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There are plenty of links, but just to provide one...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33vjjg8k3yo
A) I don't get why Trump is treating this as an accusation and going into tantrum mode to deny it.
B) If true, why is it a bad thing? I mean even a little bit of a bad thing?
Weren't tests supposed to help control the spread? Does covid spread stop at borders? Were we supposed to root for the Russians to get and spread more covid?
Of course, this was also before the Ukraine war when Putin, while certainly a bad guy, was hardly Public Enemy #1 like he is now.
Anyone want to help me on why this is even a story?
@sh76 saidAnyone want to help me on why this is even a story?
There are plenty of links, but just to provide one...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33vjjg8k3yo
A) I don't get why Trump is treating this as an accusation and going into tantrum mode to deny it.
B) If true, why is it a bad thing? I mean even a little bit of a bad thing?
Weren't tests supposed to help control the spread? Does covid spread stop at borders? Were we ...[text shortened]... y, was hardly Public Enemy #1 like he is now.
Anyone want to help me on why this is even a story?
Maybe things were a bit slow in the BBC newsroom that day. Frankly, I don't care if Trump sent covid tests to another country. I do care that there is a 50% chance that despite all his legal baggage, this (little tin god) will get reelected.
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@sh76 saidI see nothing wrong with it providing that the Americans had enough for themselves. What concerns me is the 7 or more conversations they had after Trump was out of the White House. They seem to be quite chummy, and with Putin being a Dictator, the optics just don't look good.
There are plenty of links, but just to provide one...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33vjjg8k3yo
A) I don't get why Trump is treating this as an accusation and going into tantrum mode to deny it.
B) If true, why is it a bad thing? I mean even a little bit of a bad thing?
Weren't tests supposed to help control the spread? Does covid spread stop at borders? Were we ...[text shortened]... y, was hardly Public Enemy #1 like he is now.
Anyone want to help me on why this is even a story?
-VR
One reason why it could be a scandal: Trump and his supporters constantly denied Covid was an issue and even cut funding for it.
He told the public Dems were blowing the issue of out proportion; sending Covid tests to Putin probably would've been used against him in some way, especially since it was an election year. That could be why Trump concealed it.
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@vivify saidAnd at that time, there was a shortage of tests to go around in the US. I think this is the bigger issue.
One reason why it could be a scandal: Trump and his supporters constantly denied Covid was an issue and even cut funding for it.
He told the public Dems were blowing the issue of out proportion; sending Covid tests to Putin probably would've been used against him in some way, especially since it was an election year. That could be why Trump concealed it.
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@Suzianne saidExactly. There was a shortage of tests in the US. And on the same day the message was recorded, trump was on TV telling the US public that tests were over-rated and pointless.
And at that time, there was a shortage of tests to go around in the US. I think this is the bigger issue.
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@sh76 saidExcerpt from the article:
There are plenty of links, but just to provide one...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33vjjg8k3yo
A) I don't get why Trump is treating this as an accusation and going into tantrum mode to deny it.
B) If true, why is it a bad thing? I mean even a little bit of a bad thing?
Weren't tests supposed to help control the spread? Does covid spread stop at borders? Were we ...[text shortened]... y, was hardly Public Enemy #1 like he is now.
Anyone want to help me on why this is even a story?
quote:
In War, Woodward writes that while the former president was in office, Trump “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use”.
Putin was reportedly anxious about falling ill with the virus, according to the retelling of Woodward's book in US media.
The report adds that Putin had asked Trump not to publicly share that he had sent him the tests, fearful that it would damage Trump's reputation.
“I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me,” Putin reportedly told Trump, according to the book cited by the Times.
Trump reportedly said: “I don’t care. Fine.”
end quote
What's wrong with this?
a) Trump was and still is entirely too chummy with dictators.
b) Sending ANYTHING in secret to a foreign head of state is a lot like "emoluments" only in reverse, and should be strictly forbidden. "Presents" to foreign heads of state should be transparent and accounted for.
c) Sending medical equipment to a foreign head of state should run through the Dept. of State &/or Dept. of Health, not privately.
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@shavixmir saidIf he genuinely though that about the test kits and Putin wanted them, then it was a good negotiation. I.e. Trade something low value to you which is high value to the other person.
Exactly. There was a shortage of tests in the US. And on the same day the message was recorded, trump was on TV telling the US public that tests were over-rated and pointless.
It looks like a non story to me. Surely there are bigger fish to fry with Trump.
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@moonbus saidYour assertion here, (that Trump too chummy with dictators) whilst being a truism or itself, is also a non sequitur in terms of the covid test kits being provided.
Excerpt from the article:
quote:
In War, Woodward writes that while the former president was in office, Trump “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use”.
Putin was reportedly anxious about falling ill with the virus, according to the retelling of Woodward's book in US media.
The report adds that Putin had asked T ...[text shortened]... o a foreign head of state should run through the Dept. of State &/or Dept. of Health, not privately.
@Suzianne saidSo it what is the bigger issue? Is it that…
And at that time, there was a shortage of tests to go around in the US. I think this is the bigger issue.
- trump is too chummy with Putin? We know this already
- trump doesn’t believe the covid tests were effective? We know this already
- trump didn’t care that they were in short supply? We know this already
All three don’t add to much new mileage in today’s race for the White House and are taking up valuable media space for the relevant issues imo.
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@divegeester saidWhat did Trump receive in return might be the salient question.
If he genuinely though that about the test kits and Putin wanted them, then it was a good negotiation. I.e. Trade something low value to you which is high value to the other person.
It looks like a non story to me. Surely there are bigger fish to fry with Trump.
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@sh76 saidIt was deliberately concealed to the public and denied by Trump's campaign. I think that at least trump must think it's bad.
There are plenty of links, but just to provide one...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33vjjg8k3yo
A) I don't get why Trump is treating this as an accusation and going into tantrum mode to deny it.
B) If true, why is it a bad thing? I mean even a little bit of a bad thing?
Weren't tests supposed to help control the spread? Does covid spread stop at borders? Were we ...[text shortened]... y, was hardly Public Enemy #1 like he is now.
Anyone want to help me on why this is even a story?
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@divegeester saidThe whole thing about trump is that everything is fryable.
If he genuinely though that about the test kits and Putin wanted them, then it was a good negotiation. I.e. Trade something low value to you which is high value to the other person.
It looks like a non story to me. Surely there are bigger fish to fry with Trump.