On Wednesday's Morning Joe on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist spent more than five minutes ranting about President Donald Trump correctly stating that the U.S. has tested more people for COVID-19 than any other country in the world.
Scarborough and Geist went so far as to wrongly insist that the per capita testing rate in the U.S. is "far, far behind other countries," even though the per capita rate for the U.S. is reportedly higher than most other developed countries.
Business Insider reported:
Nearly 4 million Americans have now been tested for the coronavirus.
The US's testing ramp up has led to one of the highest rates of testing per capita in the world: more than 11,800 tests per 1 million residents. Italy tops the list, however, with a rate nearly double that in the US.
After playing a clip from the previous day's press briefing in which ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl challenged President Trump's claim that there had been four million tests performed in the U.S., with the President insisting the number is accurate and pointing out the U.S. has tested more than any other country.
Brzezinski responded by complaining that four million is not enough in a country of over 300 million residents. Scarborough took it a step further and incorrectly claimed the U.S. is behind other countries in tests performed:
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The President has to know that seniors are watching him, and he talks about more tests than anybody else. They know that, per senior, per person, per capita, the United States of America -- the most technologically advanced, the most medically advanced, the most scientifically advanced nation in the world is far, far behind other countries when it comes to testing per patient, testing per person, testing per senior. You know, it's like comparing Delaware and California. California can say we have more of everything, but maybe you don't per capita, and maybe that hurts California.
He added:
SCARBOROUGH: But, again, he makes these wild claims -- he knows they're misleading, and senior citizens know he's misleading, and that's why we see these poll numbers. His poll nunbers among seniors tanking. We see his poll numbers among others tanking. We see people disagreeing with him on a lot of issues here, and he's still trying to spin this alternate reality...
After Scarborough finished his fact-challenged rant, Geist restated Scarborough's misinformation about per capita testing being lower in the U.S.:
WILLIE GEIST: He says, "But we have the most tests in the world." As a raw number, that's true, of course. As a per capita number, not even close, of course. The problem is, Americans, as you say, know what they're seeing out their front door. They know what they're seeing in their town -- in their state. And that is, there is no testing. There's very little testing where they live.
He soon reiterated: "There is no national testing program. The President can brag about the raw number, and that's true. But, in a country of 330 million people, the number is actually paltry..."
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, April 22, Morning Joe on MSNBC:
Morning Joe
4/22/2020
7:01 a.m. Eastern
MIKA BRZINSKI: You know, just because you say it again and again and again, that doesn't make it true. And people can see it. Somebody ought to let the President know that people can see that the testing is not there for them. There are 325 million people here -- four million, at this point, is pitiful. This is way lower than the President, the Vice President, and his team promised. It's pitiful, most believe, because the states are all competing and trying to get tests from places like South Korea, which did it right, and we still look way behind because there's no nationalized coordinated effort. That's the feeling that most have. And, if you're a governor, of a state, you're frustrated because you're in this situation. The President could change it.
So as much as he has these briefings which are campaign rallies where he's trying to get the cat light to go this way and that way for the media and appeal directly to his people. His people, many of them will be impacted by the coronavirus, and his people won't be able to get tests, and his people end up in hospitals and on ventilators just as much as anybody else. He can't fight this reality with his mouth.
(…)
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The President has to know that seniors are watching him, and he talks about more tests than anybody else. They know that, per senior, per person, per capita, the United States of America -- the most technologically advanced, the most medically advanced, the most scientifically advanced nation in the world is far, far behind other countries when it comes to testing per patient, testing per person, testing per senior. You know, it's like comparing Delaware and California. California can say we have more of everything, but maybe you don't per capita, and maybe that hurts California.
But, again, he makes these wild claims -- he knows they're misleading, and senior citizens know he's misleading, and that's why we see these poll numbers. His poll nunbers among seniors tanking. We see his poll numbers among others tanking. We see people disagreeing with him on a lot of issues here, and he's still trying to spin this alternate reality...
WILLIE GEIST: He says, "But we have the most tests in the world." As a raw number, that's true, of course. As a per capita number, not even close, of course, The problem is, Americans, as you say, know what they're seeing out their front door. They know what they're seeing in their town -- in their state. And that is, there is no testing. There's very little testing where they live.
(…)
GEIST: There is no national testing program. The President can brag about the raw number, and that's true. But, in a country of 330 million people, the number is actually paltry...
