How Trump and Kushner Failed on Testing and Ventilators: A Closer Look

-Hello and welcome back to our makeshift attic studio. So far we have migrated from the hallway to the garage to the living room to the attic. And you might be wondering, what is that little door behind me? Is that where we keep our camping gear? Or is it a door to another dimension? And how about that little chair? Is it for my children or is it where the hobbit in the attic smokes his pipe and remembers the Battle of the Five Armies? I'm sorry to tell you that I will never tell. Now, we're all preparing for a very difficult few weeks (or months), but there are things the federal government could be doing right now to help us get through this.

Instead, the president has essentially abdicated responsibility to himself and left the states to their fate. To learn more about this, it's time for "A Closer Look." ♪♪ A pandemic like this requires a centralized federal response. You know how Republicans always complain about big government? Well, how sweet would a big government be right now? Because I don't know about you, but these little government things suck. It's like being on the top floor of a burning building, but instead of a catch net, firefighters show up with a small training trampoline. It seems like right now we've had to fend for ourselves.

For example, for weeks we were told that masks don't work and that we shouldn't wear them. Now, suddenly, the CDC is considering recommending the use of masks for all Americans. You may want answers about what you should do to protect yourself and others and why the government is changing its position. Instead, the best advice the president could offer on Tuesday was this: -You know, you can wear a scarf. A scarf is...everyone...many people have scarves. And you can wear a scarf. A scarf would be nice. I would say do it. But wear a scarf if you want.

I mean, most people have scarves and scarves are very good. -Oh great. Now the president is Martha Stewart. With a blanket, a bike helmet, and some Saran wrap, you can make your own hazmat suit. Homemade. Pretty cool. But it is true. Most people have scarves and no one has more scarves than Lenny Kravitz. So everyone breathe easy. Lenny Kravitz is safe. I mean, obviously the man has been preparing for this moment his entire life. I mean,

look

at that. Not only can he wear that scarf, but he can also share it with two other people while maintaining a two-meter difference.

Now, it is true that there is evidence that wearing a mask or some other type of facial covering, even something rudimentary, can prevent the asymptomatic spread of the disease. You can use a handkerchief. You can use a cloth. Just don't be a guy who wears a Jason mask. I mean, one, it's weird and two, it literally has holes in it. Jason, come on man, that mask is not CDC approved. Haven't you killed enough people, Jason? Now, the president could have gone into detail about that or any other important topic during his Wednesday briefing, but instead, he chose to brag about this: -Did you know he was number one on Facebook?

I mean, I just found out I'm number one on Facebook. I thought that was very cute. -What are you talking about, man? Are you in the middle of a deadly pandemic and bragging about how popular you are on Facebook? First of all, of course you are popular on Facebook. It's the preferred method of communication for drunk aunts and people who still own flip phones. Being number one on Facebook is like, I don't know, having the number one album in Belgium. I mean, good for you, I guess. But your album probably sucks. And by the way, that's not even true.

You only have 28 million followers on Facebook. Barack Obama has 53 million. I wish someone would point this out to Trump because it would really bother him. He would force the CDC to update its coronavirus guidelines. One, stay home. Two, wash your hands. Three, follow Donald Trump on Facebook, but stay six feet away from Barack Obama. We heard that he is friends with Tom Hanks on Facebook. So his page definitely, he definitely has it now. The fate we are currently experiencing and the months of difficulties ahead were not inevitable. Hundreds of thousands of people dying, a national lockdown that has disrupted everyday life...

None of that had to happen. I mean, just

look

at the countries that managed to successfully contain the crisis: countries much

closer

to China, the source of the outbreak, like Taiwan. -Taiwan is just off the coast of mainland China. Millions of people travel between Taiwan and mainland China. Johns Hopkins University had predicted that Taiwan would have the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world. But today there are 80 countries and territories with more than 329 cases from Taiwan. -Taiwan has managed to contain COVID-19 since its arrival. The first step Taiwan took was to identify possible cases. Lee told authorities that he had had a cough for the past two weeks.

Then security escorted her to secondary control. She had her temperature taken like this woman and was tested for COVID-19 at the airport. Taiwan uploads these results to its national healthcare database. After her suitcases were disinfected, she took her home herself in a government-provided taxi. A phone app allows Taiwan residents to find stores with masks in stock. Another app provides information on everyone who tests positive for COVID-19, where they have been and their background. -Holy, they take your temperature, they give you a test, they disinfect your suitcases, they take you home, an app that tells you where to buy masks and they give you six months of free Showtime.

Quarantine yourself and don't go out until you've watched every episode of "Shameless." That's certainly better than what our government is doing. Compare that to when you arrive at an airport in the US. The closest someone gets to having their temperature taken is when a TSA agent performs a full cavity search on them because they accidentally packed a bottle of shampoo that weighed more than 3 ,4 oz. Or if you don't want to look at Taiwan, take Iceland, another country that is using advanced strategies to track and isolate coronavirus cases, including detective work. -Over the past few weeks, Detective Gestur Palmason has been following leads and chasing suspects.

He is on the hunt for COVID-19, where he and dozens of other detectives are tracking every coronavirus case in the country. -As quickly as we can, we have to reach everyone who may have been in contact with someone who is positive and try to stop them before they come into contact with more people. -They literally have detectives tracking cases. Not only is it an effective method of containing the disease, but it's also a great premise for a Netflix crime drama starring Kenneth Branagh as Detective Gestur Palmason. Hi Kenneth, I'm very excited to work with you. Have you worked with the Icelandic accent?

I think I'll use my British accent. Yes, but no, it takes place in Iceland, so everyone will have an Icelandic accent. No, I think everyone else should be British too. Yes, but Kenneth, wouldn't that be strange? I'm sorry friend. Those are Kenny Branagh's rules. And that was a long clip for people who watched the BBC production of the Swedish crime drama "Wallander." Hey, the penthouse shows are going to have some deep cuts, y'all. Those are the rules. One of the biggest takeaways from Iceland's approach is that by aggressively

testing

everyone, they have been able to avoid having to lock down the entire country like we did. -It is very important to test very aggressively.

We isolate those who test positive. And we also do contact tracing very aggressively. We quarantine all contacts. And it's interesting that more than half of those we are diagnosing now are actually in quarantine when they are diagnosed, which means that our quarantine policy is probably very effective in minimizing the epidemic. -This has allowed the authorities here to delay the closure of bars and restaurants like in many other major cities. Some stores remain open. People still walk the streets and explore the outdoors. -They can still go out. And its exterior is impressive. They have lagoons and volcanoes.

The closest thing to a lagoon we have here in the US is Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, and that thing is the Germinal City. They should call it Typhoid Lagoon. So in Iceland they can go out. Meanwhile, in New York, to go out into the street you have to wrap your head in scarves and swerve into the street to maintain a six-foot distance from people on the sidewalk. At this point, you're better off riding in the back of a garbage truck. New Yorkers are not used to avoiding people. They are used to bumping into people. That's why the line from "Midnight Cowboy" was, "Hey, I'm walking here!" not: "Hey, I'm trying to keep a safe distance of at least six feet here!" And then there's South Korea, which had its first case on the exact same day we had our first case.

They implemented mass

testing

nationwide to track and contain the spread of the disease. As Fox News discovered on Wednesday, when they invited a doctor, who was much more critical of the Trump administration than they probably expected. -Now, what we hear every night is that the tests, that there are millions of tests available. And yet, we don't have that prick blood test that you can get, you know, from your local doctor and know in 15 minutes. But they are working on it. -Yes, they are working on it. They should have been working on it for months. So the fact is that we found out about this from the WHO, when?

December 31, 2019. We found out about this last year. We needed this months ago. If you look at Korea, Korea: South Korea and the United States had their first official confirmed case on the same date: January 19. Let me say this: January 19th. Look at what South Korea did and what we did. Their population is 1/6 of ours. Look at the cases they have. Look at the mortality they have. It is a trifle compared to what we are facing now. Because we've had a very weak response and they've had a really strong response. -Oh man. Fox News viewers never hear that kind of real conversation.

You asked the wrong doctor. That's like asking your weird uncle if Santa is real. Not only is it not real, but it is simply a construct of a consumerist system designed to melt your brains before you learn to think for yourself. Anyway... ho, ho, ho. I brought you some scratching posts. Plus, I love how long she shakes her head while she repeats Trump's talking points. They should put that guy in a box on the screen during all of Trump's press conferences. -This is a flu. This is like a flu. -So South Korea contained the outbreak with aggressive testing.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, our president said in a conference call with governors, he hadn't even heard of problems with testing. -Do you have any system in place that you believe can adequately identify cases, isolate and track them? Are there capabilities and resources that are not something you can do with what you have? -Dr. Fauci, we are trying to trace contacts. But we are literally a day away if we don't receive testing kits from the CDC that we couldn't do in Montana. We simply don't have enough supplies to do the testing. -Tony, you can respond if you want, but I haven't heard about tests in weeks.

I haven't heard of testing being a problem. -If you haven't heard of testing being a problem, then you need to get tested to see if you have a problem, such as a hearing test or a vision test. I mean, maybe Trump just can't read the reports on him. Look at it. Every time he reads a teleprompter, he looks like he just finished 15 rounds with Apollo Creed. And now that we've

failed

on testing, we have to massively increase hospital capacity, something the Trump administration is also failing to do. For example, hospitals desperately need life-saving

ventilators

. And yet, the president doesn't even know their names. -We ship thousands of generators to New York.

The people of New York never distributed the generators. -Fans! They are called fans! Having this guy in charge is like sending your grandpa to GameStop to buy video games. I need the new Line of Duty for the X-Station Play-Box. Also, now is not the time to send your grandpa to GameStop, you coward. Just go, grandpa. You will be safe. Trump doesn't even know what the

ventilators

are called. Here are the emergency ventriloquists they asked for. Oh, actually, we said fans. I told you he said fans, you fool. "I'm not the fool. You're the fool! Why should I!

Now, Trump should have used his powers under the Defense Production Act to order companies to make ventilators weeks ago, but he's only done so once during this pandemic, although his administration has apparently used it repeatedly before this, "The New York Times" reported that the Law ofDefense Production has been invoked hundreds of thousands of times in the Trump years. But with the pandemic, the president sees it as a "break the glass" last resort. Hey, man. It's time to break the glass. It was already time to break the glass weeks ago. Of course, knowing Trump, If you have one of those "Break the glass in case of emergency" boxes.

In the White House, it's probably not a fire alarm, but, you know, like an emergency chicken wing. And they probably have hundreds of them. them on the wall because he breaks one every five minutes. Sir, if you want a chicken wing, You can ask the chef. I didn't have time. So now we have a situation where the states are asking for ventilators to save. lives and Trump's team is in disarray. The Pentagon says it has not yet sent ventilators because it has not been told where to send them And the "New York Times" reported that thousands of ventilators in the stockpile are not working because the government let the. contract to maintain the reserve expired last summer.

So now governors are literally outbidding each other on the open market and dealing with shady middlemen and price gouging to buy ventilators wherever they can get them. -Each state makes its own purchases. So New York is buying. California Shopping. Illinois is buying. We are all trying to buy the same product, literally the exact same item. So you have 50 states competing to buy the same item. We all end up bidding against each other and competing against each other, where now literally a company will call you and say, "Well, California just outbid you." It's like being on eBay with 50 other states bidding on a ventilator. -It's the Wild West.

And these are crazy markets and there are a lot of bad actors. -It's more like a price increase on Uber, only at the last moment, the car leaves because someone has outbid you. -That's how it is. Governors are likening the purchase of life-saving ventilators during a pandemic to a price increase. This is capitalism at its worst. While Trump waits for the market to decide, people are literally going to die and states are being scammed. Like they can't wait to call an Uber in the rain in Midtown after a Broadway show. And what's worse, the fans come with a driver who keeps trying to start a conversation even though he's clearly trying to take a nap.

And you'll never guess who's in charge of this show: the guy Slender Man has nightmares about: Jared Kushner. That's how it is. The real Slim Shady has been put in charge of the fan problem. And after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo publicly said his state needed 30,000 more ventilators, Kushner apparently backed down. Kushner told people that Cuomo is being alarmist. "I have all this data on ICU capacity. I'm making my own projections and I've gotten a lot smarter about it. New York doesn't need all the ventilators. Uh-oh, you're making your own." Did your parents just buy you a TI-84?

You are not qualified to do anything, let alone tell New York how many ventilators they need. You're a case of nepotism and you only got the job at the White House. he married into the family and because the security guards believed his false identification. "You're ready, Mr. Cowboy." And, hey, give that virus hell." I hope that when the moment of reckoning comes, we can all remember that it didn't have to be this way. Other countries responded to this pandemic competently and avoided the worst. Now we "We are preparing for an unimaginable tragedy. And as we speak, the president is leaving beleaguered states and hospitals to fend for themselves, putting lives at risk.

But hey, at least... -Most people have scarves." A

closer

look." ♪♪ Stay safe. Wash your hands.