As Trump Downplayed Coronavirus, His Task Force Warned Of ‘Red Zone’ States Like NC
New White House documents released today show that in June, top Trump administration officials privately warned seven states about dangerous coronavirus outbreaks that put them in the highest risk “red zone” while the administration publicly downplayed the virus’ risk.
According to House Democrats, the reports obtained from the White House coronavirus task force indicates that the Trump administration acted over the summer to willfully cover up public health risks for political gain.
From Cardinal & Pine:
The Trump administration report in August also listed “red zone” localities such as Mecklenburg County, the Hickory and Morganton region, Fayetteville, Wilmington.
Recommendations for the state included an emphasis on social distancing and wearing masks, although Trump spoke during the Republican National Convention last week to a crowd of mostly unmasked observers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, who has been a consistent advocate for wearing masks during the pandemic. Over the weekend, Tillis apologized for not wearing a mask.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued a mandatory mask rule in June as the state’s coronavirus cases surged.
According to the White House reports, NC first entered the “red zone” on its July 14 report.
The congressional committee has called on the White House to make their COVID-19 reports public sooner, Politico reported.
“Rather than being straight with the American people and creating a national plan to fix the problem, the president and his enablers kept these alarming reports private,” Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the congressional subcommittee’s chair, said in a statement reported by Politico Monday.
“As a result of the president’s failures, more than 58,000 additional Americans have died since the Task Force first started issuing private warnings, and many of the Task Force’s recommendations still have not been implemented.”
“Makes me angry,” Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the Obama administration, posted on Twitter at the time. “There is absolutely NO legitimate reason for this information — and much better information — not to be publicly available, in real time, RIGHT NOW for every community in the United States, every day“.
In early August, the report counted 23 states, including North Carolina in the “red zone” — with 100 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in the population.
During the same time, Trump brushed off concerns of more than 1,000 people dying per day, stating that, “It is what it is”.
Since late January, Trump has consistently denied and spread misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost of Trump’s callousness has resulted in over 182,000 deaths and almost 6 million COVID-19 cases — underscoring Trump’s complete and utter failure of handling this pandemic.
Bottom Line: Trump has consistently failed to tell the truth and more importantly, failed to implement a nationwide strategy to combat the pandemic. In his endless quest to deny his way out of responsibility, millions of Americans have paid the highest price for his incompetence.
