Just a sliver of 90 minutes and 32 seconds of Trump's cost-free airtime, just yesterday

Stirring oratory from the president of the United States — real FDR, John Kennedy stuff:

The Americans of every background are uniting to help our nation in this hour of need. It’s up to 151 countries, so when we say our nation, our nation and the world, when you think. Think of it, 151 countries. Somebody said to me today that wasn’t in this particular world, they didn’t know that we had that many countries. 151 countries. That’s something.

Not that a U.S. president who must deal with global issues should know that there are in fact 48 more countries than this president is aware of, but think of it, 195 countries. That's something. As somebody said to me today that was in this particular world, they knew that. (And Trump makes fun of Joe Biden?)

He also noted that we’ve been doing more tests than any other country anywhere in the world…. It’s also one of the reasons that we’re just about the lowest in terms of mortality rate.

Yet already noted by USA Today about his first claim: "Trump [omits] a huge piece of context: The United States population is more than six times the size of South Korea’s. On a per capita basis, South Korea is testing far more of its citizens than the U.S." As to his second claim, of 42 countries with known mortality rates, 19 others have lower rates than ours.

To correct every one of Trump's lies and airborne droplets of contagious disinformation in his Propaganda Hours and Two-Minute Hates would require Sisyphean heaves of determination that I simply don't have. But God bless 'em, three Washington Post reporters offer, this morning, a pithy survey of Trump's long-running snakeshit in their lede to "11 to 100,000: What went wrong with coronavirus testing in the U.S.":

We have it totally under control.
— Trump, in an interview, on Jan. 22

We're in great shape in our country. We have 11 [cases], and the 11 are getting better.
— Trump, in remarks, on Feb. 10

You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country.
— Trump, in a news conference, on Feb. 25

It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.
— Trump, in remarks, on Feb. 27

Anybody that needs a test, gets a test. They’re there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful.
— Trump, in remarks at CDC, Mar. 6 [On this, see my entry of Mar. 27.]

Trump's speechwriter did conceive one abnormally well-written line in yesterday's remarks that we and 194 other countries hope to heaven is true : No darkness can overshadow the eternal light of American courage.

We'll know if it's true on the night of Nov. 3.

Comments

[shsavage]

What Trump doesn't know, and couldn't comprehend if he did know, is that the vast majority of TVs are on mute until Dr. Fauci steps to the podium. Except for the media, of course, who hang on his every word like he were Jesus H. Christ.

[Anne J]

I'm so sick of the media giving so much air time to these mini MAGAt rallies. Even in this deadly serious time they are partying like it's 2016.

[Freesia]

There needs to be a collective boycott, people just refusing to watch as we can get information from the pros and the legitimate outside televised news. It would be a twofer, depriving him of the chance to preen, and it would deny him his daily lies and obscenities. (He's now insinuating that health care workers may want masks and gloves so they can create a black market. Which we can fairly judge as projection, cause God knows this fat fiend would dearly love to be profiteering.)

[Anne J]

Pretty much every lie he tells is pure projection. When he says things like that he is revealing much more about himself than he is about those he accuses. He thinks everyone is as rotten and dishonest and selfish as he is.

[Peter G]

The very best construction you can put on Trump’s observation on the number of countries is that one of the best people in his administration found the erroneous fact astonishing. Which means the people surrounding Trump are dumber than he is. Is that not comforting?