Trump spreads conspiracy theories as US coronavirus death toll rises
Donald Trump, as the number of US coronavirus cases approached 550 and deaths rose to 22, spent Monday morning again downplaying the threat to most Americans and lashing out at his political foes.
"The Obama/Biden Administration is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our Country!" the president tweeted with no supporting data or additional allegations.
But in the past, he has accused it of "spying" on his 2016 campaign and launching a baseless investigation of Russian election meddling that became the one eventually led by then-Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III that he still calls a "hoax" and "witch hunt."
The Obama/Biden Administration is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
He fired off another tweet claiming there are "some very bad, sick people in our government" that are part of a "deep state" hellbent on taking him down, appearing to respond to a segment on MSNBC, a news network he claims to not watch, alleging it has a left-leaning bias.
"Trump has outmastered the Deep State. He's light years ahead of us." MSDNC. I disagree. We have a long way to go. There are still some very bad, sick people in our government - people who do not love our Country (In fact, they hate our Country!)." the president tweeted.
"Trump has outmastered the Deep State. He's light years ahead of us." MSDNC. I disagree. We have a long way to go. There are still some very bad, sick people in our government - people who do not love our Country (In fact, they hate our Country!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
He fired off another tweet claiming there are "some very bad, sick people in our government" that are part of a "deep state" hellbent on taking him down, appearing to respond to a segment on MSNBC, a news network he claims to not watch, alleging it has a left-leaning bias.
"Trump has outmastered the Deep State. He's light years ahead of us." MSDNC. I disagree. We have a long way to go. There are still some very bad, sick people in our government - people who do not love our Country (In fact, they hate our Country!)." the president tweeted.
As Mr Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, talked of "separating people" in hard-hit cities and others being "shipped out" to special quarantine centers, Mr Trump was busy floating conspiracy theories.
As Mr Fauci warned Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer there is "Trouble ahead!" after his remarks about two Supreme Court conservative justices was widely interpreted as a physical threat, and urging Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to "get angry" at fellow-progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren for not dropping out of the 2020 presidential race before Super Tuesday and garnering votes that could have gone to him.
As Mr Fauci was on CNN urging elderly people to avoid cruise ships and possibly air travel, the president seemed mostly focused on his own re-election prospects. He tried sowing more bad blood within the Democratic ranks rather than offer any advice about the coronavirus or calm any nervous citizens or companies -- or US stock markets, which are expected to open to another big drop.
"Now the Democrats are trying to smear Bernie with Russia, Russia, Russia. They are driving him Crazy!" Mr Trump tweeted, even though he has suggested Mr Sanders went on his honeymoon decades ago in Moscow and is a Soviet-sympathyzing "communist."
And as Fauci was talking about testing kits, his boss was focused exclusively on the politics of the crisis.
"The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant," he wrote. "Surgeon General, 'The risk is low to the average American.'"
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Now the Democrats are trying to smear Bernie with Russia, Russia, Russia. They are driving him Crazy!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1236978443042148352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant. Surgeon General, "The risk is low to the average American."</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1236975196642390022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren singlehandedly destroyed the Bernie Sanders campaign by stripping voters away from his count on Super T. He lost states that he easily would have won if she had dropped out 3 days earlier. The DNC is doing it to Bernie again! Will he ever get angry?</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1236977607062761472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
