September 17, 2020

The talking heads on CNN were at a loss after Trump contradicted Dr. Robert Redfield's congressional testimony yesterday that a vaccine won't be widely distributed until sometime next spring or summer, and that wearing masks was the most effective tool we have against coronavirus. Trump said last night that Redfield was "confused" and "misunderstood" the question.

"Dana, it was a pretty extraordinary moment and I am being polite right now to hear the president of the United States suggest on these two very critical, important issues that the head of the CDC effectively is wrong," Wolf Blitzer.

"Wolf, what we just saw and heard from the president of the United States was propaganda," Dana Bash said.

"There is really no other way to say it. It was propaganda, plain and simple. He wants things to be a certain way for his own political agenda and he is saying science be damned. And on both of those issues, it was remarkable to see him throw his CDC director under the bus, the CDC director who was testifying under oath earlier in the day. He clearly wasn't happy with him. He admitted that he called and chastised Dr. Redfield. But it is really remarkable."

She said Redfield had two options: Fall on his sword, or defend science.

"I don't know what he is going to do. Maybe he'll come out and say, you know, I misspoke. But it is hard to imagine that because if you watch him like we did today and you just played the clips again, he really understood the questions. And he knew what he was doing holding up that mask. He knew that he was intentionally trying to fact check and correct the president of the United States after last night he made some misleading comments, very misleading comments about masks which the president again repeated today.

"He is out there saying that he doesn't believe that masks are effective. Well, he is not a doctor. Why don't you listen to the scientists who say so? If he does believe that people aren't using masks well, use that podium, use your bully pulpit to explain how to do that. Don't touch your face, things like that. And it is -- we've seen so many of these events now unfortunately, Wolf, and had to comment on them afterwards. and this was something that really took my breath away. I know you probably feel the same way."

Looks like the CDC director is trying to placate Trump while still speaking the truth:

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