Trump was asked if the country needed nationwide coronavirus testing before people go back to work, and Trump said that testing would be nice but isn’t needed.
Trump was asked about creating a nationwide testing system before reopening the country and he answered, “We have a great testing system. Right now the best testing system in the world. But — there are certain sections in the country that are in phenomenal shape already. Other sections are coming on other sections are going down. And we in addition to that are giving out millions of tests and every day we’re doing it exponentially we’re picking up. And what we’ll be doing in the very near future is going the certain areas of our country and do massive testing. It’s not necessary, but it would be a good thing to have.”
Video:
Trump says that the American people don't need nationwide coronavirus testing before they go back to work. Trump is in favor of sending people back to potentially unsafe workplaces. pic.twitter.com/E3qInwsVcz
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— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 9, 2020
Trump went on to reject the idea of nationwide testing, “We want to have it and we’re going see if we visit. Do you need it? No. Is it nice thing to have? Yes. We’re talking 325 million people, and that’s not going to happen, as you can imagine. It would never happen with anyone else either. Other countries do it, but they do it in a limited form. We’ll probably be the leader of the pack.”
Trump spent weeks bragging about the millions and millions of tests that have been delivered, but suddenly he doesn’t want mass testing before workers are sent back to work.
The reality that the US testing program remains a disaster. There aren’t enough tests, and they aren’t being processed quickly enough to keep up with the virus.
Trump pulled one of the favorite rhetorical tactics of the right. The question was about a national testing system, which Trump twisted into testing every American. In Trump’s view, we test every American or no one.
Donald Trump wants to send millions of workers back into potentially unsafe workplaces and potentially unleash a deadlier wave of coronavirus because he wants a bump in the economy before the election.
Trump is trying to cut back on testing so that he can proclaim that the coronavirus has been defeated because his only concern is the election in November.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
