PBS高端访谈:特朗普称美国新冠死亡人数较低?（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: The COVID-19 pandemic reached staggering new highs today, as the U.S. death toll surpassed 130,000. Sixteen states have now posted record daily spikes in new infections this month. All this as hospitals in the South and the West struggle to keep up with the urgent demand for care. William Brangham has our report.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In many places, it was a subdued holiday weekend, one overshadowed by a virus that's spreading with alarming speed. Americans marked the Fourth of July with measured celebrations, their trips to the beach flanked with warnings. But even in states with soaring new infections, others gathered defiantly and rejected those warnings.

MAN: I'm an American, and I feel I should be able to do what I want to. I pay my taxes. I live free. I want to be free.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Some at this rodeo in Houston refused to wear masks, despite a new statewide order to wear them in public.

WOMAN: Because it's against our constitutional rights. They shouldn't be able to dictate what I wear.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The surging caseload in Texas has stretched hospitals to capacity, with record numbers of new patients admitted every day.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner: SYLVESTER TURNER, Mayor of Houston, Texas: The number of people in our ICU beds has exponentially increase. In fact, if we don't get our hands around this virus quickly, in about two weeks, our hospital system could be in serious, serious trouble.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: A similar concern from the mayor of Miami, another hot spot.

FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), Mayor of Miami, Florida: When we reopened, people started socializing as if the virus didn't exist.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Both Florida and Texas reported their highest single-day totals this weekend since the pandemic began. But President Trump took to Twitter to insist it is testing that is driving those surges, while highlighting that nationwide deaths remain low and steady. That mirrored his comments over the weekend that incorrectly downplayed the severity of the virus.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We have tested almost 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: It's a claim his own administration officials struggled to defend.

STEPHEN HAHN, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration: What I will say is that we have data in the White House Task Force. Those data show us that this is a serious problem. People need to take it seriously.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo accused the president of enabling the virus' spread through his unfounded claims.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Mr. President, don't be a co-conspirator of COVID. Do one simple thing: Acknowledge to American people that COVID exists, it is a major problem.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But, later, at the White House, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany called Mr. Trump's statements factual.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, White House Press Secretary: The president was noting the fact that the vast majority of Americans who contract coronavirus will come out on the other side of this. Of course he takes this very seriously.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Meanwhile, overseas, new cases in India today surpassed Russia's tally, putting India now in third place for most reported infections globally. The country acknowledged more than 24,000 new infections in the last 24 hours alone. Officials had to postpone plans to reopen the Taj Mahal this week. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm William Brangham.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Late this afternoon, the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, announced that she has tested positive for COVID-19. But she said she hasn't shown any symptoms. We will take a closer look at the pandemic's racial disparities later in the program.

朱迪·伍德乐夫：今天，新冠肺炎疫情达到令人震惊的新高，美国死亡人数超过13万。本月，16个州的新感染人数每天都创下新高。所有这些都发生在南部和西部的医院努力满足人们对医疗服务的迫切需求的时候。威廉·布兰格姆报道。

威廉·布兰格姆：对许多地方而言，本周末的国庆假期是一个令人压抑的周末假期，被病毒惊人的传播速度的阴影所笼罩着。美国人谨慎地庆祝7月4日的到来，他们前往海滩的旅行被警告包围。然而，即使在新感染病例激增的州，也有一些人聚集起来抵制这些警告。

男子：我是一个美国人，我觉得我有权利做我想做的事。我纳了税，我可以自由生活，我想要自由。

威廉·布兰格姆：在休斯顿的牛仔竞技会上一些人拒绝戴口罩，尽管有一项针对全州范围内公共场合必须戴口罩的新命令。

女子：因为它违反了我们的宪法权利，他们不能限制我的穿着。

威廉·布兰格姆：得克萨斯州的病例激增已使医院不堪重负，每天新入院的病人人数创下纪录。

休斯顿市长西尔维斯特·特纳：我们重症监护室的病床上的病人人数呈指数级增长。说实话，如果我们不能迅速控制该病毒，在大约两周的时间内，我们的医院系统就会陷入非常严重的麻烦。

威廉·布兰格姆：另一个热点城市迈阿密的市长也表达了类似的担忧。

弗朗西斯·苏亚雷斯(右)，弗罗里达迈阿密市长：我们重新开放之后，人们就开始进行社交活动，就好像病毒并不存在一样。

威廉·布兰格姆：佛罗里达州和得克萨斯州报告了自疫情开始以来的最高单日总人数。而特朗普总统在推特上坚称，导致这些激增的是“测试”，同时强调全国范围内的死亡人数仍然“较低且稳定”，这与他在周末错误地淡化病毒严重性的言论相呼应。

唐纳德·特朗普，美国总统：我们已经对近4000万人进行了测试，通过测试，我们看到了感染人数，其中99%是完全无害的。

威廉·布兰格姆：不过这一说法就连他自己的政府官员也难以自圆其说。

斯蒂芬·哈恩，美国食品和药物管理局局长：我想说的是，我们在白宫特别工作组中有数据，这些数据告诉我们问题很严重，人们需要重视

威廉·布兰格姆：今天，纽约州州长安德鲁·科莫指责总统因为他毫无根据的说法而致使病毒进一步传播。

州长安德鲁·科莫(民主党—纽约州)：总统先生，不要成为新冠的共犯。做一件简单的事情就好：向美国人民承认新冠的存在，这是一个很大的问题。

威廉·布兰格姆：但是后来在白宫，新闻秘书凯蕾·麦肯尼称特朗普的言论是有事实根据的。

凯蕾·麦肯尼，白宫新闻秘书：总统注意到这一事实，即绝大多数感染新冠的美国人最终都会安然无恙，他当然很重视这件事。

威廉·布兰格姆：与此同时，在海外，印度的新增病例于今日超过了俄罗斯，致使印度在全球报告的感染病例中位列第三。该国仅在过去24小时内就确诊了超过2.4万例新感染病例，官员们不得不推迟本周重新开放泰姬陵的计划。“PBS新闻一小时”报道，我是威廉·布兰汉姆。

朱迪·伍德乐夫：今天下午晚些时候，亚特兰大市长凯莎·兰斯·普拉斯宣称她的新冠检测呈阳性，不过她说自己没有出现任何症状。我们将在稍后的节目中深入探讨新冠的种族差异。