismiss the words of the scientists when they don't conform to your conspiracy theories. Like I said: Pathetic!
Nope, no facts to be found.
Yes he ignored ALL scientific advice.
Take your hands off from over your eyes. [deleted] I don't know why you won't ever follow links to the proof you demand, [deleted]
What Trump did about coronavirus in February
For the most part, he downplayed the threat.
During the White House’s daily coronavirus news briefing Sunday, President Trump took a shot at the presumptive Democratic nominee for this year’s presidential election, former vice president Joe Biden .
“I do want to read something that I just saw today on television,” Trump said. “I was looking and I just said, ‘That’s an interesting statement.’ We talk about the Democrats, and it was a statement made by Bret Baier, good guy, smart.”
“'On February 19th, there was a Democratic debate in Las Vegas,' Trump read. “That was February 19th. That’s way after I closed entrance from China into our country. So Bret goes, ‘On February 19th there was a Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Three words weren’t said during the debate — virus, coronavirus or covid-19. Those three words never came up.’”
“That was — I just thought it was a very interesting,” Trump added, “because, you know, you hear these people, some of the people, the Democrats said, oh, this, that. It never even was a part of their dialogue.”
Given the emerging importance of the month, we decided to catalogue everything Trump did from Jan. 31 — when his administration announced a limit on travel from China, where the virus first emerged — to the end of February. We’ve included Trump’s public events, any public comments and components of a timeline released by his campaign. Most of the items on that timeline, you’ll note, have little to do with Trump himself.
The timeline
Jan. 31. Speaking from the news briefing room at the White House, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the coronavirus presented a public health emergency.
“The risk of infection for Americans remains low,” Azar said. “And with these and our previous actions, we are working to keep the risk low.”
Trump didn't attend the briefing. Half an hour after it ended, he boarded Marine One on his way to his private resort Mar-a-Lago.
Feb. 1. Trump headed to his private golf course in Florida.
Feb. 2. From the campaign timeline : “The CDC expanded enhanced entry screening to eight major airports across the nation.”
Trump again played golf, after which he sat for an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity. Hannity asked how concerned Trump was about the virus.
“We have the best in the world for that,” Trump said. “We’ve done a tremendous job in many other instances also on that even recently.” The Post reported on Saturday that the United States had sent millions of dollars’ worth of protective equipment to China even as cases of the virus were emerging domestically.
That evening, Trump attended a Super Bowl watch party at Mar-a-Lago before heading back to the White House.
Feb. 3. There are two items on Trump's calendar: a lunch with Vice President Pence and the second part of his interview with Hannity.
Feb. 4. During his State of the Union address, Trump mentioned the outbreak.
“We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China,” he said. “My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.”
It was part of a lengthy section focused on health care, beginning with a promise to protect preexisting conditions — despite the administration supporting a lawsuit that would end that protection — and ending with his awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial.
From the campaign timeline: “The Trump Administration and health officials briefed lawmakers on the Federal Government's coronavirus response efforts.”
Here was Sen. Chris Murphy's (D-Conn.) reaction to that briefing.
Those tests, The Post has reported, were flawed , delaying the ability to track the virus.
That evening, he spoke with Xi by phone.
Feb. 7. Early in the morning, Trump tweeted about the call.
“We talked about — mostly about the coronavirus. They’re working really hard, and I think they are doing a very professional job,” he said. “They’re in touch with World — the World Organization. CDC also. We’re working together.”
Asked about the potential effect on the global economy, Trump replied, “I think that China will do a very good job.”
At the event in North Carolina, Trump again described his call with Xi.
Later that evening, Trump participated in an event for the Republican Governors Association.
Feb. 8. Over the weekend, Trump had no public events scheduled save one: attending the Governor’s Ball at the White House.
In his comments, he didn't mention the virus.
Feb. 9. From the campaign timeline: “The White House Coronavirus Task Force briefed governors from across the nation at the National Governors’ Association Meeting in Washington.”
Feb. 10. Trump hosted a number of governors at the White House. He was asked by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) what was next on his trade agenda.
In response to a later question, Trump revealed the source of the April assertion: Xi.
The Chinese leader “feels very confident,” Trump said. “And he feels that, again, as I mentioned, by April or during the month of April, the heat, generally speaking, kills this kind of virus. So that would be a good thing.”
“But we're in great shape in our country,” he added. “We have 11, and the 11 are getting better.”
That evening, Trump traveled to New Hampshire for a campaign rally — timed to step on the Democratic primary the following day.
“The virus, they’re working hard,” he said of China. “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that’s true. But we’re doing great in our country. China, I spoke with President Xi, and they’re working very, very hard. And I think it’s going to all work out fine. Rough stuff, I tell you, rough, rough stuff. But I think it’s going to work out good. We only have 11 cases, and they’re all getting better.”
He went on to talk about the trade deal with China.
While in New Hampshire, Trump spoke with Trish Regan, then a host on Fox Business.
“I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon,” Trump said of China. “You know in April, supposedly, it dies with the hotter weather. And that's a beautiful date to look forward to. But China I can tell you is working very hard.”
“We’re working with them. You know, we just sent some of our best people over there, World Health Organization and a lot of them are composed of our people. They’re fantastic,” he added. “And they’re now in China, and we’re helping them out. We’re in very good shape. We have 11 cases, and most of them are getting better very rapidly.”
“I think the virus is going to be — it’s going to be fine,” he added later. “They’re working very hard, and we are in communication with them.”
On his way back to D.C., Trump stopped in Dover, Del., to pay his respects to two soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Feb. 11. Trump had two things on his public calendar: an intelligence briefing and a bill signing.
From the campaign timeline: “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expanded a partnership with Janssen Research & Development to ‘expedite the development’ of a coronavirus vaccine.”
Feb. 12. After several meetings with the president of Ecuador, Trump went to the Trump Organization hotel in Washington for a political fundraising event.
From the campaign timeline: “The U.S. shipped test kits for the 2019 novel coronavirus to approximately 30 countries who lacked the necessary reagents and other materials.”
The timeline also reiterated the item from Feb. 2 that CDC officials were awaiting approval to travel to China. Note that Trump spoke with Xi in the intervening period, but approval was still denied.
Feb. 13. Fox News’s Geraldo Rivera interviewed Trump for a radio program.
“Mr. President, are you worried that the stock market and the big economic boom are in peril because of this coronavirus spreading epidemic,” Rivera asked, pointing to the lockdown then underway in China.
“Well, we’re working on it very closely. I spoke to President Xi two days ago. They’re working on it very professionally. It’s a problem, we think and we hope, based on all signs that the problem goes away in April because — which is not too far down the road, because heat kills this virus,” Trump said. He added that the United States was “sending a lot of people and CDC has been great, but it is — it’s a problem in China. Has not been spreading very much. In our country, we only have, basically, 12 cases, and most of those people are recovering and some cases fully recovered. So it’s actually less.”
A bit later, he again praised Xi.
“I think they’ve handled it professionally, and I think they’re extremely capable, and I think President Xi is extremely capable, and I hope that it’s going to be resolved,” Trump said. “Again, the April date is very important. But you know this is a big thing. The April date is very, very important because if that’s the case, if he does, in fact, kill that’s when it starts getting hot and this virus reacts very poorly to heat and dies. So we’ll see what happens.”
Trump visited his campaign headquarters in Virginia. Later that afternoon, he spoke by phone with New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D). The conversation centered on the administration’s efforts to pressure New York to change its immigration laws by blocking New Yorkers from a federal travel program.
Feb. 14. At an event with the Border Patrol Council, Trump touted what he described as his successes — including on the virus.
“Sixty-one percent of the voters approve of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus,” Trump said, pointing to a poll from the Morning Consult. (That figure is now at 45 percent .) “And, you know, we did a very early move on that. We did a — I was criticized by a lot of people at the beginning because we were the first. We’d never done it before. We closed our borders through certain areas. It’s never happened before where we did that. We never closed our borders. But we did it, and we actually did it early, and we took some criticism. Now everyone is saying we did a good job.”
He again said that only 12 people in the country had been infected, praised Xi and suggested that the virus would fade in April.
The only other events on Trump’s calendar were his intelligence briefing — and his late-afternoon departure for Mar-a-Lago. From the campaign timeline: “The CDC expanded enhanced entry screening to eight major airports across the nation.”
Feb. 15. Trump played golf and then attended a political fundraiser in Palm Beach.
Feb. 16. Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended the Daytona 500. He didn’t mention the virus. Two months later, the racetrack was a drive-through testing site .
Trump headed back to Washington, attending adviser Stephen Miller's wedding at Trump's D.C. hotel.
Feb. 17. Trump had no events scheduled, given the Presidents’ Day holiday.
Feb. 18. Trump left D.C. for a series of events on the West Coast.
During a briefing on the 2020 Olympics, the subject of the virus didn’t come up. A month later, the Games were postponed until 2021. Trump then attended several fundraising events in Southern California before heading to the Trump hotel in Las Vegas for the night.
From the campaign timeline: “HHS announced it would engage with Sanofi Pasteur in an effort to quickly develop a coronavirus vaccine and to develop treatment for coronavirus infections.”
Feb. 19. Trump headed from Las Vegas back to California for more fundraising events and an event focused on water issues in California’s Central Valley. That evening, he traveled to Phoenix for a campaign rally.
At the rally — held the same day as the Democratic debate discussed by Baier — Trump did not mention the virus.
Trump participated in an interview with a local television station while in Phoenix.
“How confident are you that China is being 100 percent honest with us when it comes to this scary virus?” the reporter asked .
“I’m confident that they’re trying very hard,” Trump replied. “I mean, I know President Xi — I get along with him very well. We’ve just made a great trade deal, which is going to be a lot of business for Arizona and every other place. But, they are trying very, very hard, and I think the numbers are going to get progressively better as we go along.”
He reiterated his assumption that the virus would recede in April.
Feb. 20. After again overnighting at his hotel in Vegas, Trump attended an event hosted by the city's police department. He then traveled to Colorado for another campaign rally.
At neither event did Trump mention the virus.
Feb. 21. For the third time in three days, Trump held a campaign rally, this time in Las Vegas. (Here, again, the point was in part to try to drown out the next day's Democratic caucuses.)
Trump didn't mention the virus. That evening, he traveled back to Washington.
Feb. 22. Trump’s calendar was empty.
From the campaign timeline: “A WHO team of international experts arrives in Wuhan, China.” The team of international investigators apparently included Americans.
Feb. 23. The president left D.C. for a multiday trip to India.
Feb. 24. While in India, and with markets tumbling, Trump tweeted about the virus.
From the campaign timeline: “The Trump Administration sent a letter to Congress requesting at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.”
Feb. 25. Speaking to reporters from India, Trump offered comments about the virus.
“You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country,” Trump said. “We have very few people with it, and the people that have it are — in all cases, I have not heard anything other. Maybe there's something new, because for two days, I haven't been seeing too much of that news, of very much news, because [the India trip] has been very all-encompassing.”
He was later asked whether his decision to allow a number of Americans infected with the virus to return to the United States conflicted with his 2014 criticism of President Barack Obama for allowing Ebola patients into the United States. Trump said that it wasn’t contradictory, given the comparative mortality rates from the two viruses.
He returned to the subject a bit later.
Xi “is working very hard. He is very capable. The country is very capable. And it snuck up on him, but I think he's going to do well,” Trump said. “Now you see it's going to South Korea, it's going to Italy, and it's going to other places. But I spoke to all of them. They're all working very, very hard on it.”
“I think it was a good decision [to limit travel from China] because we have very few people,” Trump added a bit later. “And you can add to it a few people that we took in because they're Americans. I mean, what are we going to do? And they were almost in between countries, where people weren't going to take them, and they're Americans. But they're fully quarantined. They call it 'fully quarantined.' So, you know, we did the right thing.”
Between events, Trump tweeted a disparagement of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) after Schumer said that Trump’s funding request for fighting the virus was too low.
“Other than yesterday — which was something pretty bad, with respect to the virus, and we'll see what happens — I see the futures are up today, up fairly substantially,” he said. “But that's a very serious thing, but we think we're in very good shape in the United States. We've essentially closed the border to areas where we had to close them.”
Feb. 26. Hours after returning from India, Trump participated in the first of his now-regular daily briefings about the virus. Much of the briefing was centered on providing political support for Trump.
After beginning by praising his limits on travel from China, Trump and his team articulated that the risk posed by the virus is small. He claimed that the government was screening people from affected areas such as South Korea and Italy but that no additional travel restrictions were being imposed at the time. He held up a graph identifying the United States as one of the best-prepared countries in the world for an epidemic.
At several points, he compared the threat to the seasonal flu, which, he had been told, kills tens of thousands of people a year. (“That was shocking to me,” Trump said.)
“It is a little bit different, but in some ways it's easier and in some ways it's a little bit tougher,” he said of the coronavirus relative to the flu. “But we have it so well under control. I mean, we really have done a very good job.”
The president also offered one of the defining lines of his administration’s handling of the outbreak.
“When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done,” Trump said.
He was asked to respond to an assertion by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that he “didn’t know what he was talking about” in regard to the virus. After calling Pelosi incompetent, Trump’s messaging on the virus shifted.
“Instead of making a statement like that, she should be saying we have to work together, because we have a big problem, potentially,” he said. “And maybe it's going to be a very little problem. I hope that it's going to be a very little problem. But we have to work together.”
As the news conference was underway, The Post reported that the first case of “community spread” of the virus had been confirmed — that is, the first case of an infection that was not immediately attributable to contact with someone who had traveled overseas.
Feb. 27. After receiving his intelligence briefing, Trump participated in two events related to African American History Month.
At an event focused on black leaders and sitting next to Lynnette Hardaway, a conservative media personality known as “Diamond,” Trump talked about his administration’s efforts.
“We have a situation with the virus. We've done a great job,” he said. “The press won't give us credit for it. We have — in a world that has some big problems — you look at China and you look at industry between the two countries. And I did something that had never been done before — because it had never been done before: I closed our borders to certain areas of the world.”
He again touted his efforts a bit later.
“We have done an incredible job. We’re going to continue,” he said. “It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear. And from our shores, we — you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We’ll see what happens.”
At the second event, Trump said that the virus was unexpected.
“I will say that things happen in life that are — if they would have said, ‘What are — give me 10 bad things that you think could happen,’ that wouldn’t have been on the list, right?” Trump said. “But you never know. But it’s working out very professionally. We’re doing a tremendous job and our people are doing a tremendous job.”
In reality, Trump was warned about the threat of a pandemic repeatedly.
Feb. 28. Trump left D.C. for a political rally in Charleston, S.C.
“Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus,” he told the audience. “You know that, right? Coronavirus. They’re politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs.”
“One of my people came up to me and said, 'Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.' That didn't work out too well. They couldn't do it,” he added a bit later. “They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. ... And this is their new hoax.”
“But you know we did something that’s been pretty amazing,” he continued. “We have 15 people in this massive country, and because of the fact that we went early, we went early, we could have had a lot more than that.
“We're doing great,” he added. “Our country is doing so great.”
Feb. 29. From the campaign timeline: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed certified labs to develop and begin testing coronavirus testing kits while reviewing pending applications.”
At that day’s coronavirus press briefing — the second in which he participated — new travel restrictions were announced. Trump was also asked about his “hoax” comments. He insisted that the “hoax” was “referring to the action that they take to try and pin this on somebody, because we’ve done such a good job.”
He admitted that the number of cases was likely to increase.
“Additional cases in the United States are likely, but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover,” Trump said. “And we think that will be a statement that we can make with great surety now that we’ve gotten familiar with this problem. They should be able to recover should they contract the virus. So, healthy people, if you’re healthy, you will probably go through a process and you’ll be fine.”
He then returned to his administration’s response.
“Since the early stages of the foreign outbreak, my administration has taken the most aggressive action in modern history to confront the spread of this disease,” he said. As evidence, he pointed to the previous month’s travel restrictions.
“Whatever the circumstance is, we’re prepared,” he said later.
On that day, there were 15 confirmed cases in the United States. As of this writing, there are more than 760,000, with more than 40,000 dead.
Articles from March and April are evidence?
How about now, today, this minute while there are no ICU rooms available in Huston?
How about yesterday when Pence tried to gaslight the country telling us that the curve is flattened?
Could you tell if either Birx or Fauci were awake at that presser?
They certainly aren't speaking much now are they?
Get back to me when you stop trying to justify every damned thing this Administration does
with every conceivable theory you can come up with to defend this Administration from justifiable criticism
and stop twisting your self into an unidentifiable pretzel while doing so.
Like SP said, they were from March and April
It's almost July now and things have changed a lot since then.
tRump might listen, but there's nobody home.
Comments 3.2.24 through 3.2.29 removed for no value.
When the question is whether or not Trump has ignored "all advice" from scientists, yes. You bet your ass it's evidence.
I haven't done that. I wouldn't do that. It was a simple question of the facts supporting the accusation that Trump has ignored "all advice from experts." That is factually not true. Period.
No "theories." Just the facts. Meanwhile, lies and exaggerations are not "justifiable criticism."
Well it does seem a bit odd that way people in Trump's base worship him...beleive every word he says.
Why?
Krish, after all this time, you still don't get it, do you? Many, maybe most, of us don't even like Donald Trump. Socially and regarding honesty, we consider him to be at the level of a used car salesman. However, as much as we don't like Trump, we totally DESPISE his opponents who, on the same scale, sit about three steps below the level of a pimp; and, yes, Joe Biden is right at the head of that group. They are professional politicians who can never be allowed to have power again.
It makes total sense, if you use thought rather than emotion to make decisions. For many years now, most of us have had to accept that we will never be able to vote FOR a candidate of whom we approve, since we approve of none of them. We must, therefore, vote AGAINST the candidate or party that we dislike the most. In the last election, we didn't particularly like Trump but we despised Clinton and all of her Leftist minions. In this election, the cast of characters hasn't changed much.
I don't see you making use of thoughts.
Speak for yourself.
Whether anyone likes or dislikes Trump makes little difference to the fact that he TOTALLY FUCKED UP DEALING WITH THE VIRUS. What kind of an example has he set by refusing to wear a mask - and that's only one little thing.
tRump couldn't figure out anything by himself except how to screw others over.