Friday evening found Vice President Pence in an uncommon and uncomfortable position: Having to downplay and contradict assertions made by his boss.
WASHINGTON — It proved a delicate act for Pence, who has become the face of the administration’s coronavirus response, and who has sought to project an aura of steely confidence.
But there were also blatantly incorrect claims, too, as when Trump said that “anybody that needs a test gets a test” for coronavirus. In fact, the CDC has badly lagged in preparing a nationwide testing regime, and only a minuscule percentage of Americans can currently be tested. That percentage will grow in the coming days, but not nearly as quickly as public health experts believe is necessary to contain the disease, which has infected at least 280 people and killed 15 in the U.S..
Trump added that he would rather not allow infected Americans to disembark the Grand Princess cruise ship that has been floating off the coast of Northern California. “I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship,” Trump complained as his secretary of Health and Human Services and the director of the CDC looked on.
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