Trump’s press convention in New Jersey: Coronavirus is “disappearing”

President Donald Trump referred to as a shock information convention on Friday evening at his personal golf membership in Bedminster, New Jersey, chatting with reporters earlier than a crowd of cheering membership members who infused the occasion with the tone of a miniature marketing campaign rally.

Trump used the event to once more push false claims that Covid-19 is “disappearing,” contradicted his intelligence companies’ findings on overseas interference within the election, and made deceptive and questionable claims about utilizing govt orders to interrupt Washington gridlock — whereas additionally asserting plans to implement a coverage that already exists.

Earlier than the occasion began, Trump was caught speaking to his members in regards to the press utilizing language meant to delegitimize anticipated criticism.

”You’ll get to satisfy the pretend information tonight. You’ll get to see what I’ve to undergo,” Trump stated, based on CNN’s Jim Acosta. “Who’s there? Oh all my killers are there, wow. So that you’ll get to see a number of the those who we take care of day-after-day.”

All through the convention, Trump appeared to play to the gang earlier than him. As an illustration, when a reporter questioned the actual fact some membership members determined to not put on masks through the occasion, Trump deflected by claiming his supporters have been below no obligation to take action as a result of they have been engaged in “peaceable protest,” prompting laughter and cheers from the gang.

In his remarks immediately addressing the coronavirus pandemic, Trump echoed an incorrect declare he made Wednesday, saying, “It’s disappearing, it’s going to vanish.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Trump administration’s prime infectious illness physician, not too long ago rebutted this declare in an interview with Reuters, calling it “unlikely” — and saying that whereas he believes public well being measures and a profitable vaccine will assist the world get Covid-19 below management, “I don’t assume we’re going to eradicate this from the planet.”

The variety of People dying from the coronavirus exhibits simply how far the nation is from reaching that time — and the way false Trump’s continued promise the virus will vanish is. Deaths from Covid-19 within the US elevated for the fifth straight week this week, based on the Covid Monitoring Undertaking. And lots of public well being specialists don’t count on a vaccine that would curtail the risk posed by the coronavirus to change into broadly accessible till mid-2021.

In his remarks Friday, Trump additionally revived a debunked speaking level that circumstances of the virus have been solely going up “as a result of we’re doing loads of testing.” A STAT evaluation in July confirmed that within the overwhelming majority of states, the case depend rose in latest months “as a result of there was truly extra illness.” Furthermore, epidemiologists have pointed to growing hospitalizations and deaths as an indication Covid-19’s unfold has accelerated.

Most People don’t settle for Trump’s logic on testing, based on a Pew research carried out from July 27 to August 2. The researchers discovered 60 % of People don’t agree that there are solely extra Covid-19 circumstances as a result of testing has elevated. Nevertheless, the researchers discovered a marked partisan cut up on the difficulty, with 62 % of Republicans feeling most testing is resulting in extra circumstances, a place 19 % of Democrats agreed with.

Trump additionally made false and deceptive claims about elections and coronavirus aid

Past spreading incorrect details about the coronavirus, the president additionally addressed the 2020 presidential election, downplaying the specter of overseas interference on his behalf within the upcoming election by blatantly dismissing the findings of his personal intelligence companies whereas casting mail-in voting as harmful.

When a reporter cited a brand new evaluation by the US intelligence group — which discovered Russia is utilizing a “vary of measures” to undermine presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and that China is contemplating working to restrict Trump’s possibilities of reelection — Trump dismissed it.

Whereas the president initially stated the intelligence within the report “may very well be” right, he instantly pivoted, saying, “The final particular person Russia desires to see in workplace in Donald Trump, as a result of no one’s been more durable on Russia than I’ve, ever.”

When reminded, “That’s not what the intelligence says,” Trump retorted, “I don’t care what anyone says,” and proceeded to argue that insurance policies like his concentrate on getting NATO international locations to extend their contributions to the Western army alliance show he’s powerful on Russia and that Moscow wouldn’t need him in workplace.

Trump additionally solid mail-in voting as “the most important danger we’ve,” and stated he was involved that overseas meddling might happen by mail-in ballots. However specialists on voting say there’s a consensus that mail-in ballots are traditionally a dependable and secure means of voting, and that there’s no proof that they can be utilized to commit mass fraud after they’re resourced correctly.

Whereas the election continues to be months away, tens of millions of People have fast considerations about the place they are going to stay and the way they are going to pay payments now that the federal unemployment insurance coverage and the eviction protections instituted by the CARES Act have expired.

Democrats and Republicans failed to come back to an settlement on extending these protections after weeks of negotiations, stymied partially by the president making calls for that weren’t supported by his social gathering, akin to {that a} payroll tax lower be included in any future stimulus package deal.

To fill the hole left by these packages, Trump promised — in obscure phrases — to make use of govt orders to place into place a bunch of sweeping measures, together with prolonged moratoriums on evictions and unemployment advantages. However he averted questions on how he might legally circumvent Congress to take action.

Notably, the president went on to vow the discharge of an govt order making certain insurance coverage firms “cowl all pre-existing situations for all prospects,” including that “this has by no means been carried out earlier than.”

This was deceptive on no less than two fronts. First, protections towards being denied protection on the premise of pre-existing situations have been already signed into legislation below the Reasonably priced Care Act through the Obama administration, and stay legislation. Secondly, Trump and the GOP have searched for years — unsuccessfully — to repeal the Reasonably priced Care Act with out providing a practical different plan, which successfully means the president has been searching for to strip folks of protections for pre-existing situations.

The convention concluded with a reporter questioning Trump’s claims that the pandemic is disappearing, and asking in regards to the knowledge of permitting attending membership members to not put on masks in mild of the continuing pandemic.

“You stated that the pandemic is disappearing, however we misplaced 6,000 People this week and simply on this room you’ve got dozens of people who find themselves not following the rules in New Jersey,” a reporter, which prompted boos from the gang.

“You’re fallacious about that as a result of it’s a political exercise,” Trump stated. “And it’s additionally a peaceable protest.”

In ending the convention, Trump positioned the blame the nation’s crises on a recurring foe: The press itself. “If the press on this nation have been trustworthy, it wasn’t corrupt, if it wasn’t pretend, our nation could be a lot additional forward, however we’re doing actually nice.”