President Donald Trump defended his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner after a reporter questioned him about Kushner’s suggestion that the federal stockpile of medical resources was not for the states.
“You know what ‘our’ means? [The] United States of America,†Trump told CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang before accusing her of asking a “gotcha” question. “We take that – ‘our’ – and we distribute it to the states.â€
“Because we need it for the government, we need it for the federal government,†Trump continued. “To keep for our country because the federal government needs it too, not just the states.â€
Appearing to grow angry at Jiang’s question, he said Kushner was “talking about the federal government. It’s such a basic and simple question and you try and make it sound so bad. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.â€
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You can watch footage of Trump’s remarks below.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1246203373508005894
Kushner sparked controversy yesterday for a claim that goes against what the Strategic National Stockpile was intended for: to provide states with more supplies if they run out during an emergency.
“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use,†Kushner told reporters at the time. “So, we’re encouraging the states to make sure that they’re assessing the needs, they’re getting the data from their local situations and then trying to fill it with the supplies that we’ve given them.â€
Earlier today, members of the press noticed that the official language on the Strategic National Stockpile’s website had been changed to reflect Kushner’s remarks.
“The Strategic National Stockpile’s role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies,†the website now says. “Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available.â€
After Jared Kushner’s comment about how the Strategic National Stockpile is not supposed to be for states, lots of people pointed to the fact that its own website says it is.
The language on the website has now been changed.
My screenshot from last night vs. one from today: pic.twitter.com/UwJFAr7uoV
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 3, 2020
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
