As the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of slowing, Donald Trump is declaring victory.
On Monday, the seven-day average for new coronavirus cases surged 30 percent higher than a week before. On Wednesday, the nation broke its previous record for most new cases in a day, with 36,880. Hospitals in hot spots are running out of beds, and more than half of states are seeing increasing numbers of cases.
The Trump administration has spent the week praising itself for a job well done.
The Washington Post reported that Mike Pence had told Republican senators on Wednesday to pay attention to “encouraging signs,” such as the fact that cases were only increasing in 12 states. The Post debunked this false claim, noting the number of states with increasing infection rates was actually much higher. Continue reading.