‘We Have Prevailed on Testing’: Trump Claims Victory While Repeatedly Dodging Questions on WH Double Standard About Tests for All

President Donald Trump repeatedly dodged questions on the rigorous White House Covid-19 testing policy and claimed that the country has “prevailed” on testing for the coronavirus even as fewer than three percent of the country has been tested and many don’t have access to regular testing even as they are encouraged to go back to work.

During a coronavirus task force briefing in the Rose Garden, President Donald Trump was asked by NBC News’ Geoff Bennett about his comments that harkened back to the country’s history of rising to the occasion and overcoming adversity.

“To you sir, is the mission accomplished with 1.3 million cases…” Bennett began.

“No, we have prevailed on testing is what I’m referring to with regard to testing,” Trump said. “You never prevail when you have 90,000 people, 100,000 people, when you have 80,000 people as of today, when you have the kind of death, potentially millions of people throughout the world that are dying, that’s not prevailing.”

“What I’m talking about is, we have great testing capacity now. It’s getting even better. There’s nobody close to us in the world and we certainly have done a great job on testing and testing is a very good important function,” Trump claimed. At the start of the briefing, Trump had touted the total number of Covid-19 tests completed in the U.S. and said the nation’s per capita testing rate was even higher than South Korea’s. But that country enacted a nationwide lockdown and rigorous testing regimen weeks before the U.S., which quickly dampened the spread and helped limit the Asian nation’s death toll per capita to 5 per million, while the U.S.’s death rate by population is nearly 50 times higher, at roughly 250 per million.

Moments later, another reporter followed up, asking about his promise that “very soon” anyone who needs a test will be able to get one. “Can you give some figures what you’re changing to ramp up testing, when will that be a true statement?”

“It’s a true statement already,” Trump inaccurately claimed, contradicting himself before shifting to boasting of overall testing numbers completed. “We have more testing than any country in the world by far.” As far back as March 6, Trump was making a very similar and false claim, that “anybody that wants a test can get one.”

After Admiral Brett Giroir talked about the current state testing capability, which he deemed “really is in the range that we need,” the same reporter pushed back on the White House containment strategy of testing staffers close to the president every single day.

“There does seem to be a double standard here, Mr. President,” the reported pointed out, “where members of your own staff can get tested frequently but ordinary Americans cannot. When will the rest of the America have the same access that your own members of the White House have to testing?”

Last week, Trump’s own press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany cavalierly dismissed the idea of instituting widespread testing before reopening the economy, brushing off the idea as “nonsensical.” For this part, Tump didn’t bother to address the actual question and instead began a rant about being unfairly criticized.

“You know what, if we didn’t get the tests, if we did no tests in the White House, you’d be up complaining, ‘Why aren’t you getting the testing for the White House?’ We can’t win,” Trump griped. “I understand you very well, better than you understand yourself,” he then added, clearly insinuating that the reporter was biased for asking the question before completely misrepresenting her question. “If we’d get tests done, you would be complaining. Now that we’re doing so well on tests and so quick and so fast, five minutes et cetera and so accurate, you’re complaining we’re getting too many tests.”

Trump’s deflections continued on after Washington Post correspondent Philip Rucker noted that reopening the economy could seem premature based on the White House’s own track record in not being able to stop it from

“Many Americans want to return to their normal lives, but they’re afraid to do so,” Rucker said. “How can you ensure Americans it’s safe to go to their own workplaces when the most secure workplace in the country, the White House, cannot contain the spread of the coronavirus that has infected some of your own staff.”

“When you say some, the person got something happened right after a test was done,” Trump said, deceptively implying just a single person has tested positive when, in fact, at least two people on the White House staff have been reported to have Covid-19. Three other people met that person, came into relative contact, very little contact, and are isolating. That is not exactly not controlling it. I think we are controlled it well.”

“I think we’re doing a good job in watching it and I think it’s very well contained,” Trump said, before making the case for mass testing and tracing. “Part of the reason it is because of all the testing we’re able to give. It was one person and the other people were only people that quarantined.”

Later, PBS’ White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, who the president has verbally swatted at in the past, circled back to the White House testing policy and pressed Trump on his expectations to reopen the economy when his own vice president, Mike Pence, has been exposed to the coronavirus.

“The vice president is said to be in some sort of elf-isolating, keeping his distance from people,” Alcindor noted. “What do you say to Americans who say ‘How can you keep me safe? How can reopen the government is if the vice president is self-isolating?’ And why hasn’t testing gotten up to the point where every American who wants a test can get a test?”

“The vice president has been tested and he’s negative. He tested yesterday and today. He’s negative. He’s in very good shape. I think that’s going to be fine,” Trump said, before once again deflecting and return to the false claim he first made more than two months ago. “As far as Americans getting a test, they should all be able to get a test right now. They should be able to get a test. That’s the problem with a question like that. We go through a whole announcement saying we’re number one in the world by far, by factor of two and three and four depending on where you’re looking and I get a question ‘When will everybody be able to get tested.’ If somebody wants to be tested right now they’ll be able to be tested.”

Watch the videos above, via MSNBC.