Actress and singer Bette Midler has been a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, and that has continued on into the coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday, Midler revealed she doubted Trump really tested negative for the virus after the administration announced he was tested. Midler was hardly the only Trump critic to question the test, and Trump made further comments about it during his press conference on Monday.
“You know, [Donald] says he has tested negative for [Coronavirus],” the Hocus Pocus star tweeted. “But why should we believe him? He has lied over 16,000 times in the last three years! Why would he not be lying now?”
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Midler’s “16,000 times” comment appears to be a reference to the Washington Post‘s ongoing list of misleading claims. According to the paper, Trump made over 16,000 false or misleading claims during his first three years in office, through January 2020.
On Saturday, the White House physician Dr. Sean Conley wrote in a memo that Trump tested negative for coronavirus. There were calls for Trump to get tested after it was discovered he came into contact with a Brazilian official who later tested positive at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month. The White House initially said Trump did not need to be tested because he was not showing symptoms of COVID-19.
“Last night after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed,” Conley wrote in his memo. “This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative.”
“One week after having dinner with the Brazilian delegation in Mar-a-Lago, the President remains symptom-free,” the memo reads. “I have been in daily contact with the CDC and White House Coronavirus Task Force, and we are encouraging the implementation of all their best practices for exposure reduction and transmission mitigation.”
Trump later tried to clear up any confusion over the test in Monday’s press conference. He told reporters he took the test late Friday night and was not sure of the exact timing of Conley’s previous letter stating Trump did not need to be tested.
“I’ve been very strongly tested,” Trump said Monday. “Not, not uh – something I want to do every day… you know, it’s a little bit of a — it’s a little bit of — good doctors in the White House, but it’s a test. It’s a test. It’s a medical test. Nothing pleasant about it.”
Also on Monday, Trump said the White House coronavirus task force believes the crisis could continue into July or August. The government also issued new guidelines for the next 15 days, advising Americans to avoid groups larger than 10 people and to work from home if possible. Americans are also advised to wash their hands for up to 20 sends and avoid touching their faces.
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