Janelle Irwin Taylor
The Florida Medical Association is blasting President Donald Trump after he told supporters in Michigan on Friday that doctors were intentionally inflating COVID-19 deaths to make more money.
“The Florida Medical Association strongly condemns the malicious and baseless claims about the motives of doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attacking doctors and engaging in pandemic politics undermines public health and puts all of us in danger, said FMA President Dr. Mike Patete.
“The truth is that our nation’s doctors have selflessly put their own health and safety at risk treating COVID-19 patients. Many doctors, nurses and frontline healthcare workers have lost their lives serving our community during this pandemic. Like most of our fellow citizens, doctors have also suffered significant financial losses over the past eight months.”
Speaking in Waterford Township, Trump renewed claims he previously levied in Wisconsin last weekend.
“Our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right? I mean our doctors are very smart people. So what they do is they say, ‘I’m sorry, but everybody dies of COVID,'” Trump said in Michigan.
President Trump pushed a baseless conspiracy theory at one of his rallies in Michigan, claiming that "our doctors get more money if somebody dies from Covid." CNN's Jim Acosta reports. https://t.co/YlbgGo7qJT pic.twitter.com/oB7qnKUQ3x
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) October 30, 2020
Trump provided no basis for his claim, but the remarks echo others made throughout his campaign that seek to undermine official death counts as the pandemic wreaks havoc on his reelection bid.
Contrary to Trump’s claim, reputable scientists and publications say there is more evidence that COVID-19 deaths are being undercounted rather than overcounted.
A study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week indicated that an estimated 299,028 excess deaths occurred in the United States between Jan. 26 and Oct. 3 of this year. They attributed two thirds of those deaths to COVID-19.
The American Medical Association also fired back.
“Throughout this pandemic, physicians, nurses, and frontline health care workers have risked their health, their safety and their lives to treat their patients and defeat a deadly virus. They did it because duty called and because of the sacred oath they took,” said AMA President Dr. Susan Bailey.
“The suggestion that doctors — in the midst of a public health crisis — are overcounting COVID-19 patients or lying to line their pockets is a malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided charge. COVID-19 cases are at record highs today. Rather than attacking us and lobbing baseless charges at physicians, our leaders should be following the science and urging adherence to the public health steps we know work — wearing a mask, washing hands and practicing physical distancing.”
It’s not the first time Trump has insulted doctors working to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, Trump insinuated he thought Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, was an idiot.
“People are tired of hearing Fauci and these idiots, all these idiots who got it wrong,” Trump reportedly said on a call meant to discuss Election Day strategy, according to The New York Times.
On that same call, he reportedly called Fauci a “disaster.”
As of Saturday, some 230,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Florida has reported nearly 800,000 resident cases of COVID-19 and 16,761 residents have died.
“As our state once again faces an increase in COVID-19 cases, the Florida Medical Association strongly urges everyone to follow proven scientifically based guidelines to stop the spread of this deadly virus – wear a mask, avoid large public gatherings, maintain physical distance and wash your hands. By following these easy steps, we can move closer to our ultimate goal of defeating this virus,” Patete said.
4 comments
James Robert Miles
October 31, 2020 at 2:50 pm
Yes Trump, you moron, Doctors are making a fortune off of the people who are dying everyday because of your total ineptness! You are however, making the undertakers rich and I am sure you have a moneyed interest in funeral homes!
LINDIESUE
October 31, 2020 at 4:44 pm
The therapeutic Trump was given when at Walter Reed did not exist prior to COVID. It exists as a result of the President’s efforts to expedite (Operation Warp Speed) therapeutics, vaccines, ventilators, masks, tests and on (there were none as a result of the Obama/Biden Administration who let the stockpile dwindle.) Under Obama/Biden, over 60,000,000 Americans were infected with H1N1. Per Biden’s Chief of Staff: The snafu was the first of many scrambles and setbacks by the Obama administration in its initial response to the swine flu. POLITICO interviewed almost two dozen people, including administration officials, members of Congress and outsiders who contended with the administration’s response, and they described a litany of sadly familiar obstacles: vaccine shortfalls, fights over funding and sometimes contradictory messaging.”
“It is purely a fortuity that this isn’t one of the great mass casualty events in American history,” Ron Klain, who was Biden’s chief of staff at the time, said of H1N1 in 2019. “It had nothing to do with us doing anything right. It just had to do with luck.”
The same therapeutic that helped Trump he is now working on expediting its availability to the public.
In his February 4th State of the Union address, President Trump pledged to “take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from the virus.” Nancy Pelosi then ripped up the Address in front of the world. The President: Took early action to cut off travel from China and eventually Europe, which saved millions of lives; Built the world’s leading testing system from nothing (more than 65 million); Enacted mitigation measures to slow the spread; Mobilized public and private sectors to secure needed supplies; Took action to protect vulnerable Americans; Launched effort to deliver a vaccine and therapeutics in record time; Provided support to workers and businesses; Paved way for reopening to get America working again; Surged resources to hot spots as they arose.
In order to secure the supplies (PPE/ Masks/ventilators/handsanitizer/testing supplies urging private companies to produce them) needed to confront the surge in coronavirus we faced, President Trump led the largest mobilization of public and private sector resources since WWII.President Trump has acted under the Defense Production Act more than 30 times to ensure we have the supplies we need. When we faced a potentially catastrophic shortage of ventilators, President Trump took action to produce 100,000 ventilators and ensure no patient who needs one goes without a ventilator. President Trump moved swiftly to protect vulnerable communities.The Administration is investing approximately $2 billion in community health centers, helping their 28 million patients in medically underserved areas receive the care and testing they need.
Early in the fight against the virus, President Trump launched a historic effort to develop a vaccine and therapeutics in record time.
President Trump responded to the devastating toll the virus took on our businesses and workers and secured unprecedented financial support – through PPP, stimulus payments, tax relief to workers, unemployment benefits, student debt relief, prevented evictions or foreclosure.The President has provided support to states facing new emergences of the virus, including surging testing sites, deploying medical personnel, and advising on mitigation strategies.
Ocean Joe
October 31, 2020 at 8:16 pm
For the cut and paste gang from Politico:
“President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies between June and September may have caused some 30,000 coronavirus infections and more than 700 deaths, according to a new study by Stanford University economists.”
He is a reckless, selfish monster.
Sonja Fitch
November 1, 2020 at 12:50 pm
Morons that attend trump super spreaders are morons! The USA is number one in positive trumpvirus cases in the whole Fing world! The goptrump death cult is using and abusing supporters to implement Nazi herd immunity! Vote Democrat up and down ballot for the common good!
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