Jests.
He’s getting a bit of bad rap on social media for what he said here. Let’s start at the beginning, though, on Saturday night in Tulsa when he said this:
Trump: When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people. You’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people slow the testing down please. pic.twitter.com/RalPJeVH0F
Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) June 21, 2020
“Slow the testing down, please”? Is that why testing in the U. S. was so woefully scant early on in the pandemic? The president deliberately sabotaged it for political reasons?
Kayleigh McEnany was asked about it at yesterday’s briefing and said, nah, he was just joking. Then Trump himself was asked about it this morning at an impromptu press gaggle. Is it true that you were just kidding, Mr. President? To which he replied: “I don’t kid.”
So… he did sabotage testing? Watch below. The “I don’t kid” line aside, it sounds here like he’s saying that more testing is good on the merits in that it helps us find “hidden” infections but bad politically in the sense that rising case counts can be held against him. He’s made that last point numerous times, but at least he sounds reasonably appreciative of the virtues of testing here: “By having more cases, it sounds bad. But, actually, what it is we’re finding people.”
Reporter: “When you said you asked your people to slow down testing, were you just kidding, or do you have a plan to slow down testing?”
President Trump: “I don’t kid” https://t.co/pzC3GhMo8npic.twitter.com/IenZWA6U2r
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 23, 2020
Fauci and others vouched for him during his House testimony this morning:
Rep Pallone directly asks all 4 witnesses if the President ever directed to slow down testing
Dr Fauci, Hahn, Admiral Giroir & Redfield all testify no
— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) June 23, 2020
Trump cited Fauci in his own defense on testing earlier this morning, in fact:
….
