Tag: Trump White House

Dr. Anthony Fauci reveals his ongoing battle to reason with Trump in surprisingly candid interview: ‘You have to say things 1, 2, 3, 4 times’

AlterNet logoDuring an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci — director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) — for Science Magazine, writer Jon Cohen asked the well-known immunologist a blunt question: how has he managed to avoid getting fired from President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force? Fauci responded that despite disagreements “on some things,” Trump “does listen to what I say.” But Fauci, during the interview, went on to say that he has to repeat himself a lot with Trump — and some pundits are saying Fauci probably wouldhave been fired by now were he not so widely respected.

Fauci told Cohen, “When you’re dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things one, two, three, four times — and then, it happens. So, I’m going to keep pushing.”

When the Washington Post’s Jenna Johnson tweeted the interview and highlighted the “one, two, three, four times” quote, Twitter user Josh Jordan responded, “This quote is really stunning, and if Fauci wasn’t so well respected by both sides right now, Trump would’ve fired him this morning.” Continue reading.

White House grapples with the coronavirus outbreak: A timeline

The Hill logoThe coronavirus has become an all-consuming crisis for the White House, the United States and the rest of the world.

Thousands of Americans have been infected with COVID-19, and hundreds have died from the disease, numbers that are certain to grow in the weeks and months ahead even with much of the country effectively on lockdown.

The pandemic is also crushing the U.S. economy, shuttering thousands of businesses and leading to massive layoffs. Continue reading.

Sec. Mnuchin battles Fox News’ John Roberts on administration’s virus failures: ‘Nobody expected this to take off at the rate it did’

AlterNet logoTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin insisted on Sunday that “nobody” predicted that the new coronavirus pandemic would quickly spread to the United States even though intelligence officials reportedly tried to get the Trump administration to pay attention to the crisis.

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, guest host John Roberts questioned Mnuchin about a recent Washington Post investigation which found that the administration ignored the intelligence officials on the spread of COVID-19.

“The intelligence community was giving the White House warnings back in January that the situation coming out of China was very, very serious and would likely end up in a pandemic,” Roberts explained. “Were you ever warned that something like this was coming down pipe because the initial White House reaction appeared to be, ‘Oh, don’t worry. It’s over there in China.’ I was told, why do we need to respond robustly because there’s only 16 cases here.” Continue reading.

Pence, second lady test negative for coronavirus

The Hill logoNOTE:  We’re interested that people like the Pences, professional athletes and other famous people are able to be tested without needing hospitalization. This is concerning, and not what the Trump White House has told us for days now.  

Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, have tested negative for coronavirus, according to a statement tweeted by the vice president’s press secretary Katie Miller on Saturday evening. 

“Please to report that the COVID-19 test results came back negative for both Vice President @Mike_Pence and Second Lady @KarenPence,” Miller tweeted.

Pence said earlier Saturday that he and the second lady would be tested for the coronavirus after a member of the vice president’s staff tested positive for COVID-19. Continue reading.

In hard-hit areas, testing restricted to health care workers, hospital patients

Washington Post logoOfficials direct scarce resources where they are needed most to save people’s lives.

Health officials in New York, California and other hard-hit parts of the country are restricting coronavirus testing to health care workers and the severely ill, saying the battle to contain the virus is lost and the country is moving into a new phase of the pandemic response.

As cases spike sharply in those places, they are bracing for an onslaught and directing scarce resources where they are needed most to save people’s lives. Instead of encouraging broad testing of the public, they’re focused on conserving masks, ventilators and intensive care beds — and on getting still-limited tests to health-care workers and the most vulnerable. The shift is further evidence that rising levels of infection and illness have begun to overwhelm the health care system.

A similar message was hammered Saturday by members of the White House coronavirus task force, who said it was urgent to conserve scarce supplies and offered guidelines about who should get tested. Top priority, they said, should go to those who are hospitalized, along with health-care workers, symptomatic residents of long-term care facilities and people over 65 — especially those with heart and lung disease, which place them at higher risk. Continue reading. Free article.

The White House asked manufacturers for help — and then didn’t give them any clear instructions

AlterNet logoAs hospitals across the country face drastic shortages of masks, respirators and other vital equipment, the White House has sent out a plea for donations that’s left many recipients confused and full of questions.

In at least one instance this week, Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, blindsided private industry by requesting that construction companies donate face masks to hospitals. The White House then failed to provide guidance when directly asked.

Pence asked builders on Tuesday to donate the N95 masks used at many construction sites to local hospitals and refrain from ordering more. Within minutes, Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the trade group Associated General Contractors of America, contacted the White House for more details, said Brian Turmail, a group spokesman. Continue reading.

U.S. intelligence reports from January and February warned about a likely pandemic

Washington Post logoU.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting.

The intelligence reports didn’t predict when the virus might land on U.S. shores or recommend particular steps that public health officials should take, issues outside the purview of the intelligence agencies. But they did track the spread of the virus in China, and later in other countries, and warned that Chinese officials appeared to be minimizing the severity of the outbreak.

Taken together, the reports and warnings painted an early picture of a virus that showed the characteristics of a globe-encircling pandemic that could require governments to take swift actions to contain it. But despite that constant flow of reporting, Trump continued publicly and privately to play down the threat the virus posed to Americans. Lawmakers, too, did not grapple with the virus in earnest until this month, as officials scrambled to keep citizens in their homes and hospitals braced for a surge in patients suffering from covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Continue reading.

Pence staffer tests positive for coronavirus

The Hill logoAn official working for Vice President Pence has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office announced Friday, becoming the first known positive test to date for a White House staffer.

“‪This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus,” Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, said in a statement.

“Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual. Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines,” the spokeswoman added. Continue reading.

‘This is a crisis in leadership’: MSNBC’s Mika drops bomb on Trump and Pence for avalanche of lies on pandemic

AlterNet logoWith co-host Joe Scarborough absent, MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski rained hell on President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for an avalanche of lies about progress on the coronavirus pandemic front during their press conference on Thursday.

Focusing on the dearth of life-saving masks available to health providers and the public in general, the “Morning Joe” host shared clips of Pence and the president saying there was no problem with anyone needing supplies — and then called them out for it.

“They’re not — they’re absolutely not available now,” the MSNBC host explained. “What the vice president just said, and he is in charge of this coronavirus task force that the president has put together, standing next to the president of the United States the vice president said something that was not true.” Continue reading.

To Respond to the Coronavirus, Trump Should Take 6 Immediate Steps on the Defense Production Act

Center for American Progress logoThis week, President Donald Trump announced that he was invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to leverage domestic private industry to generate much-needed medical equipment and supplies that are essential to an effective national COVID-19 response. Unfortunately, he walked it back on Twitter fewer than 24 hours later. Trump is now emphasizing that states need to figure out how to find these supplies on their own. This is a mistake. The Trump administration needs to implement the DPA immediately to avoid the worst-case scenario of massive shortages of critical medical supplies across the country.

Below are six steps that President Trump should be taking now on the DPA:

  1. Stand up a management structure for effective and efficient DPA implementation. This structure will need to bring together state, federal, and other authorities involved in dealing with the coronavirus crisis to ensure that the movement and distribution of needed supplies and equipment can be expedited to those areas most in need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Response Coordination Center (NRCC), which has representatives from all federal departments and agencies, should take the lead, working in close coordination with the Defense Logistics Agency on logistics and national distribution. Continue reading.