"Even members of his own administration expressed concern about Trump’s comments. "

"President Trump’s Saturday night remark that he asked officials to “slow the [coronavirus] testing down" sparked harsh rebukes from experts and frustration from his own staffers, who say it undercuts their efforts to reassure Americans as the disease surges around the country.

The president’s comment, which came on the same day that eight states reported their highest-ever single-day case counts, drew a chorus of criticism from congressional Democrats and public health officials, who worry the president is more concerned with saving face than combating the pandemic.

'Looking at it as a scoreboard is the wrong way to think about it,' said Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 'To think of it as something you can manipulate or slow down based on what the numbers look like speaks to a complete misunderstanding of what an infectious-disease response should be.'"

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Taylor Telford, and Josh Dawsey report for the Washinton Post June 21, 2020. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Trump Suggests US Slow Virus Testing To Avoid Bad Statistics" (AP) [3]

"The Note: 'Testing' Line Haunts Trump More Than Crowd Size" (ABC News) [4]

"Trump Draws Criticism For Suggesting A Slowdown In Coronavirus Testing" (CBS News) [5]