Testing Is Critical to Ending the Pandemic
Why President Donald Trump’s testing comments are so off base
President Donald Trump was widely criticized over the weekend for his comments about the coronavirus pandemic during his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Specifically, Trump described testing as a “double-edged sword.”
“Here’s the bad part,” he said. “When you do testing to that extent, you’re gonna find more people, you’re gonna find more cases. So I said to my people: ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”
A White House official said the comment was meant to be “tongue in cheek,” but many health professionals, political leaders, and others expressed dismay.
“Testing, tracing, treatment, [and] social distancing are the only tools we have to stop the spread of the coronavirus,” shared House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday. “The president’s efforts to slow down testing to hide the true extent of the virus means more Americans will lose their lives.”
