Trump did not defund the CDC or Fire His Entire Pandemic Response Team

[JimBowie1958]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

 

[JimBowie1958]

Partly false claim: Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018

Correction: the headline of this fact-check earlier read "Trump fired pandemic response team in 2018", it has been amended to "Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018"

www.reuters.com

The Global Health Security and Biodefense unit — responsible for pandemic preparedness — was established in 2015 by Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice ( here ). The unit resided under the National Security Council (NSC) — a forum of White House personnel that advises the president on national security and foreign policy matters.​

​

In May 2018, the team was disbanded and its head Timothy Ziemer, top White House official in the NSC for leading U.S. response against a pandemic, left the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported ( here ). Some members of the global health and security team were merged into other units within the NSC, the article said.​

​

The reorganization followed John Bolton’s appointment as national security advisor, and the departure of Tom Bossert, the homeland security advisor who the Post wrote “had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks.”​

​

CONFLICTING OPINIONS ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEAM ​

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Beth Cameron, former Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense in the NSC, wrote, “When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact.​

​

“Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic. One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19” ( here ).​

​

​

Three days later, Tim Morrison, former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the NSC, wrote in another Washington Post Op-Ed, “It is true that the Trump administration has seen fit to shrink the NSC staff. But the bloat that occurred under the previous administration clearly needed a correction. … One such move at the NSC was to create the counterproliferation and biodefense directorate, which was the result of consolidating three directorates into one, given the obvious overlap between arms control and nonproliferation, weapons of mass destruction terrorism, and global health and biodefense. It is this reorganization that critics have misconstrued or intentionally misrepresented. If anything, the combined directorate was stronger because related expertise could be commingled” ( here ).​

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

Never EVER take the word of a Democrat for anything!

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

Still chopping and mincing word salad up in a desperate attempt to salvage Trump's presidency?
Sorry, his fate is sealed. He dropped the ball. Period. End of story.
Did Trump Administration Fire the US Pandemic Response Team?

 

[ReinyDays]

Smaller government means NO pandemic response capabilities ... a fundamental Republican plank since at least 1944 ...
Both partes lie ... the truth can be found in between ... and if we want science to take its proper course, we'll going to be waiting awhile ...

 

[Flopper]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

Trump has been having run ins with the CDC almost since the day he took office. Scientist had been telling him things about global warming, pandemics, transgenders, privatization, HIV, etc that did not fit in with his politician agenda or his beliefs. No wonder he wanted to cut their budget. What Trump wants is loyalty and support, not scientist warning him of dire consequences if he pursues his agenda. I think he's now on his 3rd CDC director. Trump simply does not trust what scientist tell him and that certainly included Covid 19

After two months of making political moves to deal with the virus and attempting to dismiss the warnings of the CDC, he was forced to listen to them but by then we were moving into the mitigation phase of the epidemic. Containment was no longer possible. That boat had sailed.

 

[georgephillip]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

You really can't comprehend the danger of trusting the public health claims of a pathological liar during a pandemic?

Why is that?

Did Trump Administration Fire the US Pandemic Response Team?

"Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer abruptly departed from his post leading the global health security team on the National Security Council in May 2018 amid a reorganization of the council by then-National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Ziemer’s team was disbanded.

"Tom Bossert, whom the Washington Post reported 'had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks,' had been fired one month prior.

"It’s thus true that the Trump administration axed the executive branch team responsible for coordinating a response to a pandemic and did not replace it, eliminating Ziemer’s position and reassigning others, although Bolton was the executive at the top of the National Security Council chain of command at the time."

 

[IM2]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

John Bolton was hired by trump and could only do that with trumps permission. The former director of the pandemic team has stated what happened. Furthermore, trumps own administration ran a pandemic simulation and warned trump that we were not prepared and he did not listen.

It's time to stop making excuses for trumps incompetence.

 

[georgephillip]

Furthermore, trumps own administration ran a pandemic simulation and warned trump that we were not prepared and he did not listen.

"WASHINGTON — The outbreak of the respiratory virus began in China and was quickly spread around the world by air travelers, who ran high fevers. In the United States, it was first detected in Chicago, and 47 days later, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.

"By then it was too late: 110 million Americans were expected to become ill, leading to 7.7 million hospitalized and 586,000 dead.

"That scenario, code-named 'Crimson Contagion' and imagining an influenza pandemic, was simulated by the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services in a series of exercises that ran from last January to August."(2019)

Before Virus Outbreak, a Cascade of Warnings Went Unheeded

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Enemy democrats say the same thing over and over again until you just get tired of correcting them and let it go. This is a very common tactic in communism and is taught in every communist school.

 

[Kat]

Yes he did. No he didn't. Yes he did. No he didn't. Time for recess kiddo's.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

We should never have a global response team. Or a global anything. It goes without even mention that anything that came from shitstain obama had to GO. Immediately as harmful. That the shitstain even had a global response team was completely wrong. But he was a globalist looking forward to some European cock to suck.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

Smaller government means NO pandemic response capabilities ... a fundamental Republican plank since at least 1944 ...
Both partes lie ... the truth can be found in between ... and if we want science to take its proper course, we'll going to be waiting awhile ...

So unless the federal government does something it doesnt get done?

You have no idea how our system actually works

 

[Mercurialmind]

How many times will Dimocrats repeat this slander against our President while still covering up for China Communist leadership?

Democrats' Misleading Coronavirus Claims - FactCheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration's response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right.

www.factcheck.org

Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump for his administration’s response to the new coronavirus, making claims about cuts to public health programs and the silencing of government experts. But they haven’t always gotten their facts right:​

​

It’s true that the president’s budget proposals have consistently called for reduced funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Congress hasn’t enacted those cuts. Some Democrats have correctly said Trump “tried” to implement such cuts, while others wrongly claimed he “slashed funding of the CDC” or “cut the funding,” in the words of Democratic presidential candidates Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden, respectively.​

Biden said Trump “tried to defund the NIH.” Trump did propose cutting NIH funding, but lawmakers instead have enacted increases.​

Multiple Democrats, including Bloomberg and Biden, have criticized Trump for getting rid of a pandemic response position on the National Security Council. The position was eliminated, although John Bolton, then-national security adviser, was the person directly responsible.​

Biden went too far when he claimed that Trump “hasn’t allowed his scientists to speak” about the coronavirus. It’s true that the government’s top scientists on infectious disease were told to clear their media interviews through a coronavirus task force, but they have since made numerous public appearances.​

Still chopping and mincing word salad up in a desperate attempt to salvage Trump's presidency?
Sorry, his fate is sealed. He dropped the ball. Period. End of story.
Did Trump Administration Fire the US Pandemic Response Team?

For one reason or another, some folks choose to die on the hill of a sociopathic liar and thief. Nearly every federal agency was gutted under this fetid administration.



"A people that elect corrupt politicians, impostors, thieves and traitors are not victims...but accomplices"
- George Orwell

 

[Mercurialmind]

We should never have a global response team. Or a global anything. It goes without even mention that anything that came from shitstain obama had to GO. Immediately as harmful. That the shitstain even had a global response team was completely wrong. But he was a globalist looking forward to some European cock to suck.

So we build a wall to keep viruses out? Explain how effective that would be. Oh right...maybe if we put up no trespassing signs that say "viruses this means you!" And btw.. it appears that Trump is the one who polishes the knobs of foreign dictators as opposed to practicing diplomacy with allies.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

We should never have a global response team. Or a global anything. It goes without even mention that anything that came from shitstain obama had to GO. Immediately as harmful. That the shitstain even had a global response team was completely wrong. But he was a globalist looking forward to some European cock to suck.

So we build a wall to keep viruses out? Explain how effective that would be. Oh right...maybe if we put up no trespassing signs that say "viruses this means you!"

Open the border to hunting we won't need no tresspassing signs.

We pay attention to what is going on in THIS country not shoving our noses in what's going on in other countries.

 

[Mercurialmind]

We should never have a global response team. Or a global anything. It goes without even mention that anything that came from shitstain obama had to GO. Immediately as harmful. That the shitstain even had a global response team was completely wrong. But he was a globalist looking forward to some European cock to suck.

So we build a wall to keep viruses out? Explain how effective that would be. Oh right...maybe if we put up no trespassing signs that say "viruses this means you!"

Open the border to hunting we won't need no tresspassing signs.

We pay attention to what is going on in THIS country not shoving our noses in what's going on in other countries.

Do you not understand that you cannot protect and isolate the USA from a pandemic unless the health of the global community is addressed? Here's a little known secret...VIRUSES DON'T NEED PASSPORTS!!! Just how do you suppose we prevented Ebola from taking hold here in the USA? Thankfully, Trump was not in charge then. We'd be in a shitload of hurt.

 

[two_iron]

We should never have a global response team. Or a global anything. It goes without even mention that anything that came from shitstain obama had to GO. Immediately as harmful. That the shitstain even had a global response team was completely wrong. But he was a globalist looking forward to some European cock to suck.

So we build a wall to keep viruses out? Explain how effective that would be. Oh right...maybe if we put up no trespassing signs that say "viruses this means you!" And btw.. it appears that Trump is the one who polishes the knobs of foreign dictators as opposed to practicing diplomacy with allies.

The entire planet is quarantining now. Any idea what that word means? Probably not.... let me walk you through it. It means stay inside the WALLS of your residence.

Yes, my little substandard defect.... walls do prevent the spreading of the Wuhan Flu.

 

[White 6]

Partly false claim: Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018

Correction: the headline of this fact-check earlier read "Trump fired pandemic response team in 2018", it has been amended to "Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018"

www.reuters.com

The Global Health Security and Biodefense unit — responsible for pandemic preparedness — was established in 2015 by Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice ( here ). The unit resided under the National Security Council (NSC) — a forum of White House personnel that advises the president on national security and foreign policy matters.​

​

In May 2018, the team was disbanded and its head Timothy Ziemer, top White House official in the NSC for leading U.S. response against a pandemic, left the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported ( here ). Some members of the global health and security team were merged into other units within the NSC, the article said.​

​

The reorganization followed John Bolton’s appointment as national security advisor, and the departure of Tom Bossert, the homeland security advisor who the Post wrote “had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks.”​

​

CONFLICTING OPINIONS ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEAM ​

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Beth Cameron, former Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense in the NSC, wrote, “When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact.​

​

“Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic. One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19” ( here ).​

​

​

Three days later, Tim Morrison, former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the NSC, wrote in another Washington Post Op-Ed, “It is true that the Trump administration has seen fit to shrink the NSC staff. But the bloat that occurred under the previous administration clearly needed a correction. … One such move at the NSC was to create the counterproliferation and biodefense directorate, which was the result of consolidating three directorates into one, given the obvious overlap between arms control and nonproliferation, weapons of mass destruction terrorism, and global health and biodefense. It is this reorganization that critics have misconstrued or intentionally misrepresented. If anything, the combined directorate was stronger because related expertise could be commingled” ( here ).​

It is like I have said before. He did not fire and desolve. He simply reorganized NSC, combining the 3 directorates into 1. The new one was to have same responsibility as the 3 original ones. When you reorganize, but retain responsibilities for the work performed, management is responsible to make sure the functions are still being handled. The action originated at the executive level. Chief executive totally responsible to see that the duties were carried out. They were not carried out. No report of a review of the newly combined directorate have surfaced, probably because none were carried out. Management Failure. He is responsible for the reorganization and the failure to see that the necessary work was still done after the reorganization. But, I am sure he would say "I take no responsibility, at all." It is one of the more truthful statements he makes.

 

[candycorn]

Partly false claim: Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018

Correction: the headline of this fact-check earlier read "Trump fired pandemic response team in 2018", it has been amended to "Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018"

www.reuters.com

The Global Health Security and Biodefense unit — responsible for pandemic preparedness — was established in 2015 by Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice ( here ). The unit resided under the National Security Council (NSC) — a forum of White House personnel that advises the president on national security and foreign policy matters.​

​

In May 2018, the team was disbanded and its head Timothy Ziemer, top White House official in the NSC for leading U.S. response against a pandemic, left the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported ( here ). Some members of the global health and security team were merged into other units within the NSC, the article said.​

​

The reorganization followed John Bolton’s appointment as national security advisor, and the departure of Tom Bossert, the homeland security advisor who the Post wrote “had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks.”​

​

CONFLICTING OPINIONS ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEAM ​

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Beth Cameron, former Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense in the NSC, wrote, “When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact.​

​

“Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic. One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19” ( here ).​

​

​

Three days later, Tim Morrison, former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the NSC, wrote in another Washington Post Op-Ed, “It is true that the Trump administration has seen fit to shrink the NSC staff. But the bloat that occurred under the previous administration clearly needed a correction. … One such move at the NSC was to create the counterproliferation and biodefense directorate, which was the result of consolidating three directorates into one, given the obvious overlap between arms control and nonproliferation, weapons of mass destruction terrorism, and global health and biodefense. It is this reorganization that critics have misconstrued or intentionally misrepresented. If anything, the combined directorate was stronger because related expertise could be commingled” ( here ).​

It is like I have said before. He did not fire and desolve. He simply reorganized NSC, combining the 3 directorates into 1. The new one was to have same responsibility as the 3 original ones. When you reorganize, but retain responsibilities for the work performed, management is responsible to make sure the functions are still being handled. The action originated at the executive level. Chief executive totally responsible to see that the duties were carried out. They were not carried out. No report of a review of the newly combined directorate have surfaced, probably because none were carried out. Management Failure. He is responsible for the reorganization and the failure to see that the necessary work was still done after the reorganization. But, I am sure he would say "I take no responsibility, at all." It is one of the more truthful statements he makes.

That and he recommended cutting the CDC budget.