Which is Trump more worried about: Coronavirus numbers or coronavirus patients?

Washington Post logoA comment on Friday suggests it’s the former.

A comment President Trump made during his visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought into focus a unifying theory of his administration’s fumbling response to the growing spread of the coronavirus.

He was asked if passengers on a cruise ship anchored near San Francisco, some of whom have been exposed to the virus, should be brought ashore.

“From my standpoint, I want to rely on people. I have great experts, including our vice president who is working 24 hours a day on this stuff. They would like to have the people come off,” he said, wearing a baseball cap promoting his reelection campaign. “I’d rather have the people stay, but I’d go with them. I told them to make the final decision.” Continue reading.

Here are 7 ridiculous and disturbing moments from Trump’s visit to the CDC

AlterNet logoAs the administration tries to cope with the ballooning coronavirus crisis, President Donald Trump visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday to assess the response.

Unfortunately, the visit did not inspire confidence in the president’s management of the situation. In fact, it included more of the disinformation campaign Trump has been engaging in to diminish the negative impact the reality of the crisis might have on his public standing.

Here are seven of the most ridiculous and disturbing moments: Continue reading.

‘Maybe I have a natural ability’: Trump plays medical expert on coronavirus by second-guessing the professionals

Washington Post logoPresident Trump likes to say that he fell into politics almost by accident, and on Friday, as he sought to calm a nation gripped with fears over coronavirus, he suggested he would have thrived in another profession — medical expert.

“I like this stuff. I really get it,” Trump boasted to reporters during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where he met with actual doctors and scientists who are feverishly scrambling to contain and combat the deadly illness. Citing a “great, super-genius uncle” who taught at MIT, Trump professed that it must run in the family genes.

“People are really surprised I understand this stuff,” he said. “Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability.” Continue reading.