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Trump's latest tweet about coronavirus testing is like a greatest hits of his favorite lies
https://www.vox.com/2020/5/18/21262183/trump-coronavirus-testing-tweet-false-claims
There is good news Trump could be talking about regarding coronavirus testing. He’s lying about it anyway.
By Aaron Rupar May 18, 2020, 12:10pm EDT
Every single factual claim in a tweet President Donald Trump posted on Monday morning about the state of US coronavirus testing is either blatantly false or misleading.
While there’s legitimately good news on the testing front the president could be talking about, like a steady increase in the number of tests completed per-day, his latest public comment on the issue reads like a 279-character greatest hits of his favorite bogus talking points — blaming former President Barack Obama for a delay in test availability, overstating how much testing the US has already done, and turning a blind eye to ongoing supply shortages the federal government has done little to solve.
Trump wants people to believe that coronavirus testing in the US has been a resounding success, and that there’s already enough testing capacity to reopen businesses — and thereby resuscitate the economy ahead of November’s election. Progress is in fact being made, but we’re not there yet. And since the president has largely left states to fend for themselves when it comes to building out testing capacity, he really shouldn’t be trying to take credit for recent tentative successes.
Trump packed four false or misleading claims into a single tweet
“Wow! The Front Page @washingtonpost Headline reads, ‘A BOOST IN TESTS, BUT LACK OF TAKERS,’” Trump tweeted on Monday morning. “We have done a great job on Ventilators, Testing, and everything else. Were left little by Obama. Over 11 million tests, and going up fast. More than all countries in the world, combined.”
Before we get to the Post story Trump referenced, it’s worth mentioning that his claim about being “left little by Obama” is completely absurd. As I’ve previously detailed on other occasions when Trump has tried to pin blame for testing issues on his predecessor, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 didn’t even exist until nearly three years after Obama left office. So Obama would’ve had to have been some sort of time traveler to develop coronavirus tests during his term.
</snip>
There is good news Trump could be talking about regarding coronavirus testing. He’s lying about it anyway.
By Aaron Rupar May 18, 2020, 12:10pm EDT
Every single factual claim in a tweet President Donald Trump posted on Monday morning about the state of US coronavirus testing is either blatantly false or misleading.
While there’s legitimately good news on the testing front the president could be talking about, like a steady increase in the number of tests completed per-day, his latest public comment on the issue reads like a 279-character greatest hits of his favorite bogus talking points — blaming former President Barack Obama for a delay in test availability, overstating how much testing the US has already done, and turning a blind eye to ongoing supply shortages the federal government has done little to solve.
Trump wants people to believe that coronavirus testing in the US has been a resounding success, and that there’s already enough testing capacity to reopen businesses — and thereby resuscitate the economy ahead of November’s election. Progress is in fact being made, but we’re not there yet. And since the president has largely left states to fend for themselves when it comes to building out testing capacity, he really shouldn’t be trying to take credit for recent tentative successes.
Trump packed four false or misleading claims into a single tweet
“Wow! The Front Page @washingtonpost Headline reads, ‘A BOOST IN TESTS, BUT LACK OF TAKERS,’” Trump tweeted on Monday morning. “We have done a great job on Ventilators, Testing, and everything else. Were left little by Obama. Over 11 million tests, and going up fast. More than all countries in the world, combined.”
Link to tweet
Before we get to the Post story Trump referenced, it’s worth mentioning that his claim about being “left little by Obama” is completely absurd. As I’ve previously detailed on other occasions when Trump has tried to pin blame for testing issues on his predecessor, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 didn’t even exist until nearly three years after Obama left office. So Obama would’ve had to have been some sort of time traveler to develop coronavirus tests during his term.
</snip>
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