Comments by "NotMe Us" (@notmeus1968) on "Trump: 'everything we did was right'" video.

  1. The National Security Council office responsible for tracking pandemics received intelligence reports in early January predicting the spread of the virus to the United States, and within weeks was raising options like keeping Americans home from work and shutting down cities the size of Chicago. Mr. Trump would avoid such steps until March. Despite Mr. Trump’s denial weeks later, he was told at the time about a Jan. 29 memo produced by his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, laying out in striking detail the potential risks of a coronavirus pandemic: as many as half a million deaths and trillions of dollars in economic losses. The health and human services secretary, Alex M. Azar II, directly warned Mr. Trump of the possibility of a pandemic during a call on Jan. 30, the second warning he delivered to the president about the virus in two weeks. The president, who was on Air Force One while traveling for appearances in the Midwest, responded that Mr. Azar was being alarmist. Mr. Azar publicly announced in February that the government was establishing a “surveillance” system in five American cities to measure the spread of the virus and enable experts to project the next hot spots. It was delayed for weeks. The slow start of that plan, on top of the well-documented failures to develop the nation’s testing capacity, left administration officials with almost no insight into how rapidly the virus was spreading. “We were flying the plane with no instruments,” one official said. By the third week in February, the administration’s top public health experts concluded they should recommend to Mr. Trump a new approach that would include warning the American people of the risks and urging steps like social distancing and staying home from work. But the White House focused instead on messaging and crucial additional weeks went by before their views were reluctantly accepted by the president — time when the virus spread largely unimpeded. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.amp.html
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  2. February 5th The Senate impeachment vote distracts the nation. But five days later, the president raises COVID-19 at a campaign rally. “Looks like by April when it gets warmer it will go away,” he said. February 25 As Coronavirus ravages South Korea, Iran and Italy in late February, President Trump tweets the virus is under control and the stock market is starting to look very good.  “We’re very close to a vaccine,” he said on February 25. February 26- 28  Expressing a heightened sense of alert, the White House announces a Task Force led by Vice President Pence. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better, we'll see, who really knows.” March 10 The virus is spreading rapidly in the U.S, and it’s clear efforts at containment have failed. While Trump said he thought “the US has done a very good job on testing,” the lines at testing sites in Chicago tell a different story. March 11 & 13  No more denial. The World Health Organization declares the outbreak a pandemic, and President Trump addresses the nation. “Today, I am officially declaring a national emergency, two very big words,” Trump said Throughout Mid-march COVID-19’s devastation sets in and the number of deaths soar as hospitals are overwhelmed, the stock market tanks, and states issue stay-at-home orders.  But President Trump, still likening COVID-19 to ordinary flu, announces he wants the country to “reopen” by Easter.   March 26th The total number of cases in the U.S. reaches the highest in the world. The states bearing the heaviest brunt of the national emergency beg the federal government for more help. March 27th  President Trump signs an unprecedented $2 Trillion rescue package. March 30th  In a presidential about-face, social distancing guidelines are extended through the end of April. March 31 COVID-19 is now a national nightmare with U.S. infectious disease experts warning of possibly 100,000 to 200,000 deaths. The president, who just one month earlier called the virus, a “hoax” offers this grim assessment: ”This is going to be a rough two-week period.” When WGN asked the White House for comment, an official said the federal government continues to provide critical resources and support to states, and that President Trump and his Administration are committed to doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of every single American
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  3. March 2017 The first Trump administration budget proposal calls for cuts to CDC funding. Congress intervenes passing a year-over-year increase – the start of an annual funding fight. April 2018 White House National Security advisor John Bolton begins dismantling the team in charge of pandemic response. December 31, 2019 Chinese health officials inform the World Health Organization about a cluster of patients with pneumonia. Eight days later, there’s the first death in China. January 20 The first case on U.S. soil is a man from Washington State. January 22 Wuhan is locked down and people at airports are screened while the WHO sounds the alarm, saying they need to “prevent international spread.” The Trump Administration insists America is ready. “We don’t yet know everything we need to know about this virus. But that does not prevent us from preparing and responding,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. January 24 The first case is reported in Chicago. Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike says the city has, “more questions that there are answers.” Late January President Trump downplaying (almost ignoring) the threat. “Hopefully, it won’t be as bad as many people say it will be,” he said on January 30. “We have it under control.  Then on February 3rd he said: “We’ve pretty much shut it down coming from China.”
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