Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Blur4stuff]

Yeah if we ban travel from Europe that means the virus can't reach the US.

[Paranoid Android]

Trump budget chief holds firm on CDC cuts amid virus outbreak

Can't make this stuff up. Again, gotta pay for those tax cuts for the rich.

I sure Dems use this in political attack ads.

[Shadowferal]

Yeah if we ban travel from Europe that means the virus can't reach the US.

Some others might not have caught your sarcasm...

[Aehl]

Not rejecting the test kits from the WHO and Germany in January.

Nice twisting of facts.

However, here is what you neglected to add. I will assume you didnt know.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/c...20-3?r=US&IR=T

The exact nature of an apparent “manufacturing issue” is unclear, but Axios cited unnamed sources on Sunday as saying that a Food and Drug Administration official who visited the lab last week raised the alarm that the lab itself might be contaminated.

In a statement to Axios, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that “problems with certain test components were due to a manufacturing issue,” without specifying further.

Rejecting test kits that may be contaminated makes perfect sense, wouldnt you say?

And here

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article...t-new-york-cdc

Federal health officials met with state and city public health labs on Wednesday to fix a crippling lack of options to diagnose the novel coronavirus, a shortfall driven by botched CDC testing kits. As a result, New York state and New York City are moving forward with developing their own test to detect the virus.

Pity the facts dont bear out your Trump hate narrative.

[Omega10]

Some others might not have caught your sarcasm...

Well it's a small step. Here is what is happening in Italy.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...Esp?li=BBnbcA1

Title: Conte Says Italy Will Remain Open Only for Essential Services

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte deepened the Italian government’s intervention into an economy hammered by the spread of the coronavirus, ordering all shops to close except for grocery stores and pharmacies.

The Italian leader was under pressure from governors in the north -- the economic engine of the country and the region hardest hit by the virus -- to take more drastic measures.

An “emergency czar” will be appointed to handle coordination of the virus response, and the country will speed up production of key medical supplies, Conte said.

While all bars and restaurants will close, food deliveries will be allowed to continue, and there is no need for citizens to rush to buy food, he said, adding that transportation and banking will be guaranteed.

Some companies had already taken steps ahead of the move. Burger King will temporarily shut its directly managed restaurants in Italy, and a number of franchised outlets will close as well.

Apple Inc. will close all 17 of its retail outlets in Italy. The priority “remains the health and safety of everyone in the communities we serve,” Apple said on Wednesday.

The travel ban from Europe is a small start. We are about 2-3 weeks behind Italy. So something like this could very well be a part of US life by mid-April.

[Trifle]

If they come from the UK and their passport stamps say they were in Europe before that, they will be sent back. PRESIDENT Trump is referring to UK citizens who were NOT in Europe.

I applaud his stance and am pleased...this is what is needed right now. Containment.

I'm not sure if that's the case, I haven't been able to find solid details though. But what I have found just says flights from European countries are disallowed. Unless you're an American, or immediate family of an American and you've been tested. He didn't actually say anything about banning travel for people who have recently been in Europe, just that travel from Europe itself is restricted.

It's possible there'll be additional restrictions that weren't talked about, we'll have to wait and see.

Also, this will be a pretty big hit for the airline companies. USA/Europe travel generally seems to account for around 15% of their revenue.

[Aehl]

I'm not sure if that's the case, I haven't been able to find solid details though. But what I have found just says flights from European countries are disallowed

You DO know that Customs looks at passport stamps?

If they see Greece followed by the UK and then to the US..what do you think they will do?

[zealo]

You DO know that Customs looks at passport stamps?

If they see Greece followed by the UK and then to the US..what do you think they will do?

The UK usually don't stamp passports from the EU unless you specifically want one and ask for it. Although I suppose that sort of data is still being tracked digitally by the UK cause of Schengen.

[Breccia]

So we'll split the difference. Let's say (1) Trump announces bigly yuge plans, (2) says good things are coming just you wait and see, (3) mention the payroll tax that's never going to pass, (4) not take questions, and (5) give the podium to one of his doctors but not Pence this time?

Here's a checklist.
(1) Yes.
(2) Yes.
(3) Yes.
(4) Yes.
(5) There was nobody else in the room.

He also bragged about taking strong measures early, better than EU did.

The WHO declared the coronavirus a health emergency Jan 30th. At that time, the virus was known to be in 18 countries. Trump did announce travel restrictions on China the 31st, but not the other countries. More importantly:

As the result, all foreign nationals, other than the immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China within the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter the U.S. effective Sunday.

So it wasn't that much of a restriction.

Trump announced travel restrictions to Iran and suggested avoiding SK and Italy Feb 29th, which of course, was FAR too late to be of any use in any way. When Trump said he acted early with strong restrictions, he's lying. Incidentally, the stock market began what we now know to be a 6,000 point slide Feb 21st or so. In particular, it started making records Feb 24th. The US clearly knew there was a problem before Trump did.

It's also worth noting that Feb 29th was the first American who died in the US.

As for the EU thing, I'm not sure what to go with here. I don't see a lot of restrictions, but at the same time, by Feb 6 Germany had 13 cases and Italy had 3. I'm not sure what they could have done past that point. But, until I see evidence they closed borders, Trump can say he did a better job than the EU, in the same way someone in the ICU from two broken legs is better than someone in the ICU with a cracked skull.

[Paranoid Android]

Pres Trump tonight:
- Wrongly told the world trade with Europe was suspended
-apparently wrongly said health insurers are waiving out of pocket for treatment
-exempted UK from travel ban (UK has 460 cases to date) unclear why
-detailed no new domestic public health measures

This is such a disaster.

[Omega10]

Pres Trump tonight:
- Wrongly told the world trade with Europe was suspended
-apparently wrongly said health insurers are waiving out of pocket for treatment
-exempted UK from travel ban (UK has 460 cases to date) unclear why
-detailed no new domestic public health measures

This is such a disaster.

I have not found total verification of the first two statements, but here is what one report:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...ak/ar-BB114kDJ

Homeland Security officials later clarified that the new travel restrictions would only apply to most foreign nationals who have been in the "Schengen Area" at any point for 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States. The area includes Italy, German, Greece, Austria, Belgium and others. It doesn't apply to legal permanent residents, immediate family of U.S. citizens or others "identified in the proclamation."

This seems to have a large number of loopholes

Title: Trump suspends travel from Europe to US for 30 days

The title is truthy, but does not really accurately reflect the reality of what will be happening over the next month.

[Sorshen]

Pres Trump tonight:
- Wrongly told the world trade with Europe was suspended
-apparently wrongly said health insurers are waiving out of pocket for treatment
-exempted UK from travel ban (UK has 460 cases to date) unclear why
-detailed no new domestic public health measures

This is such a disaster.

For #2:

[Omega10]

For #2:

Very disappointing.

The people that wrote his speech couldn't even fake being competent.

If he had said "Most health insurers have agreed to waive all copayments for coronavirus testing." ... well that would have been less dramatic, but it would have been true. And it would show that the people that wrote his speech were aware of the facts on the ground, and were willing to communicate to us just what they were.

This was a wasted opportunity. I guess they at least tried.

[Trifle]

You DO know that Customs looks at passport stamps?

If they see Greece followed by the UK and then to the US..what do you think they will do?

It's not clear that indirect travel has been banned, only direct travel. Unless you have a source that states otherwise? Other than your ass.

[Masark]

And then!

InfoWars founder Alex Jones promoted a toothpaste he claims federal officials have said can kill coronavirus, which has infected and killed thousands worldwide, despite recent warnings issued by government agencies debunking that claim.

The rabid fanbase, ladies and gentlemen.

Why exactly was he given bail rather than a psychiatric hold?

[Paranoid Android]

And then!

InfoWars founder Alex Jones promoted a toothpaste he claims federal officials have said can kill coronavirus, which has infected and killed thousands worldwide, despite recent warnings issued by government agencies debunking that claim.

The rabid fanbase, ladies and gentlemen.

Haha! They are all conmen. Sorry but they know that people who get worked up by hate and fear are easy marks to be conned. So get it all worked up and mad at the world then sell them some snake oil while you are at.

[Breccia]

Pres Trump tonight

*cracks knuckles*

Wrongly told the world trade with Europe was suspended

He contradicted himself, yes. He said blocking cargo, then not blocking trade. He was clearly reading from a telepromptor, but he still said it.

apparently wrongly said health insurers are waiving out of pocket for treatment

Near as I can tell, Trump met with health execs and they said they'd cover the costs.

Incidentally, here's a picture of the meeting:



Can you see what's wrong with this picture?

It's a health and financial emergency so massive that Trump has personally addressed the public 3 times in a week, yet he has three pieces of paper while everyone else has crammed-full folders. Also, the important papers appear to have large green letterhead, and Trump's papers are either upside-down or blank.

exempted UK from travel ban (UK has 460 cases to date) unclear why

Because he looks at numbers, not proportions. If the UK has 460 cases, that would be like the US having 2,300 cases. Last I checked, we were on our way, but not there yet. Unless he's trying to suck Boris' Johnson, I see no reason for the exception either.

detailed no new domestic public health measures

This is an exact quote.

To ensure that working Americans impacted by the virus can stay home without fear of financial hardship, I will soon be taking emergency action, which is unprecedented, to provide financial relief. This will be targeted for workers who are ill, quarantined, or caring for others due to coronavirus.

I will be asking Congress to take legislative action to extend this relief.

So is this.

However, to provide extra support for American workers, families, and businesses, tonight I am announcing the following additional actions:

I am instructing the Small Business Administration to exercise available authority to provide capital and liquidity to firms affected by the coronavirus.

Effective immediately, the SBA will begin providing economic loans in affected states and territories. These low-interest loans will help small businesses overcome temporary economic disruptions caused by the virus. To this end, I am asking Congress to increase funding for this program by an additional $50 billion.

Using emergency authority, I will be instructing the Treasury Department to defer tax payments, without interest or penalties, for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted. This action will provide more than $200 billion of additional liquidity to the economy.

Finally, I am calling on Congress to provide Americans with immediate payroll tax relief. Hopefully they will consider this very strongly.

These are not, in fact, medical actions. And I don't think "I'll ask Congress" counts for much. Congress can work on its own. That's why Trump signed a $8.3 billion relief bill, which he did not write, but took credit for. He also asked for the payroll tax thing again, despite nearly everyone in both parties saying "No". I mean, you can only write so many letters to Selma Hayek before she files a restraining order.

I recently commented on the $200 billion figure. I commented that it was horseshit. Trump called it "additional liquidity" which make it more clear: he's just allowing money that would normally be paid in taxes, to stay in the hands of taxpayers, for a while longer. I'll grant you that someone with the coronavirus probably doesn't feel like dusting off W2's and TurboTax. But if you had, say, $1000 you were going to pay in taxes today, and were told "no no, you can hold onto it until next month" how eager would you be to spend it? Yes, you'd have it for an emergency. But then you'd be coming out of an emergency without the $1,000 and still owe taxes. Maybe someone can explain the appeal of this move under the circumstances, because I don't. Of course, I pay my taxes, Trump doesn't.

This is such a disaster.

It's hard to argue that Trump, alone in a room with nothing but the telepromptor and his tiny dick, would still give a speech in which he makes the above mistakes while also bragging about the economy because of his actions (by the way, no, the economy is not all that great, it wasn't December either just so we're clear, and the stock market's a fucking joke for which the punchline is always "then it went down AGAIN!") and how what he was going to do was unprecedented (except for, as an example, the polio vaccine's funding and release in 1955).

Trump probably thought this was a home run. DOW futures are down a fucking thousand. Oil dropped another five percent. And within the hour, the House passed a bill which has nothing that Trump asked for in any way. Three strikes.

And no balls.

[Fugus]

Haha! They are all conmen. Sorry but they know that people who get worked up by hate and fear are easy marks to be conned. So get it all worked up and mad at the world then sell them some snake oil while you are at.

Must also point out and remind people that Trump was a viewer and believer of him to the point he even did an interview on Alex Jones's on show.

[Omega10]

Pres Trump tonight:
- Wrongly told the world trade with Europe was suspended
-apparently wrongly said health insurers are waiving out of pocket for treatment
-exempted UK from travel ban (UK has 460 cases to date) unclear why
-detailed no new domestic public health measures

This is such a disaster.

I found a source for the first one.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...avirus-address

Title: ‘He’s gonna get us all killed’: sense of unease after Trump coronavirus speech

The article tore apart his speech quite viciously. The most devastating part is this:

The president then made an awful bungle. He said “these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval”. Such words could trigger global economic panic. Trump was forced to hastily clarify on Twitter: “... very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods.”

Spoken words bolded part: very tough words. We made hard choices, and due to the severity of the situation this is necessary.
Twitter clarification bolded part: oops, what I just said was completely false.

The twitter presented by Paranoid Android substantially underscores how disgusting and dishonest this turned out to be.

[Zan15]

In after hours trading:

DOW: -965.00
NASDAQ: -355.00
S&P 500: -108.50



I'm guessing you want to revise those odds now, eh?

Meh they rebounded from those lows...and Trump is already backing off on parts of his plan..

Still sticking to 50/50

My 3 day bet would be 30/70