Judging from their TV appearances, President Trump’s advisers are unwilling to admit error and adjust their handling of the coronavirus pandemic accordingly. They still insist they are doing everything perfectly, and still blithely point to about a third of the United States as merely some “hot spots.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Adm. Brett Giroir, who heads the widely panned federal testing operation, would not admit that much of anything was wrong, only conceding he wouldn’t be “satisfied” until the virus is eradicated. Giroir hedged when asked if everyone could get a test, saying everyone who “needs” one can get it. (This would not include all asymptomatic people.) Presented with a Harvard University analysis that says we should be doing between 3 million and 3.5 million tests a day, Giroir raised a straw man that 300 million tests was unrealistic. He insisted that, despite long wait times for test results, that the Defense Production Act did not need to be invoked to increase the supplies necessary to collect and process test specimens.
The interview continued: Continue reading.