Donald Trump has implied doctors and elected officials say they do not have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and other materials to get on television amid the coronavirus crisis.
The US president had a row with Jim Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, over the shortage of PPE, which includes essential gear such as hand sanitiser, gloves, aprons, and face masks, during his coronavirus press briefing.
Acosta said: “We hear from a lot of people who see these briefings as sort of ‘happy talk’ briefings. And some of the officials don’t paint as rosy a picture of what is happening around the country. If you look at some of these questions – do we have enough masks? No. Do we have enough tests? No. Do we have enough PPE? No.”
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Mr Trump interjected: “Why would you say that? The answer is yes. I think the answer is yes.”
Acosta referred to doctors and other medical officials who have vented their frustrations about the dearth of essential equipment on CNN.
The president hit back: “A lot of it is fake news.”
Acosta said: “Doctors and medical officers come on our air and say ‘we don’t have enough tests, we don’t have enough masks’.”
Mr Trump chipped in: “Well yeah, depending on your air they are always going to say that because otherwise, you are not going to put them on.”
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A view of empty Bourbon street in the French Quarter amid the coronavirus pandemic in New Orleans, Louisiana
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Nyla Clark, 3, accompanied by her mother, Chavonne Clark, sits in a baby stroller at a corner in New Orleans, hoping to get a few dollars from an occasional passerby. Clark was a phlebotomist with a local company until she lost her job because of the coronavirus pandemic. She is waiting for unemployment
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A man boards a streetcar
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Jackson Square, normally bustling with tourists, is seen deserted
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Words from Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” are painted onto plywood covering the window of a closed business
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Street performer Eddie Webb looks around the nearly deserted French Quarter looking to make money
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Boarded up businesses
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The normally bustling tourist mecca of Bourbon Street lies deserted in the early afternoon
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A sign along I-10 informing persons who travel from Louisiana to quarantine
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A man cycles along Jackson Square
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Elena Likaj, prevention department manager at Odyssey House Louisiana (OHL) which runs a drive-through testing site, takes the temperature of New Orleans resident Peyton Gill
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A man walks his dog past a boarded up business on Frenchmen Street
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An empty Bourbon street
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A meal is distributed at the Lantern Light Ministry at the Rebuild Center
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A woman walks in the French Quarter
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People practice social distancing as they queue up for a meal at the Lantern Light Ministry at the Rebuild Center
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French Quarter
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A sign is pictured in the French Quarter amid the outbreak
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A view of Bourbon Street
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National Guard members walk down Rampart Street
AFP via Getty
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A man rides his bicycle in front of a boarded up French Quarter restaurant
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A shuttered business is pictured on Decatur Street
AFP via Getty
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The normally bustling tourist mecca of Bourbon Street lies deserted
Reuters
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A view of Canal Street
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A New Orleans firefighter works to contain an early morning fire
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A view of empty Bourbon street in the French Quarter amid the coronavirus pandemic in New Orleans, Louisiana
Getty
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Nyla Clark, 3, accompanied by her mother, Chavonne Clark, sits in a baby stroller at a corner in New Orleans, hoping to get a few dollars from an occasional passerby. Clark was a phlebotomist with a local company until she lost her job because of the coronavirus pandemic. She is waiting for unemployment
The Advocate via AP
3/25
A man boards a streetcar
Reuters
4/25
Jackson Square, normally bustling with tourists, is seen deserted
AP
5/25
Words from Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” are painted onto plywood covering the window of a closed business
AFP via Getty
6/25
Street performer Eddie Webb looks around the nearly deserted French Quarter looking to make money
AP
7/25
Boarded up businesses
Reuters
8/25
The normally bustling tourist mecca of Bourbon Street lies deserted in the early afternoon
Reuters
9/25
A sign along I-10 informing persons who travel from Louisiana to quarantine
AP
10/25
A man cycles along Jackson Square
AFP via Getty
11/25
Elena Likaj, prevention department manager at Odyssey House Louisiana (OHL) which runs a drive-through testing site, takes the temperature of New Orleans resident Peyton Gill
Reuters
12/25
A man walks his dog past a boarded up business on Frenchmen Street
Reuters
13/25
An empty Bourbon street
Getty
14/25
A meal is distributed at the Lantern Light Ministry at the Rebuild Center
Reuters
15/25
A woman walks in the French Quarter
Reuters
16/25
People practice social distancing as they queue up for a meal at the Lantern Light Ministry at the Rebuild Center
Reuters
17/25
French Quarter
Getty
18/25
A sign is pictured in the French Quarter amid the outbreak
Reuters
19/25
A view of Bourbon Street
Reuters
20/25
National Guard members walk down Rampart Street
AFP via Getty
21/25
A man rides his bicycle in front of a boarded up French Quarter restaurant
Reuters
22/25
A shuttered business is pictured on Decatur Street
AFP via Getty
23/25
The normally bustling tourist mecca of Bourbon Street lies deserted
Reuters
24/25
A view of Canal Street
Reuters
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A New Orleans firefighter works to contain an early morning fire
Reuters
The spat comes as doctors and healthcare workers across America are battling against a shortage of face masks which safeguard them against coronavirus – sparking fears doctors will not be able to proe life-saving care if they fall ill.
America has become the first country in the world to record more than 2,000 people dying from coronavirus in one day alone, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
People who contract coronavirus in the US are at greater risk than those in the UK or Canada due to America not having a national health service.
Americans are at risk of running up bills for coronavirus treatment which force them to fork out tens of thousands of dollars. The situation is exacerbated by the fact many have lost their healthcare insurance due to job losses linked to the pandemic.
