#President #Donald #Trump speaking in a released video on #Twitter on #Dec. 31st, 2020.
The #White #House | #Twitter
WASHINGTON — #In the final days of 2020, the #United #States saw coronavirus deaths spike, cases surge to staggering levels, hospitals strained and the rollout of desperately needed vaccines fall short of expectations.
#December was the deadliest month for #America during the pandemic. #Yet #President #Donald #Trump barely uttered a word about #Covid-19’s tragic toll.
#Instead, the president spent the month obsessing over unfounded claims of a stolen election, delaying relief legislation before signing it, weighing in on cable news broadcasts, and lashing out at members of his own party.
#And, on #Thursday, the last day of the month and the year, #Trump tweeted a video in which he boasted about his administration’s response to the pandemic.
#During #December, the country plunged into what would become its toughest battle against #Covid-19, even as vaccines started to go out. The nation reported more than 6.1 million new infections and more than 74,140 deaths, according to data compiled by #Johns #Hopkins #University.
The latest totals make #December the deadliest month of the #Covid-19 pandemic in the #United #States, surpassing #April, when more than 60,738 #Americans lost their lives to the coronavirus.
#Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, at least 342,414 #Americans have died because of the disease, which #Trump has repeatedly pledged on 40 different occasions would go away.
#In a recorded message released #Thursday, #Trump took the lion’s share of the credit for the unprecedented speed in the development of vaccines calling the feat a “medical miracle.”
“#Thanks to #Operation #Warp #Speed we developed a vaccine in just nine months, we’ve already begun a nationwide vaccination program, and we’re sending the vaccine all over the world. The world will benefit we’ll benefit, and everybody’s calling to thank me,” the president said.
#Trump also took a moment to praise his work on the economy, saying that his administration “built the greatest economy in the history of the world.”
“#We’re doing numbers now like nobody’s ever seen before, including having the highest stock market in the history of the world,” #Trump said, adding “the best is yet to come” in his sign off.
The #White #House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
#Tweets and golfing
#Trump, who spent the past week vacationing at his private club in #Palm #Beach, #Florida, returned to the #White #House on #Thursday as lawmakers debated legislation that would increase #Covid relief payments to $2,000 amid historic unemployment and business closures.
The president himself pushed for these higher payments, although the #Republican leader in the #Senate, #Mitch #McConnell, has resisted holding a standalone vote on the bill providing for the higher payments, which passed with bipartisan support in the #House.
#While in #Palm #Beach, #Trump spent several days golfing at his for-profit golf course and sent 110 tweets which were largely focused on false claims of a rigged presidential election and the upcoming #Senate runoff votes in #Georgia.
#Trump, despite a slew of failed legal challenges, has not conceded the election to #Democrat #Joe #Biden, who will be inaugurated #Jan. 20. The president also took to #Twitter to garner support for an upcoming rally in #Georgia.
#President #Donald #Trump golfs at #Trump #National #Golf #Club on #November 21, 2020 in #Sterling, #Virginia.
#Tasos #Katopodis | #Getty #Images
The president’s refusal to address other aspects of the unfolding public health disaster comes as the governors of #Colorado and #California confirm a new and potentially more infectious strain of #Covid-19 in their states.
#Hospital struggles and vaccine stumbles
#Officials from the #Centers for #Disease #Control and #Prevention said earlier #Wednesday that the new strain could add pressure to the nation’s hospitals, which are already overwhelmed with #Covid-19 patients.
#Staff-strapped hospitals from coast to coast are already running out of available intensive-care units and standard beds for the surge in patients, data published by the #Department of #Health and #Human #Services shows.
#Medical staff members prepare to perform a percutaneous tracheostomy procedure on a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) during #Thanksgiving at the #United #Memorial #Medical #Center on #November 26, 2020 in #Houston, #Texas.
#Go #Nakamura | #Getty #Images
#Earlier this month, the #United #States began to roll out vaccines to combat the disease. #But health officials have warned that a vaccine won’t give the country immediate relief from the outbreak.
The nation’s health officials have previously said their goal is to vaccinate at least 20 million #Americans with their first shots before the end of the year. The will fall well short of that goal.
#Read more: #Trump blames states as he faces criticism for slow #Covid vaccine rollout
#More than 11.4 million doses of #Pfizer and #Moderna’s two-dose vaccines have been distributed across the country as of #Monday morning. #Approximately 2.1 million of those shots have been administered to people, according to the #Centers for #Disease #Control and #Prevention.
#Trump, facing criticism for the missed vaccination goal, blamed on the disorganized rollout of the vaccines on states.
“The #Federal #Government has distributed the vaccines to the states,” the president said in a tweet. “#Now it is up to the states to administer. #Get moving!”
CNBC’s #Kevin #Breuninger, #Will #Feuer and #Noah #Higgins #Dunn contributed to this report.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/31/trump-boasts-about-covid-response-as-december-becomes-deadliest-month-yet.html
##Trump #boasts ##Covid #response ##December #deadliest #month