United States' closest ally is in disbelief about how bad Trump's response to the coronavirus is

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The UK government is in "genuine disbelief" about how badly US President Donald Trump has handled the coronavirus outbreak, and officials have reacted with "incredulity" to the president's attempts to downplay the epidemic, BuzzFeed News reported on Monday.

The Trump administration's slow response and the president's stream of tweets about COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, have triggered eye-rolls among Prime Minister Boris Johnson's team, UK officials told BuzzFeed News.

"There is a general level of incredulity over his comments but especially over the lack of testing," a UK official told the website.

People in the UK government "are used to the steady stream of tweets, but the last few days have caused more than the usual eye-rolling," the official said. "There is genuine disbelief."

https://news.yahoo.com/united-states-closest-ally-state-115500045.html

Admittedly I would be likewise if I hadn't known about him for 30+ years.

[Stuart G]

1. Thank You for posting this...Now everyone sees Trump's stupidity and incompetence.

All around the world. and we in this country, will pay for it. Yes, Trump tried to ."downplay the epidemic

Great Post...

[42bambi]

2. We're still in disbelief that he was elected to be our president! nt

[smirkymonkey]

3. They're right, but Boris isn't exactly doing a bang-up job on this himself.

He's been pretty casual about the whole thing and is only now starting to take it slightly seriously because of all the backlash he is getting.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/09/boris-johnson-cobra-labour-trevor-phillips-says-his-suspension-by-labour-suggests-party-turning-into-brutish-authoritarian-cult-live-news

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. I'm surprised his response surprises anyone.

[mmbrevo]

5. ???????????

Huh? Did you they just crawl out from under a rock or something? Why would this surprise anyone?

[Native]

6. Boris Johnson is almost as bad. And the UK's response hasn't been much better than ours.

[dewsgirl]

7. That's what I thought this thread would be about, I talk

to many in the UK, there response sucks as well.

[Javaman]

8. you mean this guy?

"Prime Minister Boris Johnson advocated for the UK to take Covid-19 “on the chin” and allow the disease to spread through the population."

https://fullfact.org/health/boris-johnson-coronavirus-this-morning/

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Your link points out that was taken out of context

The Prime Minister said this was a theory on how to deal with the virus, but said it would be better if we take all the measures we can to reduce the burden on the NHS during the peak of the disease.
...
Many people have shared a video of Prime Minister Boris Johnson appearing on This Morning on Thursday 5 March, claiming it shows he advocates allowing the new coronavirus to spread through the population and that the country should “take it on the chin.”

This clipped video segment has been taken out of context.

The specific exchange happened as the Prime Minister was discussing advice he has received from health experts about delaying the spread of the virus.

Talking about efforts to delay the spread of the virus, he said that one of the theories is that the disease should be allowed to spread without taking “as many draconian measures” such as cancelling public events or closing schools. He previously in the interview referred to stopping public gatherings as “quite draconian.”

However, he says that his view is that “it would be better if we take all the measures that we can now to stop the peak of the disease.”

https://fullfact.org/health/boris-johnson-coronavirus-this-morning/

Wouldn't it have been better to put the conclusion, rather than the misleading claim, in your post?

[Bayard]

9. We still have allies?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. I wish that I could say I was "in disbelief"

but I'm not. Anybody without a Trumpbotomy knew that it would be this bad, if not worse.

[Doreen]

12. You mean supposedly our closest ally.

I though trump had ruined close allies. Well, I guess boris is somewhat smart enough to see what is happening here. He is still a ditz.