Trump Claims U.S. Is ‘Rounding The Turn’ Of Pandemic Even As Daily Cases Rise 30% In Past Two Weeks

Topline

President Trump again claimed Tuesday the U.S. is “rounding the turn” of the pandemic, even as case numbers surge across the country and health officials stress a vaccine is still a ways off.

Key Facts

Big Number

30%. That’s the percentage that average daily case numbers have risen by in the U.S. over the past two weeks, according to CNN. 

Key Background

Trump has repeatedly claimed a vaccine will be ready by as soon as this month for distribution, but health officials say that’s a very aggressive timeline. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, said last month he expects a vaccine will be ready for distribution by November or December, but that it will likely take “six to nine months” for the entire American public to be vaccinated. Redfield added he doesn’t expect “regular life” to resume until the third quarter of next year.

What To Watch For 

Trump has jockeyed back and forth between promoting vaccines and therapeutics as the answer for overcoming the pandemic. After the president was diagnosed with Covid-19, he misleadingly called an experimental drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals a “cure,” even though it’s a therapeutic drug.

Tangent

Trump again laced into Fauci during the Fox News interview, claiming he is a “Democrat” who has repeatedly gotten things wrong about the pandemic. In fact, Fauci is not registered to any political party and does not endorse any candidate.

Further Reading

‘I Call That A Cure’: Trump Touts Regeneron’s Experimental Covid Treatment, Promises It Will Be ‘Free’ (Forbes)

Trump Has Said U.S. Is ‘Rounding The Turn’ On Coronavirus 28 Of The Last 46 Days (Forbes)