Shout or stay silent? Trump team splits over coronavirus surge

One group of White House aides wants more attention on the surging virus. The other wants to leave it to local officials. Now they’re trying to find a middle ground.

The Trump White House has a new internal battle: how much to talk publicly about a pandemic that’s crippling huge swaths of America.

President Donald Trump’s top aides are divided over the merits of resuming national news briefings to keep the public informed about the latest coronavirus statistics as infection rates spike in large states including California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Georgia.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, senior adviser Jared Kushner, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and counselor to the president Hope Hicks are among the aides arguing against these regular sessions because they want to keep the White House focused on the path forward and the nascent economic recovery — without scaring too much of the country about a virus resurgence when infections are rising at different paces in different regions. Continue reading.