COVID-19 Surging In Red States Just Weeks Before Election
Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that COVID-19 is largely a blue state problem, cases are surging in red states just five weeks before the election.
Twenty-two states are currently seeing increases in cases, including in the Midwest, the Great Plains and parts of the South. The biggest spikes in new cases have been in North and South Dakota (scene of the massive Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August), Wisconsin, Utah, Oklahoma and Iowa— all of which voted for Trump in 2016. Among those states, Trump is particularly vulnerable in Iowa and Wisconsin in this year’s election.
Cases nationwide, which have generally been down from July, are now again ticking upward.
The country tallied a troubling 55,000 infections in a single day Friday — the biggest 24-hour jump in more than a month.
The Wisconsin Health Department reported 2,817 new cases Saturday — its highest daily total since the pandemic began. South Dakota also experienced its highest daily total — 579 new cases.
Critics have slammed Trump for turning the battle against the coronavirus into a partisan issue, and argue that there should be a national mobilization against a disease that has already killed more than 204,000 Americans.
Trump admitted he intentionally misled Americans about the seriousness of the pandemic, claiming he didn’t want to panic people with the truth. Health experts say his failed leadership is reflected in the U.S. toll of deaths and infections ― the highest in the world.
Trump continues to politicize the coronavirus.
COVID isn't a red state or blue state issue. 9 of the 10 states with the most infections per capita have Republican governors. This virus has impacted all Americans. pic.twitter.com/jhJ9hjK05F— DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) September 16, 2020
Trump insisted in a press conference earlier this month that the U.S. death toll is “very low ... if you take the blue states out” — without offering any evidence.
“The blue states...
