Trump Makes First Wrong Claim at Debate
with Texas Virus Fight Victory Declaration

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor
October 22, 2020

President Donald Trump gave a shout out to Texas in his opening statement in the second debate on Thursday night when he falsely claimed that the coronavirus had been contained in the Lone State State where the disease actually is in the midst of another major outbreak here.

Trump cited Texas and Florida as major examples of places where he said the virus had been spiking before the two southern states got it back under control without offering any evidence to support the assertion.

The president suggested that the experiences in Texas and Florida demonstrate that the country was "rounding the corner" in the pandemic and that the disease that's already killed more than 220,000 in the United States is simply "going away" despite warnings from experts that a more deadly second wave is under way across the nation.

While Trump gave the impression that the second surge wasn't as bad in the two largest battleground states as it had been throughout the summer, the president's comments on the Texas spread would have been relatively accurate last month.

But Trump's information on COVID-19 in Texas at the debate was more than a month old and worthless as a result. The truth is that Texas is one of at least 33 states where the new coronavirus cases are increasing at an alarming rate while showing no signs of respite in line with predictions from doctors and scientists that the worst of the contagion has yet to come.

Trump served up the outdated appraisal of the pandemic here after the state hit its highest point on Thursday since August 25 with 5,917 new infections recorded here by the Department of State Health Services. The state agency logged 4,856 new cases here on Wednesday when the more realistic New York Times tally showed Texas with 6,426 more positive covid tests.

Almost 223,000 people have died in the United States from COVID-19 infections with the statewide body count nearing the 18,000 mark with the virus on the rise again here after falling for more than two months since it peaked in July when Texas was the nation's summer epicenter. The coronavirus, however, is raging out of control again in the major West Texas cities with the daily infection counts climbing in recent weeks in most of the largest population centers here.

more to come ...