We Got 99 Problems, And COVID-19 Is A Lot Of Them!

It's Your Sunday Show Rundown!

After "enjoying" the White House's 4th Of July celebration, featuring such stellar entertainment as this:

The White House 4th of July entertainment is a white guy singing Bruno Mars https: //t.co/fuHkAtgaZx

— Scott Gairdner (@Scott Gairdner) 1593909070.0 

Or whatever THIS was:

Who thought this was a good idea? https: //t.co/Z4eTJm4pfl

— MovieBob Productions (@MovieBob Productions) 1594005282.0 

It was time for the Trump administration to get back to the serious work of dealing with our never-ending COVID-19 pandemic.

So we begin our Sunday Show Rundown this week with FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, making dual appearances CNN's "State Of The Union" and ABC's "This Week." Hahn faced questions about these Petri Dish Full Of Deplorables events being held with little to no social distancing or masks, which completely ignore the White House's own health guidelines. On CNN, host Dana Bash played a clip of Donald Trump saying, "Now we have tested almost 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless."

FDA commissioner refuses to defend Trump claim    www.youtube.com 

Bash pressed Hahn about this math:

BASH: Doctor, 99 percent of coronavirus cases are -- quote -- "completely harmless." No health expert that we have found can back that up. Can you?

Of course, as a medical expert and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Hahn immediately corrected this and said Trump's math was just plain wrong.

HAHN: So, we know that cases are surging in the country. We have all seen the graphs associated with that. And it's just too early, and I'm not going to speculate on what the causation is there.

Just kidding! Hahn dodged that question like Neo from The Matrix .

 
 Giphy 

Bash (much like Martha Raddatz on "This Week") did not let Hahn of the hook:

BASH: Well, Dr. Hahn, I think it's really important to stick to the question about the 99 percent that the president threw out there. I can tell you, it's not true, and I'm -- that's obviously not my opinion. It is fact, based on the CDC estimates. Only about a third of coronavirus cases are asymptomatic. The WHO says -- the World Health Organization says about 20 percent of people diagnosed with coronavirus are sick enough to need oxygen or hospital care. And this is really important, probably one of the most important misclaims or, frankly, lies that the president has put out there, because it really affects people's health. If they hear the president saying, 99 percent of people are fine, they're going to change their behavior, potentially get sick, infect other people.

This elicited the most tepid response from Hahn:

HAHN: I totally support the CDC and the information that they're putting out with respect to this pandemic.

Bash tried again, this time appealing to the safety of all Americans, only to have Hahn do the move everyone does when they don't want to admit a mistake.

BASH: And, Dr. Hahn, I realize this is not easy for you. You are doing -- working really hard to try to protect Americans. So, I just have to ask you flatly, to that end, to protect Americans, is the president wrong?

HAHN: So, I'm not going to get into who is right and who is wrong,

Bash tried one final time to get an honest and straightforward answer:

BASH: So, you won't say whether 99 percent of coronavirus cases are -- quote -- "completely harmless" is true or false, what the president said at the White House last night?

HAHN: Dana, what I will say is that we have data in the White House task force. Those data show us that this is a serious problem. People need to take it seriously.

BASH: OK.

Hahn showed the same lack of courage and honesty we have seen from other experts who fear the manbaby-in-chief more than they fear the continuing pandemic.

Speaking of a lack of political courage to dispute Trump, Bash also interviewed hog-castrating Iowa GOP Senator Joni Ernst. Ernst, who is in a tight re-election race , had a chance to show independence and political courage but failed miserably.

Bash presses GOP senator: You criticized Obama in 2014 for this    www.youtube.com 

Bash confronted Ernst about her previous criticism of how President Barack Obama handled Ebola, and asked a very logical question:

BASH: Cases in your home state of Iowa have steadily risen for the last two weeks. You criticized President Obama in 2014 for his handling of the Ebola outbreak, saying that he showed -- quote -- "failed leadership." Only two people in the U.S. died from Ebola. Right now, there are almost 130,000 Americans dead from coronavirus. So, if President Obama showed failed leadership then, do you think President Trump is showing failed leadership now?

ERNST: Well, I think we all have responsibility in stopping the spread.

After having dealt earlier with FDA Commissioner Hahn's dodgeball shenanigans, Bash pressed Ernst again after she mentioned that one person in Iowa died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Ernst, unlike Hahn, went for the other option: straight up hypocrisy/Trump ass kissing/lying.

BASH: So, given the fact that one person died there, that's only half the number that died during Ebola, which you have said was failed leadership, is the president right now exhibiting failed leadership?

ERNST: Well, I -- no, I think that the president is stepping forward.

Wait, what? I guess to Ernst to lose one American may be regarded as a misfortune; but to lose 130,000 Americans is a president "stepping forward."

Wonder what the difference to Ernst is that she was so hard on President Obama yet so lenient on Trump.

Maybe it's the same difference between GOP "protestors" and Black Lives Matter "rioters."

Oh well, guess we'll never know.

Until next time, have a week!

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