There& #39;s been a few pieces on Scott Atlas, Trump& #39;s new coronavirus "adviser." But I don& #39;t think they fully capture the extent to which he has been consistently wrong about the pandemic, so I took a deeper dive: https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/trumps-new-coronavirus-adviser-consistently-wrong-right-wing-media-talking">https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavir...
March 26: He predicted "this virus could cause about 10,000 deaths in the United States overall.” https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/26/widespread-isolation-and-stopping-all-human-intera/">https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020...
March 26: " “All reasonable numbers point to the fact that our number of severe outcomes will be peaking around three weeks or so.” https://www.hoover.org/research/scott-w-atlas-covid-19-and-health-care-hoover-virtual-policy-briefing-0">https://www.hoover.org/research/...
April 13, as the national curve continued to trend upward: “We now need to reenter normal life” https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/492514-reentry-after-the-panic-paying-the-health-price-of-extreme-isolation">https://thehill.com/opinion/h...
April 22: “The tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be entering the containment phase.” https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/494034-the-data-are-in-stop-the-panic-and-end-the-total-isolation">https://thehill.com/opinion/h...
April 26: “Young people under 18 have virtually no risk of serious illness or death, so it& #39;s logical to open most schools. It& #39;s logical to open most businesses.” https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3889721 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
April 27: He& #39;s repeatedly promoted achieving herd immunity through natural infection, which doesn& #39;t work and would cost millions of lives: "It’s actually good news that the virus spreads widely" https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3889576 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
May 11: “The curves have been flattened.” https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3889581 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
June 22: When asked about the fact that 25% of hospitalizations in Texas are among people aged 20 to 29, Atlas simply dismissed it by saying he didn’t believe the number https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888966 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
June 29: It& #39;s “fantastic news that we have a lot of cases,” which common sense and real-time data from then and now show to be false. https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3889611 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
July 6: Atlas said “it doesn’t really matter how many cases, it only matters who gets the cases.” This is incredibly callous and unscientific: increased spread infects people who are vulnerable and leads to strain on emergency care systems. https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3889551 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
July 15: “It doesn’t matter if children get the disease. ... The data shows that they do not significantly transmit to adults.” The science is not settled on this issue, but he projects this certainty because certainty is what gets you booked on TV. https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888891 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
July 25: Unsurprisingly he& #39;s pivoted to uncritical praise for Trump as bodies pile up and benefits expire: "I think the president’s briefings that were done this week were excellent, and I think it’s obvious to everyone that there’s a focus on the data" https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3889571 ">https://www.mediamatters.org/media/388...
I& #39;m not a scientist, but this guy is a completely discredited full-of-shit-grifter-high-off-new-found-fame who shouldn& #39;t be anywhere near the White House podium https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/trumps-new-coronavirus-adviser-consistently-wrong-right-wing-media-talking">https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavir...