Donald Trump quoted himself on Sunday, calling himself the “King of Ventilators” and pointing out that his administration was right on the number of machines needed and governors were, in fact, wrong:
Just like I was right on Ventilators (our Country is now the “King of Ventilators”, other countries are calling asking for help-we will!), I am right on testing. Governors must be able to step up and get the job done. We will be with you ALL THE WAY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2020
What he’s talking about is Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call for 30,000 ventilators at a time when it was becoming clear that nowhere near that number would be needed:
Jared Kushner encouraged Trump to push back against Gov. Cuomo after Cuomo said New York was short 30,000 ventilators, VF reports. In a White House meeting around this time, Kushner told people that Cuomo was being an alarmist. https://t.co/4M1Nw7qTHy
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 1, 2020
Jared Kushner was pilloried for it as well when he pushed back on that during a coronavirus briefing earlier in the month:
Pres Trump has questioned whether governors need requested equipment. "I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," he said.
Jared Kushner says today governors need to show "there's a real need." He said, "Most governors off the bat didn't know what they needed."
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 2, 2020
Guys, it’s OK to say it. It won’t kill you: JARED AND TRUMP WERE RIGHT:
"Some governors you speak to or senators, and they don't know what's in their state" — Jared Kushner says he knows better than state governors and US senators about how many ventilators are in their states pic.twitter.com/26pQltZtI7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 2, 2020
But, of course, they won’t let Trump have this one:
Trump's angle is clear. He's "right" about any upside. Anything that goes wrong is on governors or the people who can't get the job done well enough not to die. https://t.co/aVopk50cTp
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 19, 2020
“It’s a branding move”:
The self-quote quote marks are there to nudge friendly outlets and commentators to repeat the language. It’s a branding move. https://t.co/jnOVhGa22Z
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 19, 2020
The president can’t win:
If @realDonaldTrump spent a little less time congratulating himself, more people would be alive today. https://t.co/VKikKL8HKt
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 19, 2020
The upside to all this is that the U.S. will soon start exporting excess ventilators all over the world:
Trump's failed presidential legacy: "The King of Ventilators." https://t.co/XUhpIBPlch
— Maximillian Potter (@maxapotter) April 19, 2020
Oh, and the president’s point in that tweet above was to point out that, echoing Dr. Fauci on Friday, there will be enough tests to begin opening the country for Phase 1:
MD Gov. Hogan (R) on CNN this am: "I think this is probably the number one problem in America & has been from the beginning of this crisis, the lack of testing, & I have repeatedly made this argument to the leaders in Washington on behalf of the rest of the governors in America" https://t.co/5pIzFUomsx
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) April 19, 2020
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