Donald Trump Is Panicky and Clueless

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Last night, on national TV, in a prepared address, President Trump said that (a) we would ban all travel from Europe, (b) we would ban some or all trade with Europe, and (c) insurance companies had agreed to waive copays for coronavirus treatment. All of this was mistaken. The travel ban applies only to foreign nationals, not US residents. No trade is being banned. And insurance companies are waiving copays only for coronavirus testing, not treatment.

This morning, Trump said that everyone entering the United States is being tested. This is . . . what? A lie? A delusion? A panicky response to a question? Does anyone know? The truth, of course, is that we’re not testing anyone arriving in the US. Hell, people who are returning from the hottest hotspots in northern Italy have reported not even being questioned, let alone tested.

This is way beyond outrageous. It’s not a partisan thing. There’s something wrong with Trump, and it either needs to be addressed or he needs to be taken out of the loop. This kind of stuff can’t be allowed to continue.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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