{"id":1030186,"date":"2024-03-19T19:08:07","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T19:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1030186"},"modified":"2024-05-10T19:45:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T19:45:06","slug":"attn-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-yes-we-are-better-off-today-than-four-years-ago-in-march-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/attn-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-yes-we-are-better-off-today-than-four-years-ago-in-march-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"ATTN: RNC Chair Michael Whatley: Yes, We Are Better Off Today Than Four Years Ago in March 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to RNC Chair Michael Whatley <\/em>asking<\/em><\/a> voters if they are better off today than four years ago during the toilet paper shortages and skyrocketing unemployment of the early COVID crisis, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four years ago, Donald Trump was already failing in the country\u2019s coronavirus response and refusing to take any responsibility for massive testing delays. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business Insider<\/a>: \u201c’I don’t take responsibility’: Trump says he’s not to blame for persistent delays in coronavirus testing from the CDC\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe US was far slower to produce test kits through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than other countries, creating ongoing delays in getting the tests to state-level public-health authorities and healthcare providers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot only has the US tested far fewer of its citizens per capita than other developed countries, but doctors and patients have also expressed frustration at US patients not meeting the CDC guidelines for testing or being able to get a test despite showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated Press<\/a>: \u201cTrump disbanded NSC pandemic unit that experts had praised\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPublic health and national security experts shake their heads when President Donald Trump says the coronavirus \u2018came out of nowhere\u2019 and \u2018blindsided the world.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been warning about the next pandemic for years and criticized the Trump administration\u2019s decision in 2018 to dismantle a National Security Council directorate at the White House charged with preparing for when, not if, another pandemic would hit the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018It would be nice if the office was still there,\u2019 Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health, told Congress this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump also began touting unproven COVID treatments like hydroxychloroquine as the crisis grew, which potentially resulted in the deaths of thousands who used these treatments.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomberg<\/a>: \u201cTrump Touts Drug That FDA Says Isn\u2019t Yet Approved for Virus\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cHydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during Covid, study finds\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNearly 17,000 people may have died after taking hydroxychloroquine during the first wave of Covid-19, according to a study by French researchers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the stock market was in free fall and unemployment was soaring as families struggled to find basic goods like toilet paper.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNBC<\/a>: \u201cDow drops nearly 3,000 points, as coronavirus collapse continues; worst day since \u201987\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStocks fell sharply Monday \u2014 with the Dow suffering its worst day since the \u2018Black Monday\u2019 market crash in 1987 and its third-worst day ever \u2014 even after the Federal Reserve embarked on a massive monetary stimulus campaign to curb slower economic growth amid the coronavirus outbreak. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2,997.10 points lower, or 12.9%, at 20,188.52. The 30-stock Dow was briefly down more than 3,000 points in the final minutes of trading. The S&P 500 dropped 12% to 2,386.13 \u2014 hitting its lowest level since December 2018 \u2014 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 12.3% lower at 6,904.59 in its worst day ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018The markets are getting no break with yesterday\u2019s historic Fed actions and COVID-19 dominating the world\u2019s headlines,\u2019 Frank Cappelleri, executive director at Instinet, said in a note. \u2018While the news continues to worsen and with the price action doing things we\u2019ve only seen a handful of other times in the last century, it\u2019s nearly impossible to keep things in perspective.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNBC<\/a>: \u201cCoronavirus: State unemployment websites crash as applications surge\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorkers who have suddenly found themselves without a paycheck because of the growing coronavirus pandemic in the United States are now dealing with another frustration \u2014 state unemployment websites crashing because of high traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cCoronavirus Cost to Businesses and Workers: \u2018It Has All Gone to Hell\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has a crisis enveloped so much of the economy so quickly. Broadway is dark. The college basketball tournaments are canceled and professional sports are on indefinite hold. Conferences, concerts and St. Patrick\u2019s Day parades have been called off or postponed. Even Disneyland \u2014 which stayed open through a recession a decade ago that wiped out millions of American jobs and trillions of dollars in wealth \u2014 is shuttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018This hits the heart of the economy, and it hits the economy on all sides,\u2019 said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. \u2018It\u2019s not just that we\u2019re slowing down things. We\u2019re actually hitting the pause button, and there is no precedent, there is no mold for that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BDN<\/a>: \u201cIf you run out of toilet paper, here’s what you can use instead\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the novel coronavirus reaching pandemic levels, everyone has been stockpiling for the Centers for Disease Control\u2019s recommended social distancing, self-isolation and self-quarantine, which could last for several weeks. That\u2019s led to stores running out of products like hand sanitizer, hand soap and toilet paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHopefully, you have enough toilet paper or flushable wipes to last your family for the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While President Biden has helped create nearly 15 million new jobs, Trump had the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover \u2013 and job growth had slowed even before the pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortune<\/a>: \u201cTrump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cPresident Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomberg<\/a>: \u201cTrump\u2019s Jobs Record Fell Short of Promises Even Before the Virus\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomberg<\/a>: \u201cJob growth was slightly slower in Trump\u2019s first three years before Covid than it was during the last three years of the Obama administration, when the economy added 2.7 million jobs a year on average. Under Trump, that average was 2.2 million, until this year\u2019s tumult more than wiped out the gains.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to RNC Chair Michael Whatley asking voters if they are better off today than four years ago during the toilet paper shortages and skyrocketing unemployment of the early COVID crisis, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:  \u201cYes.\u201d Four years ago, Donald Trump was already failing in the country\u2019s coronavirus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1030186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nATTN: RNC Chair Michael Whatley: Yes, We Are Better Off Today Than Four Years Ago in March 2020 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/attn-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-yes-we-are-better-off-today-than-four-years-ago-in-march-2020\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-19T19:08:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-10T19:45:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/War-Room-Master-Image.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/attn-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-yes-we-are-better-off-today-than-four-years-ago-in-march-2020\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/attn-rnc-chair-michael-whatley-yes-we-are-better-off-today-than-four-years-ago-in-march-2020\/\",\"name\":\"ATTN: RNC Chair Michael Whatley: Yes, We Are Better Off Today Than Four Years Ago in March 2020 - 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