Following the release of depression-level unemployment figures, Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II released the following statement:

“Donald Trump had a chance to take this crisis seriously. Instead, he wasted time, downplayed the pandemic, and failed to take action. Now, as the virus continues to spread, Nevadans are facing an economic catastrophe unlike anything we’ve seen since the Great Depression. Trump can’t spin that reality, and Nevadans can’t afford another four years of his failed, chaotic leadership.”

BACKGROUND ON TRUMP’S FAILED CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

Promise: “We’re going to have health care that is so good and so much less expensive … I’m asking for your vote, so we can save health care for every family in your state and in this country.” [Trump Campaign Rally, Las Vegas NV, 10/30/16]

• Reality: After Trump spent weeks ignoring his own advisors and downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, the United States leads the world with more than 1.2 million confirmed cases and nearly 75,000 deaths.

• Reality: Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Trump and the Republican Party are attempting to overturn the Affordable Care Act — endangering health coverage for 282,000 Nevadans and threatening protections for as many as 1.15 million Nevadans with a preexisting condition.

Promise:  “Anybody that wants a test can get a test.” [Trump Remarks at CDC Headquarters, 3/6/20]

• Reality: Trump’s testing “strategy” would provide tests for just 2% of Nevadans.

• Reality: Two months after Trump’s promise on testing, Dr. Anthony Fauci says we’re still a month away.

Promise: “We are marshalling the full power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people.” [Oval Office Address, 3/11/20]

• Reality: After “countless calls” requesting urgently-needed supplies from the Trump administration, Gov. Steve Sisolak was told the federal government had “an indefinite backlog without any estimate of a timeline for delivery.”

• Reality: While experts warned of a coming pandemic, Trump took Chinese officials at their word, repeatedly praised the Chinese government and sent record shipments of N95 masks overseas.