White House-CDC tensions explode as Trump contradicts its leadership

By the evening, the president himself was calling his own CDC director mistaken about everything from mask use to the schedule of vaccine availability.By the end of the day, Redfield was tweeting statements that balanced ambiguity against seeming to support Trump's view.A constant background of tension has existed between the Trump administration (which wants the country to return to normal operations despite the medical consequences) and public health officials (who actually want to protect the public's health). And Trump basically tried to walk back Redfield's comments for him.When asked about mask use, Trump said, "Number one, it's not more effective by any means than a vaccine," before going on to say Redfield really didn't know what he was saying: "I believe that, if you ask him, he would probably say that he didn't understand the question." This despite the fact that Redfield wasn't asked to compare vaccines and masks—he did so simply to emphasize the importance of mask use. Later, Trump said he'd called Redfield, who reportedly told him, "I think I answered that question incorrectly."But Trump wasn't content to simply address the relative value of masks and vaccines; he went on to dismiss mask use more generally, saying, "I think there [are] lots of problems with masks," noting people's tendency to touch them. Later, after giving a non-answer to a question about why he doesn't set an example by using masks more often, Trump directly contradicted Redfield's testimony about the scientific evidence on mask use, saying, "The mask may help, and I hope it helps, and I think it probably does, but again, the mask is a mixed bag."Vaccine-distribution questions ended up completely confused. At one point, Trump said of Redfield's testimony, "It's just incorrect information."Trump also took time to say that Democrats' concerns that the vaccine might be rushed for political reasons was really just an indication that they don't want an effective vaccine before the election. After suggesting the US's horrific pandemic numbers would look better if we took out the statistics from Democratic-run states, Trump randomly segued into complaints about social distancing policies, saying, "It's very important they open up their states." Naming three swing states run by Democrats (Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania), Trump said that their restrictions are "hurting people more than the disease itself," before imploring these states to "let your people have freedom," echoing the earlier complaints of Attorney General Bill Barr.Again, Trump suggested any restrictions were a political conspiracy rather than governments following public health advice.