Sunday shows: Health officials push back on Trump’s ‘exaggerated’ COVID death toll claim

Public health experts took to the Sunday political news shows to refute claims made by President Trump that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was inflating the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 on the same day the U.S. death toll reached the grim milestone of more than 350,000.

Also on Sunday, lawmakers anticipated challenging the Electoral College vote count for president to be certified by Congress this week. Sen. Ted Cruz, one of 11 GOP senators who plan to contest the count, called for people who accused him of sedition to “calm down” while NBC’s Chuck Todd called Sen. Ron Johnson an “arsonist” for joining the effort.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Fauci pushes back on Trump on COVID-19 ‘exaggerated’ remarks: ‘The deaths are real deaths’ BY ZACK BUDRYK   Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, pushed back on claims by President Trump Sunday that the federal government has exaggerated the COVID-19 death toll. Read the full story here

Surgeon General says ‘no reason to doubt’ COVID death toll number BY JOHN BOWDEN   The U.S. Surgeon General pushed back against President Trump’s claims about the COVID-19 death toll being artificially inflated during an interview Sunday. Read the full story here

Fauci says he didn’t expect such a high US death toll from COVID-19 BY ZACK BUDRYK   Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said Sunday he did not expect the death toll from the coronavirus to be so high in the U.S. Read the full story here

Surgeon General says rate of vaccine rollout is increasing BY JOHN BOWDEN    Surgeon General Jerome Adams pushed back against criticism of the Trump administration’s rollout of the vaccines for COVID-19 on Sunday, pointing to improvements that authorities have made nationwide in their efforts to vaccinate as many as possible. Read the full story here

Surgeon General vows COVID-19 surge can be tempered BY JOSEPH CHOI   U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams acknowledged on Sunday that current projections on the coronavirus pandemic are “pretty scary,” but maintained it was still possible to “temper” the current surge of cases. Read the full story here

Cruz says people accusing him of sedition need to ‘calm down’ BY ZACK BUDRYK   Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Sunday called for critics of his challenge to the results of the presidential election to “tone down the rhetoric.” Read the full story here

Loeffler sidesteps questions on challenging Electoral College vote in Senate BY JOSEPH CHOI    Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) on Sunday avoided directly answering whether or not she’ll join her fellow GOP senators in challenging the Electoral College if she wins the Georgia runoff the day before. Read the full story here

NBC’s Chuck Todd to GOP senator on Electoral College challenge: ‘You’re the arsonist here’ BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO    Chuck Todd of NBC’s “Meet the Press” sharply criticized Sen. Ron Johnson during a Sunday interview over the Wisconsin Republican’s decision to join other GOP senators in challenging the presidential election in several states, saying, “You’re the arsonist here.” Read the full story here

Abrams says concession comparisons to Trump are ‘apples to bowling balls’ BY ZACK BUDRYK   Stacy Abrams on Sunday said comparisons between her refusal to concede her loss in a governor’s race to now Gov.-Brian Kemp (R) to President Trump’s refusal to concede the presidential race are “apples and bowling balls.” Read the full story here

Hoyer on GOP challenges to Biden win: ‘A sad day’ BY JOSEPH CHOI   Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Sunday the challenge by Republican senators who said they will oppose the Electoral College count by Congress marks “a sad day for democracy.” Read the full story here

US hits 350,000 COVID-19 deaths amid fear of surge after holiday gatherings BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO   More than 350,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the U.S., with another surge of cases and deaths expected in the coming weeks as a result of smaller holiday gatherings. Read the full story here