President Donald Trump told thousands of supporters on Saturday night that high rates of testing for the coronavirus in the U.S. explain why the country has the highest number of cases in the world.
“When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please,’ ” Trump said at the rally, held in Tulsa, Okla.
Those comments, said Peter Navarro, were “tongue in cheek” and “a lighthearted moment for .”
“I don’t know if it was [tongue in cheek],” responded CNN’s Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning. Responded Navarro, the White House trade adviser: “Thirty million people are unemployed, and we’ve seen over 100,000 people die because of the China, Wuhan virus,” Navarro said, using terms for the virus popular among some Trump backers. “Let’s talk about some serious issues, Jake.”
“I think testing is a very serious issue,” said Tapper. “I’m not the one making jokes about it.” |
