As President Donald Trump pushes to reopen the country amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, he and members of his White House have access to something the vast majority of ordinary citizens do not: readily available tests that take just minutes to complete.
The discrepancy in testing became even more pronounced last week when several staffers close to the president and vice president tested positive for COVID-19. The news rattled the White House and threatened to undermine the Trump administration’s narrative that it’s safe to open up the country and return to work.
“People close to the president are getting tested every day,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on Tuesday. “No wonder the president thinks testing is widely available. It’s not.”
During a press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said the nation has “met the moment and we have prevailed” when it comes to coronavirus testing. He argued that broad coronavirus restrictions pose a risk, too ― in the form of permanent economic damage and additional suicide deaths.
However, America is well below a number of nations in testing per capita, including Denmark, Italy, N