Trump news: President claims US doing ‘sooo much better on testing’ than any other country as coronavirus cases pass 1m and death toll surpasses Vietnam War
White House pushes for meatpacking plants to reopen as Covid-19 deaths reach another grim milestone
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Donald Trump declared, without evidence, that the US is “doing sooo much better than any other country in the world” in testing for coronavirus after pledging at the White House that America would “soon” have the capacity to test 5m people per day.
But on Wednesday, less than 24 hours later, he falsely claimed that he never said the US would be testing at that rate.
The president’s optimism came despite the country passing 1m cases of Covid-19 and 60,000 deaths, a grim marker that officials initially said the US wouldn't reach until August.
Within four months of the outbreak, the nation's death toll has surpassed the total deaths from conflicts leading up to and during the Vietnam War over two decades.
Mr Trump has meanwhile invoked the Defense Production Act to keep American meatpacking plants open, despite declining to do so for the sake of ventilators or personal protective equipment, as his vice president Mike Pence finds himself in hot water for refusing to wear a mask during an official visit to the Mayo Clinic medical facility in Minnesota on Tuesday.
For the third day in a row, the president met with business leaders to discuss the coronavirus response and reopening plans as states begin to preparations to "reopen" against the warnings of health officials and epidemiologists.
He also claimed that coronavirus is "going to leave" despite, even without a vaccine.
"It's gonna be eradicated," he said. "It might take longer, it might be in smaller sections. It won't be what we had."
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One in seven Americans 'would not seek medical care for coronavirus symptoms' over cost fears
Here's Gino Spocchia on a disturbing new Gallup survey, indicating the White House's move to make testing free is not entirely reassuring the public.
Trump defends Diamond and Silk after sisters were 'fired' by Fox News
Donald Trump has defended a pair of right-wing commentators and activists who have reportedly been fired from Fox after propagating lurid conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic -- including that it is, in fact, a "plandemic".
Diamond and Silk, real names Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway and Herneitha Rochelle Hardaway Richardson, describe themselves on their joint Twitter profile as "President Donald J Trump's Most Loyal Supporters". The two have been associated with the president since 2015, appearing at his rallies both during that campaign and as recently as early March.
Andrew Naughtie reports:
White House probes China and World Health Organisation
The White House has ordered US intelligence agencies to investigate whether the Chinese government and the World Health Organisation hid information about the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.
The high-level "tasking" was sent to the National Security Agency and Defence Intelligence Agency last week, NBC News reported. Donald Trump has appeared angry with China for not telling the United States and other countries about the novel virus going public there, though at times he has stopped short of naming the Asian power.
During remarks Tuesday at the White House, the president appeared to allude to the NSA-DIA probe of China and the WHO.
John T Bennett with the full story:
Cuomo attacks Republican senators amid battle for more federal funding
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo goes on the attack against Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell and Florida Senator Rick Scott, both of whole are Republicans.
During his daily press briefing, the governor condemned the Republicans for saying another federal stimulus package would benefit a "blue state bailout". This comes after Mr Cuomo has begged the federal government to include state funding in next package so states could pay their frontline workers who are fighting Covid-19.
“They want to fund corporate America. That’s what puts money in their pockets," the governor said.
Following his sharp words against the senators, Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, took to Twitter to reiterate his point.
Trump plans on 'sacrificing others' with new coronavirus strategy, former Bush aide warns
A political commentator and speech-writer for president George W. Bush has theorised that Donald Trump has chosen to endanger American lives in a bid to secure his re-election.
David Fum, who was credited with coining the "axis of evil" phrase pushed by president Bush in the aftermath of 9/11, used Twitter to describe the new White House strategy on Tuesday.
"It's a desperate gamble to save himself by sacrificing others," tweeted the former president Bush aide.
Gino Spocchia has the full story:
New York mayor tells police to arrest mourners at a funerals and any large gatherings
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has instructed police officers to arrest mourners at large funerals, in order to stop large crowds gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday night, the mayor posted three tweets condemning mourners who gathered on the streets of the city to pay their respects for the late Rabbi Chaim Mertz, according to the New York Post.
The mourners were criticised by Mr de Blasio, who said that large gatherings will not be tolerated in the city.
James Crump reports:
Elon Musk tweets 'FREE AMERICA NOW' despite warnings from medical experts
Elon Musk has called for an end to lockdown measures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak and prevent more deaths, tweeting "FREE AMERICA NOW" and "Give people their freedom back".
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also praised Texas for beginning to lift social distancing restrictions this week by allowing some cinemas, restaurants and other businesses to reopen.
Mr Musk's outburst on Twitter echoed similar tweets from President Donald Trump earlier this month to "LIBERATE" states from coronavirus lockdown.
Anthony Cuthbertson reports:
Graphic shows how US overtook other countries in coronavirus cases
The US reached 1m coronavirus cases on Tuesday, far surpassing any other country on the number of reported people who contracted the novel virus.
One reason the country has reported significantly more cases than any other country was the number of testing, about 200,000 people per day, done to better understand how Covid-19 has infiltrated states. But the country also saw a faster and larger spread because of how long areas remained open at the beginning of the pandemic.
The Independent created a graphic to show how coronavirus cases developed globally.
Trump falsely claims he never said the US could test 5 million people per day
Donald Trump on Wednesday backed away from a vow made less than 24 hours earlier that the United States "very soon" would be able to test up to 5m people per day for coronavirus, falsely contending he never uttered those words.
"Right now, they're testing about 200,000 per day. So that would be a significant increase," the president told reporters in the Oval Office. "The answer may be in the timeline and ultimately that might be possible but not in the near term."
He called the question on Tuesday that prompted him to make the 5m tests goal remark a "media trap," a new phrase he uses to describe reporters' questions that he answers and gets himself into political hot water.
John T Bennett with the story:
The US economy just hit its worst quarter since 2008 — but the human story behind that number is even bleaker Josie Cox with the story:
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