Democrats, public health experts decry Trump for saying he asked officials to slow down testing

[Zorro]

Source: Washington Post

Democrats, public health experts decry Trump for saying he asked officials to slow down coronavirus testing

Even members of his own administration expressed concern about Trump's comments.

President Trump's Saturday night remark that he asked officials to "slow the [coronavirus] testing down" sparked harsh rebukes from experts and frustration from his own staffers, who say it undercuts their efforts to reassure Americans as the disease surges around the country.

The president's comment, which came on the same day that eight states reported their highest-ever single-day case counts, drew a chorus of criticism from congressional Democrats and public health officials, who worry the president is more concerned with saving face than combating the pandemic.

"Looking at it as a scoreboard is the wrong way to think about it," said Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "To think of it as something you can manipulate or slow down based on what the numbers look like speaks to a complete misunderstanding of what an infectious-disease response should be."

In his first campaign appearance since the virus hit the U.S., President Trump called testing -- which public health experts say is a crucial part of controlling the pandemic -- a "double-edged sword."

"Here's the bad part ... when you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people; you're going to find more cases," Trump told his supporters. "So I said to my people, slow the testing down please."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/21/democrats-public-health-experts-decry-trump-saying-he-asked-officials-slow-down-coronavirus-testing/

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Just ignore those rising case numbers, folks!

“Instead of focusing on the actual progress that this administration has made in revamping an antiquated testing system and testing record millions of Americans, they’re focused just on the rising case numbers,” Wolf said.

And this from the "acting" secretary of homeland security Chad Wolf.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Now he's saying that was just a joke. It wasn't a joke any more than when he said China...

will be paying the tariffs.

He is, very simply, stupid and an ignoramus.

[BadgerKid]

2. Is a censure too much to hope for?

[Larry Moecurley]

3. Trump's Policy re: Dealing with COVID-19

[thenelm1]

4. Hey, let him keep yapping and making excuse after excuse.

His schtick is getting old and wearing very thin.

The man (I hesitate to call him that) is his own worst enemy. The more he yaps, the more (in a sane world, assuming same still exists) he destroys the 'tough-guy' façade he's built for himself that he's anything but a whining little boy. What's the saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me? Hopefully most of the potential "me" crowd in that scenario are now seeing him for what he really is, and has always been. A self entitled "rich" boy who, particularly since his father passed on, has had no one to tell him no. (There was someone interviewed on MSNBC recently I think, who noted that even in his little real estate bubble in NYC there was no Board of Directors or any other governing body to reign him in. Basically he was always able to get his way with no oversight whatsoever - like in most normal companies.)

Let the dumbass keep yapping. The chickens are coming home to roost - and no one is more deserving of a comeuppance than this turd.

[vlyons]

5. Why don't we just close all the hospitals?

Then there won't be any reported cases of Covid, or Covid deaths! Problem solved!

[niyad]

6. WaPo you screwed up. Tulsa is NOT covidiot45*'s "first campaign appearance since the virus hit

The US". What the hell?????? The first case in US was in Jan. Iq45* had a number of rallies in Feb and March. Sloppy.