Tag: Trump mishandling pandemic response

Trump officials lay groundwork for May reopening

The Hill logoThe Trump administration is laying the foundation to push for a reopening of parts of the U.S. economy as early as the beginning of May amid rising pressure over unemployment numbers rivaling those during the Great Depression.

President Trump and top government officials in recent days have talked about seeing “glimmers of hope” and “light at the end of the tunnel” while publicly discussing ideas for how to revive the economy.

The president has floated reopening businesses in parts of the country that do not have outbreaks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday unveiled guidelines meant to encourage those in critical sectors who have been exposed to the coronavirus but aren’t showing symptoms to continue working.  Continue reading.

Warnings Began in Nov 2019, But Trump Administration Ignored

We now have even more evidence that Trump ignored warnings of the coronavirus threat. Our intelligence community issued a warning in November 2019 and Trump was briefed in early January.

WARNED IN NOVEMBER 2019 BY U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY: Trump’s intelligence officials warned in November about the coronavirus sweeping through China.

ABC News: “As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China’s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. Concerns about what is now known to be the novel coronavirus pandemic were detailed in a November intelligence report by the military’s National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), according to two officials familiar with the document’s contents.” Continue reading “Warnings Began in Nov 2019, But Trump Administration Ignored”

Trump’s Chaotic Leadership Is Delaying Economic Relief

Yesterday, Trump claimed his administration’s rollout of its small business loan program was “performing well,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Trump has failed to deliver the quick economic relief he promised Americans. Chaos, vacancies, and a failure in leadership have slowed the disbursement of urgently-needed assistance.

Trump’s latest failure of leadership is his botched management of the coronavirus response package.

Politico: “Massive stimulus packages don’t just need votes. They require expertise, professionalism and skill to execute, and it’s not at all clear that the Trump administration has enough of that to make this program work.  We’re already beginning to see signs of problems.” Continue reading “Trump’s Chaotic Leadership Is Delaying Economic Relief”

The Two States Where Trump’s COVID-19 Response Could Backfire in 2020

Voters in Michigan and Florida may be more likely than others to blame or credit him for how the outbreak unfolds.

A handful of swing states will almost certainly decide the winner of November’s presidential election. And in two of them, Michigan and Florida, Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with their governors could expose him to greater political risk as the economic and social price of the coronavirus pandemic mounts.

Trump faces mirror-image threats. Michigan voters could interpret Trump’s animosity toward Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer as punishing the state. By contrast, in Florida, Trump’s liability could be his close relationship with Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, which is seen by many as one reason DeSantis was slow to impose a statewide stay-at-home order.

In each place, voters may be even more likely than those in other states to blame or credit the president for how the outbreak unfolds there. And in both cases, Trump’s posture toward the states is now inextricably interwoven with the larger story of their struggle to contain the disease. Continue reading.

CNN Poll: Majority of Americans now say the federal government has done a poor job of preventing coronavirus spread

A majority of Americans – 55% — now say the federal government has done a poor job preventing the spread of coronavirus in the United States, up eight points in about a week, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS as the nationwide death toll from the virus rose above 12,000.

Eighty percent feel the worst of the outbreak is yet to come, most (55%) feel President Donald Trump could be doing more to fight the outbreak, and 37% say they have grown more concerned about coronavirus in the last few days, far outpacing the 5% who say their fears have eased recently.

About 1 in 5 (22%) say they personally know someone who has been diagnosed with the virus, a figure that is double the share who said so in a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted just two weeks ago.

How a surge of coronavirus patients could stretch hospital resources in your area

Washington Post logoIf a health official wanted to know how many intensive-care beds there are in the United States, Jeremy Kahn would be the person to ask. The ICU physician and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh earns a living studying critical-care resources in U.S. hospitals.

Yet even Kahn can’t give a definitive answer. His best estimate is based on Medicare data gathered three years ago.

“People are sort of in disbelief that even I don’t know how many ICU beds exist in each hospital in the United States,” he said, noting that reporting varies hospital to hospital, state to state. “And I’m sort of like, ‘Yep, the research community has been dealing with this problem for years.’ ” Continue reading.

Trump has abdicated core duties of the presidency

AlterNet logoAs President Donald Trump hurtles into his high-stakes bid for re-election, he is proving more than ever that he doesn’t deserve the office he holds. Not only is he incapable of meeting many of its demands, as the coronavirus has raged across the country, he has repeatedly shirked the duties of the presidency.

On Wednesday, he made clear that he doesn’t think a look back on the crisis will serve him well:

“This is an incredible admission of guilt and failure,” said MSNBC Chris Hayes in response to the tweet. Continue reading.

Trump preparing to unveil second coronavirus task force, officials say

Washington Post logoPresident Trump is preparing to announce as soon as this week a second, smaller coronavirus task force aimed specifically at combating the economic ramifications of the virus and focused on reopening the nation’s economy, according to four people familiar with the plans.

The task force will be made up of a mix of private-sector and top administration officials, including chief of staff Mark Meadows — whose first official day on the job was last week — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and national economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a senior administration official said.

Meadows is likely to lead the task force, though no official decision has been made, two senior administration officials said. Continue reading.

Coronavirus crisis highlights Trump’s resistance to criticism — and his desire for fervent praise

Washington Post logoPresident Trump has lambasted governors whom he views as insufficiently appreciative. He has denigrated — and even dismissed — inspectors general who dared to criticize him or his administration. And he has excoriated reporters who posed questions he did not like.

The coronavirus pandemic has crystallized several long-standing undercurrents of the president’s governing ethos: a refusal to accept criticism, a seemingly insatiable need for praise — and an abiding mistrust of independent entities and individuals.

Those characteristics have had a pervasive effect on the administration’s handling of the crisis, from Trump’s suggestions that he might withhold aid from struggling state governments based on whether he is displeased with a governor to his repeated refusal to take responsibility for shortcomings in the laggard federal response. Continue reading.

The national stockpile is out of supplies to give to the states

Its depletion means the private market must meet states’ remaining needs

The Strategic National Stockpile won’t be sending states any more of the emergency equipment needed to battle the coronavirus pandemic — respirators, surgical masks, gloves, face shields, beds or ventilators — because it has already given them as much as it can.

The stockpile’s depletion, apart from a small reserve for federal workers, means the private market must meet states’ remaining protective equipment needs.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is investigating the distribution of its supplies, revealed the stockpile’s status Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had briefed representatives on the situation Tuesday. Continue reading.