Trump backtracks after saying U.S. would "very soon" hit 5 million tests a day
On Tuesday when a reporter asked in an East Room event whether the U.S. would surpass 5 million coronavirus tests per day, the president said that's coming "very soon." But on Wednesday, the president claimed he never said that, blaming a "media trap."
The backtracking came as the demand for increased testing continues, and states begin to plot their economic reopening. The president also said the administration's 30-day "slow the spread" guidelines, which expire Thursday, will be faded out, although Vice President Mike Pence said they would largely be incorporated into guidelines to reopen states.
Here is the exchange in which the president claims the U.S. will "very soon" be able to test 5 million people a day, according to the official White House transcript:
Reporter: "Did I hear you saying you're confident you can surpass 5 million tests per day? Is that —"
President Trump: "Oh, well, we're going to be there very soon. If you look at the numbers, it could be that we're getting very close. I mean, I don't have the exact numbers. We would've had them if you asked me the same question a little while ago because people with the statistics were there. We're going to be there very soon. We're really — we're really doing — I mean, I watched your report on NBC today and it was an incorrect report, because we're really doing a great job on testing..."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-backtracks-after-saying-us-would-very-soon-hit-5-million-tests-a-day/ar-BB13nEAx?li=BBnb7Kz
= new reply since forum marked as read
