Tag: COVID-19

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.

Trump Accuses Media and Democrats of Exaggerating Coronavirus Threat

New York Times logoThe accusations came as other elements of the federal government moved to head off a broader wave of infections like those in China.

WASHINGTON — President Trump and members of his administration mobilized on Friday to confront the threat of the coronavirus — not just the outbreak, but the news media and the Democrats they accused of exaggerating its danger.

While stock markets tumbled, companies searched for new supply chains and health officials scrambled to prevent a spread of the virus, Mr. Trump and his aides, congressional allies and backers in the conservative media sought to blame the messenger and the political opposition in the latest polarizing moment in the nation’s capital.

Mr. Trump said that news outlets like CNN were “doing everything they can to instill fear in people,” while some Democrats were “trying to gain political favor by saying a lot of untruths.” His acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, went even further, telling conservative activists that journalists were hyping the coronavirus because “they think this will bring down the president; that’s what this is all about.” Continue reading.

Live updates: New coronavirus cases indicate virus is spreading in U.S.; FDA expands testing

Washington Post logoMore coronavirus infections were reported from South Korea to France to Qatar on Saturday after health officials in Washington state, Oregon and California on Friday reported a worrying development: new cases among people who have not traveled recently to countries hit hard by the outbreak or come into contact with anyone known to have the disease, which public health officials refer to as community transmission.

The four new cases Friday bring the total number of covid-19 cases detected through the U.S. public health system to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington state announced late Friday that a high school student in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, tested positive for the deadly virus and was in home isolation in a suspected community transmission case. State health officials also said a woman in her 50s in King County tested positive after traveling to Daegu, South Korea, the site of a major coronavirus outbreak. She, too, is in home isolation. Continue reading.

Trump officials discuss tax cuts, other emergency measures in hopes of tackling coronavirus fallout

Washington Post logoThe proposals would do little to stop the virus’s spread, but would aim to arrest economic fears

Trump administration officials are holding preliminary conversations about economic responses to the coronavirus, as the stock market fell sharply again on Friday amid international fears about the outbreak, according to five people with knowledge of the planning.

Among the options being considered are pursuing a targeted tax cut package, these people said. They have also discussed whether the White House should lean even harder on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, though the central bank on Friday afternoon said it would step in if necessary.

No decisions at the White House have been reached on these options, and officials stressed conversations remained preliminary and extremely fluid. Continue reading.

Shouting and sniping as Pompeo defends Trump’s Iran and Iraq policy

Criticism over administration’s response to the coronavirus dominates Foreign Affairs hearing

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s first public appearance of the year before Congress was his most heated and combative yet, with House Democrats frequently raising their voice to sharply rebuke the secretary, who categorically rejected all of their criticisms on the administration’s Iran policy and on its handling of the growing worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing was nominally about the administration’s policy toward Iran and Iraq and its use of war powers. But Democrats used a good portion of their questioning time to ask about the administration’s response to COVID-19, the new coronavirus that began in late 2019 in Wuhan, China and is a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses.

Rep. Ted Deutch said the Trump administration had a major credibility problem on its hands when it came to its handling of COVID-19. Continue reading.