Trump COVID19 presser: “ready, willing, and able to go in with great force” without health experts

Led with Pfizer vaccine trial progress and exaggerated its availability. More than a few lies spewed.

Trump implies that the wall is keeping the virus out, spins that protests are spreading the #TrumpVirus. Goes blah-blah on a variety of cherry-picked data. Went bleak and dire about cities, even though they aren’t. Went for 30 minutes with little new, aside from continuing on his earlier remarks on how the Feds will be going in more cities using the same tactics as in DC and Portland.

The trade-off for Trump will be “great ratings” versus reinforcing the message that he’s desperate and trying all kinds of stunts including violent repression to distract from 143,000 deaths and rising.

Trump begins his July 22 coronavirus news conference by trying to blame #BlackLivesMatter protests and Mexico for the ongoing spike in cases pic.twitter.com/t1qI4OKcCQ— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2020

Trump's ad-libs are still overly rosy and very vague. https://t.co/UBBGoLv0re

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

.@realDonaldTrump has claimed that the U.S. has “one of the lowest mortality rates in the worldÃ¢Â€Â from COVID-19. That's False. https://t.co/GdFjrXl032 pic.twitter.com/k9KYDPJkvA

Ã¢Â€Â” PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) July 22, 2020

Trump talks about what he says are “additional actions” the administration is taking re nursing homes, such as increased testing in states with the worst outbreaks. “All personnel will be tested at the highest level,” he promises.

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

Trump, reading, sends a “message of support and hope to every senior citizen who has been dealing with the struggle of isolation in what should be the golden years of your life.” He says, as he basically did for months as the situation worsened, “The light is starting to shine.”

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

Trump also talks about young people congregating at bars and beaches as a contributing factor…then talks about cases rising in Mexico…and credits his wall for keeping people out…wrongly saying we're at a “record low” for illegal crossings.

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

Trump on risk of kids transmitting coronavirus to parents and grandparents after contracting it in schools: “A lot of people are saying they don't transmit.” (This is false.) pic.twitter.com/ElaNNOR1od

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2020

Q: is this a political stunt?

in their own way they want us to go in

Q: Schools reopening safely?

Claims there is a strategy, weirdly mentions housing prices Trump does nonsense about “kids bringing it home”

Q: Mask policies?

I believe in it (pulls his out of his pocket)

Q: will mask policies apply to federal facilities?

Trump waffles

Q: on Congressional negotiations (CARES4)?

Trump punts

Q: on DHS and cities?

calling for “The big numbers” cites Chicago

.@kaitlancollins asks why Trump said it was Obama's fault in 2016 that crime was up but it's now mayors' fault. After evading for a while, he says it's because Obama could've “gone into Chicago” but didn't.

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

.@kaitlancollins: In 2016, you said it was Obama's fault crime was up in Chicago. So why was it Obama's fault then & not your fault now?

TRUMP: Chicago is a disaster

COLLINS: But why was it Obama's fault?

TRUMP: Because Obama did a poor job. He could've solved the problem. pic.twitter.com/5mAMgZO4QV

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2020

Q: Why no experts?

Trump: I talked to them

Asked why the health experts are no longer speaking at these briefings with him, Trump says, “They are briefing me…they are giving me all — everything they know…and I'm giving the information to you.”

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

follow-up why was it PBO’s fault in 2016?

Q: more Chinese embassies to close / and did you ask Woody Johnson to get the British Open?

Trump denies it and make weird comment about fire at Houston PRC embassy (The fire came after the order to remove the consulate)

Trump says he never spoke to his ambassador to the UK about trying to get the British Open for his golf course, a “highly respected course, as you know, one of the best in the world.”

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

“I’ve done more for African-Americans than anyone with the exception of Abraham Lincoln”

Trump says he's done more for Black Americans than anybody with the “possible exception” of Lincoln. Completely ridiculous.

Ã¢Â€Â” Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 22, 2020

Trump ends the news conference and walks away while ignoring a question asking him to clarify why he extended well wishes to accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell pic.twitter.com/RmGPD0cDV6

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2020

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Flees.

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