Trump Annihilated Online Over Claim 'We'd Have Very Few Cases' Without Testing
In a bizarre attempt to explain away the United States’ high COVID-19 case count and simultaneously boast about the number of tests conducted, President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that without testing, there would be fewer coronavirus cases.
“Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? We do more testing,” Trump said following a tour of a medical supply distributor in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.”
He claimed that the media “don’t want to write” this “common sense” explanation for the U.S. case count, which on Thursday surpassed 1.4 million ― more than five times greater than any other country has reported. More than 85,800 people in the U.S. have died.
It is true that the U.S. has conducted the most tests, however, testing per capita ― a much more meaningful metric as a measure of success ― lags behind several other countries, including Russia, Italy, Germany, Spain and Canada. Experts continue to emphasize that widespread testing and contact tracing are the cornerstones of a successful strategy against the further spread of the virus.
With tests still not readily available for many Americans, the president has on multiple occasions tried to downplay the importance of testing, even though members of his White House inner circle are being tested every day.
“So we have the best testing in the world. It could be the testing’s, frankly, overrated? Maybe it is overrated,” the president continued on Thursday. “You know, they always say we want more, we want more because they don’t want to give you credit.”
His comments were met with fierce backlash on Twitter.
Ask any oncologist and they’ll tell you the secret to beating cancer is just never to get screened for it.
I mean, that’s just basic medicine. https://t.co/hWTIRxcYWw— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) May 14, 2020
The United States has:
- 4% of the global population
- 32% of global COVID-19 cases
- 28% of global COVID-19 deaths https://t.co/IrQ4QLQ5zD— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) May 14, 2020
This idiot is who so many of you voted for. This idiot thinks the most important thing is his ratings and not your health and your death. The man hasn't got a single drop of human empathy or emotion in him. A parasite sucking us dry. https://t.co/5tLgLQwl6H
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) May 14, 2020
He really has to be one of the dumbest people alive. https://t.co/XgCDBIZnpJ
— George Conway, Noble Committee Chair (@gtconway3d) May 15, 2020
If you or I were this stupid, it might be funny. For the President of the United States to be this stupid is really fucking dangerous. https://t.co/xWRJAi396F
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) May 14, 2020
Dear @realDonaldTrump: Without testing, we would have even more infections. Testing lets us see the hidden enemy and isolate those who are infected to prevent further spread of #COVID19. That’s why your own @WhiteHouse tests regularly and often. Get it?#ThursdayThoughts https://t.co/Cpn6PY3PpH
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) May 14, 2020
Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Quiet Part Out Loud”..... https://t.co/75P7td0obv
— Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) May 14, 2020
If I close my eyes, you can’t see me. https://t.co/R6ylJPVcw4
— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) May 14, 2020
What a bizarre thing to say, even by Trump’s low standards.
So does testing cause deaths, too?
Is that why almost 1 of 3 deaths worldwide from COVID-19 comes from the United States?
(85,000+ out of 300,000+ deaths) https://t.co/6M1vDgLIdz— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 14, 2020
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 14, 2020
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.