Trump Broken Promises on COVID-19
We are ensnared in Donald Trump’s failures. Every direction you look, the Trump Administration
has failed to prepare, failed to act, failed to lead, and failed to care. Nowhere is that more
evident than the colossal fiasco of testing. For months, the Trump Administration's refusal to
ramp up a nationwide testing campaign and drive advances in faster, more affordable, more
accurate testing -- as Joe Biden has ​repeatedly called for​ -- has enabled the virus to spread out
of control through our communities. While the numbers of tests have increased, so have the
infection rates and wait times - and experts say we are still not testing nearly enough. Testing
sites are hard to access, and lines are long. The criteria for who needs a test is still unclear. And
supply-chain bottlenecks mean some Americans are waiting a week or more for results,
effectively rendering the test useless.
Trump’s track record on testing has been abysmal. At every turn, he’s lied. He’s broken
promises. He’s taken steps to actually make things worse.
It’s now nearly August. What has he promised us today?
In March:
● He ​promised​ every American who wanted a test could get a test done. It was a lie then.
It is a lie now. It wasn’t the only one.
● He ​promised​ there would be testing sites in the parking lots of big box retailers all across
the country. It didn’t happen.
● He ​promised​ to build a website that would help Americans decide if they needed a test
and direct them to the nearest testing site. He never did.
● He ​promised​ rapid testing with “lightning-fast results.” Where is it?
In April:
● He ​said​ states with a “lot of land... don’t need testing.” He ​said​ “everything is perfect.” It
wasn’t.
● He ​said​ his Administration was deploying testing to underserved populations. Three
months later, it’s far ​easier​ to get a test if you live in a wealthier, whiter area.
In May:
● He ​said​ we had the best testing in the world. We don’t.
● He ​suggested​ testing is “overrated.” It isn’t.

 In June:
● He bragged -- literally bragged -- that he ​ordered​ his staff to slow down testing. It looks
like they listened. He ​said​ testing “makes us look bad.” It doesn’t.
● He ​tried​ to end federal funding for community-based testing sites, ​leading​ state and local
officials to plead their individuals cases.
In July:
● He ​claimed​, “When you test, you create cases.” That’s not how it works.
● He ​tried​ to block new funding for testing and contract tracing. The jury is still out.
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