Trump keeps saying Obama left him ‘no ventilators.’ The number is 16,660 - The Washington Post

Over and over, Trump knocks the Obama administration for leaving an 'empty' cupboard of ventilators. That's false.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/25/trump-keeps-saying-obama-left-him-no-ventilators-number-is-16660/

Trump Wrong About Ventilators - FactCheck.org

President Donald Trump falsely claimed that his administration was not initially able to meet the increasing demand for ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients because “we weren’t left ventilators by a previous administration.” We can’t say for sure how many ventilators there were in the Strategic National Stockpile when Trump took office, but there were likely thousands. A 2017 article published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated there were roughly 9,000 ventilators in the federal stockpile as of at least 2010, and ventilators in the U.S. stockpile had never been distributed in the 20 years prior to the global coronavirus outbreak in 2020, according to Richard Branson, a respiratory care specialist and professor at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who advises the federal government on ventilator supplies. https://www.factcheck.org/2020/05/trump-wrong-about-ventilators/

The startlingly unethical antics of ventilator manufacturers – Raw Story

Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina announced that a company called ResMed had agreed to pay more than $37 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that it illegally paid kickbacks to promote sales of equipment used to treat sleep apnea. The case did not receive much attention at the time, but ResMed, which also produces ventilators, is now one of the companies involved in the controversy over the distribution of equipment that hospitals desperately need to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/the-startlingly-unethical-antics-of-ventilator-manufacturers/

China Donates 1,000 Ventilators to New York Amid Coronavirus Crisis: Cuomo

China has donated 1,000 ventilators to New York as the U.S. state battles an extraordinary outbreak of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said—about a quarter of what the federal government has been able to spare. The ventilators were donated by Alibaba founder Jack Ma and the Joseph and Cara Tsai Foundation through the Chinese government, and will arrive at JFK Airport on Saturday. “This is a big deal and it’s going to make a significant difference for us,” Cuomo said. https://www.thedailybeast.com/chinese-government-donates-1000-ventilators-to-new-york-amid-coronavirus-crisis-cuomo-says

The HHS Inspector General Report - FactCheck.org

In a testy exchange with reporters, President Donald Trump questioned the political motivations of an administration inspector general, claiming that her report on hospital experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic was “wrong.” The report gave the results of a survey of 323 hospitals across the country.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/the-hhs-inspector-general-report/

Trump announces he will deploy hundreds of scarce ventilators — to the United Kingdom – Raw Story

At Tuesday’s coronavirus task force press briefing, President Donald Trump opened by discussing the allocation of ventilators, which are critical to taking care of patients with breathing problems. He suggested that he will start deploying ventilators overseas, to the United Kingdom. ....
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/trump-announces-he-will-deploy-hundreds-of-scarce-ventilators-to-the-united-kingdom/

Illinois governor fires back after Trump says states were unprepared: He 'does not understand the word federal' | TheHill

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) slammed President Trump early Sunday, saying after the president suggested states should have prepared their own stockpiles of equipment ahead of the coronavirus pandemic that Trump does not understand the word "federal." “The president does not understand the word federal. Federal Emergency Management Agency. We have a state Emergency Management Agency, but if he were right, why would we ever need a Federal Emergency Management Agency?” Pritzker said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It’s because individual states can't possibly do what the federal government can do.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491219-illinois-gov-fires-back-after-trump-says-states-were-unprepared-he

'It's an exhausting story': Jonathan Karl on his up-close view of Trump

ABC’s chief White House correspondent on his new book Front Row at the Trump Show, fake news, coronavirus and why the Trump presidency is a matter of life and death ....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/04/front-row-at-the-trump-show-jonathan-karl-book

GOP senator calls for investigation into 'mismanagement' of strategic ventilators | TheHill

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is requesting an investigation into reports of "mismanagement" of ventilators in the Strategic National Stockpile amid growing demand for the equipment as the coronavirus spreads across the country. Gardner sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General, noting that the stockpile is, under federal law, supposed to allow the federal government to support states in a public health emergency. ...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/490992-gop-senator-calls-for-investigation-into-mismanagement-of-strategic

US exports of masks, PPE to China surged in early phase of coronavirus

U.S. exports of surgical masks, ventilators and other personal protective gear to China skyrocketed in January and February, when the coronavirus was wreaking havoc in the country where it began and as U.S. intelligence agencies warned it would soon spread. American companies sold more than $17.5 million worth of face masks, more than $13.6 million in surgical garments and more than $27.2 million in ventilators to China during the first two months of the year, far exceeding that of any other similar period in the past decade, according to the most recent foreign trade data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/04/02/us-exports-masks-ppe-china-surged-early-phase-coronavirus/5109747002/

Taxpayers Paid Millions to Design a Low-Cost Ventilator for a Pandemic. Instead, the Company Is Selling Versions of It Overseas. — ProPublica

As coronavirus sweeps the globe, there is not a single Trilogy Evo Universal ventilator — developed with government funds — in the U.S. stockpile. Meanwhile, Royal Philips N.V. has sold higher-priced versions to clients around the world.
https://www.propublica.org/article/taxpayers-paid-millions-to-design-a-low-cost-ventilator-for-a-pandemic-instead-the-company-is-selling-versions-of-it-overseas-

Trump Says He’s Doing a Hell of a Job Getting Medical Supplies. Reality Says Otherwise.

The president tweeted Friday morning that he was embracing authority to force companies to ramp up supply chains. Except, it’s not clear he’s doing so.
https://thedailybeast.com/trump-says-hes-doing-a-hell-of-a-job-getting-medical-supplies-reality-says-otherwise

Hours After Doubting the Need for 40,000 Ventilators, Trump Demanded 40,000 Ventilators - Mother Jones:

"You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they'll have two ventilators."
https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/03/hours-after-doubting-the-need-for-40000-ventilators-trump-demanded-40000-ventilators/

Trump: If New York Wants Ventilators Cuomo Better Start Kissing the Ring | Vanity Fair

Apparently the president needs to be sufficiently flattered in order to do his job.....

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/donald-trump-andrew-cuomo-ventilators

‘We’re not a shipping clerk’: Trump tells governors to step up efforts to get medical supplies - POLITICO

The president's remarks amounted to a rebuke of governors' recent pleas for greater federal intervention.....
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/19/trump-governors-coronavirus-medical-supplies-137658

More lifesaving ventilators are available. Hospitals can’t afford them - The Washington Post

America's private health system was not set up to maintain backup supplies, leaving a gap that could cost lives if there is a surge in serious coronavirus patients...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/18/ventilator-shortage-hospital-icu-coronavirus/