Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci of the White House...

Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci of the White House Coronavirus Task Force listen as President Donald Trump's briefing on March 20. Credit: The Washington Post / Jabin Botsford

Newsday is opening this story to all readers so Long Islanders have access to important information about the coronavirus outbreak. All readers can learn the latest news at newsday.com/LiveUpdates

Last week, University of North Florida pollsters reported a staggering 58% of Sunshine State residents said they do not trust President Donald Trump to "provide reliable information about the coronavirus." Another 41% said they do.

This credibility problem goes way beyond political polarization. Trump appears unwilling or unable to just let his experts tell people the facts.

On Sunday, the president declined to let his top expert Dr. Anthony Fauci answer a question about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine. The reason was clear: Trump has made himself a pitch man for the use of this antimalarial drug in the current crisis, while Fauci and other medical authorities warn that testing, while accelerated, first must be completed.

For Trump fans, the hydroxychloroquine "issue" creates a contrived Trump narrative in which he's early and right and most other authorities late and wrong. If you choose to believe Trump above all others, his weeks of plain lateness in acknowledging the deadly seriousness of coronavirus will have met their antidote.

The virus information crisis goes much deeper.

Trump has said more than once in recent weeks that passengers are given "very strong tests" when getting on and off airplanes and trains. There is no evidence of this, and therefore no numbers. Even if he meant questions and temperature checks, it turns out major airlines and Amtrak really aren't doing such screening.

Misstatements are so frequent that administration officials who know better passively let them go unchallenged.

While death tolls mount, Trump repeatedly demands credit for having imposed early travel restrictions from China.

"We're the ones that kept China out of here," he said.

In fact, data examined by The New York Times shows that despite his partial measures, more than 40,000 people traveled to the U.S. from China after COVID-19 surfaced.

Information and performance are linked. When it comes to federal guidance in the crisis, confusion and shortages have lingered over medical supplies and equipment, diagnostic tests for the virus and delivery of monetary assistance. Retailers across the country have been improvising a patchwork safety system involving face masks and temperature checks.

Trump has trotted out the excuse that a federal stockpile of emergency medicine and supplies he inherited from his predecessor was an “empty shelf.” No facts have been made available to support the assertion.

Last week, Trump said scarves may be a better option than face masks because they are "thicker." This is not information, just another seat-of-the-pants blurt. As of last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was advising that health care workers "might use homemade masks (e.g., bandanna, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort."

Even without a study, one dynamic prevails these days. According to fact-checkers, the number of falsehoods at presidential news conferences tends to drop the more Trump lets others do the talking.

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME