Trump doubles down on coronavirus tests 'going very smooth' as administration comes up millions short
President Trump's administration has been slammed by critics over the country's dearth of test kits for the new coronavirus, with the U.S. lagging behind many countries, including South Korea and Senegal. But addressing concerns on Thursday, Trump claimed that "frankly, the testing has been going very smooth." He added that "if you go to the right agents, if you go to the right area, you get the test," although CNN's Daniel Dale, who was reporting on the press conference, noted that Trump "doesn't say who are the right agents or what are the right areas."
When a reporter pushed Trump about reports of people failing to get tests even when exhibiting symptoms, the president added: "You're talking about one case. I mean, I could certainly look into it … it's one case. I've heard, also, it goes very well."
Seconds after being told about the problems people are having getting coronavirus testing, Trump tells reporters, "Frankly, the testing has been going very smooth. If you go to the right agency, if you go to the right area you get the test."
This isn't true. pic.twitter.com/xDO5lW9JnS
— The American Independent (@AmerIndependent) March 12, 2020
HHS Secretary Alex Azar claimed last Friday that "up to 4 million tests" would be available within a week. As of Tuesday, there had only been 5,000 tests in the United States.
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