Tag: Trump White House

Trump says he has been tested for coronavirus

The Hill logoPresident Trump said Saturday that he took the test for the coronavirus the previous night and would have the results in a few days, saying he did so because of questions from the media.

“I also took the test last night,” Trump told reporters during a news conference in the White House briefing room. “I decided I should based on the press conference yesterday. People were asking that I take the test.”

Trump was referring to an appearance in the Rose Garden on Friday during which he was pressed on why he hadn’t been tested or self-isolated after coming in contact with a Brazilian official last weekend who later tested positive for COVID-19. Continue reading.

White House says it will conduct temperature checks on those close to Trump, Pence

The Hill logoThe White House on Saturday started taking the temperatures of individuals “in close contact” with President Trump or Vice President Pence, including reporters attending a briefing on the coronavirus.

“Out of an abundance of caution, temperature checks are now being performed on any individuals who are in close contact with the President and Vice President,” deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

An official with the White House physician’s office went around the press workspace on Saturday morning and took the temperatures of reporters in the building for a noon news conference with Pence and members of the coronavirus task force. Continue reading.

 

I ran the White House pandemic office. Trump closed it.

Washington Post logoThe federal government is moving too slowly, due to a lack of leadership.

When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact. Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic.

One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19.

The U.S. government’s slow and inadequate response to the new coronavirusunderscores the need for organized, accountable leadership to prepare for and respond to pandemic threats. Continue reading.

Jared Kushner revealed as brains behind Donald Trump’s “half-baked” coronavirus response

“Haphazard and helter-skelter”: The president’s son-in-law inserted himself into the tumult this week

The president’s son-in-law and senior advisor was the focus of a hard-hitting Washington Post deep-dive titled, “Infighting, missteps and a son-in-law hungry for action: Inside the Trump administration’s troubled coronavirus response.”

“The economy was grinding to a halt. Stocks were in free fall. Schools were closing. Public events were being canceled. New cases of the novel coronavirus were popping up across the country,” the newspaper reported. “And then, on Wednesday, the day the World Health Organization designated the coronavirus a pandemic, Jared Kushner joined the tumult.”

“President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser — who has zero expertise in infectious diseases and little experience marshaling the full bureaucracy behind a cause — saw the administration floundering and inserted himself at the helm, believing he could break the logjam of internal dysfunction,” The Post reported. Continue reading.

Pence tells White House staff to avoid physical contact

Axios logoVice President Mike Pence sent White House staff an email Saturday afternoon recommending “social distancing” and to “avoid physical contact” to keep themselves and their colleagues safe from the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: This is the first staff-wide email Pence has sent across the complex during his time as vice president — and is the latest sign the White House is shifting its posture against the pandemic.

  • As recently as Thursday, Pence, who is leading the President Trump’s task force to combat COVID-19, told CNN he was still shaking hands with people at the White House.
  • On Friday before the nation’s TV cameras, Trump repeatedly shook hands with industry CEOs during a live press conference in the Rose Garden.
  • But on Saturday the president and his team began modeling different behavior — in line with public health official recommendations. Trump tweeted “SOCIAL DISTANCING!“, said he’d finally been tested for the coronavirus, suggesting that people should be cautious about shaking hands.
  • Also on Saturday, for the first time a White House physician scanned journalists’ foreheads with a thermometer before they could join the White House press briefing. Continue reading.

White House debated halting travel from South Korea, Italy

Axios logoSenior Trump administration officials discussed shutting down travel from Italy and South Korea as the coronavirus outbreak worsened in those countries, but ultimately decided the virus is spreading too quickly to be contained, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.

Why it matters: It’s extremely difficult to contain a viral outbreak in a globalized society, and if such a strategy isn’t likely to be much help, it’s even harder to justify the diplomatic, logistical and economic consequences.

What we’re hearing: Several federal agencies, including the State and Defense departments, were concerned about cutting off travel from those countries because the U.S. has a strong military presence in South Korea and Italy’s central location in the European Union would complicate restrictions, the sources said. Continue reading.

Incoming White House chief of staff Mark Meadows among lawmakers sidelined by coronavirus concerns

Washington Post logoThe incoming White House chief of staff, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, was among three Republican congressmen who said Monday that they were quarantining themselves because of suspected contact with a confirmed carrier of the novel coronavirus.

A spokesman, Ben Williamson, said Meadows learned this weekend he “may have come in contact” with the individual who attended the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington late last month. Meadows tested negative for the virus and is not displaying symptoms but is remaining home in self-quarantine until Wednesday, Williamson said in a statement.

Trump named Meadows his chief of staff on Friday evening, replacing Mick Mulvaney. Williamson’s statement did not address whether Meadows physically interacted with Trump since the conference last month. Continue reading.

Trump faces revolt from senior GOP officials over ‘incompetent’ handling of coronavirus crisis

AlterNet logoIn a scorching segment on Monday morning, CNN is reporting that President Donald Trump is facing a revolt from senior Republican Party officials over the exploding coronavirus crisis.

Appearing with ‘New Day” hosts John Berman and Alisyn Camerota on Monday, reporter Kristen Holmes detailed how the White House is faltering now that officials have begun calling it a pandemic.

“President Trump continues to insist that he is happy with his team’s handling of all of this. but White House officials aren’t being so generous,” Holmes detailed. “First of all, they feel President Trump may not feel this way for a long time given the rising numbers and the questions about how the administration handled it. Behind closed doors they’re starting to question some of the decisions the top health agencies made at the beginning of this outbreak, particularly surrounding the [Centers for Disease Control] CDC.” Continue reading.

Blockbuster new book reveals Mick Mulvaney thought it was a good thing Donald Trump is mentally ill

AlterNet logoOusted White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney suggested it may be a good thing that President Donald Trump is mentally ill, including to an anecdote in a new book reported by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

Dowd noted supporters of Trump have been calling into question “Joe Biden’s mental acuity.”

“Democrats can resort to this sort of sniping, too. Many Trump critics in 2016, and in the year after his election, pushed the idea that his father had suffered from Alzheimer’s and now Trump was losing it and that his vocabulary was eroding,” Maureen Dowd wrote.’  Continue reading.

‘I don’t want to’: Ben Carson sparks panic by refusing to reveal ‘plan’ for cruise ship

AlterNet logoA Sunday interview with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson may have done more harm than good when it comes to assuring Americans that the Trump administration has the coronavirus under control.

In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Carson — who is a former neurosurgeon but not an infectious disease expert — compared COVID-19 to the common flu.

Stephanopoulos noted that the Grand Princess is scheduled to dock in Oakland this week with infected passengers. Continue reading.