Key fact checks of Trump briefing The daily briefing has ended. Some key fact checks and falsehoods from Trump: He falsely suggested the pandemic was not predictable when, in fact, the US intelligence community, public health experts and officials in Trump’s own administration had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic, including specific warnings about a coronavirus outbreak. He falsely said the testing in the US is “better” than any other country in the world. In fact, some of the initial coronavirus tests sent out to states were seriously flawed – some did not even work. The CDC had insisted it would manufacture the tests itself, creating further problems. He tried to suggest that Obama’s handling of H1N1 was worse than his handling of Covid-19, when in fact Obama declared an emergency within two weeks of a first confirmed US case. He falsely said airline passengers were getting tests upon landing, which is not true. He attacked the inspector general report about testing shortage as politically motivated from an Obama appointee, when in reality, the official behind the report has had a long career with the non-partisan office. He also said the country would open “sooner than people think”, even as health officials are warning of a gradual return from current restrictions. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Make a contribution - The Guardian Dr Birx shared a personal story about her granddaughter’s current high fever and her inability to visit. Earlier, Trump accidentally referred to her “grandson”. More details from the Guardian’s Sam Levine on the Wisconsin election: The US supreme court ruled 5-4 that Wisconsin voters have to have their mail-in ballots postmarked by 7 April, election day, in order to have them counted in the state’s closely watched election. The deadline for election officials to receive the ballot is 13 April. The decision, which came shortly after the state supreme court ordered the election to move forward on Tuesday, ends days of legal fighting over the deadline for receiving absentee ballots in the state. State law requires them to be received at election offices by 8pm on election night in order to count, but a federal judge extended that deadline to 13 April amid an unprecedented surge in requests for mail-in balloting. There was such a surge in requests that state Democrats argued thousands would be disenfranchised because they wouldn’t even get their ballot until after election day. As of Monday morning, a little over 11,000 voters who had requested a ballot in the state had yet to be issued one. In an unsigned opinion, the five conservative justices on the court said it was ruling on a “narrow, technical question”, and that the lower court’s decision to extend the ballot deadline without requiring a postmark went beyond what plaintiffs had asked for. “The court’s decision on the narrow question before the court should not be viewed as expressing an opinion on the broader question of whether to hold the election, or whether other reforms or modifications in election procedures in light of Covid–19 are appropriate,” the majority wrote. Writing for the court’s four liberal justices in dissent, Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the majority did not understand the scope of the case: While I do not doubt the good faith of my colleagues, the court’s order, I fear, will result in massive disenfranchisement. A voter cannot deliver for postmarking a ballot she has not received. The question here is whether tens of thousands of Wisconsin citizens can vote safely in the midst of a pandemic.” Dr Fauci is now speaking at the briefing, expressing some optimism about recent hospital data and shelter in place efforts: We got there through mitigation. We cut off the stream of people who require hospitalization. This is an indication, despite all the suffering and the death that has occurred.. that what we have been doing has been working. Keep it up. This is going to get us out of it. This is our best and only great public health tool... If you do it right, those that have not peaked, will not peak.” The Guardian’s voting rights reporter Sam Levine has an update on the Wisconsin primary, scheduled for this week: Trump has left the podium, after more than 90 minutes. Mike Pence is speaking now. Here’s a clip of one of the president’s testiest exchanges with the media today: Trump is lamenting the impact on sports, saying, “I hope basketball can maybe do their playoffs ... A lot of people are tired looking at games that are five years old ... You get tired of looking at nine-year-old baseball games ... People want to see sports, sports are a great thing for this country. I hope football can start. I told them they may be able to. I hope they can start with people in the stands ... You have seats. Those seats are meant for people to be sitting next to each other.” Football season starts in September. Trump is praising healthcare workers on the front lines, and makes an offhand remark about giving them “bonuses” when this is over. He didn’t offer any further details. He has compared them to “soldiers going into battle”. Trump is fielding questions on the commander fired over his coronavirus memo, suggesting he doesn’t think his life should be “destroyed” as a result: He made a mistake. He shouldn’t be sending letter. He’s the captain … you don’t send letters and then it leaks into a newspaper. I may get involved ...If I can help two good people, I’m going to help him” A useful fact check on Trump’s attempt to draw a comparison between his handling of Covid-19 and the Obama administration’s handling of H1N1: Trump took a break from discussing Covid-19 to share misleading assertions about undocumented immigrants, raising concerns about “criminals” in sanctuary cities. There is no evidence that sanctuary policies meant to protect undocumented people are linked to crime. Fact check: Trump is again spreading the falsehood that Covid-19 is a “virus that nobody ever thought possible”. An October 2019 draft report by the Department of Health and Human Services, obtained by the New York Times “drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed”. The exact language of a question that Trump called “horrid”: Dr Birx made her first comments of today’s briefing, urging Americans to limit trips to the grocery store and pharmacy as much as possible, suggesting one family member do the shopping and go once every two weeks. In states that are bracing for the worst this week, officials have urged residents to completely stay home and avoid stores altogether if they have the supplies they need. The president has attacked governors, again, returning to his refrain that they are kind to him in private and then complain about him to the media. This time, he also criticizes one governor as a “Rino”, which means “Republican in name only”. Governors across the country have repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of ventilators and unsuccessfully sought the federal government’s help.