http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-jan6-speech-2022-s450.pngBy 2020, Donald Trump was already failing in the country’s coronavirus response, and the stock market was in free fall.

WASHINGTON - In response to RNC Chair Michael Whatley accidentally admitting the truth all Americans know – that we are better off today than four years ago – DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

“It’s refreshing to finally hear someone like Michael Whatley – who has otherwise spent his time peddling lies and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election – admit the truth: of course Americans are better off today than they were four years ago in March 2020. In case anyone else needs a reminder, four years ago, Donald Trump was already failing the American people with a botched coronavirus response while the stock market was in free fall. President Biden led the country through the pandemic, and under his steady leadership, the market has reached record highs and over 15 million new jobs have been created. Don’t take it from us, take it from the RNC: we are better off today than four years ago.”

Donald Trump was already failing in the country’s coronavirus response, having already shut down a pandemic planning office and failing to take responsibility for massive testing delays.

Business Insider: “'I don't take responsibility': Trump says he's not to blame for persistent delays in coronavirus testing from the CDC”

“The US was far slower to produce test kits through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than other countries, creating ongoing delays in getting the tests to state-level public-health authorities and healthcare providers. 

“Not only has the US tested far fewer of its citizens per capita than other developed countries, but doctors and patients have also expressed frustration at US patients not meeting the CDC guidelines for testing or being able to get a test despite showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19.”

Associated Press: “Trump disbanded NSC pandemic unit that experts had praised”

“Public health and national security experts shake their heads when President Donald Trump says the coronavirus ‘came out of nowhere’ and ‘blindsided the world.’

“They’ve been warning about the next pandemic for years and criticized the Trump administration’s decision in 2018 to dismantle a National Security Council directorate at the White House charged with preparing for when, not if, another pandemic would hit the nation.

“‘It would be nice if the office was still there,’ Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health, told Congress this week.

Meanwhile, the stock market was in free fall as businesses began feeling significant economic pain under Trump’s flailing response.

CNBC: “Dow drops nearly 3,000 points, as coronavirus collapse continues; worst day since ’87”

“Stocks fell sharply Monday — with the Dow suffering its worst day since the ‘Black Monday’ market crash in 1987 and its third-worst day ever — even after the Federal Reserve embarked on a massive monetary stimulus campaign to curb slower economic growth amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average  closed 2,997.10 points lower, or 12.9%, at 20,188.52. The 30-stock Dow was briefly down more than 3,000 points in the final minutes of trading. The S&P 500 dropped 12% to 2,386.13 — hitting its lowest level since December 2018 — while the Nasdaq Composite closed 12.3% lower at 6,904.59 in its worst day ever.”

‘The markets are getting no break with yesterday’s historic Fed actions and COVID-19 dominating the world’s headlines,’ Frank Cappelleri, executive director at Instinet, said in a note. “While the news continues to worsen and with the price action doing things we’ve only seen a handful of other times in the last century, it’s nearly impossible to keep things in perspective.’”

New York Times: “Coronavirus Cost to Businesses and Workers: ‘It Has All Gone to Hell’”

“Not since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has a crisis enveloped so much of the economy so quickly. Broadway is dark. The college basketball tournaments are canceled and professional sports are on indefinite hold. Conferences, concerts and St. Patrick’s Day parades have been called off or postponed. Even Disneyland — which stayed open through a recession a decade ago that wiped out millions of American jobs and trillions of dollars in wealth — is shuttered.

‘This hits the heart of the economy, and it hits the economy on all sides,’ said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. ‘It’s not just that we’re slowing down things. We’re actually hitting the pause button, and there is no precedent, there is no mold for that.’”

While President Biden has helped create nearly 15 million new jobs, Trump had the worst job record since Herbert Hoover – and job growth had slowed even before the pandemic.

Fortune: “Trump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover”

Washington Post: “President Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.”

Bloomberg: “Trump’s Jobs Record Fell Short of Promises Even Before the Virus”

Bloomberg: “Job growth was slightly slower in Trump’s first three years before Covid than it was during the last three years of the Obama administration, when the economy added 2.7 million jobs a year on average. Under Trump, that average was 2.2 million, until this year’s tumult more than wiped out the gains.”