Quick News: Trump's COVID Press Conference (09/10/2020)

Trump's September 10th news conference featured typical antics. The president brought up his electoral rival Joe Biden several times during the conference including a call-back to Biden's 2009 "N1H1" gaff and false claims about the severity of the Swine Flu.

He also spoke falsely about inheriting "a depleted stockpile" of supplies (the Strategic National Stockpile) to counteract COVID-19. He implied that such a shortage means Biden would have been unfit to handle the pandemic response-- a charge many have a difficult time stomaching with nearly 200,000 Americans dead.

Perhaps the most egregious half-truth Trump proposed was that of COVID-19 increases in foreign countries. Trump said nations in the EU had seen a "sharp increase in cases" as compared to the US. He claimed that per capita cases had "doubled in France [...] surged by 300% in Spain [...] and increased more than 400% in Italy". While these percentages are accurate, they are misleading. France's surge amounts to a change from 200 to 400 per 100,000 people-- not good, but certainly better than the US. Spain's 300% increase to 10,764 cases in a day pales in comparison to the US's 34,256 in the same period. Italy's 400% increase amounts to a real increase of only about 1000 cases. 

Now, none of these are good numbers, but the real numbers are far less dire than the percentages would imply. And to compare these percentages to the US response is laughable. The US has only 4% of global population, but has reported 22% of global COVID deaths and 25% of total cases. What's worse, while other countries like South Korea were ramping up testing as early as February, the US was largely ignoring the virus-- with 80,000 Americans dead by May.

It is worth noting that excess mortality in the US may be lower than in Europe-- which is excellent news for Americans. However, Trump's oft touted 40% advantage over Europe in this regard is simply fabricated. In the best case for the US, Europe has a 7% higher rate of excess mortality than the US. In the worst case however, the US actually has a 26% higher incidence than Europe. If you wish to look into this issue further read this.

There is no doubt the virus is hurting many countries around the world. No single country was completely prepared. But Donald Trump is doing the American people no favors by trying to promote lies and telling only half the truth. 

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