Despite multiple attempts by CNN host Jake Tapper to seemingly embarrass the Trump administration with their response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) during Sunday’s State of the Union, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams schooled him on the facts. Tapper even questioned if President Trump was even listening to the advice of medical professionals, only to be told the multiple doctors in the room were not being suppressed.
At one point, Tapper tried to stoke public fear by suggesting Trump was willing to sacrifice Americans on a cruise ship as so not to increase the number of people infected by COVID-19. “Is the President's desire to artificially keep the numbers low by keeping Americans who are off the coast out of the United States; is that desire impacting health decisions to help save these Americans who have coronavirus or who could possibly have it?" he demanded to know.
After pointing out that Tapper wanted him to make things political, Adams talked about how the safety of the people on board cruise ships with the virus were a priority (click “expand”):
When the President comes in, he makes it clear that he wants the best advice from his health experts. As far as the cruise ships are concerned, our priorities are, number one, making sure people who are on those cruise ships and who need medical attention can get it. And we've flown people off the ships, we've flown CDC teams into the ships to help.Number two, we want to get people off the ships as quickly and safely as we can. And number three, we want to protect our communities. And that's a delicate balance that requires the cooperation of many different partners, the Department of Defense, Coast Guard, and others. But again, we want to make sure we're taking care of those people on the ship and in a way that protects them, but also protects communities.
Tapper wouldn’t let his narrative go and amped up his claims by insisting the President was making purely “public relations decision[s]” and not medical ones.
“Well, what I can say to you is, based on my experience on the task force for about a week and a half and being in that Situation Room every day that the medical input is taken,” Adams countered. “You have multiple doctors in the room and our voices are in no way, shape, or form suppressed. As a matter of fact, the Vice President usually starts and ends by saying, ‘Doctors, is there anything I need to hear that I'm not hearing?’”
The conversation got a little combative as Tapper demanded to know how many Americans had been tested for COVID-19. He repeatedly interrupted the Surgeon General while he attempted to explain the number was always changing and he didn’t want to give false information (click “expand”):
TAPPER: Can you tell us how many people have been tested in the United States?ADAMS: The numbers are tough because they're changing minute by minute. But here’s what people should know--TAPPER (interrupting Adams again): Just rough estimate?(…)TAPPER: You can't give me just a yes or no? You can’t give me even a rough number of how many Americans have been tested, you don't know?ADAMS: I would refer you to the CDC for that because, again, the numbers change so rapidly I don’t want to give you a number --TAPPER (interrupting Adams again): They took it off the website, how many people have been tested, they removed it from the website.ADAMS: Well, actually, I would direct you to the transcript from the conversation that FDA commissioner Steve Hahn had yesterday where he have very specific numbers.
Early on in the interview, Tapper tried to pit Adams against the White House by claiming the latter was lying about the outbreak being contained. “Have you expressed your desire for people in the White House to share the facts and be honest,” he condescendingly asked.
“From a public health point of view, and I am a public health expert, the first thing you want to try to do is contain the virus. And some parts of the country have contained it, meaning their preventing spread in their communities in the first place,” Adams explained.
Despite Adams being far more qualified than him to speak about infectious diseases, Tapper tried to trip him up by commenting on the community spread of COVID-19 in some areas. “And so, we actually feel pretty good that some parts of the country have contained it, just like when you look at the flu,” Adams said, citing the lack of widespread deaths. “And when we look at the flu tracker, some parts of the country are having much more severe flu seasons. Some are having very mild flu seasons. The same thing for coronavirus.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
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