Donald Trump holds 'tele-rally' in campaign first amid coronavirus pandemic

President Donald Trump says his reelection campaign will hold telephone town halls to speak to supporters as the coronavirus pandemic has made holding large, in-person campaign rallies more difficult.

Trump held what was described as his "first ever TELE-Rally" on Friday, delivering 23 minutes of stream-of-consciousness remarks on a variety of topics, including his administration's Covid-19 response to criticisms of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

"I wanted to be with you, and this is really replacing our rallies that we all love so much," Trump told supporters dialed into a telephone call, noting that, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, "we're doing really well with the therapeutics and vaccines, but until that gets solved it's going to be tough to have those big massive rallies, so I'm doing telephonic rallies, and we'll call them the Trump rallies, but we'll do it by telephone."

The decision to hold a tele-rally comes on the heels of a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that saw depressed turnout and forced the campaign to scrap outdoor remarks from the President at the last minute when supporters failed to materialize.

Another rally, scheduled for last weekend in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was canceled shortly before it was set to happen due to weather concerns, and it has yet to be officially rescheduled. Tulsa saw a surge in Covid-19 cases following the President's rally while several staffers were forced to quarantine after eight campaign staffers on the ground tested positive for coronavirus.

this CNN story is all over Australian radio/tv news bulletins Sunday morning, giving the impression the 85 babies are new “cases”, all identified in the last 24 hours, even tho the text in the following doesn’t say that:

19 Jul: 9News Australia: CNN: Eighty-five infants under age one tested positive for coronavirus in single Texas county
Eighty-five infants under the age of one have tested positive for coronavirus in one county in Texas – with local officials imploring residents to help stop its spread as the state becomes one of the newest hotspots...

In Texas’ Nueces County, where Corpus Christi is located, the number of new coronavirus cases skyrocketed in July after a flattening trend. The virus has infected dozens of babies and local officials are urging people to wear masks and practice social distancing.
“We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for COVID-19,” Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County, said...
https://www.9news.com.au/world/coronavirus-usa-news-85-texas-infants-under-age-one-test-positive-for-covid-19/032d9a6a-c1e7-4463-b038-aeeee4104473

***since March!!!

18 Jul: USA Today: Coronavirus updates: 85 babies test positive in Texas county; outbreaks sprout as churches reopen
by Grace Hauck and Joel Shannon
(scroll down)
85 babies have tested positive in Texas county
About 85 babies are among the thousands of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in one Texas county ***since March, Nueces County public health director Annette Rodriguez said Friday...

Early data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in the spring found that infants made up less than 1% of cases nationally...
– Joel Shannon, USA TODAY, and Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/18/covid-19-texas-california-chicago-update-school-reopening-plans/5464149002/

more examples of FakeNewsMSM NOT REPORTING THIS RELATES TO ALL THE CASES SINCE MARCH! lockdown the FakeNewsMSM:

18 Jul: CBS: 85 infants in one Texas county test positive for coronavirus
By Audrey McNamara
A county in Texas announced Friday that 85 infants have tested positive for COVID-19. Nueces County in south Texas is battling a coronavirus outbreak that has infected at least 7,861 people.

Nueces County Director of Public Health Annette Rodriguez said at a press briefing Friday that a review of the county’s data showed that 85 of its residents who tested positive are under the age of one. “These babies have not even had their first birthday yet,” she said...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/85-infants-in-one-texas-county-test-positive-for-the-coronavirus/

19 Jul: Business Insider Australia: One Texas county says it’s had 85 babies less than 1 year old test positive for coronavirus
by Isobel Asher Hamilton
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/nueces-county-texas-1-year-olds-test-positive-coronavirus-2020-7

18 Jul: USA Today: Coronavirus updates: 85 babies test positive in Texas county; outbreaks sprout as churches reopen
by Grace Hauck and Joel Shannon

(scroll down)
85 babies have tested positive in Texas county
About 85 babies are among the thousands of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in one Texas county since March, Nueces County public health director Annette Rodriguez said Friday...
Early data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in the spring found that infants made up less than 1% of cases nationally...
– Joel Shannon, USA TODAY, and Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/18/covid-19-texas-california-chicago-update-school-reopening-plans/5464149002/

note how it’s CNN spreading the story everywhere, without mentioning “since March”:

19 Jul: ABC Australia: Coronavirus update: Texas reports deadliest month as 85 infants test positive, Xinjiang city enters ‘wartime mode’
In one county, 85 infants under the age of one have tested positive...

Eighty-five infants under one year of age have tested positive for coronavirus in one county in the state of Texas, according to a report by CNN.
“We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for COVID-19,” Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County, told CNN...

Officials on the Texas-Mexico border, which has been especially hard hit, said hotels could be converted into medical units as early as next week.
The grim markers were announced hours after Texas gave public schools permission to keep campuses closed for more than 5 million students until March next year...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-19/coronavirus-update-covid19-britain-pauses-coronavirus-death-toll/12470046

18 Jul: Texas Tribune: 85 babies under 1 year old in Nueces County have tested positive for COVID-19, according to report
Nueces County Medical Examiner Adel Shaker told The Texas Tribune last week that a baby boy, younger than 6 months old, tested positive for COVID-19 and died.
Eighty-five infants who are under the age of 1 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Nueces County, CNN reports...

“These babies have not even had their first birthday yet,” she said. “Please help us stop the spread of this disease.”

Rodriguez did not provide additional information on the children’s conditions...
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/18/texas-babies-coronavirus-nueces-county/

wow, NBC not only doesn’t say “since March”, but there are now only 52 under a year old, despite the same quote about them not having had their first birthdays as yet:

18 Jul: NBC San Diego: 85 Children Under Age 2 Tested Positive for Coronavirus in 1 Texas County as U.S. Sets New Record
“These babies have not even had their first birthdays yet. Please help us to stop the spread of this disease,” the Nueces County public health director said.

More than 80 children under 2 years old, most of them younger than 1 year old, have tested positive for the coronavirus in one Texas county, a local public health official announced, as the United States set a single-day record in the tally of new cases.
The public health director in Nueces County on the Texas Gulf Coast said 85 children under 2 years old, including 52 younger than a year old, have tested positive for the virus.

“These babies have not even had their first birthdays yet,” director Annette Rodriguez said Friday of the infants in the group...
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/coronavirus/85-infants-have-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-in-1-texas-county-as-u-s-sets-new-record/2367995/

believe me, Australians think all 85 babies were found to be “infected” with covid overnight.

bury the FakeNewsMSM.

this was impossible to open (for me), so I had to access it via outline.com.

bury CNN - the Fakest of the FakeNewsMSM:

18 Jul: KRIS6 TV Corpus Christi: Canales clarifies reports about local infant COVID numbers
by Tim Griffin
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As news about 85 infants testing positive in Nueces County went viral as a national news story, County Judge Barbara Canales made a statement that attempted to provide additional clarification on the report.

Several national news organizations have reported about Nueces County after City County Health Director Annette Rodriguez mentioned at a press briefing on Friday that 85 babies were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Nueces County.

“On Friday, July 17, during a press conference, a spokesperson mentioned that 85 infants under the age of one had tested positive for coronavirus,” Canales said in a statement released Saturday afternoon. “This number reflects the cumulative total of positive tests for infants under the age of 1 since the beginning of testing in mid-March, which has resulted in 8171 positive test results.”

“For context, the spokesperson was using that statistic to illustrate that no one is naturally immune to this virus. While the elderly and those with existing medical conditions are at greater risk of illness and death, anyone can get the virus, from the elderly to infants, and without regard to race, gender, or economic status. The number was used to illustrate this point.”

Canales’ statement was meant to indicate the total number of infants who have tested positive throughout the pandemic.
“However, without this context, stating this number during our press conference led many to believe that we had a sudden surge in infants under the age of one testing positive. We have NOT had a sudden surge of 85 infants testing positive.”...

“Nueces County has been aggressive in testing the family members of those infected, especially those who work or live in high-risk situations: senior care centers, jails, group homes and halfway houses, and meatpacking plants,” Canales said. “By contact tracing and testing the immediate family members for those with known exposure who work in high-risk critical infrastructure jobs, this may account for our higher degree of testing and positive test results among infants.”

One child has died in Nueces County during the pandemic. That person was brought to the hospital with unrelated symptoms and tested for COVID-19 while at the hospital. The child later died at home.

The cause of death for that child still has not been determined, pending an autopsy.
https://www.kristv.com/news/coronavirus/canales-clarifies-reports-about-local-infant-covid-numbers

Canada has it too. note: as these alleged positive cases go back to March, most of these infants are obviously fully recovered anyway, so the rubbish about their “condition” is just more scare-mongering, giving the impression these babies are all ill:

18 Jul: CTV Canada: 85 infants under age 1 tested positive for coronavirus in one Texas county
by Faith Karimi and Raja Razek, CNN Digital
In Texas’ Nueces County, where Corpus Christi is located, the number of new coronavirus cases skyrocketed in July after a flattening trend. The virus has infected dozens of babies and local officials are urging people to wear masks and practice social distancing.
“We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for COVID-19,” said Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County.
“These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us stop the spread of this disease.”

***She did not provide additional details on their conditions...
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/85-infants-under-age-1-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-in-one-texas-county-1.5029639

even Weather Channel carried the fake news:

18 Jul: Weather Channel: Coronavirus Updates: Worldwide COVID-19 Cases climb above 14 million
by Ron Brackett
of face mask requirement.
-A health official in Nueces County, Texas, said 85 infants under the age of 12 months have tested positive for the coronavirus, CNN reported. “These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us stop the spread of this disease,” said Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County. She did not provide additional details on their conditions...
https://weather.com/health/coronavirus/news/2020-07-18-coronavirus-updates-covid-19-pandemic-developments

Daily Beast has it, but it won’t open properly. no indication they mentioned “since March”.

unfortunately, even UPI has it:

18 Jul: UPI: COVID-19: Texas sees case spike in babies, federal prisons
By Sommer Brokaw
In Texas’ Nueces County, 85 infants under age 1 have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for the county...
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/07/18/COVID-19-Texas-sees-case-spike-in-babies-federal-prisons/7821595086129/

follow-up re TDS-infected ABC Australia. Friday night two of their staff were still pushing this NYT rubbish, with no mention of the changes made to the story:

14 Jul: National Review: Did the Times Print an Urban Legend?
By Michael Brendan Dougherty
The story has real didactic power in the current environment, illustrating perhaps four points of contention:
1) A young person
2) in a red state
3) believed the virus was a hoax
4) and failed to socially distance.
As a result, he’s dead.

The original sub-headline was: “I thought this was a hoax,” the man told his nurse, a hospital official said...
But, as I read the story originally earlier this week, I realized the details didn’t quite add up. If you believe COVID is a hoax, why would you attend a “Covid Party?”...
A closer look showed that not only were there no names named, but there was no date or location of the party and no other sources about where and whether it happened. And then there was the curious fact that a dying man’s self-incriminating final words were relayed to the press. Who gave permission for that?
But if you click on the article link now, as I write this, you will find a few paragraphs of hedging added in:

“The Times could not independently verify Dr. Appleby’s account. On Monday, the San Antonio health department said its contact tracers did not have any information “that would confirm (or deny)” that such an event had happened there.
“In recent days, the hospital distributed video of Dr. Appleby describing the case, along with a press statement. She did not say when or where the party took place, how many people attended or how long afterward the man was hospitalized with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. She said she was sharing the story to warn others, especially in Texas, where cases are surging.”

These paragraphs were added long after publication. They also indicate where the story originated. The young junior reporter who wrote it isn’t in Texas but sitting at a desk, presumably at home. There is also another additional paragraph saying that the Times tried several times, through the hospital, to contact the dead man’s family.
You might also note the entirely different sub-headline: “Health experts have been skeptical that such parties occur, and details of this case could not be independently confirmed.”...

In fact, the story seems to have changed several times (LINK) since publication, in order to salvage the Times’s own credibility. The story has been transformed, edit by edit, from one of a man who died by taking a foolish risk in which the doctor was the only source, to a story about the questionable claim a doctor is making. There are no editor’s notes on it documenting the changes in the published story and the huge tonal shift from credulousness to skepticism.

A number of young journalists have been arguing lately that the traditional mission of journalism needs to be cashiered in favor of “moral clarity,” that journalism should be more like activism. What we have in this story is an example of where that leads us. The “moral clarity” was all there. It told a literal “cautionary moral tale.” But, the reporting and editing have lacked all the traditional ethics of the trade of journalism. The result looks to me like fake news and a disgraceful attempt at memory-holing the evidence.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/did-the-times-print-an-urban-legend/

the ABC presenters then moved on to an equally ridiculous local story about a vehicle with COVID19 number plates being parked at an airport since the beginning of the year, prior to the virus even getting its name.

13 Jul: ABC Australia: Mystery surrounds car with ‘COVID 19’ number plate parked at Adelaide Airport
ABC Radio Adelaide/By Eugene Boisvert
A car with the number plate “COVID 19” has perplexed Adelaide Airport staff, who say it has been parked there for months...
The disease caused by coronavirus was first officially labelled “COVID–19” on February 11, and was declared a pandemic one month later...
Mr Spry said as far as colleagues could recall, the car had been there since “February or even earlier”...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-13/car-with-number-plate-covid-19-parked-at-adelaide-airport/12448962

wow, how fantastic etc the pair on air said. they only needed to check their own website earlier Friday to find it was just personalized number plates issued much later:

17 Jul: ABC Australia: ‘COVID 19’ number plates listed for sale despite SA ban on term registered to mystery car
By Bension Siebert and Eugene Boisvert
Steven Spry said he and colleagues first noticed the car months ago, and were baffled as to who owned it and how long it had been there.
That prompted other reported sightings, with video and photos showing the car on the road and parked in a different spot at the airport in late March...

“DPTI (Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure) can confirm the plate agreement for the custom number plate ‘COVID 19’ commenced on March 5, 2020,” a spokesperson said...
Similar number plates have been issued to vehicle owners around Australia but state regimes differ as to what is deemed acceptable terminology...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-17/covid-number-plate-on-mystery-car-for-sale-despite-ban/12464072

ABC Australia considers itself the most trusted news outlet in the country, tho few watch or listen to their many stations/tv channels. they receive over $1 billion Australian dollars a year from the taxpayers, and seem to use CNN as a source for much of their reporting.

bury the FakeNewsMSM.

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