Trump calls for sending ventilators directly to hospitals, faults states for not stocking up

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President Trump on Thursday said he would “prefer” sending ventilators “directly to hospitals,” while blaming states for not stocking up on medical supplies now needed for treating an influx of patients suffering from the novel coronavirus.

“Massive amounts of medical supplies, even hospitals and medical centers, are being delivered directly to states and hospitals by the Federal Government. Some have insatiable appetites & are never satisfied (politics?)” Trump tweeted.

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“Remember, we are a backup for them,” he continued. “The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit. Other states are thrilled with the job we have done. Sending many Ventilators today, with thousands being built.”

Trump added: “51 large cargo planes coming in with medical supplies. Prefer sending directly to hospitals.”

The president’s tweets come amid criticism that the federal government has not acted quickly enough to provide states and hospitals with necessary supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical professionals.

Trump has recruited large companies, like Ford Motor Company and General Motors, to manufacture tens of thousands of ventilators that hospitals across the country need for patients suffering with severe complications from COVID-19 -- as well as working with Walmart and other supply companies for PPE for those on the frontlines.

Meanwhile, Trump on Thursday also slammed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for “complaining” and for suggesting the president should appoint a military person to lead the distribution of critical supplies.

The president, last month, appointed Admiral John Polowczyk, a senior Navy officer, to be in charge of leading FEMA’s coronavirus supply chain.

“Somebody please explain to Cryin’ Chuck Schumer that we do have a military man in charge of distributing goods, a very talented Admiral, in fact,” Trump said.

“New York has gotten far more than any other State, including hospitals & a hospital ship, but no matter what, always complaining,” Trump added. “It wouldn’t matter if you got ten times what you needed, it would never be good enough.”

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He added: “Unlike other states, New York unfortunately got off to a late start. You should have pushed harder. Stop complaining & find out where all of these supplies are going.”

The president went on to defend New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying he is “working hard!”

Trump, working with Cuomo, approved the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital, to travel to New York City to provide additional hospital beds as the city’s hospitals have exceeded capacity. The ship arrived in New York City's harbor on Monday.

Cuomo has also worked with the federal government and the Army Corps of Engineers to construct other triage hospitals across the state—opening a 2,900-bed hospital inside New York City’s Javits Convention Center. The hospital, which is the largest temporary hospital built yet, will open in New York for non-COVID-19 patients.

The Javits conversion is one of four temporary hospitals that will open in the New York area within the next two weeks. Three other locations include dormitories at two State University of New York campuses on Long Island.

Cuomo, last week, said he asked Trump to approve the construction of four more temporary hospitals. The governor said he wants to have a 1,000-plus bed facility in every New York City borough and in the hardest hit surrounding counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester. Cuomo scouted the newly proposed temporary hospital sites at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, CUNY Staten Island, and the New York Expo Center in the Bronx.

New York has been considered the epicenter of coronavirus in the U.S., with more than 84,000 cases in the state and more than 2,200 deaths as of Thursday morning. Of that number, New York City makes up nearly half of the cases in the state, and has reported 1,374 deaths.

The U.S. as of Thursday morning is reporting more than 216,700 cases of coronavirus and more than 5,100 deaths.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson, Bryan Llenas and Vandana Rambaran contributed to this report.