David Corn: New Revelations Emerge on How Donald Trump Killed 400,000 (or More) Americans

[babylonsister]

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/11/new-revelations-emerge-on-how-donald-trump-killed-400000-coronavirus-pandemic/

20 hours ago
New Revelations Emerge on How Donald Trump Killed 400,000 (or More) Americans
We keep learning more about Trump’s deadly mishandling of the pandemic.
David Corn


The congressional January 6 investigation has been drawing great attention lately, particularly as it has triggered the federal indictment of Steve Bannon for defying its subpoena, fired off other subpoenas at Mark Meadows and assorted Trumpers, and sought to obtain Trump White House records related to the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol. At the same time, a different congressional investigation, with much less notice, has been pursuing another profound betrayal committed by Donald Trump and his crew: the lethal mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis. That inquiry broke into the headlines a few days ago with the news of more evidence that the Trump White House impeded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s efforts to warn Americans about the pandemic.

On Friday, the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which is chaired by Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), released interviews and documents revealing how senior Trump officials tried to block government health officials from informing the public about the seriousness of COVID-19. On February 25, 2020, Nancy Messonnier, a senior CDC health expert, warned in a news briefing that the virus’s spread in the United States was inevitable. That enraged Trump, who was trying to downplay the coronavirus threat. The new material shows that the Trump administration tried to shut her up. And Anne Schuchat, a top CDC official, told the committee that Trump officials scrambled to hold a briefing hours after Messonnier’s warning, though “there was nothing new to report.”

The story gets worse: Between March 9 and May 29 of last year, the CDC held no press briefings. In testimony to the committee, Kate Galatas, a CDC communications official, said the White House repeatedly thwarted the agency’s attempts to schedule such briefings, including one in April that would have emphasized the need to wear masks to contain the virus’s spread.

And worse: Dr. Deborah Birx, who was the White House COVID-19 task force coordinator, told the committee that Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist (not an infectious disease specialist) who was advising Trump on COVID, leaned on the CDC to alter its guidelines on testing to recommend that only symptomatic people be tested. (This would have yielded lower numbers of confirmed cases.) Government scientists, worried about asymptomatic people spreading the disease, thought it was important for symptomatic and asymptomatic people to get tested. Atlas’ pressure, though, led to CDC guidance in August 2020 on testing that was less vigorous. This revised recommendation, Birx told the committee, “resulted in less testing and…less aggressive testing of those without symptoms that I believed were the primary reason for the early community spread.” A month later, the CDC reinstituted the more expansive testing directive. It was released over “objections from senior White House personnel,” according to Birx.

snip//

It’s tough to think of a topic more deserving of congressional oversight than the government’s mishandling of a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands and caused economic hardship for tens of millions of Americans. (A seditious violent assault on Congress, as part of an effort to overturn an election, comes to mind, too.) For obvious reasons, Trump and the GOP do not want scrutiny of this policy debacle that was driven by Trump’s narcissism and incompetence. For the health of the republic, Clyburn should press ahead.

[spanone]

1. ...K&R...

[Evolve Dammit]

2. 400,000. One sociopathic criminal mob boss did this. The rest did his bidding. 400,000. Damn.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Figure about right. US Covid deaths/capita about 3 times higher than Canada with better compliance.n

[ConstanceCee]

3. Didn't We Know This?

I will take to my deathbed the image of Trump on the White House balcony, having returned from Walter Reed, defiantly ripping off his mask. How many people died because of that one gesture?

[Kid Berwyn]

4. Criminal dereliction of duty or mass murder.

Either way, neither or both: Trump must be held to account.

[lagomorph777]

25. No longer any room for doubt: deliberate mass murder.

[Kid Berwyn]

28. 1st Degree Mass Murder. From Dr. John Gartner, via Salon...

In July 2020, psychologist Dr. John Gartner, a contributor to the bestselling book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump," offered his perspective:

Donald Trump's behavior with the coronavirus pandemic is intentional. He is malevolent. He is a first-degree mass murderer. This is a plan.

I am a great believer in the principle of Occam's razor. The simplest explanation is usually the right one. Trump disbanded the pandemic task force. First, Trump said that the virus was not going to come to America. Then he chose not to do more testing. Trump chose to not use the Defense Production Act to make more needed medical supplies and equipment.

Trump has admitted to trying to slow down the testing for the coronavirus. Trump has undermined the governors' efforts to protect the public from the virus. Trump even went so far as to encourage astroturf protests to intimidate Democratic governors into reopening for "the economy." Trump has said that he is against people wearing masks — which is the simplest, cheapest and most efficient way to keep us from spreading the virus.

Trump is trying to open the floodgates. He's hosting mass gatherings of people at his rallies and other events. He's doing everything he can to enable the virus.

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is going to be the most successful bio-terrorist in human history. Let me repeat myself so there is no confusion. Donald Trump is the most successful bio-terrorist in human history. This is not an accident.

SOURCE: https://www.salon.com/2021/11/18/and-his-regime-committed--or-at-least-condoned--mass-murder-america-just-doesnt-care/

[lagomorph777]

29. +1000

[bucolic_frolic]

5. They had so few masks that they advised bleaching surfaces instead?

I wonder if it was all a lie from the beginning. Because this is an airborne illness. Washing my food packages with soap & bleach and letting it dry for 3 days didn't do much. But that was the advice, March & April, 2020.

[BSdetect]

6. He must be charged with murder. The case is obvious. Dems must seek full accountability.

He did not protect the people.

[malaise]

7. Why aren't these hearings being held live?

That's my question

[KPN]

15. MSM? What's in it for them? Do they want to go back to 2017-20?

[malaise]

17. These are crimes against humanity

Shame shame shame!

[Hotler]

9. Crimes against humanity. Refer this to the Hauge? nt

[triron]

11. How many Jews were murdered by Nazi Germany. We're getting there with Trump.

[lagomorph777]

26. Trump's genocide is similar in scale to the Rwandan genocide.

[Hortensis]

10. The Republicans who CONTROLLED both houses of congress also refused to act.

They had at least one congressional procedure manual specifically for halting pandemic disease.

Senator Richard Burr was one of only two caught transferring stock to investments that would make money with the pandemic and warning wealthy supporters of their need to do the same.

Senator Burr was also chair of the senate intelligence committee that basically WROTE the congressional procedure manual for blocking, containing and managing pandemic disease. Not that he's the only villain here. Various other committees had their own standard procedures in place for their parts to play when these emergencies arise, and of course the congressional leaders also.

Congressional Republicans ALSO blocked and refused to take action and actively encouraged people to believe it was fake news, at most like a flu, until soaring death counts ran down the clock on denial and they were forced to provide emergency financial aid to the nation. But NOT to take and force presidential action to control and deal with the pandemic or develop treatments. By then, of course, it was far too late to contain and control at outbreak points as had always been done.

Btw, lethal SARS1 spread to over 2 dozen nations but was aggressively watched for and contained where it showed up here, using standard procedures in place. Eight actual cases quickly identified and pounced on, no deaths; don't remember how many contacts were quarantined for a couple weeks. SARS-CoV-2's larger spread before containment was apparently inevitable, but OTOH Covid's also much less lethal than SARS1.

I don't buy that "400,000," instead of say, 700,000 or more; sounds like a worst-case figure so low no expert could argue with it. And doesn't include such things as the effects of proper actions taken by congress.

[NBachers]

13. Trump & Pukes also weaponized the virus by denying masks & ventilators to blue states & cities.

They confiscated shipments that had been paid for and sold them at a profit.

[Mopar151]

32. Kushner

A terrible mash-up of Creepy Karpis and Joey Gallo.

[onecaliberal]

14. K&R

All of the "mishandling" was purposeful. The bloated tic knew the virus was airborne and deadly. WHY aren't we making republicans answer questions about this?

[c-rational]

16. +1 Bingo.

[Rob H.]

18. He had a lot of help from Jared Kushner, too

Kushner's coronavirus team didn't want to release a definitive national plan early on to contain the virus because at the time blue states were being hit hardest. They thought they could just let it rage out of control and blame the blue state governors for its spread. It wasn't until after red states started getting hit harder that they actually took the trouble to do something, and then only because it was starting to hurt the GOP politically.

[dchill]

19. Say their names. (!)

[MissMillie]

20. Current GQP thinks of Congressional oversight as something

The GQP is supposed to do when there's a Democrat in the White House.

To them, oversight is simply not necessary when it involves investigating GQP criminals.

[Solly Mack]

21. K&R

[joanbarnes]

22. But Benghazi!

[moondust]

23. Probably more globally

if you figure some health experts and political leaders in other (poorer, less advanced) countries may have relied heavily on the "leader of the free world" with its more advanced scientific and health care systems and resources.

Like TFG's autocratic pal Bolsonaro--who has been recommended by the Brazil Senate to face criminal charges for Crimes Against Humanity due to his mishandling of the pandemic.

[lagomorph777]

24. If anybody still doubts that Trump committed deliberate genocide, read this.

He should be arrested and tried for this.

If we only had a functioning DOJ.

[Cha]

27. Grateful it's official &

Rep Clyburn is on the
case.

We've known from the beginning.. just because the US M$$M is criminally negligent doesn't mean we couldn't see wtf the former and current psychotic asshole was doing.

[MustLoveBeagles]

33. Trump and his lackeys are mass murders

[LiberalFighter]

30. TFG is responsible for each and every Covid death in the US.

That is over 780,000.

[electric_blue68]

31. It IS staggering in it's implications...

hopefully at some point it will be taken up as a criminal matter.

Between this, and trying to destroy our democracy...