Tag: Trump botched COVID-19 response

Here’s the evidence that suggests the White House knew of Trump’s illness before debate — but deliberately hid it

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Even after rattling off various positive measures of Donald Trump’s health in various press conferences, White House physician Dr. Sean Conley has been adamant about not answering one of the most vital questions facing those exposed to Trump in recent days: When was the last time testing showed Trump was not carrying the pandemic virus that would send him to the hospital only a day after the White House admitted he was sick?

That’s important, because it would allow those who came into contact with Trump during last Tuesday’s presidential debate to know whether they spent 90 minutes in an enclosed space with a COVID-19 carrier shouting at them for most of that time—one of the precise scenarios that experts warn is mostlikely to result in pandemic spread.

It’s also important because all evidence so far points to the White House knowing of Trump’s illness at least as of Monday, before the debate. And it’s important because the pattern of infections coming out of the White House do not appear to correlate with people who attended the Rose Garden celebration the previous weekend. They appear to more closely correlate with people known to have spent significant amounts of time in proximity to Donald Trump himself. Continue reading.

The ‘invisible’ people who pay the price for Trump’s COVID malpractice

President has luxury of abandoning his ‘essential’ duty; ‘essential’ workers at White House do not

Despite the late nights and long hours that took my father away more than this daddy’s girl would have liked, he never stopped being my hero. I knew that when he finished his day job, changed clothes and headed to his extra shifts tending bar or waiting tables for local caterers, he was doing it for a reason. Lots of them, actually —my mom, two sisters, two brothers and me. 

For someone as proud as he was, it was a sacrifice because of what he had to put up with from people with a lot more money and a lot less character. They treated him like he was “invisible,” or worse, and he put up with it, for us.

What he did not have to do is endure the recklessness of a boss who willfully and deliberately exposed him to a deadly virus in the name of politics. Continue reading.

Rudy Giuliani can’t stop coughing through a Fox News interview while mocking Biden’s mask advocacy

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President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani repeatedly coughed throughout a Monday interview with Fox News as he attacked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for urging Americans to listen to scientific experts and wear masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Giuliani told Fox News host Martha MacCallum that he was awaiting his test results after working in close contact with Trump and other advisers on the president’s debate preparation team, who have since tested positive for COVID-19.

“I actually got one about two hours ago,” Giuliani said, adding that his first test was negative. “I haven’t gotten the results yet. I went to NYU. I got one of those all the way in the back of the nose tests.” Continue reading.

For Boris Johnson, catching covid-19 was sobering. Less so for Trump.

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LONDON — President Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have prompted many comparisons over the years: as populists, as politicians who aren’t afraid to offend, as people who play fast and loose with the facts. Now, they are a pair of world leaders with personal experience of the coronavirus.

But whereas Johnson spent weeks trying to fight off and then recover from the virus, Trump claims to have beaten it in just days. Johnson came back to work urging patience and determination, describing the virus as an “invisible mugger” that must be wrestled to the floor with collective action. Trump returned to the White House on Monday night playing down the virus, declaring: “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it.”

Here’s where their journeys overlapped — and where they diverged. Continue reading.

COVID-19 cases keep rising in Capitol complex

123 Legislative Branch employees have tested, or are presumed, positive

As COVID-19 cases spread through the White House and ruffle the Senate, cases among front-line workers on Capitol Hill continue to rise in the center of American government, which to this day lacks a comprehensive testing regimen for all workers.

There are now 123 Legislative Branch employees or contractors who have tested positive — or are presumed positive — for COVID-19, according to Ashley Phelps, a Republican spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee. This total has increased by 20 since Aug. 28.

The count includes 46 Capitol Police employees, 42 Architect of the Capitol employees and 35 contractors working on the Cannon Building renovation project. These numbers reflect total cases since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading.

Minnesota reports all-time high of confirmed COVID-19 infections from unknown sources

A key indicator in Minnesota’s pandemic response is going in the opposite direction. 

Minnesota’s COVID-19 dashboard reported Tuesday that a new high of 38% of confirmed novel coronavirus infections came from unknown community sources.

The rate is above Minnesota’s goal of no more than 30%, meaning the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading beyond the state’s ability to track it and contain it.

While it’s impossible to identify all sources of COVID-19, state health officials said this increase was an expected result of rising infection numbers and viral spread. They urged people to reduce their risks through mask-wearing and social distancing, which in turn will cut the rate of unknown infections.

“It is reasonable that with increasing cases there is increased chance to acquire the virus in the community without knowing from whom or where,” said Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director. “It is a concerning yet anticipated trend when cases increase.” Continue reading.

Vaccine official who filed complaint against Trump administration resigns from NIH

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NOTE: The following article is provided free of charge by The Washington Post.

One of the federal government’s top vaccine officials resigned from his role at the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday after accusing his superiors of politically motivated retaliation in response to his criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rick Bright, who formerly directed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, was removed from his post in April and reassigned to a narrower role at NIH, where, he said in a whistleblower complaint, his work was “thwarted by political considerations that continue to harm public health and safety.” The complaint accuses Department of Health and Human Services leaders of giving Bright a less prestigious job because he pushed back against President Trump’s lofty claims about hydroxychloroquine’s potential as a covid-19 treatment. Continue reading.

FDA asking COVID-19 vaccine developers for two months of safety data, raising doubts about approval by Election Day

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants coronavirus vaccine developers to submit two months of safety data before applying for emergency approval, circumventing the White House, which has expressed concerns about the stringent requirements.

The FDA, in documents posted online Tuesday, advised drugmakers conducting COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials to monitor patients for at least two months to assess potential negative effects from their candidates.

President Trump has recently called those steps a “political move” that would surely mean a vaccine is not approved by Election Day. Continue reading.

Trump orders aides to halt talks on COVID-19 relief

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President Trump said Tuesday that he has instructed his top aides to stop negotiating with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on future coronavirus stimulus legislation until after the November election, a risky move just weeks before voters head to the polls.

Trump, who is himself currently being treated for COVID-19, accused Pelosi in a series of tweets Tuesday afternoon of “not negotiating in good faith” and seeking “bailouts” for states he says are poorly run by Democratic officials.

“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted. Continue reading.