Trump news: President denies responsibility for people drinking bleach to fight coronavirus as tweetstorm branded ‘indecent and obscene’
As the number of US coronavirus cases climbs above 1 million and the nation's death toll surpasses deaths from the Vietnam War, Donald Trump claims the country is "very close" to testing 5 million people daily, as he continues to pressure states and local governments to begin "reopening" as the economy flounders.
The president also suggested during a briefing on Tuesday that states with financial deficits could be forced to give undocumented people in custody over to federal immigration authorities if they want financial relief in the wake of the public health crisis.
He said: "We're not looking to recover 25 years of bad management and to give them the money they lost. That's unfair to other states. If it's Covid-related I guess we can talk about it, but we'd want certain things also, including sanctuary city adjustments. We have too many people in sanctuary cities."
His administration has frequently retaliated against states with "sanctuary" policies that limit cooperation with federal enforcement agencies like ICE. In a reversal just days before the outbreak, the Justice Department was given permission in US District Court to withhold funding from New York and seven other states over their policies.
The president has also denied responsibility for Americans ingesting disinfectants after Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had received calls asking about it as a weapon against coronavirus in the wake of the president suggesting it could be an effective remedy during a briefing last week.
His claims follow a turbulent few days at the White House after he suggested Americans could inject disinfectant as a potential cure, with aides reportedly pitching an end to the daily coronavirus briefing format to prevent the president from damaging his re-election chances. He also said he the briefings were no longer worth it, though he has held two press conferences since making that statement on Twitter.
Meanwhile the president has deleted several tweets attacking the media over coverage of the federal response to the crisis after they were met with criticism and mockery, with CNN anchor Jake Tapper describing his posting of a disturbing deepfake video of Joe Biden as “indecent and obscene”.
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