Google Reportedly Had No Clue That Trump Would Claim They're Making a National Coronavirus Website
On Friday, President Trump addressed the country at a press conference in which he declared a national state of emergency over the coronavirus crisis and gave a truly irresponsible number of handshakes. But he also touted a new tool to help the nation through the pandemic: A website currently being crafted by Google that would soon allow Americans to determine whether they need a test for COVID-19, and if so, how to obtain one. And apparently, that was news to Google.
Wired reported that a Google source told the publication that the tech company was surprised by Trump's announcement, and that the president completely misrepresented the project. The coronavirus website project isn't from Google, but Verily, another Alphabet subsidiary, and was initially intended only for medical workers in the Bay Area. "After Trump unexpectedly publicized the effort, Verily decided it will let anyone visit it," reported Wired—but the site will still initially roll out only in northern California, and won't be the national resource Trump promised for some time, if ever.
"Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time," Google tweeted.
During his remarks, Trump described the effort as "a website—it’s gonna be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past—to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location." The "websites of the past" aside was a clear dig at the botched Obamacare website launch of 2013. So that's right: Trump wasn't just spreading falsehoods during a national crisis, he was doing so to take yet another jab at his predecessor.
Related: Coronavirus Tests Reportedly Being Conducted at Prince George’s School
You Might Also Like
