As the toll of the global pandemic is tallied in the United States, President Donald Trump, his administration and his allies are all hands on deck in a PR effort to minimize the appearance of the severity of the viral disease.
But on Thursday, the USA hit a few milestones.
In the morning, the death toll topped 1,000. By the time of this writing, that number climbed to 1,182.
By Thursday afternoon, the United States gained the distinction of having more known case of the virus than any other country. With a tally of 81,321 people known to have been infected, that put the USA ahead of China, Italy or any other country.
The total known cases in the USA now stands at 82,523 as of the time of this writing.
But Trump's personal lawyer and frequent media spokesman, Rudy Giuliani, shared a quote from Trump fan and controversial figure, Candace Owens, that sought to downplay the significance of these milestones.
“Approximately 7500 people die every day in the United States. That’s approximately 645,000 people so far this ye… https://t.co/fwhHQtczLd— Rudy W. Giuliani (@Rudy W. Giuliani) 1585241610.0
Who cares about 1,000 deaths—so far—in the United States from a single cause in a short period exacerbated by federal public health management failures?
A reporter for The New York Times decided to give Giuliani "Just a little perspective" too.
Some 3,000 people died on 9/11. Don’t recall this logic being used. https://t.co/SwmCHVjnp4— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1585242670.0
On September 11, 2001, 2,606 people from around the world died in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area while Giuliani was mayor of New York city. Approximately 2,300 of those killed were from the United States, with about 12% being foreign nationals.
The death toll from this current public health crisis will surely exceed that number if the pandemic is not taken seriously.
People wondered what the magic number was for a global pandemic with no vaccine or approved effective treatment.
@maggieNYT @yashar We could easily be up to 7500/deaths per day from the coronavirus in a couple weeks, considering… https://t.co/IyjQLLnxtZ— Pé (@Pé) 1585242961.0
@maggieNYT @yashar How many deaths from the coronavirus will be considered "too many" according to these people?— Pé (@Pé) 1585243045.0
@maggieNYT These tweets will age as badly as @realDonaldTrump 1054 dead SO FAR the total #killedbytrump is gonna be 'uuuuuge— Killed by Trump (@Killed by Trump) 1585242773.0
@maggieNYT @YesWeCan4Us Rudy is a conservative. Conservatives only care about themselves and people in their inner… https://t.co/dLEDIqzyvS— NY Hates Crooked Trump 🌊 (@NY Hates Crooked Trump 🌊) 1585243851.0
@maggieNYT And people are still being killed from the 9/11 fallout...Rudy’s “perspective” is vile. @RudyGiuliani sh… https://t.co/HhlVK9VVKQ— Bonzai (@Bonzai) 1585245195.0
@maggieNYT It's all relative right? https://t.co/Qu7hqmQPIf— JT (@JT) 1585242930.0
Some pointed out other statistically small impacts that occupy an inordinate amount of the Trump administration's time and taxpayers' money.
@juanadamas95 @maggieNYT Get over it, it's only a few people. Not the end of the world.— Chris Kattan Stan Account (@Chris Kattan Stan Account) 1585258234.0
@maggieNYT @DrPsyBuffy https://t.co/aYcLGY1P2q Next week it the tally will be 5,000. Three days after that it will… https://t.co/9tZc0pcF7R— Nathaniel Redlined Rage Meter (@Nathaniel Redlined Rage Meter) 1585245169.0
@maggieNYT @DrPsyBuffy Stocks dropping in value by 30% last week was a massive disaster though! I hate this stupid innumeracy.— Nathaniel Redlined Rage Meter (@Nathaniel Redlined Rage Meter) 1585245209.0
Although some pointed out those who agree it is no big deal are free to expose themselves to the virus and roll the dice for themselves and their families.
@maggieNYT https://t.co/tS49xoSdzo— Jenn Hunter (@Jenn Hunter) 1585242782.0
State and local governments issued shelter in place and self-isolation orders, closing non-essential businesses which eventually led to calls for the same from the federal government. But the Trump administration as well as GOP allies began calling for an end to such public health measures by the end of March despite the recommendations of experts in epidemiology.
People in the United States may soon need to decide if they trust a reality show host turned President or the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and innumerable medical and public health experts to protect their lives and the lives of the people they love.
For the untold story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11, check out Grand Illusion, available here.