After Attacking Trump’s Coronavirus-Related China Travel Ban as Xenophobic, Dems and Media Have Changed Tune; Obama Admin Repeatedly Sought Millions in CDC Funding Cuts, Despite Biden’s Attacks on Trump Preparedness
By Fox News. Within hours of President Trump’s decision to restrict travel from China on Jan. 31, top Democrats and media figures immediately derided the move as unnecessary and xenophobic — and they are now beating a hasty retreat from that position as the coronavirus continues to ravage the economy and cause scores of deaths. . .
For many news outlets, the about-face has been stark. A Jan. 31 article in The New York Times quoted epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm as saying that Trump’s decision to restrict travel from China was “more of an emotional or political reaction.”
Weeks later, though, the paper reported that dozens of “nations across the world have imposed travel restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus,” and did not criticize any of them for the move.
Unbelievable: @BernieSanders is asked if he would close the border to prevent Coronavirus from further spreading.
Sanders: "No." pic.twitter.com/xP9kIssjEd
— Chris Martin (@chrisjdmartin) March 9, 2020
The Washington Post ran a story quoting a Chinese official asking for “empathy” and slamming the White House for acting “in disregard of WHO [World Health Organization] recommendation against travel restrictions.”
In March, The Post finally acknowledged that critics accused China and WHO of “covering up or downplaying the severity of an infectious disease outbreak.” (Read more from “After Attacking Trump’s Coronavirus-Related China Travel Ban as Xenophobic, Dems and Media Have Changed Tune” HERE)
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Obama Admin Repeatedly Sought Millions in CDC Funding Cuts, Despite Biden’s Attacks on Trump Preparedness
By Fox News. The Obama administration repeatedly sought to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), yearly budget requests show — seemingly undercutting former Vice President Joe Biden’s repeated attacks on the Trump White House for its pandemic preparedness.
Numerous Democrats, including Biden, have falsely claimed that Trump slashed the CDC budget, and Biden has suggested that he would never pursue similar cuts. The Associated Press has noted that those claims “distort” the facts, with FactCheck.org pointing out that CDC funding has actually increased under the current administration, largely because Congress insisted on maintaining funding levels for both CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Nevertheless, speaking to ABC News’ “This Week” on March 1, Biden claimed: “They’ve cut the funding for the CDC.” On Friday, Biden stepped up his attacks, writing on Twitter: “Donald Trump’s careless, shortsighted actions left our nation ill-prepared and now Americans are paying the price.”
In its fiscal year 2013 budget, while Biden was vice president, the Obama administration sought a total funding level of $5.9 billion from the CDC, or a $569 million cut from the 2012 budget of $6.46 billion. In fiscal year 2015, the Obama administration wanted a $414 million cut year-over-year, and again in the fiscal year 2017 budget, the Obama administration looked to eliminate $251 million in CDC funding. . .
Some of the Obama administration’s cuts specifically took aim at the CDC’s preparedness initiatives. (Read more from “Obama Admin Repeatedly Sought Millions in CDC Funding Cuts, Despite Biden’s Attacks on Trump Preparedness” HERE)
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