Democracy Has Prevailed.

October 21, 2020

File This Under "Trump Knew And Still Downplayed The Virus And The Death Toll Still Rises"

From the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus yesterday:

Today, Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, released six weeks of White House Coronavirus Task Force reports obtained by the Select Subcommittee.  These reports—which were shared privately with state governments each week but not disclosed to the public—reveal that the White House has been aware for more than a month of an alarming rise in cases nationwide and the need for more testing and mask mandates to save American lives—even as the President has continued to publicly downplay the crisis and hold crowded events contributing to the virus’s spread.

 More from Rep. Clyburn:

The White House reports released today show that President Trump’s contempt for science and refusal to lead during this crisis have allowed the coronavirus to surge across the United States. Contrary to his empty claims that the country is ‘rounding the turn,’ more states are now in the ‘red zone’ than ever before. These reports—which the White House sent privately to governors but withheld from the public—show that President Trump’s false rhetoric on testing and masks is hindering our nation’s response, and many states are refusing to take critical steps recommended by the Task Force. It is long past time that the Administration implement a national plan to contain this crisis, which is still killing hundreds of Americans each day and could get even worse in the months ahead.

The 10/18/2020 report (remember this is from The White House's own task force) states that there are 31 states now in the "red zone" (defined as having "more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents and more than 10 percent of new tests were positive"). This is up from 7 in early June.

From that report's Pennsylvania info we find the list of those 31 red zone states:

The same day the subcommittee released the above statement, Washington Post reported this:

After a brief hiatus following his own coronavirus infection, President Trump resumed his weekly telephone interviews with the always supportive hosts of his favorite morning show, Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”

At one point, the president was asked how the country would handle rising coronavirus infections, given that the number of recorded cases is on the rise across the country.

“What is the plan to live with it while staying safe from it?” host Brian Kilmeade asked.

“Well, we are living with it,” Trump said, “and we’re having the vaccines coming out very soon. With or without the vaccines, we’re rounding the turn.”

While his own task force is telling the country's governors about how many more states are in the red zone. 

Trump has known for a long time how bad the virus is and still down plays its severity while more and more people die.

This is Donald Trump's legacy. If you support Donald Trump, this is your legacy, too.