"We have to open our country. I had an expression: The cure cannot be worse than the problem itself." — Trump's tone has reverted back to wanting to get the economy back up and running as soon as possible pic.twitter.com/SAET9020gi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 4, 2020
Why today's WH briefing was disturbing: presidential misinformation from the podium; dangerous and unconfirmed claims about hydroxychloroquine; gratuitous shots at rival politicians. pic.twitter.com/dHqUtCzkKC
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 4, 2020
Trump: "Hydroxychloroquine. Try it. If you like."
He's gone beyond saying he hopes it works and it outright telling people to get some for themselves and take it.
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 4, 2020
This is the president explicitly telling Americans, en masse, to take a drug that may have serious effects for them, that hasn't been proven safe and effective for this use, and that is needed by others with serious illnesses for which it is proven.
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 4, 2020
BREAKING: Trump says he may start taking Hydroxychloroquine. Ostensibly prophylactically? He makes clear this isn’t something his doctors have prescribed him as of now
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) April 4, 2020
If the networks don't shut off the cameras when Trump says this, what's left for him to say that would trigger it? https://t.co/u7W6SIHNfS
— Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) April 4, 2020
Not only is this a dangerous drug to mess around with but you are taking it away from people who depend on it for lupus and other conditions. It’s so horrifying that he keeps pressing this without proof. https://t.co/9jO0X5tQQq
— Alex Leo (@AlexMLeo) April 4, 2020
Why would Trump take an anti-malaria drug that is unproven to treat COVID if he has tested negative twice for COVID? I just don't follow this.
— Sam Stein (@samstein) April 4, 2020
We’ve seen this for three yrs as govt officials confront working w/ mad man abd they decide, if I stay I can make better
imagine if those hundreds of officials had instead loudly resigned and held pressers abt what a delusional mad man Trump is https://t.co/wlAibkb4kT
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) April 5, 2020
The last notable time he said “what do you have to lose, it was his 2016 pitch to ask Black people for their votes. https://t.co/sWK6yZCEsd
— Greg Greene (@ggreeneva) April 4, 2020
“There’s never been anything so contagious as this.” People are amazed that he got out of Penn, but I’m starting to be amazed that he got out of high school at all.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 4, 2020
Always remember that the autocrat's number one target is the truth. Trump lies so often, even when he doesn't have to, because it discredits reality and presents him as the arbiter of what is real. https://t.co/vDuXKdfUDz
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) April 4, 2020
Trump on Easter: "Maybe we could allow special, for churches, maybe we could talk about it. Maybe we could allow them, with great separation outside, on Easter Sunday. I dunno, it's something we should talk about."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) April 4, 2020
Trump and Pence both referring, repeatedly now, to disruptions of upcoming ceremonies for Palm Sunday and Easter.
There is another major faith event starting this coming week. Not even mentioning it?
— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) April 4, 2020
Please stay home on Easter Sunday and save lives. To quote the Dixie Chicks, “God hears ‘amen’ wherever we are.”
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) April 4, 2020
Old Trump: You'll be tired of all the winning.
New Trump: There’s going to be a lot of death.
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) April 4, 2020
Meanwhile..
The virus has taken 8,407 precious lives here and 64,549 worldwide. Other people are dying. Some will die who don't know they're already sick, and we'll lose still others who haven't caught it yet. Please stay as far from other people as you can to save as many lives as possible.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) April 4, 2020
It took 70 days from initial notification for Trump to treat the coronavirus not as a distant threat or harmless flu strain, but as a lethal force poised to kill tens of thousands.
That period now stands as critical time that was squandered. https://t.co/tmg62V8LfQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 4, 2020
Trump is refusing to reopen ACA enrollment in the middle of a pandemic, and it's going to kill people. https://t.co/7oAH3Q6fG5
— The Nation (@thenation) April 4, 2020
Eight US governors have decided against issuing statewide directives urging their residents to stay at home as the outbreak of the coronavirus escalates and spreads across the country, the last holdouts in the nation. https://t.co/iWGqQ4cnsa
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2020
Massachusetts governor launches first-in-the-nation coronavirus tracking program https://t.co/4I2HewHHNW pic.twitter.com/eAbFyyoecZ
— The Hill (@thehill) April 4, 2020
Killed by the administration in 2018: The long-planned US government effort to make millions of protective respirator masks at high speed during a pandemic. https://t.co/qH2qStzMi0 #COVID19 #coronavirus
— David Beard (@dabeard) April 4, 2020
The EPA is focused on rolling back pollution regulations during coronavirus.
Does allowing *more* pollution seem like it would help fight a respiratory virus to you?https://t.co/ERy4PNTd8g
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) April 4, 2020
***
ELSEWHERE
"We're on our knees here… and we're all trying the best we can"
Nurse Shirley Watts posted this emotional video urging people to "stay at home" after a long and difficult shift in an Intensive Care Unit treating patients with coronavirushttps://t.co/eO1DN142mg pic.twitter.com/TVN8n0VCmm
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 4, 2020
“Those who come after us will say Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”
“That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and fellow-feeling still characterise this country.”
Queen speech tomorrow https://t.co/xtlDGPia3b via @financialtimes
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) April 4, 2020
In her message, recorded at Windsor Castle, the 93-year-old monarch will say: "I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time" https://t.co/SxHj9DDZYv
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 4, 2020
Ugly chart — Russia is experiencing exponential growth of new infections #coronavirus @meduzaproject https://t.co/yWgLeyVFEV
— Andrew S. Weiss (@andrewsweiss) April 4, 2020