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Graham contradicts Trump: U.S. 'still struggling with testing on a large scale'
The South Carolina senator's concerns echo those of governors and businesses across the country.
By MYAH WARD
04/16/2020 02:42 PM EDT
Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, is acknowledging the United States is ?still struggling with testing on a large scale" as the administration readies a push to reopen the stagnant American economy.
Graham absolved the White House of blame for the testing shortfall, which has crippled the country's efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus and pinpoint emerging hot spots for the disease. The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. has plummeted over the past week, raising fresh questions about the Trump administration's management of the outbreak.
The South Carolina senator's concerns echo those of governors and businesses across the country, who have urged the federal government to do more to ensure there are enough test kits to meet the need. Health experts say it is not yet safe to lift the stringent social-distancing measures states have enacted until the widespread testing shortfalls are addressed.
?On what we need to do better, I think the key to me is testing. I can?t really blame the president, but we are struggling with testing on a large scale,? Graham said on ?The View? on Thursday. ?You can?t really go back to work until we have more tests that shows who has it and who doesn?t, and we?re beginning to turn the corner on that.?
Graham?s comments stand in stark contrast with Trump?s repeated praise of the U.S. testing system and the tests that he calls "the best of any country in the world." Occasionally, the president has acknowledged shortcomings with the testing regimen, but he has more often sought to shift responsibility elsewhere.
Asked Wednesday, for instance, about the clamor from business leaders who believe ramped-up testing is needed to reopen their stores, Trump said it?s ?what I want, too.? But he quickly emphasized that it was up to states to solve the problem.
The South Carolina senator's concerns echo those of governors and businesses across the country.
By MYAH WARD
04/16/2020 02:42 PM EDT
Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, is acknowledging the United States is ?still struggling with testing on a large scale" as the administration readies a push to reopen the stagnant American economy.
Graham absolved the White House of blame for the testing shortfall, which has crippled the country's efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus and pinpoint emerging hot spots for the disease. The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. has plummeted over the past week, raising fresh questions about the Trump administration's management of the outbreak.
The South Carolina senator's concerns echo those of governors and businesses across the country, who have urged the federal government to do more to ensure there are enough test kits to meet the need. Health experts say it is not yet safe to lift the stringent social-distancing measures states have enacted until the widespread testing shortfalls are addressed.
?On what we need to do better, I think the key to me is testing. I can?t really blame the president, but we are struggling with testing on a large scale,? Graham said on ?The View? on Thursday. ?You can?t really go back to work until we have more tests that shows who has it and who doesn?t, and we?re beginning to turn the corner on that.?
Graham?s comments stand in stark contrast with Trump?s repeated praise of the U.S. testing system and the tests that he calls "the best of any country in the world." Occasionally, the president has acknowledged shortcomings with the testing regimen, but he has more often sought to shift responsibility elsewhere.
Asked Wednesday, for instance, about the clamor from business leaders who believe ramped-up testing is needed to reopen their stores, Trump said it?s ?what I want, too.? But he quickly emphasized that it was up to states to solve the problem.
