deflected to New Zealand’s “big surge” in COVID-19 cases?

During an August 17, 2020 speech, Trump pointed to New Zealand’s surge in COVID-19 cases as an example of how other countries weren’t handling COVID-19 well.

All of a sudden a lot of the places they were using to hold up, they are having a big surge, and I don’t want that, I don’t want that. But they were holding up names of countries and now they’re saying, whoops! Like even New Zealand, you see what’s going on in New Zealand. They beat it, they beat it, it was like front page, they beat it, because they wanted to show me some. The problem is, big surge in New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pointed out, “I don’t think there’s any comparison…we quite easily see that New Zealand’s nine cases in a day does not compare to the United States’ tens of thousands.”

New Zealand, which had completely eradicated the virus, recorded 9 new cases the day prior, totaling 1,631 cases and 22 deaths. On the same day, the United States reported approximately 40,000 new cases, totaling 5,631,457 cases and 174,272 deaths. Even adjusting for population, the United States had 131 times as many deaths.

The Guardian – Trump calls out New Zealand’s ‘terrible’ Covid surge, on day it records nine new cases
Worldometer – Coronavirus

propagated a birther conspiracy about Kamala Harris?

Days after Kamala Harris was selected to be Joe Biden’s running mate, Trump repeated and amplified false claims about her eligibility to be Vice President at an August 13, 2020 press conference. A new birther conspiracy theory alleged that because Harris’ parents were not both naturalized citizens, she herself would not have been “a citizen at birth.”

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California, and is a natural born citizen. Still, Trump, his staff, and his campaign manager have avoided directly acknowledging Harris’ eligibility to run for the office.

Trump was also famously a proponent of the Obama birther conspiracy, wherein he claimed that Obama was Kenyan-born, and so not eligible to be President.

NPR – Trump’s Racist ‘Birther’ Attacks On Harris Are A Return To Familiar Territory
The Daily Beast – Trump Promises to ‘Take a Look’ at Bogus Kamala Harris Birther Claim

wanted to increase water flow in showers because his hair “has to be perfect”?

The Department of Energy proposed an amendment to regulations on water fixtures. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992 declared a maximum water threshold for showerheads of 2.5 gallons per minute

Trump previously complained about low flow toilets that require one to flush “10 to 15 times,” directing the EPA to investigate.

Market Watch – Trump wants ‘perfect’ hair from stronger water flow in the shower — his Energy Department delivers 
Miami Herald – Trump wants better water flow in his shower. Here’s what that means for you

tweets congratulations to a QAnon supporter who won the GOP primary for a Georgia House seat?

The candidate, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is a vocal supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory and had also been criticized for a variety of racist comments. The Republican House minority leader called her remarks appalling.

After her primary win, Trump tweeted his support.

Trump has long been supported by QAnon, a conspiracy theorist movement that alleges Trump is leading the charge against a supposed left-wing cabal of pedophiles and Satan worshipers.

Chicago Tribune – Trump tweets congratulations for QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene after she wins GOP nomination for US House in Georgia
Politico – Republicans called her videos ‘appalling’ and ‘disgusting.’ But they’re doing little to stop her.
Wikipedia – QAnon

suggested that men would be insulted by Biden choosing a woman running mate?

In an August 11, 2020 interview with Fox Sports personality and OutKick founder Clay Travis, Trump suggested that men were insulted at Biden’s decision to choose a female candidate to run as Vice President.

TRUMP: Well, I think that I would be inclined to go a different route than what he’s done, doing it the way he, first of all, he roped himself into a certain group of people, which is fine.

 

TRAVIS: He said he had to pick a woman.

 

TRUMP: He said that. Some people would say that men are insulted by that. Some people would say it’s fine. I don’t know.

The Daily Beast – Trump: Biden Is Insulting Men Everywhere by Picking Woman as Running Mate

took credit for Obama’s Veteran’s Choice bill?

Throughout his presidency, Trump claimed multiple times that he was responsible for the Veteran’s Choice Program, which allows veterans to seek care outside of VA medical facilities. The bill as part of a bipartisan effort signed into law in 2014 by Barack Obama. Trump signed the Mission Act in 2018, which expanded on the Veteran’s Choice Program

During an October, 2018 rally in Tennessee, Trump said,

We just passed choice. That was 44 years, they’ve been trying to pass choice. They’ve been trying to pass that one for many many decades. They couldn’t do it. We got it passed.

At a May, 2019 rally in Pennsylvania, Trump reiterated his claims:

We passed VA Choice and VA Accountability to give our veterans the care that they deserve and they have been trying to pass these things for 45 years.

Dr. Richard Stone, Executive in Charge of the Veterans Health Administration, said Trump’s expansion was to “almost be a non-event,” as wait times were longer in private hospitals than VA facilities, and the use of private hospitals by veterans had begun to decline in response.

Trump again made the claim in an August, 2020 press conference, but when pressed on the inaccuracy of the claim, left abruptly.

Associated Press – AP FACT CHECK: Trump takes credit for Obama’s gains for vets
Rolling Stone – Trump Takes Credit for Veterans Healthcare Program That Started Under Obama
Slate – Watch Trump Abruptly End News Conference After He Is Challenged on Veterans Choice Lie
Snopes – Trump Takes Credit for Obama’s Gains for Vets
Military.com – A Million Veterans Have Looked Into Private Care Since Mission Act Rollout​
Wikipedia – Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014

asked about getting his face on Mount Rushmore?

Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem (R) recounted her first meeting with Trump in 2018 at the Oval office:

“He said, ‘Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand. I shook his hand, and I said, ‘Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.’ And he goes, ‘Do you know it’s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?’ I started laughing. He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious.”

According to The New York Times, a Presidential aide reached out to her later to inquire about the process for being added to Mount Rushmore. Trump immediately derided it as “fake news,” because immediately saying “sounds like a good idea to me!”

Trump brought up the idea of being put on Mount Rushmore in a July 2017 rally, though he said he was “totally joking.”

CNN – New York Times: White House reached out to South Dakota governor about adding Trump to Mount Rushmore
ABC News – Trump denies WH asked about adding him to Mount Rushmore, then calls it a ‘good idea’
Argus Leader – Mount Trumpmore? It’s the president’s ‘dream,’ Rep. Kristi Noem says

said that Spanish Flu likely ended World War II?

During an August 10th, 2020 press conference, Trump said that the 1917 Spanish Flu “probably ended the Second World War.”

Trump likely meant the First World War, though was also still wrong about the date, as the Spanish Flu spread in 1918 and not 1917.

On the day of his remark, the United States was expericing record cases of COVID-19, with a total of 5,251,446 confirmed cases and 166,192 deaths.

Business Insider – Trump said the 1918 Spanish Flu ‘probably ended’ WWII, which did not begin until 21 years after the pandemic
USA Today – Trump erroneously says 1918 Spanish Flu ‘probably ended’ WWII, which happened two decades later
Worldometer – Coronavirus, United States

appointed Louis DeJoy as USPS Postmaster General?

In May of 2020, Trump appointed longtime ally and support Louis DeJoy to Postmaster General of the United States Post Service. According to The Washington Post, DeJoy as of June, 2020, DeJoy and his wife had between $30 million and $75 million in assets of competitors to USPS, representing a clear conflict of interest. He has also donated $1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund, and millions more to other Republican candidates and organizations.

Louisdejoy.png
Louis DeJoy. Wikipedia

In August of 2020, 23 senior officials were removed or re-assigned in what was called part of larger cost-cutting measures. Overtime pay for postal workers to ensure all mail is delivered on time was also removed, leading to backlogs across the country. Critics voiced concerns about delays in mail, especially ahead of the 2020 election. DeJoy’s USPS has also moved to nearly triple the cost of mail-in voting ballots, from 20 cents to 55 cents per ballot. The cost is paid for by the states, already experiencing severe budget issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The USPS has long been a target of those wishing to shift its responsibilities to private for-profit entities. In 2006, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act required that the USPS considers and provides funding for pension and healthcare benefits 75 years out, which no other government agency is required to do.

Reports surfaced of mail boxes and sorting machines being removed and destroyed in multiple states, slowing down mail delivery across the nation. Business deliveries, social security checks, and medicine were delayed.

DeJoy announced that he had no intentions of replacing the removed sorting machines, and the USPS prevented the release of data collected on mail delays.

Trump later admitted to actively undermining the USPS in order to restrict it’s ability to handle mail-in voting.

Trump has repeatedly attacked mail-in voting as being rife with fraud, saying that it would mean no Republican would again be elected, despite he and his family voting by mail. He also alleged widespread voter fraud in 2016, and created a commission to investigate, which found no evidence of fraud.

Federal Election Commission – Individual contributions
NPR – New Postmaster General Is Top GOP Fundraiser
The Washington Post – Trump ally takes over crisis-ridden Postal Service as top Senate Democrat demands inquiry on hiring
Associated Press – Mail delays likely as new postal boss pushes cost-cutting
Law and Crime – If Trump’s Postmaster General Raises Mail-in Ballot Stamp Price, That Could Be an Unconstitutional Poll Tax
Business Insider – USPS just made sweeping changes to its leadership as lawmakers call for an investigation into delayed mail ahead of the 2020 election
Market Watch – Critics of Trump White House decry latest ‘Friday night massacre’ as postmaster general sidelines two dozen USPS officials 
CBS Austin – 82-year-old Houston-area man left without heart medicine for a week due to USPS delays
The Detroit News – Michigan union chiefs: USPS delaying mail by removing machines, shifting policies
WBGH – At Least A Dozen Mail Sorting Machines Have Already Been Removed In Massachusetts, Postal Union Officials Say
Cleveland.com – Dismantled equipment behind Cleveland Post Office raises delivery questions
Business Insider – Pelosi says USPS postmaster general told her he has ‘no intention’ of replacing the sorting machines and mailboxes that have been removed
c

claimed that a defective section of border wall was to make him “look bad”?

Trump made the claim after a segment of wall on the US-Mexico border began showing severe “signs of erosion“ months after being completed. Fisher Industries of North Dakota, which built the segment for $42 million, referred to the design a “Lamborghini.”

The same company won an additional $300 million contract in August, 2020, in addition to $1.5 billion in contracts it previously had.

Other segments of the wall had previously collapsed from strong winds.

Politico – Trump on private border wall segment: ‘It was only done to make me look bad’
Valley News – New border wall contract for North Dakota’s Fisher Industries

More assuredly to come soon

Error: Please refresh

Newer Posts
Older Posts