Apparently, Trump has decided to go full “you can believe me or you can believe your eyes” on the pandemic:
President Trump went on a veritable interview tour on Wednesday — Sinclair, Gray TV, WSJ, Fox News — and was thoroughly dismissive of the coronavirus threat in at least two of the interviews.
Gray TV’s DC bureau chief Jacqueline Policastro said to Trump, “Coronavirus cases are rising in 22 states, including Oklahoma, where you plan to hold a big rally this week. Aren’t you worried about people getting sick?””No,” Trump said, “because if you look, the numbers are very minuscule compared to what it was. It’s dying out. By the way, we’re doing very well in vaccines and therapeutics.” And he went on from there.
Later in the day, in a call with Sean Hannity, Trump delivered “his usual exaggeration about his travel restrictions,” per CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, and said the US will not have to close again. Then he moved on.
Trump’s quotes reaffirmed what CNN’s WH team wrote earlier in the day: “Trump has largely tuned out the persistent coronavirus contagion — which is causing spikes in new cases across 21 states and daily death tolls that reach into the hundreds — to focus instead on reviving both the economy and his own political prospects.”This story quoted an admin official close to the coronavirus task force as saying, “They just don’t want to deal with the reality of it. They’re in denial.”Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s viral tweetstorm informed millions of people on Wednesday. So did his numerous live shots on CNN.
Gupta rebutted Trump’s “it’s dying out” claim in an interview with Don Lemon, saying, “It’s not going away, it’s just sort of moved around the country, which was exactly what was expected. It’s not dying away.”
It’s not dying away. But thousands and thousands of people are. He’s telling his people that they won’t die. As usual, he’s lying.
He told the Wall Street Journal that people are wearing masks because they don’t like him. Also said that some of his rally goers will probably get sick but they know the risks. (Of course, he’s requiring them to sign a waiver so they can’t sue him — he clearly knows the risks.)
He is demented…