Trump Misleads Americans About Virus Mortality As US Deaths Spiral Out of Control in Contrast With Other Countries
Republicans Pointed to Temporary Declining Deaths as Evidence That Things Were Getting Better – Now, Deaths Are Spiking Again
In his desire to move past the rising cost of the coronavirus pandemic and focus only on his reelection, President Trump and his cronies have chronically downplayed the number of people America has lost to the virus and touted “declining” death rates as a metric of the administration’s success.
But following months of surging cases and weeks of overwhelmed hospitals, the United States yesterday saw more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day – the highest toll since early July, and a number experts say is likely to rise.
Despite the President’s too little, too late attempts to “change his tone” at the podium, the disastrous consequences of his mismanagement are on full display. The United States outpaces every other country in lives lost to the pandemic — more than 140,000, and counting.
The United States Reached Over 1000 New Deaths In a Day as Experts Warn That Deaths Could Continue to Increase
CNN: “At Least 1,000 American Deaths Linked To The Coronavirus Were Reported Tuesday, And The Spread Shows No Sign Of Slowing Down.”
- “At least 1,000 American deaths linked to the coronavirus were reported Tuesday, and the spread shows no sign of slowing down…The only other time this month the country crossed the threshold of 1,000 reported deaths was July 7, with 1,195 reported fatalities. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, a quarter of all days this year have seen a US death toll exceeding 1,000.” [CNN, 7/22/20]
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield: “The Fall And The Winter Of 2020 And 2021 Are Going To Be Probably One Of The Most Difficult Times That We Experienced In American Public Health.”
- “Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he thinks ‘the fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are going to be the probably one of the most difficult times that we experienced in American public health.’” [CNN, 7/14/20]
Physician and Rutgers Medical Professor Dr. Bob Lahita Predicted That There Would Be “Tremendous Deaths” In States Like Texas And Florida.
- “States like Texas and Florida, whose governors pushed for rapid reopening, are starting to see ICUs fill to capacity as coronavirus cases mount. Lahita predicted ‘tremendous deaths’ in those areas, adding that it was a ‘very good idea’ for them to take steps to roll back reopening measures. ‘What we saw in the Northeast, if you recall, was we saw lots and lots of deaths until we took this seriously,’ he said.” [CBS News, 7/10/20]
Catherine Troisi, UTHealth School of Public Health Epidemiologist: “Even If We Could Magically Lock Everyone In Their Room And No One Transmits To Anyone, We Would Still Be Seeing An Increase In Deaths For The Next Several Weeks.”
- “Nationwide, deaths have begun to rise again. In some of the worst-hit states, especially across the South and the West, new death records are being set daily. As a virus-scarred summer wears on, public health specialists say the numbers are almost certain to continue to climb. ‘Even if we could magically lock everyone in their room and no one transmits to anyone, we would still be seeing an increase in deaths for the next several weeks,’ said Catherine Troisi, an epidemiologist with UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston. That grim assessment came as the United States on Friday set another record for total cases, with more than 76,000 — including a new high of nearly 15,000 in Texas alone.” [Washington Post, 7/20/20]
It Didn’t Have to Be This Way: Other Countries Fended Off Virus While US Deaths Only Worsen
[Washington Post, Accessed 7/22/20]
On July 19, Trump Wrongly Claimed That The US Had “Maybe The Lowest Mortality Rate” In The World Despite Actually Having The 8th Highest, Behind Countries That Have Since Slowed The Spread.
- “’I heard we have one of the lowest, maybe the lowest, mortality rate anywhere in the world,’Trump told ‘Fox News Sunday’ host Chris Wallace…. ‘Number one low mortality rate,’ he said, attacking Wallace for reporting ‘fake news’ in the process. ‘You said we had the worst mortality rate in the world, and we have the best.’ But the President’s claim is not true. And it’s not even close. The US in fact has one of the highest death rates from the coronavirus of any country, and is worse than several badly-hit countries like Brazil, Mexico and Russia, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The US ranks eighth in total Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people, below a number of European hotbeds and Chile, but above other badly-hit South American and Asian countries.’” [CNN, 7/20/20]
But While Cases In The US Are Surging, Countries Like Spain, Italy, Germany And France Have Been Able To Combat The Spread Of The Virus And Drive Death Rates To Lower Levels.
- “Other countries have managed to avoid the kind of dramatic viral resurgence that is happening in America. Spain, Italy, Germany and France — all devastated by the virus months ago — drove coronavirus cases and deaths to relatively low levels. The United Kingdom has been an outlier in Europe, with one of the highest per capita death tolls in the world, but after suppressing transmission, it has not seen a major rebound.” [Washington Post, 7/19/20]
Japan Had Fewer Than 1,000 Deaths From COVID-19, South Korea Has Had Fewer Than 300 Deaths, And Vietnam Has Recorded No Deaths From The Virus.
- “And in Asia, the picture is radically different. In Taiwan, baseball fans sit in the stands and watch their teams play. Japan has had fewer than 1,000 deaths from covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. South Korea has had fewer than 300. Vietnam has recorded no deaths from the virus.” [Washington Post, 7/19/20]
Deaths Are Going Up After Trump & Republicans Misled, Pointed to Temporary Decline to Excuse Failed Response
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany: “We’re Encouraged… When You Look At Case Fatality.”
- “We’re encouraged that when you look at case fatality, for instance, we’re below the European Union, we’re below the average of the world, and I think that that speaks to our incredible work with therapeutics and our incredible work with testing: 46 million tests. The number two in testing in the world is India at 13.79 million.” [White House Press Briefing, 7/21/20]
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) Downplayed Rising Deaths On Fox News: “Our Case Rates Are Going Up Across The Country But The Death Rates On The Hospitalization Rates Are Not Going Up As Fast.”
- “There’s a lot of good news the president conveyed today in terms of progress made on treatment regimens and potential vaccines by the end of the year. And our case rates are going up across the country but the death rates on the hospitalization rates are not going up as fast.” [Fox News, Hannity, 7/21/20]
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis On July 14 Claimed That The Coronavirus Had “Stabilized” The Day Before Florida Set A New Record For Deaths In A Day.
- “Florida set a new record for coronavirus deaths Tuesday, one of several metrics that show the state’s coronavirus crisis is still getting worse, even as Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed at a news conference Monday afternoon that the state’s situation had ‘stabilized.’” [Forbes, 7/14/20]
On July 6, White House Spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany Claimed That A “Very Small Fraction” Of People Die From Coronavirus While Arguing That The Mortality Rate In The United States Was A Success.
- “White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany was forced to defend President Trump’s claim in a July 4 speech that the COVID-19 virus is ‘completely harmless’ to ‘99%’ of those who are tested. Taking the bait, McEnany suggested in a Fox News interview that her boss was simply trying to note that only a relatively tiny number of Americans have actually died in the pandemic so far. ‘A very small fraction of people fall victim to coronavirus in a fatal way,’ McEnany said. ‘This president is taking COVID seriously, but we should note the mortality rate and how well we are doing,’ she added.” [New York Daily News, 7/6/20]
Trump On June 25: “The Number Of Deaths (Mortality Rate), Goes Way Down.”
- “The number of ChinaVirus cases goes up, because of GREAT TESTING, while the number of deaths (mortality rate), goes way down. The Fake News doesn’t like telling you that!” [Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, 6/25/20]
On June 25, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow Told Fox Business “Fatality Rates… Continue To Go Down.”
- “’We’re going to have to live with this from time to time,’ [Kudlow] said. ‘But that’s a different matter than the whole country. We have seen case growth rates rise nationally just a little bit. Fatality rates, however, continue to go down.’” [Fox Business, 6/25/20]
On June 16, Vice President Mike Pence Bragged About Their Being Less Than 750 Coronavirus Deaths Per Day In The United States.
- “Lost in the coverage is the fact that today less than 6% of Americans tested each week are found to have the virus. Cases have stabilized over the past two weeks, with the daily average case rate across the U.S. dropping to 20,000—down from 30,000 in April and 25,000 in May. And in the past five days, deaths are down to fewer than 750 a day, a dramatic decline from 2,500 a day a few weeks ago—and a far cry from the 5,000 a day that some were predicting.” [Wall Street Journal, 7/16/20]
Trump On May 24: “Deaths Are Going Down All Over The Country!”
- “Cases, numbers and deaths are going down all over the Country!” [Twitter, @realDonaldTrump, 5/24/20]