President Donald Trump, who only recently projected only 60,000 people would die from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic, now claims he hopes the United States loses less than 100,000 people.
“Hopefully we’re going to come in below that 100,000 lives lost, which is a horrible number nevertheless,†Trump said. “So, yeah, we’ve lost a lot of people. But if you look at what original projections were — 2.2 million — we’re probably heading to 60,000, 70,000.”
The United States has lost nearly 66,000 people during the pandemic, and the death toll continues to rise. At the current rate, the death toll will easily break 70,000 by the end of the weekend.
Trump’s comments come after documents obtained by NBC News indicate that the federal government ordered more than 100,00 body bags.
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“That batch is a pending $5.1 million purchase order placed by the Department of Homeland Security on April 21 with E.M. Oil Transport Inc. of Montebello, California, which advertises construction vehicles, building materials and electronics on its website,†the outlet pointed out.
Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opened up bidding to provide about 200 rented refrigerated trailers for locations around the country around the same time.
The president has signaled he will not extend social distancing guidelines and earlier today slammed Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a tweet, referring to the armed protesters who stormed the Michigan statehouse yesterday “good people.â€
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
