Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on June 23, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)
Jun 23, 2020
Just after President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on a claim that he ordered a slowdown in Covid-19 testing in response to the recent surge of cases in more than two dozen U.S. states, Dr. Anthony Fauci testified to Congress that no members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force have been given such a command.
"To my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing," Fauci told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in response to a question about Trump's remarks. "It's the opposite. We're gonna be doing more testing, not less."
Watch:
\u201cDr. Fauci: "We're going to be doing more testing, not less."\u201d— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1592930027
Fauci's testimony appeared to contradict Trump's declaration during a campaign rally in Oklahoma Saturday that he ordered members of his administration to "slow the testing down."
The president did not specify to whom he gave the order, saying only that he told "my people."
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Trump said he was not joking about giving the instructions--exploding a narrative that White House officials pushed in the wake of the president's weekend remarks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a press briefing Monday that the president's comments were made "in jest."
"I don't kid," Trump said Tuesday. "By having more tests, we find more cases."
\u201cNEW: Asked whether he was kidding when he claimed at his Tulsa rally he had instructed officials to slow down COVID-19 testing, Pres. Trump says, "I don't kid."\n\nYesterday, press sec. Kayleigh McEnany told @bgittleson the comments had been "in jest." https://t.co/yXYp4j9zXj\u201d— ABC News (@ABC News) 1592920481
In a sharp break from the White House's rosy depiction of the fight against Covid-19, Fauci warned in his testimony that the U.S. is currently in the midst of a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus infections as states continue the process of reopening their economies.
The Financial Timesreported Monday that the U.S. is experiencing "a sharp uptick" in Covid-19 cases "as outbreaks in southern and western states have pushed the daily number of infections over 25,000 again after dipping below 20,000 at the beginning of June."
"We are still in the middle of the first wave," Fauci said. "The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges we are seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other states."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Just after President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on a claim that he ordered a slowdown in Covid-19 testing in response to the recent surge of cases in more than two dozen U.S. states, Dr. Anthony Fauci testified to Congress that no members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force have been given such a command.
"To my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing," Fauci told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in response to a question about Trump's remarks. "It's the opposite. We're gonna be doing more testing, not less."
Watch:
\u201cDr. Fauci: "We're going to be doing more testing, not less."\u201d— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1592930027
Fauci's testimony appeared to contradict Trump's declaration during a campaign rally in Oklahoma Saturday that he ordered members of his administration to "slow the testing down."
The president did not specify to whom he gave the order, saying only that he told "my people."
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Trump said he was not joking about giving the instructions--exploding a narrative that White House officials pushed in the wake of the president's weekend remarks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a press briefing Monday that the president's comments were made "in jest."
"I don't kid," Trump said Tuesday. "By having more tests, we find more cases."
\u201cNEW: Asked whether he was kidding when he claimed at his Tulsa rally he had instructed officials to slow down COVID-19 testing, Pres. Trump says, "I don't kid."\n\nYesterday, press sec. Kayleigh McEnany told @bgittleson the comments had been "in jest." https://t.co/yXYp4j9zXj\u201d— ABC News (@ABC News) 1592920481
In a sharp break from the White House's rosy depiction of the fight against Covid-19, Fauci warned in his testimony that the U.S. is currently in the midst of a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus infections as states continue the process of reopening their economies.
The Financial Timesreported Monday that the U.S. is experiencing "a sharp uptick" in Covid-19 cases "as outbreaks in southern and western states have pushed the daily number of infections over 25,000 again after dipping below 20,000 at the beginning of June."
"We are still in the middle of the first wave," Fauci said. "The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges we are seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other states."
Just after President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on a claim that he ordered a slowdown in Covid-19 testing in response to the recent surge of cases in more than two dozen U.S. states, Dr. Anthony Fauci testified to Congress that no members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force have been given such a command.
"To my knowledge, none of us have ever been told to slow down on testing," Fauci told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in response to a question about Trump's remarks. "It's the opposite. We're gonna be doing more testing, not less."
Watch:
\u201cDr. Fauci: "We're going to be doing more testing, not less."\u201d— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1592930027
Fauci's testimony appeared to contradict Trump's declaration during a campaign rally in Oklahoma Saturday that he ordered members of his administration to "slow the testing down."
The president did not specify to whom he gave the order, saying only that he told "my people."
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Trump said he was not joking about giving the instructions--exploding a narrative that White House officials pushed in the wake of the president's weekend remarks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a press briefing Monday that the president's comments were made "in jest."
"I don't kid," Trump said Tuesday. "By having more tests, we find more cases."
\u201cNEW: Asked whether he was kidding when he claimed at his Tulsa rally he had instructed officials to slow down COVID-19 testing, Pres. Trump says, "I don't kid."\n\nYesterday, press sec. Kayleigh McEnany told @bgittleson the comments had been "in jest." https://t.co/yXYp4j9zXj\u201d— ABC News (@ABC News) 1592920481
In a sharp break from the White House's rosy depiction of the fight against Covid-19, Fauci warned in his testimony that the U.S. is currently in the midst of a "disturbing surge" in coronavirus infections as states continue the process of reopening their economies.
The Financial Timesreported Monday that the U.S. is experiencing "a sharp uptick" in Covid-19 cases "as outbreaks in southern and western states have pushed the daily number of infections over 25,000 again after dipping below 20,000 at the beginning of June."
"We are still in the middle of the first wave," Fauci said. "The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges we are seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other states."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.