Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump's Claim That Obama Is to Blame for the Coronavirus Test Delay Just Got the Brutal Fact Check It Deserves

Trump's Claim That Obama Is to Blame for the Coronavirus Test Delay Just Got the Brutal Fact Check It Deserves

Win McNamee/Getty Images // Aurelien Morissard/IP3/Contributor/Getty Images

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows earlier this week when he found a way to blame his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for a shortage in COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, tests.

Trump claimed the shortage was due to an unspecified Obama-era rule.


The President told reporters in a briefing on the rapidly-spreading virus:

"The Obama administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we're doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing can take place in a much more rapid and accurate fashion."

When a reporter challenged the claim, Vice President Mike Pence stepped in and claimed it had to do with regulations that required private laboratories obtain FDA approval during a public health emergency to build and distribute their own tests.

Soon, Centers for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield and Secretary of Health Alex Azar were blaming Obama as well.

Azar said:

"Since the Obama administration, if you are developing a clinical lab test like this, as CDC did, you need to go FDA and get approval, and emergency use authorization, to send this test out. What we said on Saturday is that if you are a certified clinical lab able to handle high-complexity tests […] you may develop your own test, and you do not have to wait for us to approve it for you to start using it in patients."

There's just one problem: It's a George W. Bush era rule, enacted after the September 11 attacks. The Obama administration issued a non-binding guidance proposing more regulations, but the effort was scrapped after the legislature agreed to take it up.

The Trump administration didn't strip the regulation until private laboratories urged them to, after hundreds of tests from the Centers for Disease Control proved faulty.

Fact checkers at The Washington Post gave the lie four Pinocchios, and a brutal correction:

"Trump is looking for scapegoats to excuse his administration's sluggish efforts to expand testing. But he cannot blame Obama. There was no 'Obama rule,' just draft guidance that never took effect and was withdrawn before Trump took office. If there was confusion by labs, the administration could have easily taken the action on EUAs sooner than it did. The Trump administration's efforts to work with Congress on draft legislation on LDTs certainly made clear how it viewed the issue."

People knew Trump's blame on Obama was baseless.







It's worth noting that Trump's extensive cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as to other health agencies, may have played a role in the test shortage.

More from People/donald-trump

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett pointed out President Donald Trump's hypocrisy on immigration considering how First Lady Melania Trump's pathway to citizenship was possible because she received an "Einstein visa," which is usually reserved for an individual with "some sort of significant achievement."

Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process,” Crockett noted that “the idea that Trump and my Republican colleagues want to restore integrity and security in the visa process is actually a joke," and harshly criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and visa restrictions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jennifer Griffin and Pete Hegseth
The Hill

Fox Host Comes To Reporter's Defense After Pete Hegseth Berates Her At Pentagon Briefing

Fox News' chief political analyst Brit Hume came to the defense of Fox national security reporter Jennifer Griffin after their former colleague, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, criticized Griffin as the reporter "who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says” in a Pentagon news conference.

Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, had criticized media outlets—including his former network—for what he described as unpatriotic reporting. Hegseth took particular aim at early intelligence assessments suggesting that President Donald Trump's bombing of Iran may not have significantly crippled Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Keep ReadingShow less

Teachers Share The Questions Students Asked In Class That Broke Their Hearts

Being a teacher is a calling.

It is not for the meek or weak of heart.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Emily Compagno
Fox News

Fox Host Slams Dem For Dropping An F-Bomb After Praising Trump For The Same Thing Just Minutes Earlier

Fox News host Emily Compagno was criticized after she praised Donald Trump's use of the "f-bomb" earlier this week before condemning Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett's use of the same word—on the same episode of her show, no less.

Trump made headlines this week after admonishing Israel and Iran for violating a ceasefire agreement he'd announced on Truth Social. Although he claimed the ceasefire had been "agreed upon," Iran fired at least six missile barrages at Israel after it was supposed to take effect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ken Jennings; Emily Croke
@Jeopardy/Instagram

Champ's Wild Final Jeopardy Connection

In a dramatic conclusion on last Monday’s Jeopardy!, a contestant revealed a surprising relationship to the final clue's answer. Hailing from Denver, Emily Croke made it to the final write-in portion of the game show with $12,200 in earnings.

In the category of “Collections,” host Ken Jennings read the clue:

Keep ReadingShow less