Administration Privately Warned States About Outbreaks as Trump Publicly Dismissed Concerns & Pushed States to Reopen
President Trump’s coronavirus response has been defined by chronic attempts to undermine the experts, downplay the virus’ severity, and act only in accordance with what he believes will get him reelected — even as millions of Americans become infected and the death toll swells.
New documents released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis prove as much.
As President Trump urged states to reopen and had Vice President Pence declare victory over the virus in an oped that aged particularly poorly, the White House was receiving increasingly more dire warnings about “red zone” states that were facing skyrocketing cases and rising test positivity rates.
But the President ignored the warnings, and publicly dismissed concerns about a second wave — enabling a resurgence of the virus that has resulted in thousands more deaths.
POLITICO: White House Privately Warned States of Covid-19 ‘Red Zone’ Threat, Records Show
- In June, Senior Trump Administration Officials Privately Warned States WIth Outbreaks That They Were in the “Red Zone,” Though They Publicly Dismissed Concerns af a Second Wave.“Senior Trump administration officials in June privately warned seven states about dangerous coronavirus outbreaks that put them in the highest risk ‘red zone’ while publicly dismissing concerns about a second wave of Covid-19.” [Politico, 8/31/20]
- The Administration Made Little Effort to Enforce Public Health Guidance as States Flouted Recommendations. “The documents released by the committee also reveal that several states have failed to implement public health recommendations the task force made more than two months ago — including mask mandates, closing bars and banning large gatherings — and that the administration has made little effort to enforce its guidance or make the same recommendations publicly.” [Politico, 8/31/20]
- The Administration Received Risk Assessments and Alerted States to Outbreaks as Trump Publicly Belittled His Own Scientists and Insisted That Things Were Under Control. “The risk assessments for states came at the same time President Donald Trump was insisting during briefings that his administration’s pandemic response was working and publicly contradicting or belittling his scientists — sometimes as they stood beside him. In mid-June, documents showed the task force confidentially alerted seven states where spikes in cases had put them in the ‘red zone’ of highest virus spread, just after Vice President Mike Pence, who led the task force, wrote an op-ed dismissing fears of a ‘second wave’ of the virus as ‘overblown.’ [Politico, 8/31/20]
- In Late June, as Vice President Pence Said Fifty States Were “Opening Up Safely,” the Administration Knew Ten States Were in the Red Zone. “By late June, documents revealed 10 states were in the red zone, and that cases had surged in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. But Pence at the time continued to say that ‘all 50 states are opening up safely and responsibly.’” [Politico, 8/31/20]
- In Mid-July, As The Number Of “Red Zone States” Had Nearly Doubled From Weeks Earlier, Trump Insisted Publicly the Virus Would Disappear. “By mid-July, 19 states were in the ‘red zone’ and the task force was pleading with them to increase testing. However, Trump repeatedly insisted that the country was testing too much and claimed without evidence that the virus would soon ‘disappear.’” [Politico, 8/31/20]
- In Early August, as Trump Claimed “It is What It Is,” 23 States Were In the Red Zone. “By early August, the task force document listed 23 states in the red zone — right around the time Trump in an Axios interview brushed off concerns of more than 1,000 people dying per day, saying, ‘It is what it is. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it.’” [Politico, 8/31/20]