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Home · News

Trump Encourages States To Reopen Despite Not Meeting Guidelines He Set Forth

During a virtual town hall hosted by Fox News, Trump suggested that states can reopen without putting lives at risk. Health experts disagree.
Trump Encourages States To Reopen Despite Not Meeting Guidelines He Set Forth
By Tanya A. Christian · Updated November 4, 2020

During a virtual town hall, Donald Trump suggested that the country was ready to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying that it’s possible to gradually lift lockdowns while protecting lives. This comes as the White House has increased its projection for the U.S. death toll by more than 20,000.

According to the Associated Press, Trump declared during the virtual town hall hosted by Fox News, “We have to get it [the country] back open safely but as quickly as possible,” echoing remarks he’s made on numerous occasions over the past six weeks of coronavirus-spurred lockdowns. Trump’s concerns about reopening the economy, and his insistence that states are ready to gradually resume life as usual, come despite the fact that no state in the country is ready to reopen according to White House guidelines. 

Trump Encourages States To Reopen Despite Not Meeting Guidelines He Set Forth
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 03: President Donald Trump speaks with news anchor Bret Baier during a Virtual Town Hall inside of the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

On Sunday, Fox News host Chris Wallace asked the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, Deborah Birx, M.D., about the 14-day case decline that the White House is using as a determining factor to assess a state’s readiness to reopen. She responded, “Federal guidelines are a pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint.”

WALLACE: More than half the states have started reopening, but not a single one has met the guidelines of 2 weeks of decline in new coronavirus cases. Are you worried?

BIRX: "Federal guidelines are pretty firm policy of what we think is important from a public health standpoint" pic.twitter.com/4O5lWQJZIE

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 3, 2020
Ahead of Donald Trump’s virtual town hall, Dr. Deborah Birx appears on Fox News.

The “we” she refers to is unclear, given that Trump has pushed the idea, including at the virtual town hall, that several states were ready to reopen this month, even praising and encouraging protesters in blue states who are demanding that their governors lift stay-at-home orders much sooner than the recommended time frame.  

During the virtual town hall, Trump insisted, “You can satisfy both,” proposing that we can reopen the country without putting people’s lives in danger even though scientists and public health experts disagree. They maintain that resuming life as usual will largely depend on our ability to test and contact trace given that a vaccine isn’t expected before 2021.

In a recent Harvard University study, researchers suggested that the country would need to administer at least 5 million tests a day to safely reopen. Trump, ahead of the virtual town hall, claimed that the country is almost there, but Brett Giroir, M.D., the federal health official overseeing U.S. testing, told Time magazine, “There is absolutely no way on Earth, on this planet or any other planet, that we can do 20 million tests a day, or even 5 million tests a day.”

Mixed messaging has been consistent with this administration and its response to the pandemic. It’s likely that time will be the only indicator for if the country truly is ready to resume to pre-pandemic life.

TOPICS:  Donald Trump pandemic state reopenings virtual town hall
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