Last night, on national TV, in a prepared address, President Trump said that (a) we would ban all travel from Europe, (b) we would ban some or all trade with Europe, and (c) insurance companies had agreed to waive copays for coronavirus treatment. All of this was mistaken. The travel ban applies only to foreign nationals, not US residents. No trade is being banned. And insurance companies are waiving copays only for coronavirus testing, not treatment.
This morning, Trump said that everyone entering the United States is being tested. This is . . . what? A lie? A delusion? A panicky response to a question? Does anyone know? The truth, of course, is that we’re not testing anyone arriving in the US. Hell, people who are returning from the hottest hotspots in northern Italy have reported not even being questioned, let alone tested.
Trump claims (falsely) all Americans returning to country are being tested:”We have heavily tested. If an American coming back or anybody coming back, we have a tremendous testing set up where people coming in have to be tested … if it shows positive … We have to quarantine.” pic.twitter.com/ndGlKmSFJh
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 12, 2020
This is way beyond outrageous. It’s not a partisan thing. There’s something wrong with Trump, and it either needs to be addressed or he needs to be taken out of the loop. This kind of stuff can’t be allowed to continue.
