Trump likes to make up a lot of stuff. For years he’s told crowds he won a “Michigan Man of the Year Award” — a trophy that does not exist. Same with a fictitious “Bay of Pigs Award.” He’s long embellished his wealth, which we now know to barely exist. According to The Washington Post’s tally, he’s made 20,000 false or misleading statements since assuming the presidency — and that’s from a piece in July. But this is definitely in his Top 10 of BS claims: As per Politico, a new press release put out by the White House science policy office lists among his accomplishments in his first term “ending the pandemic.”
We don’t need to tell you this is “pants on fire” level lying. Cases are spiking all across the nation, right in time for the holidays. Here are some stats from Politico:
Last week, the country set a new record of 83,000 cases in a single day, and the seven-day case average is now hovering around 70,000 — more than any other time during the pandemic. Over 42,000 people are hospitalized with Covid-19, up from about 30,000 one month ago, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
But this is how the press release spins it.
From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Administration has taken decisive actions to engage scientists and health professionals in academia, industry, and government to understand, treat, and defeat the disease.
Throughout Trump has both exaggerated his role in trying to stop the spread of COVID-19 and downplayed its severity. Even after contracting it himself — and possibly almost dying — he’s only tried to blow it off even more than he once did, telling packed crowds of mostly maskless supporters that it’s no big deal, and besides, “We’re rounding the turn. It’s ending anyway.” But it’s not, and we’re likely in for a very brutal winter, especially if he wins a second term.
A lot of people online are almost inoculated from the president’s lies, but this one gobsmacked them anyway.
Things you can't make up: the White House put out a press release in which they listed "ending the pandemic" as one of the top accomplishments of Trump's first term in office.
The US is currently hitting record highs in cases. Roughly 700 to 1,100 Americans are dying every day.
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) October 27, 2020
So sad. The White House Office of Science and Technology (OST) was, once upon a time, a totally reliable and apolitical source of scientific and technological information and advice for the Executive Branch, the envy of Congress and academia. Now pure BS.https://t.co/9btnAZ15Bi
— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) October 27, 2020
https://twitter.com/JamesKosur/status/1321167092041830406
Actually, in a way it isn’t even news. Besides, as CNN’s Daniel Dale points out, he’s been saying this for quite a long time.
Trump then adds of the pandemic: "It's ending."
That's at least the 39th time he has made such a declaration since February. https://t.co/EqVyOnVSA5https://t.co/xwka3kmOdP
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 20, 2020
(Via Politico)