A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.

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[ [link removed] ]45's Falsehoods and Failures: Weekly Coverage of Trump During COVID-19

PFAW Member,

This week’s edition of the blog series tracks the progression of Donald
Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, his and his administration’s response to it,
and the repercussions within the federal government from his distractions
and failures.

* On October 4, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump hid his
[ [link removed] ]positive COVID-19 test results, including in an October 1 interview
with Fox News, for several hours before he announced his diagnosis on
Twitter. His aides are [ [link removed] ]refusing to give the exact date when Trump
last tested negative.

* The same Wall Street Journal article also revealed that Trump
explicitly [ [link removed] ]ordered an adviser to “[not] tell anyone” about
several other White House staffers’ positive tests. At the time
of this writing, 34 White House staffers and other contacts have
[ [link removed] ]contracted the disease. It is unclear whether that group
includes [ [link removed] ]West Wing government employees and [ [link removed] ]White House
residence staff, the majority of whom are Black and Latino.
* Before his official diagnosis, Trump ignored the onset of
COVID-19 symptoms and [ [link removed] ]attended an indoor campaign fundraising
event in New Jersey. The White House has since identified [ [link removed] ]more
than 200 people in New Jersey who were possibly exposed at the
event.
* A USA Today [ [link removed] ]investigation found that Trump and other White
House insiders could have spread the coronavirus to potentially
thousands of people across state lines.

* While Trump was under care at Walter Reed Memorial Hospital, he
flouted health and safety regulations for COVID-19 patients: During
his stay, he [ [link removed] ]visited multiple people around the hospital complex
and [ [link removed] ]forced his Secret Service agents to drive him around in an
enclosed vehicle to greet gathered supporters.
* On October 5, the White House declined an offer from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to [ [link removed] ]contact trace the guests
and staff who attended the September 26 White House Rose Garden event
for Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Many
experts believe the event could be the superspreader event that
sparked the White House coronavirus outbreak. In addition, the White
House has neglected to [ [link removed] ]contact [ [link removed] ]local officials in Washington,
D.C. in the wake of Trump and White House officials’ positive
diagnoses.
* Further demonstrating Trump’s refusal to take others’ safety into
consideration, he [ [link removed] ]refused additional safety measures requested by
the Commission on Presidential Debates, instead insisting on either
cancelling or postponing the debate previously scheduled for October
15.
* Following Trump’s ([ [link removed] ]maskless) return to the White House, he
[ [link removed] ]tweeted on October 6 that he had [ [link removed] ]ordered his Republican allies
to pull out of coronavirus stimulus talks until “immediately after I
win” the election. Trump’s announcement came mere hours after Federal
Reserve chair Jerome Powell [ [link removed] ]said that the U.S. was facing a
“longer than expected slog back to full recovery.”
* Even after being [ [link removed] ]treated for a potentially severe case of the
virus, Trump continued to spread misinformation about COVID-19 to the
public. On October 5, Trump [ [link removed] ]tweeted: “Don’t be afraid of Covid.
Don’t let it dominate your life,” and on October 7 he [ [link removed] ]said that
his diagnosis with coronavirus is “a blessing from God.” The next day,
he [ [link removed] ]posted that COVID-19 is “less lethal” than the seasonal flu.
Facebook subsequently removed that post for violating its rules
regarding coronavirus misinformation, and Twitter appended a
disclaimer to his tweet stating that the information it contained was
false.
* After the White House spent two weeks [ [link removed] ]blocking the publication of
new coronavirus vaccine production guidelines from the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), the health agency finally [ [link removed] ]released the
document. It increases safety protocols – and makes it highly unlikely
that a vaccine could be released before November 3. Trump then
[ [link removed] ]complained that the FDA had pulled a “political hit job” on him by
releasing these more stringent regulations.
* On October 8, during Trump’s hourlong telephone [ [link removed] ]interview with Fox
Business, he announced plans to resume in-person campaign rallies as
early as this Saturday. In between coughs, he claimed that “I don’t
think I’m contagious at all.”

The pandemic has now claimed the lives of more than 210,000 people, and is
“making a dangerous comeback” in most of the U.S. This week, the average
caseload is on the rise in [ [link removed] ]39 states. In the Midwest, the [ [link removed] ]surge of
severe cases is so high that ICU bed capacity is at a dangerous peak.
Mortality data from 32 countries around the world [ [link removed] ]reveal that the
official worldwide coronavirus death count is missing at least 338,000
deaths caused by the disease.

And this week, Trump’s diagnosis and the COVID-19 outbreak in the White
House and on Capitol Hill has added even more urgency to the crises
Americans are facing. Trump’s refusal to accept the ongoing and worsening
reality of the pandemic, even in the White House and on Capitol Hill, is
now creating a dangerous ripple effect in Congress. Three Republican
senators have tested positive for the coronavirus; two of them on the
Senate Judiciary Committee. Yet in a craven attempt to rush Amy Coney
Barrett’s confirmation through, Republican senators are now [ [link removed] ]refusing
to get tested for COVID-19 to avoid a delay in processing Barrett’s
Supreme Court nomination.

Furthermore, Admiral Charles W. Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast
Guard, [ [link removed] ]tested positive for the disease on September 27 – one day after
he attended a White House event to honor Gold Star families. Following
Admiral Ray’s diagnosis, the highest military chiefs in the U.S. are under
quarantine, causing former military leaders to [ [link removed] ]warn about the national
security threat this posed. Trump, though, went on the air on October 8 to
[ [link removed] ]suggest that he contracted COVID-19 at the Gold Star family event.

Peoples’ lives are at stake. The security of our country is at stake. Yet
Trump’s actions, words, and behavior remain dangerously reckless even
after his own COVID diagnosis. It is clearer than ever that this man is
unfit to serve – and we must hold him accountable for his many failures at
the ballot box on November 3.

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The [ [link removed] ]Falsehoods and Failures series will appear every week on our blog.
[ [link removed] ]You can find the previous post here. For ongoing coverage of Trump and
the Right Wing's response to the coronavirus, check out PFAW's [ [link removed] ]Right
Wing Watch.

Thanks as always for your ongoing support – stay safe and healthy!

– Sarah, PFAW

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