Trump Resurrects False Testing Claim As Daily Covid Cases Hit New High

Topline

After the U.S. reported a record number of daily coronavirus cases on Friday, President Trump resumed pushing an incorrect claim he previously touted during the last surge of the virus in July: that increased testing fully accounts for the rise in cases and that the spike in cases is overblown.

Key Facts

Key Background

Trump frequently made the claim that increased testing accounts for case increases in June and July as U.S. cases skyrocketed, even claiming in June he told his aides to slow down testing in order to reduce case numbers. The Trump administration even took steps to roll back federal testing sites as cases continued to spike. When asked by Axios reporter Jonathan Swan where he got his information on testing, Trump said to “read the manuals” and “read the books.”

Chief Critic

“Yesterday we saw the highest number of new cases in one day since this pandemic began… Experts say we’ll lose nearly another 200,000 lives nationwide in the next few months,” Democratic candidate Joe Biden said at an event in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on Saturday, arguing that Trump “refuses to follow science.” Biden pledged to beat the pandemic by “bringing the country together around testing, tracing, and masking.”

Tangent

Trump’s behavior towards the risk posed by the virus reflects his belief that coverage of it has been overblown. In addition to once again musing about “kissing” attendees at his crowded, tightly-packed rally after recovering from his coronavirus infection, Trump mocked Biden for having a “tiny little crowd” at his Pennsylvania drive-in rally. “I don’t like the idea of all this distance,” Biden said at that event. “But it’s necessary. We don’t want to become superspreaders.”

Big Number

44%. That’s the share of likely voters in an Ipsos poll released Friday who said Biden would better handle coronavirus, compared to 35% who said Trump. 29% of voters said a “robust Covid-19 recover plan” is the most important factor in their vote, ahead of 22% who said the economy and job creation, 17% who said restoring trust in the government and 10% who said health care.

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