tweeted about “haters and losers” on the anniversary of 9/11?
While the tweet was deleted two year after first being made, a retweet of his own original tweet remains live.
Trump has made other, similar tweets about “haters and losers.”
repeatedly said early in the COVID-19 pandemic that it was under control?
In the weeks preceding the unconstrained outbreak in the United States, Trump repeatedly downplayed the threat of the virus and claimed that his administration had done a great job in containing it.
Among other remarks, he also claimed that warm weather would kill the virus, without evidence, saying, “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.” He also claimed about US cases that “We’re going down, not up. We’re going very substantially down, not up.”
The remarks were all made in late February. By March 1, there were 98 confirmed cases in the US. Mid-March, Trump said he’d score his administration’s response to COVID19 a 10/10. By the end of March, there were over 160,000 confirmed cases.
The New York Times – A Complete List of Trump’s Attempts to Play Down Coronavirus
Factbase – Interview: Trish Regan of Fox Business Interviews Donald Trump in Manchester, NH – February 10, 2020
WhiteHouse.gov – Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Conference
Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
gave a thumbs up in a photo with the orphan of a mass shooting?
After a 2019 mass shooting in El Paso that left 22 dead and 24 injured, Trump visited the scene to meet with survivors and first responders.
In one of the photos tweeted by wife Melania, he had a smile and a thumbs up as he stood next to her while she held an infant that had been orphaned by the killer. The infant suffered broken fingers as his mother collapsed on him to shield him from the attack.
The killer had made multiple white nationalist and anti-immigrant posts online. Trump himself has advocated politically extremist views, including infamously claiming at Charlottesville after a white nationalist rally that left a woman dead that, “there were fine people on both sides.”
Business Insider – Trump gave a thumbs-up in a photo with a baby orphaned by El Paso mass shooting
CNN – Trump gives thumbs up in photo with El Paso orphan
The Hill – El Paso orphan’s family explains Trump photo with baby
Wikipedia – 2019 El Paso shooting
bragged about his TV ratings amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
On March 29, Trump tweeted multiple times to brag about his press conferences’ ratings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On that day, the United States reported a total of over 161,000 confirmed cases and 3,000 deaths, more than 9/11.
He later again boasted of his television ratings on April 21, when the US had 824,229 confirmed cases and suffered 45,536 deaths.
Trump is no stranger to making such remarks during times of national crisis. He also previously blamed media and Democrats for working to “inflame” the situation surrounding COVID-19, but rated himself a 10/10 in handling it.
He has also bragged about how humble he is.
retweeted a Biden video that Twitter later tagged as “manipulated media”?
The video was originally tweeted by White House Director of Social Media and Assistant to the President Dan Scavino before being retweeted by Trump.
In the video, Biden says, “Because we cannot re-elect … we cannot win this re-election … Excuse me, we can only re-elect Donald Trump.” The video cut the rest of what Biden said, “We can only re-elect Donald Trump if in fact we get engaged in this circular firing squad here. It’s gotta be a positive campaign, so join us.”
It is the first video marked as manipulated by Twitter since they announced such measures.
Trump later threatened to leave social media after again being flagged for misinformation, and in a separate instance had his account temporarily suspended.
The Washington Post – Twitter flags video retweeted by President Trump as ‘manipulated media’
The Verge – Twitter puts ‘manipulated’ tag on faked Biden video retweeted by Trump
accused media and Democrats of working to “inflame the CoronaVirus situation”?
The day of the tweet, the United States reported a total of 959 cases, with over 114,000 confirmed worldwide.
Trump spent the weekend preceding the tweet golfing. He later rated his response on COVID19 a 10/10.
Trump regularly downplayed the severity of COVID-19 since it first spread.
promoted unproven treatments for COVID-19?
Trump also falsely claimed that chloroquine had been approved by the FDA for treating COVID-19.
Hydroxychloroquine, a less toxic derivative of chloroquine, is an anti-malaria and arthritis medication. Azithromycin is an anti-bacterial drug intended to defend against secondary infections. They both have risk of various side effects. The more severe for hydroxychloroquine include allergic reactions, hypoglycemia, permanent eye problems, nerve damage, psychosis, seizures, and heart failure.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, flatly denied that there was any conclusive evidence to support the claim, noting that no clinical trials have been completed. Fauci explained during a subsequent press conference, “You really can’t make any definitive statement about it.” Still, Trump continued to express optimism about its efficacy. “May work, may not work, but I feel good about it,” Trump said.
The World Health Organization has not approved use of the drug for COVID-19. Its Director General noted, “small, observational and non-randomized studies will not give us the answers we need. Using untested medicines without the right evidence could raise false hope, and even do more harm than good and cause a shortage of essential medicines that are needed to treat other diseases.”
Nevertheless, there has been a run on hydroxychloroquine, with reports of hoarding and border crossing into Mexico for purchases. A man died from ingesting cleaner that contained a chemical he confused with what Trump promoted.
During the same press conference, Trump attacked a reporter for asking what he would say to frightened Americans.
In a later press conference, Trump said he may take the medication, even though he hadn’t yet asked his own doctors about it: “If it were me – in fact, I might do it anyway. I may take it, okay? I may take it. And I’ll have to ask my doctors about that, but I may take it.”
Trump doubles down on hydroxychloroquine, saying he may take it as a prophylactic.
TRUMP: I may take it. Okay?… I’ll have to ask my doctors about that but I may take it.
Career scientists have warned that the science is unsettled + lupus patients currently need the drug. pic.twitter.com/ZBx6xHvvNG
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) April 4, 2020
Trump had a financial interest in Sanofi, a French company that produces the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine. While some trials showed promise, others didn’t; a Brazilian trial for chloroquine was halted when 11 patients died after 6 days.
In August, Trump’s testing chief Brett Giroir said it was time to “move on” from hydroxychloroquine.
NBC News – Trump, promoting unproven drug treatments, insults NBC reporter at coronavirus briefing
World Health Organization – WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 23 March 2020
WebMD – Hydroxychloroquine SULFATE
Vox – Trump’s reckless promotion of hydroxychloroquine to fight coronavirus, explained
AP News – AP FACT CHECK: Trump falsely claims drug approval for virus
The Dallas Morning News – Border towns see run on drug touted by Trump but unproven as coronavirus cure
Salon – Man dies from ingesting cleaner containing chloroquine after Trump hypes treatment for coronavirus
Business Insider – Trump says he ‘may take’ hydroxychloroquine, even though there’s no evidence it’s effective or safe to prevent or treat coronavirus
The New York Times – Trump’s Aggressive Advocacy of Malaria Drug for Treating Coronavirus Divides Medical Community
USA Today – Study of Trump-touted chloroquine for coronavirus stopped due to heart problems, deaths
Forbes – Trump Testing Chief Brett Giroir Says To ‘Move On’ From Hydroxychloroquine
didn’t know about Pearl Harbor?
According to the book A Very Stable Genius, during a private tour of the Pearl Harbor memorial, Trump asked his Chief of Staff John Kelly, “Hey, John, what’s this all about? What’s this a tour of?”
The authors explain that Trump didn’t grasp the site’s significance, as he’d “heard the phrase ‘Pearl Harbor’ and appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of a historic battle…he did not seem to know much else.”
In a tweet the same day of his visit, Trump repeated a common misquote of Franklin Roosevelt’s description of the Pearl Harbor attack, “a date that will live in infamy.”
His wife Melania also wrongly placed the date of the Pearl Harbor attacks in a deleted tweet.
A year prior, Trump attacked Obama for not bringing up Pearl Harbor during an official visit to Japan.
The Washington Post – ‘A Very Stable Genius’ portrays Trump as erratic, ‘at times dangerously uninformed
The Washington Post – Melania Trump tweets, then quickly deletes, wrong Pearl Harbor date
Business Insider – ‘What’s this a tour of?’: Trump barely understood the significance of an iconic Pearl Harbor memorial during a private tour, new book says
The Week – Trump reportedly doesn’t know what happened at Pearl Harbor
Politico – White House misremembers historical details on Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
dismissed criticism because of “Trump Derangement Syndrome?”
Trump Derangement Syndrome, a descendant of Bush Derangement Syndrome, is a phrase used to deflect criticism by painting it as rabidly unreasonable. Accepting criticism isn’t one of Trump’s strong suits, because despite his claims of humility, he has also said that he doesn’t admit to mistakes.
The Daily Beast – POTUS: ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ Is Why People ‘Hate’ My Friendship With Putin
The Hill – Trump urges followers to read Dershowitz book arguing against impeachment
Wikipedia – Trump Derangement Syndrome
said, “we need a president who isn’t the laughing stock of the world”?
Trump repeatedly derided Obama during his two terms, often pointing to his frequently golf trips and perpetuating the birther conspiracy.
During his second year in office, Trump drew laughter from the United Nations General Assembly when he claimed that his administration “has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.” He has also had a Comedy Central Roast and was targeted at the 2011 Correspondents Dinner.
