Tag: coronavirus

Trump is pushing a dangerous, false spin on coronavirus — and the media is helping him spread it

Washington Post logoAmong the many outlandish statements President Trump has made since taking office, one in particular stands out for me.

Speaking in Kansas City, Mo., in the summer of 2018, he urged the attendees of the VFW annual convention to ignore the journalism of the mainstream media.

“Just stick with us, don’t believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news,” he said. “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.”

In other words, if you didn’t hear from me or my minions, it isn’t true. Continue reading.

Pence defends Trump Jr’s claim that Dems want ‘millions’ to die from coronavirus: ‘Understandable

AlterNet logoVice President Mike Pence said over the weekend that it is “understandable” that President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., would say that Democrats want millions of Americans to die of the coronavirus.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Pence about the remarks made by the son of the president several days earlier.

“For them to try to take a pandemic and seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so that they can end Donald Trump’s streak of winning is a new level of sickness,” Pence told Fox News on Friday. Continue reading.

5 parts of the economy most at risk from coronavirus

The Hill logoThe growing threat of a coronavirus pandemic is raising fears about the toll it could take on the U.S. economy.

Public health officials say the risk of contracting coronavirus in the U.S. remains low, but economists expect the international scramble to contain the spreading illness to weaken global growth.

An outbreak within the U.S. could also seriously dampen American economic activity and consumer confidence, according to economists, posing threats to a record stretch of prosperity. Continue reading.

Viral Orange Blob Meets Political Orange Blob

If you’re not outraged yet by the systematic crippling of public health and science by Donald Trump now that we have the coronavirus serial killer on the loose — ironically, an orange blob of a virus according to electron miscroscopic images from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases — than you’d better check your pulse. You may already be dead.

Trump’s vicious, inhumane and vile ideas while in office have already torn families apart, and inspired right wing fanatics to shoot Jews, gays, immigrants, and people of color. Now, as this new global health threat explodes around the world, his incompetence and malfeasance in office will kill even more people.

The dangerous science and fact-denialist came into office with a vendetta against scientists and any expert whose mind he could not bully into submission. He directed his Agriculture Secretary to eliminate the jobs of some of the most world-renowned scientists; left vacant hundreds of critical public health positions at the Centers for Disease Control, the single most important US Infectious Disease agency, whose leaders Trump is now trying to muzzle.

Inside Trump’s frantic attempts to minimize the coronavirus crisis

Washington Post logoMinutes before President Trump was preparing Wednesday to reassure a skittish nation about the coronavirus threat, he received a piece of crucial information: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified in California the first U.S. case of the illness not tied to foreign travel, a sign that the virus’s spread in the United States was likely to explode.

But when Trump took to the lectern for a news conference intended to bring transparency to the spiraling global crisis, he made no explicit mention of the California case and its implications — and falsely suggested the virus might soon be eradicated in the United States.

“And again, when you have 15 people — and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero — that’s a pretty good job we’ve done,” he said. Continue reading.

Don Jr. Plays Politics With The Pandemic

On Dad’s favorite morning show, Junior was asked whether he was “surprised the way they’ve been handling the coronavirus situation, meaning Democrats.”

Put aside all the problems with the question itself — put aside fair and balanced, much less smart and stupid — because the answer is so much more.

Said the First Son, Donald Trump Jr., the Prince of Trump: “Anything they can use to try to hurt Trump, they will. … But for them to try to take a pandemic and seemingly hope that it comes here and kills millions of people so that they can end Donald Trump’s streak of winning is a new level of sickness. … You know, I don’t know if this is coronavirus or Trump derangement syndrome, but these people are infected badly.” Continue reading.

Psychiatrist sounds the alarm about ‘sociopath’ President Trump: ‘He’s getting worse’

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump’s psychological problems are getting worse and could be consequential as America faces a potential COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Thursday interviewed Dr. Lance Dodes, a former assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

“As you pointed out, Lawrence, this man is about himself. He really is not about the country, he’s not about public health,” Dr. Dodes said of Trump. Continue reading.

Pentagon races to counter coronavirus threat on military forces

The Hill logoThe Pentagon is taking care to prevent a slip in national security and readiness following the steady global spread of the coronavirus that has the Department of Defense (DOD) holding off on a military exercise, quarantining fleets and curtailing troop movement.

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, DOD in the last week has canceled a joint military exercise with South Korea, restricted access to public areas at Army installations in Italy and ordered all ships that have visited countries in the Pacific region to remain at sea for 14 days, essentially a self-quarantine.

U.S. Central Command has also ordered a stop to all nonessential travel in the Persian Gulf region.  Continue reading.

First U.S. death confirmed; travel restrictions announced affecting Iran, Italy and South Korea in response to coronavirus

Washington Post logoThe Trump administration Saturday announced additional travel restrictions affecting Iran, Italy and South Korea in response to the coronavirus outbreak following the first death from the virus in the United States.

Vice President Pence said the existing travel ban on Iran would extend to foreign nationals who had been in that country the past 14 days. The State Department also is increasing its warning advising Americans not to travel to parts of Italy and South Korea affected by the virus.

Right before the White House’s news conference, health officials in Washington state confirmed a person diagnosed with coronavirus in King County has died. Continue reading.