Since writing “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY” at 8:10 a.m. on Sunday, Trump has used his Twitter account to make or elevate allegations of criminal conduct against no fewer than 20 individuals and organizations. Since Sunday, he has tweeted more often about alleged crimes by his perceived opponents than he has about the pandemic ravaging the country with mass death and unemployment. Continue reading.
Tag: Trump mishandling pandemic crisis
Republicans to Trump: Wear a mask
A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows voters overwhelmingly think he should cover his face in public — including nearly three in five Republicans.
President Donald Trump has faced plenty of criticism from Democrats throughout the coronavirus pandemic — including for his refusal to wear a mask.
But according to a new survey, even most Republicans think Trump and Vice President Mike Pence should sport face coverings when traveling in public. It’s a rare point of bipartisan consensus during a public health crisis that’s become deeply politicized.
Whether encouraging a rapid economic reopening or excoriating China for mishandling the initial outbreak, GOP lawmakers and leading party figures have largely fallen in line with the administration’s coronavirus messaging as Trump seeks to engineer a financial recovery and salvage his reelection campaign. Continue reading.
‘Very, very ugly ending’: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer is stunned as Trump storms out of press briefing
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was stunned at the end of White House’s press briefing on Thursday, which concluded when President Donald Trump had a petty tiff with two female reporters.
“A very, very ugly ending to that one-hour appearance by the president,” Blitzer commented as Trump stormed out.
The dispute began when CBS News’ Weijia Jiang asked the president why he was so focused on the United States’ supposedly superiority at coronavirus testing. Continue reading.
Deaths Pass 80,000 As Trump Puffs: ‘We Have Prevailed’
Donald Trump on Monday declared that the United States had “prevailed” over the coronavirus. The very same day, the New York Times reported that at least 1,346,800 people nationwide had confirmed coronavirus cases.
At least 80,095 people have died from COVID-19 so far.
From a May 11 White House briefing:
DONALD TRUMP: Thanks to the courage of our citizens and our aggressive strategy, hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved. And we have saved — and if you look at… on a per-100,000 basis, we’re at the best part of the pack. Right at the bottom — Germany and us are leading the world. Germany and the United States are leading the world. Lives saved per 100,000.
In every generation, through every challenge and hardship and danger, America has risen to the task.
We have met the moment, and we have prevailed.
Americans do whatever it takes to find solutions, pioneer breakthroughs, and harness the energies we need to achieve a total victory. Day after day, we are making tremendous strides with the dedication of our doctors and nurses. These are incredible people. These are brave people. These are warriors.
White House Orders Staff to Wear Masks as Trump Misrepresents Testing Record
At a news conference, the president reiterated that he would not wear a mask himself and again exaggerated the availability of testing for the coronavirus.
>WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday ordered all West Wing employees to wear masks at work unless they are sitting at their desks, an abrupt shift in policy after two aides working near the president — a military valet and Katie Miller, the vice president’s spokeswoman — tested positive for the coronavirus last week.
In an internal email obtained by The New York Times, people who work in the cramped quarters around the Oval Office were told that “as an additional layer of protection, we are requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or face covering.”
>Asked at a Rose Garden news conference whether he had ordered the change, Mr. Trump — who did not wear a mask and has repeatedly said he sees no reason to — said, “Yeah, I did.” But officials said the new requirement was not expected to apply to Mr. Trump or to Vice President Mike Pence. Continue reading.
Trump visit to Pennsylvania factory that produces PPE materials was scuttled after plant officials expressed concerns about health risks
President Trump was pushing to get out in the public eye in recent weeks and tout his leadership during the pandemic, and White House staff thought they had hit on the ideal event: a presidential visit to thank the Pennsylvania factory workers who had recently taken herculean steps to ramp up U.S. supplies of protective equipment.
Workers had received national attention after dozens of them lived for 28 days inside their factory so they could ensure they were virus-free and their production was not contaminated or disrupted by illness.
White House officials pressed to hold an event at the Braskem factory, initially scheduled for last Friday. But after extensive back and forth, factory officials ultimately asked to postpone, worried that a visit from Trump could jeopardize both the safety of the workers and the plant’s ability to produce special material for masks and other medical gear, according to two people familiar with the decision and documents reviewed by The Post. Continue reading.
Fauci warns of ‘really serious’ consequences if nation reopens too quickly
Anthony Fauci in a highly anticipated hearing on Tuesday warned the Senate Health Committee of “really serious” consequences if states ignore federal guidelines and reopen too early during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the danger of new spikes of coronavirus cases from reopening is both real and dangerous.
“My concern is that if some areas, city, states or what have you, jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is that we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” Fauci said during virtual testimony from his home in Washington. Continue reading.
GOP senators worry Trump, COVID-19 could cost them their majority
Senate Republicans looking at polls showing GOP incumbents losing ground are concerned that President Trump‘s handling of the pandemic has put their majority in danger.
The two biggest criticisms of Trump that GOP lawmakers express privately are that his administration took too long to deploy coronavirus tests and that the president’s statements and demeanor have been too cavalier or flippant.
The biggest headwind Republicans face this fall is the faltering national economy, which now has a 14.7 percent unemployment rate, according to a Friday report by the Labor Department. Continue reading.
Pompeo is Trump attack dog on China, COVID-19
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has positioned himself as the Trump administration’s most aggressive China critic, pushing the argument that Beijing holds responsibility for the coronavirus pandemic.
He’s drawn the ire of Chinese officials and state-backed media, who label him a “liar” and have called him “the common enemy of mankind” for his attacks on the Communist Party, shifting their attacks directly on the secretary and away from earlier accusations speculating the U.S. military spread COVID-19.
And despite mixed messages from U.S. officials and pushback from allies, the secretary continues to speculate whether the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese laboratory as he demands a global investigation. Continue reading.
White House aides rattled after positive coronavirus tests and officials send mixed messages on how to respond
The White House on Saturday scrambled to deal with the fallout from two aides testing positive for the coronavirus, as officials who were potentially exposed responded differently, with some senior members of the pandemic task force self-quarantining while others planned to continue to go to work.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, both task force members, said they are self-quarantining or teleworking for two weeks after exposure to a coronavirus case at the White House. On Saturday night, a spokeswoman for Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases official, acknowledged that working from home sometimes will be among the precautions he is taking.
But several administration officials said White House staffers were encouraged to come into the office by their supervisors, and that aides who travel with President Trump and Vice President Pence would not stay out for 14 days, the recommended time frame to quarantine once exposed to the virus. Continue reading.