2 weeks ago, I assumed the Trump administration& #39;s coronavirus response was abysmal due to incompetence.

I no longer think we& #39;re here through gross negligence. The Republicans in charge HAVE been taking action, just not for the health and safety of Americans.
While the CDC was telling us we didn& #39;t need to wear masks and not to buy them so they could go to front-line workers, long-time GOP operatives were leaving politics to get into the PPE business. In 2 weeks, they became the largest global supplier. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/republican-fundraiser-company-coronavirus-152184">https://www.politico.com/news/2020...
Mike Gula claimed he got into the PPE business "because the president and the vice president were asking people to help."

He will not say where or how he procured such a large supply of PPE or the profit margin on sales back to states and hospitals. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/republican-fundraiser-company-coronavirus-152184">https://www.politico.com/news/2020...
Mid-March, Jared Kushner quietly started Project Airbridge, working with private companies to snap up medical equipment all over the world, transporting them on federal planes. It& #39;s unclear what the companies are doing or how they& #39;re profiting. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-what-is-project-airbridge/">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coro...
States have had PPE shipments confiscated on tarmacs--presumably by the feds, but one state representative said they didn& #39;t know WHO was confiscating the shipments.

https://www.wcvb.com/article/3-million-masks-ordered-by-massachusetts-were-confiscated-in-port-of-new-york/32021700">https://www.wcvb.com/article/3... https://twitter.com/mmcauliff/status/1244727043469856771">https://twitter.com/mmcauliff...
When Admiral John Polowczyk--responsible for IDing PPE needs/supply--was asked where all the supplies federal planes were flying in as part of Project Airbridge were going, he admitted they were not going to the stockpile, but to private distributors. https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1245878992336556033">https://twitter.com/joshtpm/s...
Based on Polowczyk& #39;s statement, supplies to states are being confiscated by the federal gov& #39;t, redirected to private distributors, then states are bidding against each other for private supplies, allowing the cost to go through the roof.

White House-orchestrated profiteering.
In addition to Trump& #39;s free advertising, the US has purchased a large order of hydroxychloroquine to add to the stockpile, in addition to large donations from Novartis and other manufacturers. #3a2ce8e477e5">https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2020/04/06/the-hydroxychloroquine-debateas-the-us-orders-29-million-doses-initial-champion-france-remains-divided-over-its-efficacy/ #3a2ce8e477e5">https://www.forbes.com/sites/ale...
Trump& #39;s private partners in the "public-private partnership" to add COVID-19 supplies to the federal stockpile are making money hand over fist, while states in the midst of a public health crisis struggle to get the supplies they need to keep people alive.
FEMA claimed it didn& #39;t need to leverage the Defense Production Act after all to expanding testing capabilities, once a private source had been located. 2 weeks later, tests are still scarce. Hospitalized people can& #39;t get tested.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/24/trump-administration-defense-production-act-146070">https://www.politico.com/news/2020... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/opinion/coronavirus-testing.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/0...
There aren& #39;t enough tests. There isn& #39;t enough PPE. There aren& #39;t enough ventilators. More than 10,000 Americans have died, including several front line healthcare workers, and Trump is still doing little to help states get what they need. Why not?

Follow the money.
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