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Trump Claims He Had His Own Pandemic Response Plan: ‘Much Better’ Than Obama’s ‘Paper Packet’ (WATCH)
In response to damning testimony from Dr. Rick Bright, President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed Thursday that the administration had created its own pandemic response plan prior to the COVID-19 crisis.
Trump and Kayleigh McEnany are now trying to dismiss the pandemic response plan Obama left for Trump as a mere “paper packet” that paled in comparison to Trump’s (nonexistent) plan pic.twitter.com/lsQ8UJUqK7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 14, 2020
“The Obama-Biden plan that has been referenced, was insufficient and wasn’t going to work,” McEnany said as she and the president prepared to board Marine One for a visit to a medical-supply facility in Pennsylvania. “So what our administration did under the leadership of President Trump, is do an entire 28-team pandemic preparedness report. Beyond that, we did a whole exercise on pandemic preparedness in August of last year, and had an entire after-reaction report put together. In other words, the Obama-Biden paper packet was superseded by a President Trump-style Pandemic preparedness plan.”
Trump added: “Which was much better, which was much more complete, which was a lot tougher. We were given very little when we came in to this administration, and they’ve done a fantastic job.”
Dr. Bright: “There is no master coordinated plan on how to respond to this outbreak.” pic.twitter.com/uuRY5CMXM5
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) May 14, 2020
In his testimony before a House panel on Thursday, Bright said: “There is no master, coordinated plan on how to respond to this outbreak. We don’t have a strategy or plan in place that identifies each of those critical components and we don’t have as designated agency that is sourcing those critical components and coming up with a strategy to make sure that we have those supplies when we need them.”
Some background from The Courier: To help the incoming administration be better prepared to fight future pandemics, officials under President Obama took what they learned from these battles and prepared a 69-page playbook. Written by Obama’s National Security Council and finalized in 2016, the playbook detailed strategies for when and how to obtain personal protective equipment, and included recommendations on how the government should move quickly to detect and contain potential outbreaks, secure additional funding, and possibly even invoke the Defense Production Act to compel private companies to produce needed medical supplies. But the Trump administration ignored the playbook. Instead, as the Associated Press reported, the Trump administration wasted nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed supplies and equipment. Federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators, and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers. By then, it was too late. Doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators have spent weeks pleading for more PPE, ventilators, and medical supplies.
A few reactions from Twitter below.
Three months into the crisis, Trump is now suddenly claiming that he had his own pandemic “plan.”
Did he read it? Almost certainly not
Has it worked? 85,000 deaths and 36 million people filing for unemployment would suggest it hasn’t t.co/boD93rSt9Q
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) May 14, 2020
Trump administration is clearly trying to reconstruct a fake history that they had a pandemic plan last August that somehow was different from the one Obama left them that they actually implemented with stunning success. Only 1.5 million cases and 85,00 dead, yay!
— Greg Pinelo (@gregpinelo) May 14, 2020
Obama administration left a Pandemic Task Force & 69 Page Emergency Response Plan. Trump dismantled one, ignored the other. Sick and tired of these criminal despots, that have zero character to take the f-ing responsibility for being a president. Resign. WE THE PEOPLE BLAME YOU. t.co/nY7qwnWRkK
— /M/O/S/A/ (@mosaisms) May 14, 2020
@PressSec The Obama Administration left on Trumps desk a 69 page Pandemic response binder on Pandemic Guidelines along with millions of archived research and Pandemic plan pages. You show us a binder you made in class with a $3 Staples binder. This is what’s inside. 1 Page. pic.twitter.com/Yf8RYTQyd8
— RDH (@realDerekHardy) May 14, 2020
trump: Obama left us nothing.
t: Okay he may have left us a pandemic plan
t: He left us a detailed pandemic plan, but we have a new shiny plan. Don’t read and compare, but ours is better. t.co/4bE8SBHmUm
— President Dennison (@PrezDennison) May 14, 2020
Funny that Trump is now saying he produced a pandemic preparedness report & did exercises. I call BS. Never talked about it before. The only thing Trump has produced is a pack of matches, intending to burn down the rule of law. I want evidence of that plan and when it was filed. t.co/x6JE2yr2pc
— Nita Cosby (@5_2blue) May 14, 2020
@PressSec Not sure what was in your Fantastic World Best Covid-19 Pandemic Plan book (Good job on the cover art), But this is all that’s available. 1 Page. I see you kept it very simple for Trump voters. Bigger font size next time!t.co/5zwMZaiN0L pic.twitter.com/UWVAQghT62
— RDH (@realDerekHardy) May 14, 2020
Trump .@PressSec Kayleigh McEnany claiming now, 4 months after the 1st US Coronavirus case, the nearly empty 1 inch binder she held was the Admin’s 2018 pandemic action plan, reminds me of folders filled with blank paper Trump called his “cancelled deals.” t.co/K0GCr4PBGT
— Chris #StayHome & #VoteBlue (@Chris_nDC) May 14, 2020
The post Trump Claims He Had His Own Pandemic Response Plan: ‘Much Better’ Than Obama’s ‘Paper Packet’ (WATCH) appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
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