Originally Posted By: Matter-eater Man
Ap fact check: trump’s inaccurate boasts on China travel ban
“ TRUMP: “I'll tell you how prepared I was, I called for a ban." — news briefing on March 19.

THE FACTS: His decision was far from solo nor was it made over opposition from health experts, as the White House coronavirus task force makes clear. His decision followed a consensus by his public health advisers that the restrictions should take place.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who was coordinator of the task force at the time and announced the travel restrictions, said Trump made the decision in late January after accepting the “uniform recommendation of the career public health officials here at HHS.”

While the World Health Organization did advise against the overuse of travel restrictions, Azar told reporters in February that his department’s career health officials had made a “considered recommendation, which I and the president adopted” in a bid to slow spread of the virus.

Most major airlines had already suspended flights to China prior to the announcement on Jan. 31, following the lead of several major international carriers that had stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak. Delta, American and United cited a sharp drop in demand for the flights, and an earlier State Department advisory told Americans not to travel to China because of the outbreak.”

Even most airlines were already restricting travel before his announcement. And this is the big thing he did while he spent precious time downplaying the virus.



I'm not even sure what your point is. That Trump didn't make a decision on his own and just followed the herd? It's pretty well documented that others among his advisors strongly disagreedd with suspending all flights. The WHO advised aagainst suspendign China flights. To my knowledge Taiwan and Hong Kong were the only nations to ban flights from China prior to the U.S., and many nations followed Trump's lead. What's your point? Or is there a point, other than hating Trump?

Anthony Fauci on Hannity said in mid January that Covid-19 was not transmissible human-to-human, and that the United States didn't need to worry about it, that the annual flu was a greater threat. Should we demonize him now? As I've said, many other respected medical officials, and including many other Democrat political leaders, and New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC can similarly be quoted from videotaped public comments or print articles to have said virtually the same thing as Trump. But Trump you demonize as Satan, while giving virtually identical comments from people you like a free pass.

And ultimately, there is no proof, none that Trump's off-the-cuff remarks made one bit of difference. Ultimately it is what his medical officials in the CDC and NIH say that people act by. It's all just the latest idiotic ploy to undermine or destroy Trump. Petty and vindictive.