politicususa--2020-03-16--Rep. Jim Clyburn Erupts And Says Trump Incompetence Has The Economy Facing Collapse

Rep. Jim Clyburn ( D-SC ) warned that Trump ’ s incompetent response to the coronavirus had pushed the economy to the brink of collapse .
Rep. Clyburn said , “ I had no problems getting a seat on a plane simply because the airline travel is down , way down , and that ’ s not all that ’ s down .
Restaurants are down .
The economy could very well be teetering on a collapse.
” Majority Whip Clyburn continued , “ This is the most incompetent group of people I ’ ve ever seen try to run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this is my first elected office , but I ’ ve been running things all my life .
I ran a county agency .
I ran regional agencies .
I ran a state agency , and I served on the governor ’ s staff for four years , and I tell you , I have never have seen anything like this in my life .
Just a bunch of ragtag people put together who ’ ve got no idea what it is to manage issues or to manage people .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world.
” Rep. Clyburn was correct .
Calling this administration ’ s response to the pandemic inept does not go far enough .
Trump and his administration didn ’ t care about the coronavirus , and then when they did try to respond , they were too incompetent to be effective .
The economy is going to be in a recession by Election Day .
The impact of the coronavirus is going to be felt for months .
None of this had to happen , and if the Trump administration would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy wouldn ’ t be on the brink of collapse .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) warned that Trump’s incompetent response to the coronavirus had pushed the economy to the brink of collapse.
Audio of Rep. Clyburn on AURN Washington Bureau Chief April Ryan’s White House Report:
Rep. Clyburn said, “I had no problems getting a seat on a plane simply because the airline travel is down, way down, and that’s not all that’s down. Restaurants are down. The economy could very well be teetering on a collapse.”
Majority Whip Clyburn continued, “This is the most incompetent group of people I’ve ever seen try to run anything. Coming to Congress in 1992, this is my first elected office, but I’ve been running things all my life. I ran a county agency. I ran regional agencies. I ran a state agency, and I served on the governor’s staff for four years, and I tell you, I have never have seen anything like this in my life. Just a bunch of ragtag people put together who’ve got no idea what it is to manage issues or to manage people. It’s just the most incredible thing in the world.”
Rep. Clyburn was correct. Calling this administration’s response to the pandemic inept does not go far enough. Trump and his administration didn’t care about the coronavirus, and then when they did try to respond, they were too incompetent to be effective.
The economy is going to be in a recession by Election Day. The impact of the coronavirus is going to be felt for months. None of this had to happen, and if the Trump administration would have competently prepared and responded, the US economy wouldn’t be on the brink of collapse.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-16--Trump Makes Up Imaginary July Or August Date For Coronavirus to “Wash Away”

With no evidence to support his claim , Donald Trump predicted that the coronavirus would “ wash away ” in July or August .
Here was Trump ’ s exchange with reporters : Q : Mr. President ?
Mr. President , a lot of people are concerned about how long all of this might last .
Do you have any kind of estimate that if Americans really were to band together and do what the white house was suggesting , how quickly we could turn this corner ?
Trump : That ’ s my favorite question .
How many times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him that question every day .
And I speak to Deborah , I speak to a lot of them , I get the opinion .
So it seems to me that if we do a really good job , we ’ ll not only hold the death down to a level that is much lower than the other way , had we not done a good job , but people are talking about July , August , something like that .
So it could be right in that period of time , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ washes through .
Other people don ’ t like that term .
But where it washes through .
Q : So is this the new normal until the height of the summer ?
Trump : We ’ ll see what happens .
But they think August , could be July , could be longer than that .
But I ’ ve asked that question many , many times .
Trump later had to be corrected by his own administration officials : Trump is pulling sunshine and rainbows out of his backside , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States , the economy is being crippled , and the stock market is in freefall .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
With no evidence to support his claim, Donald Trump predicted that the coronavirus would “wash away” in July or August.
Here was Trump’s exchange with reporters:
Q: Mr. President? Mr. President, a lot of people are concerned about how long all of this might last. Do you have any kind of estimate that if Americans really were to band together and do what the white house was suggesting, how quickly we could turn this corner?
Trump: That’s my favorite question. How many times, Anthony, I think I ask him that question every day. And I speak to Deborah, I speak to a lot of them, I get the opinion. So it seems to me that if we do a really good job, we’ll not only hold the death down to a level that is much lower than the other way, had we not done a good job, but people are talking about July, August, something like that. So it could be right in that period of time, where it — I say wash — it washes through. Other people don’t like that term. But where it washes through.
Q: So is this the new normal until the height of the summer?
Trump: We’ll see what happens. But they think August, could be July, could be longer than that. But I’ve asked that question many, many times.
Video of Trump:
Trump makes up imaginary July or August date for the coronavirus to "wash away." pic.twitter.com/xFbmeTwyvk — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 16, 2020
Trump later had to be corrected by his own administration officials:
Dr. Fauci having to step in to provide realtime cleanup for Trump. The president seemed to suggest current restrictive social guidelines could last until July or August; Fauci clarifies, no, they are 15-day guidelines being reviewed every two weeks. — Ian Sams (@IanSams) March 16, 2020
Trump is pulling sunshine and rainbows out of his backside, and not fooling anyone as the pandemic worsens in the United States, the economy is being crippled, and the stock market is in freefall.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-16--Trump Tells Governors To Get Their Own Coronavirus Medical Equipment

Trump told the governors of the United States of America that they are on their own in terms of getting vital equipment to hospitals to handle the coronavirus .
The New York Times got a copy of the recording of Trump ’ s call : “ Respirators , ventilators , all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves , ” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call , a recording of which was shared with The New York Times .
“ We will be backing you , but try getting it yourselves .
Point of sales , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you can get it yourself.
” The suggestion surprised some of the governors , who have been scrambling to contain the outbreak and are increasingly looking to the federal government for help with equipment , personnel and financial aid .
Experts noted that cities and states don ’ t have the capacity to manufacture respirators and count on the federal government to lead the effort : Joe Biden said during Sunday ’ s presidential debate that he would use the military to build hospitals and provide resources to states and localities .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on their own .
Gov .
Cuomo ( D-NY ) was correct .
There has been no federal leadership in this crisis .
States aren ’ t going to have the equipment that they need to save lives because Donald Trump refuses to do his job .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Trump told the governors of the United States of America that they are on their own in terms of getting vital equipment to hospitals to handle the coronavirus.
The New York Times got a copy of the recording of Trump’s call:
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times.
“We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”
The suggestion surprised some of the governors, who have been scrambling to contain the outbreak and are increasingly looking to the federal government for help with equipment, personnel and financial aid.
Experts noted that cities and states don’t have the capacity to manufacture respirators and count on the federal government to lead the effort:
We do not have the ability to manufacture respirators in New York City. We need to federal gov't to activate the Defense Production Act and get manufacturers on this nationally. This is the job of the federal gov't in a national crisis. Period. https://t.co/g6duFAPDPR — Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) March 16, 2020
Joe Biden said during Sunday’s presidential debate that he would use the military to build hospitals and provide resources to states and localities. Trump is telling the states that they are on their own.
Gov. Cuomo (D-NY) was correct. There has been no federal leadership in this crisis. States aren’t going to have the equipment that they need to save lives because Donald Trump refuses to do his job.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-16--Odds of a Global Recession “Are Close to 100 Percent,” Says Former White House Economic Adviser

Speaking on CNN , former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hasset said a global recession is imminent , with a loss of 1 million jobs in April .
“ I think that the odds of a global recession are close to 100 percent right now , ” Hassett said .
“ I think in the U.S. , we ’ re going to have a very terrible second quarter .
At The Lindsey Group , we just ran the numbers carefully over the weekend , and we think the second quarter will be about minus 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ millions and millions of people ” are typically hired and fired each month , the spread of the coronavirus means hirings will remain close to zero and firings will continue , leading to “ one of the biggest negative jobs numbers that we ’ ve ever seen.
” “ We think the jobs number in early April might be as much as minus a million or so because nobody is going to be hired next week , ” Hassett added .
You can watch footage of Hassett ’ s remarks below .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s decision to slash interest rates and buy $ 700 billion in Treasury securities to protect the United States ’ economy from the effects of the virus , Hassett was also critical .
( U.S. stocks plunged as investors responded to the agency ’ s measures . )
“ I think that ’ s why the market is responding the way it is right now to the Federal Reserve ’ s action , ” Hassett said .
“ I think the market understands that its Fed , with its hundreds of economists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the numbers coming in and is really sure they ’ ll be terrible , which is why they did this extraordinary action.
” Lawmakers could potentially “ get ahead of the curve ” if they consider different avenues , Hassett added , including President Donald Trump ’ s proposed payroll tax cut .
“ The way to think about it is that , you know , businesses are going to have to pay wages for people even though there aren ’ t a lot of sales because everybody is staying home , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a payroll tax holiday , basically what you ’ re doing is giving a big chunk of payroll both to workers and firms to help get them see through three or four months that are going to be super negative.
” The payroll tax cut has been criticized for being a simple stop-gap measure , and an analysis conducted by the Penn Wharton Budget Model ( PWBM ) found that will cost $ 807 billion , more than the 2008 bailouts , while not protecting low-income workers and households most likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic impacts .
But Hassett did not discount the need for some kind of stimulus .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Speaking on CNN, former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hasset said a global recession is imminent, with a loss of 1 million jobs in April.
“I think that the odds of a global recession are close to 100 percent right now,” Hassett said. “I think in the U.S., we’re going to have a very terrible second quarter. At The Lindsey Group, we just ran the numbers carefully over the weekend, and we think the second quarter will be about minus 5 percent.”
Hassett pointed out that although “millions and millions of people” are typically hired and fired each month, the spread of the coronavirus means hirings will remain close to zero and firings will continue, leading to “one of the biggest negative jobs numbers that we’ve ever seen.”
“We think the jobs number in early April might be as much as minus a million or so because nobody is going to be hired next week,” Hassett added.
You can watch footage of Hassett’s remarks below.
Former White House economist Kevin Hassett says the "odds of a global recession are close to 100% right now." https://t.co/97WEb2Ihv7 pic.twitter.com/lOqfT22DFs — CNN (@CNN) March 16, 2020
On the matter of the Federal Reserve’s decision to slash interest rates and buy $700 billion in Treasury securities to protect the United States’ economy from the effects of the virus, Hassett was also critical. (U.S. stocks plunged as investors responded to the agency’s measures.)
“I think that’s why the market is responding the way it is right now to the Federal Reserve’s action,” Hassett said. “I think the market understands that its Fed, with its hundreds of economists, has really started to think about the numbers coming in and is really sure they’ll be terrible, which is why they did this extraordinary action.”
Lawmakers could potentially “get ahead of the curve” if they consider different avenues, Hassett added, including President Donald Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut.
“The way to think about it is that, you know, businesses are going to have to pay wages for people even though there aren’t a lot of sales because everybody is staying home,” Hassett said. “So if you have a payroll tax holiday, basically what you’re doing is giving a big chunk of payroll both to workers and firms to help get them see through three or four months that are going to be super negative.”
The payroll tax cut has been criticized for being a simple stop-gap measure, and an analysis conducted by the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) found that will cost $807 billion, more than the 2008 bailouts, while not protecting low-income workers and households most likely to be affected by the pandemic’s economic impacts.
But Hassett did not discount the need for some kind of stimulus.


politicususa--2020-03-16--Coronavirus Forces Supreme Court to Postpone Arguments, Including Fight Over Trump’s Financial Recor

Coronavirus Forces Supreme Court to Postpone Arguments, Including Fight Over Trump’s Financial Records

The Supreme Court announced it would postpone arguments for late March and early April because of the coronavirus pandemic .
No new dates for the postponed arguments have been set at this time .
Among the high-profile cases to be postponed was the March 31 argument on President Donald Trump ’ s refusal to release his financial records , including his tax returns .
Some functions will continue ; the justices will hold a regularly scheduled conference on March 20 , for example , and other orders will be released by next week .
“ The Building will continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filing deadlines are not extended under Rule 30.1 , ” the Court said in a press release .
“ The Court is expanding remote working capabilities to reduce the number of employees in the Building , consistent with public health guidance .
The Building will remain closed to the public until further notice.
” The postponements are a pragmatic decision in light of the public health crisis that has claimed 71 lives across the United States to date .
Six of the nine justices are age 65 or older and are at high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and World Health Organization ( WHO ) guidelines .
The Court noted in its press release that its “ postponement of argument sessions in light of public health concerns is not unprecedented.
” “ The Court postponed scheduled arguments for October 1918 in response to the Spanish flu epidemic .
The Court also shortened its argument calendars in August 1793 and August 1798 in response to yellow fever outbreaks , ” according to the release .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
The Supreme Court announced it would postpone arguments for late March and early April because of the coronavirus pandemic. No new dates for the postponed arguments have been set at this time. Among the high-profile cases to be postponed was the March 31 argument on President Donald Trump’s refusal to release his financial records, including his tax returns.
Some functions will continue; the justices will hold a regularly scheduled conference on March 20, for example, and other orders will be released by next week.
“The Building will continue to be open for official business, and filing deadlines are not extended under Rule 30.1,” the Court said in a press release. “The Court is expanding remote working capabilities to reduce the number of employees in the Building, consistent with public health guidance. The Building will remain closed to the public until further notice.”
The postponements are a pragmatic decision in light of the public health crisis that has claimed 71 lives across the United States to date. Six of the nine justices are age 65 or older and are at high risk of developing severe cases of the coronavirus, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
The Court noted in its press release that its “postponement of argument sessions in light of public health concerns is not unprecedented.”
“The Court postponed scheduled arguments for October 1918 in response to the Spanish flu epidemic. The Court also shortened its argument calendars in August 1793 and August 1798 in response to yellow fever outbreaks,” according to the release.


politicususa--2020-03-16--Hackers Attack Computer Systems at U.S. Department of Health

The United States Department of Health and Human Services suffered a cyberattack that , those familiar with the matter told the press , intended to slow down the agency ’ s response to the coronavirus pandemic .
Data was not stolen , according to three officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity .
The hack , which involved overloading the HHS servers with millions of hits over several hours , could have been the work of “ hostile foreign actors , ” but the Trump administration has not yet confirmed any of its suspicions .
Neither the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) could be reached for comment .
NSC , upon learning about the hacking and release of disinformation , tweeted a message debunking claims of a national lockdown due to the coronavirus that circulated via text message .
News of the cyberattack comes as President Donald Trump continues to face criticism for his claim that the pandemic is “ under control.
” “ It ’ s a very contagious virus , it ’ s incredible , but it ’ s something we have tremendous control of , ” Trump said during a White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contradiction of warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health , that the U.S. could face a similar crisis as Italy if proper social distancing guidelines are not adhered to .
“ People sometimes think that I ’ m overreacting .
I like it when people are thinking I ’ m overreacting because that means we ’ re doing it just right , ” Fauci said , adding that he had not ruled out calling for a national @ @

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
The United States Department of Health and Human Services suffered a cyberattack that, those familiar with the matter told the press, intended to slow down the agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Data was not stolen, according to three officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The hack, which involved overloading the HHS servers with millions of hits over several hours, could have been the work of “hostile foreign actors,” but the Trump administration has not yet confirmed any of its suspicions.
Neither the White House nor the National Security Council (NSC) could be reached for comment.
NSC, upon learning about the hacking and release of disinformation, tweeted a message debunking claims of a national lockdown due to the coronavirus that circulated via text message.
Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. @CDCgov has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus — NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) March 16, 2020
News of the cyberattack comes as President Donald Trump continues to face criticism for his claim that the pandemic is “under control.”
“It’s a very contagious virus, it’s incredible, but it’s something we have tremendous control of,” Trump said during a White House press briefing yesterday, a direct contradiction of warnings from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, that the U.S. could face a similar crisis as Italy if proper social distancing guidelines are not adhered to.
“People sometimes think that I’m overreacting. I like it when people are thinking I’m overreacting because that means we’re doing it just right,” Fauci said, adding that he had not ruled out calling for a national lockdown.


politicususa--2020-03-16--Gov. Andrew Cuomo Blasts Trump For Coronavirus Chaos

Gov .
Andrew Cuomo ( D-NY ) said that the lack of federal leadership from Trump on the coronavirus crisis is feeding into the national chaos .
The situation is accelerating .
The numbers are accelerating .
Energy is accelerating .
And action is accelerating .
First , as I have said before , this is a national problem , and we need federal leadership .
You look at the countries who have handled this .
I don ’ t care if it ’ s China , South Korea , if it ’ s Italy .
They were all handled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national problem .
It can not be done in a piecemeal method .
You need federal parameters to stop the national patchwork of density reduction closings .
I did a few national interviews this morning , and I was watching the national news .
You see a whole hodgepodge of efforts being taken across the country .
This state is doing this .
This state is doing this .
This city is doing this .
It ’ s chaos .
I think it actually feeds the feeling that the country ’ s out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear direction .
And there is no clear path .
California ’ s doing this .
New York is doing this .
Illinois is doing this .
It ’ s the same problem across the country .
The density may shift , temporarily .
But it is the same problem .
Let the federal government say these are the guidelines .
Here are the guidelines on schools .
Here are the guidelines on businesses .
Here are the guidelines on travel .
Rather than having a scramble of every local government , state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on its own .
It makes no sense .
Cuomo captured the problem perfectly .
The stock market is plunging because of the lack of a coherent federal response .
The country needs leadership from the top , but Trump only played a leader on reality television .
He has shown during his presidency that he is not capable of leading .
Trump is reactive .
He reacts to cable news and things around him .
A reactive presidency is always behind the curve and recipe for failure .
The President is missing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus chaos is growing by the day .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) said that the lack of federal leadership from Trump on the coronavirus crisis is feeding into the national chaos.
Cuomo said during a press conference:
The situation is accelerating. The numbers are accelerating. Energy is accelerating. And action is accelerating. First, as I have said before, this is a national problem, and we need federal leadership. You look at the countries who have handled this. I don’t care if it’s China, South Korea, if it’s Italy. They were all handled by national leadership. This is a national problem. It cannot be done in a piecemeal method. You need federal parameters to stop the national patchwork of density reduction closings.
I did a few national interviews this morning, and I was watching the national news. You see a whole hodgepodge of efforts being taken across the country. This state is doing this. This state is doing this. This city is doing this. It’s chaos. I think it actually feeds the feeling that the country’s out of control. And there is no clear direction. And there is no clear path.
California’s doing this. New York is doing this. Illinois is doing this. It’s the same problem across the country. The density may shift, temporarily. But it is the same problem. Let the federal government say these are the guidelines. Here are the guidelines on schools. Here are the guidelines on businesses. Here are the guidelines on travel. Rather than having a scramble of every local government, state government, trying to figure it out on its own. It makes no sense.
Video:
Cuomo blasts Trump for failed federal leadership that is feeding the coronavirus chaos. pic.twitter.com/6sQxYPAcSi — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 16, 2020
Cuomo captured the problem perfectly. The stock market is plunging because of the lack of a coherent federal response. The country needs leadership from the top, but Trump only played a leader on reality television. He has shown during his presidency that he is not capable of leading.
Trump is reactive. He reacts to cable news and things around him. A reactive presidency is always behind the curve and recipe for failure.
The President is missing in action, and that is why coronavirus chaos is growing by the day.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-16--Trump’s Euro Travel Ban Brought Thousands To Crowded Airports, Sabotaging Coronavirus Recommendation

Trump’s Euro Travel Ban Brought Thousands To Crowded Airports, Sabotaging Coronavirus Recommendations

Over the weekend , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued out a warning to all Americans , recommending them to stop attending events that had 50 or more participants involved .
However , due to the urgency of President Donald Trump ’ s proclamation last Wednesday , that he would be banning all travel coming from Europe starting on Friday , tens of thousands of Americans flooded airports across the nation , producing a situation that countered what health experts want to see happen during the coronavirus outbreak .
“ To keep new cases from entering our shores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days , ” he said .
“ The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight .
These restrictions will be adjusted subject to conditions on the ground.
” Although Trump explained there would be “ exemptions ” for Americans , he added a caveat that only those who had “ undergone appropriate screenings ” would be allowed to travel back .
The address by Trump required a more detailed explanation from acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apply to American citizens , permanent residents , or family members of Americans .
Yet the damage from Trump ’ s speech had been done , and over the weekend , tens of thousands of Americans came home in droves — producing long waits in airports upon their arrivals , some several-hours long .
Up to 40,000 citizens made travel arrangements from Europe to the U.S. over the weekend , some spending as much as $ 20,000 to ensure their travel arrangements would work out .
Besides being tortuous for those standing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that went against the very nature of the current recommendations from the CDC — that people do their very best to avoid being in crowds of 50 people or more .
It ’ s possible that such huge crowds and situations like these could have been avoided had the Trump administration given more thought to what the president would say in his speech on Wednesday , or coordinated a way for Americans who wanted to to get home in a more orderly way .
Instead , there was chaos at airports across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the spread of coronavirus as a result .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued out a warning to all Americans, recommending them to stop attending events that had 50 or more participants involved.
However, due to the urgency of President Donald Trump’s proclamation last Wednesday, that he would be banning all travel coming from Europe starting on Friday, tens of thousands of Americans flooded airports across the nation, producing a situation that countered what health experts want to see happen during the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump’s announcement last week was vague:
“To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days,” he said. “The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight. These restrictions will be adjusted subject to conditions on the ground.”
Although Trump explained there would be “exemptions” for Americans, he added a caveat that only those who had “undergone appropriate screenings” would be allowed to travel back.
The address by Trump required a more detailed explanation from acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who elaborated that the ban wouldn’t apply to American citizens, permanent residents, or family members of Americans.
https://twitter.com/breakingavnews/status/1239102590719332354
Yet the damage from Trump’s speech had been done, and over the weekend, tens of thousands of Americans came home in droves — producing long waits in airports upon their arrivals, some several-hours long.
Up to 40,000 citizens made travel arrangements from Europe to the U.S. over the weekend, some spending as much as $20,000 to ensure their travel arrangements would work out.
Besides being tortuous for those standing in them, the lines produced a situation that went against the very nature of the current recommendations from the CDC — that people do their very best to avoid being in crowds of 50 people or more.
This is the scene at O’Hare airport. The traveler who took the photo said it’s a 6-hour wait for bags then on to customs for 2-4 more of waiting in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. Police are handing out water and disinfectant wipes. @fly2ohare #ord #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/UTx9E0nj1s — Brooke Geiger McDonald (@BrookeGMcDonald) March 15, 2020
It’s possible that such huge crowds and situations like these could have been avoided had the Trump administration given more thought to what the president would say in his speech on Wednesday, or coordinated a way for Americans who wanted to to get home in a more orderly way.
Instead, there was chaos at airports across the nation — and likely, an increase in the spread of coronavirus as a result.


politicususa--2020-03-16--Markets Crash, Trading Halted At Opening Bell, Despite Trump-Endorsed Fed Cut

Over the past weekend , in an effort to inject a boost to an already fragile economy and stock market , the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates down to zero percent .
It was a demand that President Donald Trump had frequently made of the Fed for several months .
In recent weeks , Trump also implied that the move would help stave off more drops in the stock market , as the world grapples with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic .
Yet in spite of that move and others like it , Wall Street took a tremendous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jones Industrial Average opened at more than 2,250 points below its close on Friday afternoon , a drop of nearly 10 percent overall .
The S & P 500 fell by 8.14 percent , which triggered a delay in trading altogether on Wall Street for 15 minutes .
It seems , in spite of its best intentions , the Fed rate drop didn ’ t do much good at all to halt the continued drop in the markets .
Most of the gains in the market seen since Trump became president have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The DJIA hasn ’ t been this low since April of 2017 , just a few months into the president ’ s term in office .
Put another way , at the highest point the Dow had reached in February , it represented a gain in that market indicator of about 48 percent since Trump took office .
But after all the losses it has incurred , those gains have been cut down to just 5.5 percent .
Trump has tried to maintain a positive outlook on the markets even as losses continued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he had said , “ the markets are going to be just fine , just fine.
” When asked by a reporter how he could say that when markets were “ tanking ” that very same day , Trump ignored the follow-up question .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Over the past weekend, in an effort to inject a boost to an already fragile economy and stock market, the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates down to zero percent.
It was a demand that President Donald Trump had frequently made of the Fed for several months. In recent weeks, Trump also implied that the move would help stave off more drops in the stock market, as the world grapples with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet in spite of that move and others like it, Wall Street took a tremendous tumble on Monday morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at more than 2,250 points below its close on Friday afternoon, a drop of nearly 10 percent overall. The S&P 500 fell by 8.14 percent, which triggered a delay in trading altogether on Wall Street for 15 minutes.
It seems, in spite of its best intentions, the Fed rate drop didn’t do much good at all to halt the continued drop in the markets.
Most of the gains in the market seen since Trump became president have been erased since the middle of February. The DJIA hasn’t been this low since April of 2017, just a few months into the president’s term in office.
Put another way, at the highest point the Dow had reached in February, it represented a gain in that market indicator of about 48 percent since Trump took office. But after all the losses it has incurred, those gains have been cut down to just 5.5 percent.
Trump has tried to maintain a positive outlook on the markets even as losses continued to accumulate. Just four days ago, he had said, “the markets are going to be just fine, just fine.”
Trump says ‘the markets are going to be just fine.’ This has been the worst week for the markets since the 2008 financial crisis pic.twitter.com/eo0FUEs7u7 — NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 16, 2020
When asked by a reporter how he could say that when markets were “tanking” that very same day, Trump ignored the follow-up question.


politicususa--2020-03-17--Rachel Maddow Unleashes On Trump For Still Not Having A National Coronavirus Plan

While Donald Trump tried to change his tone on Monday , MSNBC ’ s Rachel Maddow pointed out that the federal government still doesn ’ t have a national plan for how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak .
The MSNBC host trashed a new set of guidelines released by the White House on Monday , saying it looks like it was thrown together in five minutes .
“ The White House today released this sort of ad hoc , photo copied , Microsoft Word list of what they ’ re calling the president ’ s coronavirus guidelines for America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not clear if this is now meant to be the national plan , and who wrote this in a spare five minutes today.
” There is no federal standard for what states should do and for what cities should do , and there hasn ’ t been from the beginning , and so the American response to this catastrophe lurches along , inching toward some national standard some day of what we ’ re going to do and how we ’ re going to do it .
But we really are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way we are dealing with this as a public health matter – we ’ re a blob inching along right now , sort of finding ways forward without clear direction .
There is a clearer view now than there was two or three days ago in terms of what measures were going to be tried in the United States .
But it ’ s still ad hoc .
Today , oddly , I ’ m not sure they meant to roll it out this way , but the White House today released this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Microsoft Word list of what they ’ re calling the president ’ s coronavirus guidelines for America .
It ’ s like a list of ideas attributed to the president .
It ’ s like a weird word processing document with a bunch of different kinds of bullet points and asterisks and notes and pieces of advice – things that do seem helpful , but it ’ s not clear if this is now meant to be the national plan , and who wrote this in a spare five minutes today .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone The good news in all of this – if there ’ s any to be found – is that state and local governments have come to the realization that the federal government , led by an incompetent president , is asleep at the wheel .
So instead of waiting on the White House for some type of clear national policy to combat this global pandemic , they are going it alone .
From coast to coast , governors in both parties are taking steps to protect their people by closing schools and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large numbers of people gather .
But as New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo said earlier today , there ’ s only so much state and local governments can do to fill in the gaping holes left behind by this flailing administration .
When it comes to ramping up testing and increasing the number of hospital beds in places that are most likely to be impacted by this outbreak , the federal government will need to step in .
A change in tone by the president on Monday was not enough .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concrete national plan to fight this pandemic .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
While Donald Trump tried to change his tone on Monday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow pointed out that the federal government still doesn’t have a national plan for how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
The MSNBC host trashed a new set of guidelines released by the White House on Monday, saying it looks like it was thrown together in five minutes.
“The White House today released this sort of ad hoc, photo copied, Microsoft Word list of what they’re calling the president’s coronavirus guidelines for America,” Maddow said. “It’s not clear if this is now meant to be the national plan, and who wrote this in a spare five minutes today.”
Video:
Maddow blasts the Trump administration for *still* not having a federal standard for fighting the coronavirus outbreak. #ctl #p2 #maddow pic.twitter.com/5Bzsg1SP9N — PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 17, 2020
Maddow said:
There is no federal standard for what states should do and for what cities should do, and there hasn’t been from the beginning, and so the American response to this catastrophe lurches along, inching toward some national standard some day of what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it. But we really are – policy-wise and in terms of the way we are dealing with this as a public health matter – we’re a blob inching along right now, sort of finding ways forward without clear direction. There is a clearer view now than there was two or three days ago in terms of what measures were going to be tried in the United States. But it’s still ad hoc. Today, oddly, I’m not sure they meant to roll it out this way, but the White House today released this sort of ad hoc, photo copied, Microsoft Word list of what they’re calling the president’s coronavirus guidelines for America. It’s like a list of ideas attributed to the president. It’s like a weird word processing document with a bunch of different kinds of bullet points and asterisks and notes and pieces of advice – things that do seem helpful, but it’s not clear if this is now meant to be the national plan, and who wrote this in a spare five minutes today.
State and local governments are going it alone
The good news in all of this – if there’s any to be found – is that state and local governments have come to the realization that the federal government, led by an incompetent president, is asleep at the wheel.
So instead of waiting on the White House for some type of clear national policy to combat this global pandemic, they are going it alone.
From coast to coast, governors in both parties are taking steps to protect their people by closing schools and shutting down various types of establishments where large numbers of people gather.
But as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said earlier today, there’s only so much state and local governments can do to fill in the gaping holes left behind by this flailing administration.
When it comes to ramping up testing and increasing the number of hospital beds in places that are most likely to be impacted by this outbreak, the federal government will need to step in.
A change in tone by the president on Monday was not enough. The administration still has yet to release a concrete national plan to fight this pandemic.
Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter


politicususa--2020-03-17--The Obama White House Warned Trump In 2017 About A Potential Global Pandemic

Just before Donald Trump took office in 2017 , officials in the Obama White House warned Trump ’ s team about the need to plan for the very type of pandemic that is now wreaking havoc around the globe .
According to Politico , “ In a tabletop exercise days before an untested new president took power , officials briefed the incoming administration on a scenario remarkably like the one he faces now.
” The report noted that two-thirds of Trump officials who were briefed on the matter are no longer in the administration , which is likely one reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis so badly .
The briefing was intended to hammer home a new , terrifying reality facing the Trump administration , and the incoming president ’ s responsibility to protect Americans amid a crisis .
But unlike the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the globe , this 2017 crisis didn ’ t really happen — it was among a handful of scenarios presented to Trump ’ s top aides as part of a legally required transition exercise with members of the outgoing administration of Barack Obama .
POLITICO obtained documents from the meeting and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help provide the most detailed reconstruction of the closed-door session yet .
It was perhaps the most concrete and visible transition exercise that dealt with the possibility of pandemics , and top officials from both sides — whether they wanted to be there or not — were forced to confront a whole-of-government response to a crisis .
The Trump team was told it could face specific challenges , such as shortages of ventilators , anti-viral drugs and other medical essentials , and that having a coordinated , unified national response was “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prescient given the ongoing coronavirus crisis .
But roughly two-thirds of the Trump representatives in that room are no longer serving in the administration .
That extraordinary turnover in the months and years that followed is likely one reason his administration has struggled to handle the very real pandemic it faces now , former Obama administration officials said .
MSNBC ’ s Chris Hayes explained that the Trump team ’ s failure to absorb this information from the Obama White House is “ par for the course ” for this administration .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look even more disastrous The fact that Donald Trump ’ s transition team was briefed on the growing threat of global pandemics just before taking office makes the president ’ s coronavirus response look that much more disastrous .
Not only did the Trump team fail to heed those warnings from the Obama administration , but they proceeded to close down the White House pandemic office a year later .
It should come as no surprise then that the federal government has failed – since day one – to adequately respond to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been asleep at the wheel all along .
Donald Trump has nobody to blame but himself for his disastrous mismanagement of this pandemic .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Just before Donald Trump took office in 2017, officials in the Obama White House warned Trump’s team about the need to plan for the very type of pandemic that is now wreaking havoc around the globe.
According to Politico, “In a tabletop exercise days before an untested new president took power, officials briefed the incoming administration on a scenario remarkably like the one he faces now.”
The report noted that two-thirds of Trump officials who were briefed on the matter are no longer in the administration, which is likely one reason why the president has managed this current crisis so badly.
More from Politico:
The briefing was intended to hammer home a new, terrifying reality facing the Trump administration, and the incoming president’s responsibility to protect Americans amid a crisis. But unlike the coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the globe, this 2017 crisis didn’t really happen — it was among a handful of scenarios presented to Trump’s top aides as part of a legally required transition exercise with members of the outgoing administration of Barack Obama. … POLITICO obtained documents from the meeting and spoke with more than a dozen attendees to help provide the most detailed reconstruction of the closed-door session yet. It was perhaps the most concrete and visible transition exercise that dealt with the possibility of pandemics, and top officials from both sides — whether they wanted to be there or not — were forced to confront a whole-of-government response to a crisis. The Trump team was told it could face specific challenges, such as shortages of ventilators, anti-viral drugs and other medical essentials, and that having a coordinated, unified national response was “paramount” — warnings that seem eerily prescient given the ongoing coronavirus crisis. But roughly two-thirds of the Trump representatives in that room are no longer serving in the administration. That extraordinary turnover in the months and years that followed is likely one reason his administration has struggled to handle the very real pandemic it faces now, former Obama administration officials said.
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes explained that the Trump team’s failure to absorb this information from the Obama White House is “par for the course” for this administration.
The Trump administration was briefed about the need to plan for a global pandemic just before they took office in 2017. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/aIWmES1cEc — PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 17, 2020
The revelation makes Trump’s coronavirus response look even more disastrous
The fact that Donald Trump’s transition team was briefed on the growing threat of global pandemics just before taking office makes the president’s coronavirus response look that much more disastrous.
Not only did the Trump team fail to heed those warnings from the Obama administration, but they proceeded to close down the White House pandemic office a year later.
It should come as no surprise then that the federal government has failed – since day one – to adequately respond to this global health emergency. They’ve been asleep at the wheel all along.
Donald Trump has nobody to blame but himself for his disastrous mismanagement of this pandemic.


politicususa--2020-03-17--Trump Blows Racist Dog Whistle In The Middle Of A Pandemic, Calls COVID-19 The ‘Chinese Virus’

Hours after the media claimed Donald Trump was starting to change his coronavirus tone for the better , the president took to Twitter to remind the country who he really is .
In a tweet , Trump fell back into his comfort zone of racist , dog-whistle politics and referred to COVID-19 ( aka coronavirus ) as the “ Chinese Virus.
” “ The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries , like Airlines and others , that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus , ” Trump said .
“ We will be stronger than ever before !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Wuhan Virus ” as shorthand for COVID-19 is something right-wing media figures and lawmakers have been doing over the past several weeks , but medical experts and even Trump ’ s lapdog CDC chief have said it ’ s inaccurate and racist to do so .
According to Yale ’ s Marietta Vazquez , “ This behavior , and the stigma associated with referring to an illness in a way that deliberately creates unconscious ( or conscious ) bias , can keep people from getting care they may desperately need to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ When faced with this type of constant , heightened discrimination our friends , neighbors and colleagues of Asian-decent can feel uncomfortable in places they should feel welcome , included , and safe , ” she added .
“ This type of discrimination may also put their mental health at risk.
” Last week , CDC director Robert Redfield said it was “ absolutely wrong and inappropriate to call this the Chinese coronavirus.
” Despite the guidance from the medical community and the fact that dog-whistle politics should have no place in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couldn ’ t help himself .
Sure , he may have struck a more serious tone during his coronavirus news briefing on Monday , but it ’ s clear that Donald Trump is still the same repugnant racist he was yesterday .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Hours after the media claimed Donald Trump was starting to change his coronavirus tone for the better, the president took to Twitter to remind the country who he really is.
In a tweet, Trump fell back into his comfort zone of racist, dog-whistle politics and referred to COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) as the “Chinese Virus.”
“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus,” Trump said. “We will be stronger than ever before!”
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
Medical experts call the label racist and inaccurate
Using “China Virus” and “Wuhan Virus” as shorthand for COVID-19 is something right-wing media figures and lawmakers have been doing over the past several weeks, but medical experts and even Trump’s lapdog CDC chief have said it’s inaccurate and racist to do so.
According to Yale’s Marietta Vazquez, “This behavior, and the stigma associated with referring to an illness in a way that deliberately creates unconscious (or conscious) bias, can keep people from getting care they may desperately need to get better and prevent others from getting sick.”
“When faced with this type of constant, heightened discrimination our friends, neighbors and colleagues of Asian-decent can feel uncomfortable in places they should feel welcome, included, and safe,” she added. “This type of discrimination may also put their mental health at risk.”
Last week, CDC director Robert Redfield said it was “absolutely wrong and inappropriate to call this the Chinese coronavirus.”
Despite the guidance from the medical community and the fact that dog-whistle politics should have no place in a global health emergency, the president couldn’t help himself.
Sure, he may have struck a more serious tone during his coronavirus news briefing on Monday, but it’s clear that Donald Trump is still the same repugnant racist he was yesterday.
Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter


politicususa--2020-03-17--Fox News Is Now Freaking Out Over The Coronavirus

Donald Trump started taking coronavirus seriously , so Fox News suddenly flipped and is freaking out over the virus .
In typical Fox fashion , the network is calling on employers to monitor Millenials social media : On The Five , they are showing charts from The New York Times , the same outlet that Trump calls “ fake news , ” and suggesting social media stalking Millenials , “ As future employers of these people if you find out that any of these people you might hire went to spring break or went to the bar , and disregarded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t hire them , and if they posted on social media , believe me , I ’ ll find it , and they will not get hired .
That ’ s the kind of punishment.
” In less than two weeks , Fox News has gone from hosting Trump and allowing him to spew fake coronavirus death rates to total panic mode where Millenials shouldn ’ t be hired for jobs if they violate social distancing guidelines .
As the coronavirus is threatening to wipe out Trump ’ s presidency , Fox News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real , but is calling for social media spying on Millenials .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Donald Trump started taking coronavirus seriously, so Fox News suddenly flipped and is freaking out over the virus.
In typical Fox fashion, the network is calling on employers to monitor Millenials social media:
The network that spent the last month saying the coronavirus wasn't a problem is now saying potential employers should be checking millennials' social media to see if they broke social distancing. pic.twitter.com/No9E9UpR07 — nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) March 17, 2020
On The Five, they are showing charts from The New York Times, the same outlet that Trump calls “fake news,” and suggesting social media stalking Millenials, “As future employers of these people if you find out that any of these people you might hire went to spring break or went to the bar, and disregarded public health official, I wouldn’t hire them, and if they posted on social media, believe me, I’ll find it, and they will not get hired. That’s the kind of punishment.”
In less than two weeks, Fox News has gone from hosting Trump and allowing him to spew fake coronavirus death rates to total panic mode where Millenials shouldn’t be hired for jobs if they violate social distancing guidelines.
As the coronavirus is threatening to wipe out Trump’s presidency, Fox News is not only admitting that it is real, but is calling for social media spying on Millenials.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-17--General Who Directed Katrina Effort Calls Trump’s Coronavirus Response Slow And Indecisive

Gen. Russel Honore , the official who led the federal effort after Hurricane Katrina , described Trump ’ s coronavirus response slow and indecisive .
Gen. Honore said on MSNBC , “ I don ’ t know if it ’ s a rating , but it ’ s a description .
Slow and not decisive .
And it ’ s hard to get the speed you need to save lives if you ’ re slow at making decisions and you ’ re not decisive .
That being said , we are facing an invisible enemy .
That we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So in that regards , the things they have to do is going to be a little bit harder .
But we ’ ve got models that we ’ ve been having for years that would show from day one , patient number one out in Washington , in 30 days , projected number of people that might be infected .
I don ’ t know why they ’ re not using that information .
But they also could have done better and can do better.
” The General said that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but he is the person who got the federal Katrina effort together after it was bungled by the Bush administration , so his insight and experience is valuable .
Honore was correct .
The administration can ’ t get back the time that they lost .
The federal government is not taking advantage of all of its resources in the face of a national pandemic .
Trump ’ s indecisive ways have left the country months behind the coronavirus .
Stimulus packages can ’ t stop the damage to the economy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus from spreading .
Trump and his Republicans are closing the barn door long after the pandemic has left the barn .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Gen. Russel Honore, the official who led the federal effort after Hurricane Katrina, described Trump’s coronavirus response slow and indecisive.
Gen. Honore said on MSNBC, “I don’t know if it’s a rating, but it’s a description. Slow and not decisive. And it’s hard to get the speed you need to save lives if you’re slow at making decisions and you’re not decisive. That being said, we are facing an invisible enemy. That we’re not quite sure how bad it is. So in that regards, the things they have to do is going to be a little bit harder. But we’ve got models that we’ve been having for years that would show from day one, patient number one out in Washington, in 30 days, projected number of people that might be infected. I don’t know why they’re not using that information. But they also could have done better and can do better.”
Video:
Gen. Russel Honoré characterized Trump's action on the coronavirus as slow and indecisive. pic.twitter.com/2rjbE3oKHt — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 17, 2020
The General said that he was offering observations, not leveling criticism, but he is the person who got the federal Katrina effort together after it was bungled by the Bush administration, so his insight and experience is valuable.
Honore was correct. The administration can’t get back the time that they lost. The federal government is not taking advantage of all of its resources in the face of a national pandemic.
Trump’s indecisive ways have left the country months behind the coronavirus. Stimulus packages can’t stop the damage to the economy, and it is too late to prevent the virus from spreading.
Trump and his Republicans are closing the barn door long after the pandemic has left the barn.


politicususa--2020-03-17--White House Supports Plan To Provide Coronavirus Cash Payments

The White House has joined with Democratic and Republican members of Congress in supporting a plan to issue $ 250 billion in emergency cash payments to the American people .
The Wall Street Journal reported : The Trump administration said it backs a plan to send checks directly to Americans , likely within the next two weeks , as part of a stimulus plan to help households and businesses hit by the sudden economic slowdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic .
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is pitching Senate Republicans on a roughly $ 850 billion economic stimulus package , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter , as the Trump administration works to craft more legislation to cushion the economic blow .
The idea that is being floated is a $ 1,000 cash payment to every American in order to help people cover their bills and inject spending into the economy .
In the short term , those people and businesses who have been impacted by the coronavirus are likely to be receiving cash and other assistance .
The US economy is service-based and not likely to last long if something is not done quickly to help to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As the virus is spreading exponentially , there is a valid question as to whether this action is already too late .
If it takes 2-4 weeks for the aid to reach people , the economic damage may already be done .
It is a good idea to mitigate the long-term economic impact , but the short-term help should have been passed days when the House acted .
The government remains behind the curve as the crisis worsens from coast to coast .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel @ @ @ @ @

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
The White House has joined with Democratic and Republican members of Congress in supporting a plan to issue $250 billion in emergency cash payments to the American people.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
The Trump administration said it backs a plan to send checks directly to Americans, likely within the next two weeks, as part of a stimulus plan to help households and businesses hit by the sudden economic slowdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is pitching Senate Republicans on a roughly $850 billion economic stimulus package, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration works to craft more legislation to cushion the economic blow.
The idea that is being floated is a $1,000 cash payment to every American in order to help people cover their bills and inject spending into the economy. In the short term, those people and businesses who have been impacted by the coronavirus are likely to be receiving cash and other assistance.
The US economy is service-based and not likely to last long if something is not done quickly to help to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. As the virus is spreading exponentially, there is a valid question as to whether this action is already too late. If it takes 2-4 weeks for the aid to reach people, the economic damage may already be done.
It is a good idea to mitigate the long-term economic impact, but the short-term help should have been passed days when the House acted.
The government remains behind the curve as the crisis worsens from coast to coast.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-17--Senator Sherrod Brown Slams Mitch McConnell For “Wasted” Time on Coronavirus Bill

Senator Sherrod Brown ( D-Ohio ) is the latest legislator to criticize Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) , saying McConnell is responsible for delays on a coronavirus relief package for families affected by the pandemic , which has claimed at least 97 lives across the United States .
“ Mitch McConnell has wasted four days in the middle of a pandemic .
Now Republican Senators are using procedure to cover for him , ” Brown said in a tweet , concluding that the Senate “ should do its job.
” Brown included footage of a Monday Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Majority Leader for shuffling his feet on a response to the growing crisis .
“ I asked Senator McConnell on this floor , I opened this door… I pointed down the hall and I said ‘ Senator McConnell should come back here and let ’ s work on this bill.
’ Whether they are actually finished in the house , down the hall , doing it or not , we should be working on this , ” he said at the time .
He added : “ Senator McConnell had to go back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really know what he went back for .
We asked him to stay and finish this and negotiate and do it , to take care of stopping this virus , to take care of all the people in my state…to take care of all these people that are losing their jobs and don ’ t know what to do .
“ Senator McConnell went back to Kentucky , wasted three days—make that four days .
It ’ s three more days of people worrying , it ’ s three more days of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days of businesses…shutting down .
It ’ s the anguish that you feel if you think one of your loved ones is sick , all of that…and we are just wasting another day.
” McConnell , for his part , has tweeted assurances that “ Senators on both sides are eager to act quickly ” to support those adversely affected by the pandemic .
Other lawmakers have had harsh words for McConnell , who has said he doesn ’ t expect a vote on a relief package until later this week but promises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week , Senator Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) accused McConnell of being “ remarkably irresponsible ” and “ out of touch ” for calling a recess as the crisis mounts .
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) also criticized the decision , saying that every instance that “ Fed action is delayed puts lives at risk.
” McConnell has not issued a direct response to criticisms , though earlier this morning , he said Senators “ are crafting the major legislation that the American people deserve in the face of this major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ will not adjourn until we have passed significant and bold new steps , above and beyond what the House passed , to help our strong nation and our strong underlying economy weather this storm .
”

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is the latest legislator to criticize Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), saying McConnell is responsible for delays on a coronavirus relief package for families affected by the pandemic, which has claimed at least 97 lives across the United States.
“Mitch McConnell has wasted four days in the middle of a pandemic. Now Republican Senators are using procedure to cover for him,” Brown said in a tweet, concluding that the Senate “should do its job.”
Mitch McConnell has wasted four days in the middle of a pandemic. Now Republican Senators are using procedure to cover for him. @SenatorDurbin is right – enough with the excuses. The Senate should do its job. Watch this exchange. pic.twitter.com/kT4w0lbZJk — Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) March 17, 2020
Brown included footage of a Monday Senate session during which he lambasted the Senate Majority Leader for shuffling his feet on a response to the growing crisis.
“I asked Senator McConnell on this floor, I opened this door… I pointed down the hall and I said ‘Senator McConnell should come back here and let’s work on this bill.’ Whether they are actually finished in the house, down the hall, doing it or not, we should be working on this,” he said at the time.
He added: “Senator McConnell had to go back to Kentucky. I don’t really know what he went back for. We asked him to stay and finish this and negotiate and do it, to take care of stopping this virus, to take care of all the people in my state…to take care of all these people that are losing their jobs and don’t know what to do.
“Senator McConnell went back to Kentucky, wasted three days—make that four days. It’s three more days of people worrying, it’s three more days of people self-quarantining, it’s three more days of businesses…shutting down. It’s the anguish that you feel if you think one of your loved ones is sick, all of that…and we are just wasting another day.”
McConnell, for his part, has tweeted assurances that “Senators on both sides are eager to act quickly” to support those adversely affected by the pandemic.
The Senate is still waiting for the House to finish processing their coronavirus legislation and transmit their final version to us. Senators on both sides are eager to act quickly to support American workers, families, and small businesses. — Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) March 16, 2020
Other lawmakers have had harsh words for McConnell, who has said he doesn’t expect a vote on a relief package until later this week but promises “bold and bipartisan action.”
Earlier this week, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused McConnell of being “remarkably irresponsible” and “out of touch” for calling a recess as the crisis mounts.
It was remarkably irresponsible & out of touch for Sen. Mitch McConnell to send senators out of town in the middle of a public health crisis before the House passed the #FamiliesFirst Coronavirus Response Act. Sen. McConnell & Republicans should pass this bill as is IMMEDIATELY. — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 14, 2020
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also criticized the decision, saying that every instance that “Fed action is delayed puts lives at risk.”
Every minute, hour, & day that Fed action is delayed on Coronavirus puts lives at risk. The House has been hammering away at a coronavirus relief package. We just called in every member to vote on & pass a deal at almost 1am.#WheresMitch McConnell? Taking the weekend off. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 14, 2020
McConnell has not issued a direct response to criticisms, though earlier this morning, he said Senators “are crafting the major legislation that the American people deserve in the face of this major challenge,” adding that the Senate “will not adjourn until we have passed significant and bold new steps, above and beyond what the House passed, to help our strong nation and our strong underlying economy weather this storm.”


politicususa--2020-03-17--White House Official Calls Coronavirus “Kung Flu” In Conversation with Asian-American Reporter

A White House official reportedly used the racist term “ Kung flu ” while speaking to CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang , who was born in China and grew up in West Virginia .
The official has not been identified .
“ Makes me wonder what they ’ re calling it behind my back , ” Jiang wrote on Twitter .
The alleged incident comes after President Donald Trump faced scathing criticism for referring to the coronavirus pandemic , which has claimed at least 96 lives so far across the United States , as “ the Chinese coronavirus ” in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him a rebuke from a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who said the U.S. should “ take care of its own business ” before stigmatizing the nation .
Far-right supporters of the president have falsely claimed that the pandemic is a plot perpetrated by Democrats who are working with the Chinese to remove him from office .
Earlier this week , far-right commentator Josh Bernstein doubled down on claims of conspiracy , declaring that the pandemic is the result of a collaboration between Democrats and the Chinese “ medical deep state ” during an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ This is a Democratic Party and a media establishment made-up pandemic , ” Bernstein said .
“ I believe that because Russia didn ’ t work , and Ukraine didn ’ t work , and impeachment didn ’ t work , they are so hell-bent on destroying this country [ and ] this president to gain back power that they probably worked with the Chinese government , and they devised this plan .
They allowed their medical deep state to release this virus into the American public , to scare the living @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy , to shut down the markets , and to stop the Trump rallies .
”

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
A White House official reportedly used the racist term “Kung flu” while speaking to CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang, who was born in China and grew up in West Virginia. The official has not been identified.
“Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back,” Jiang wrote on Twitter.
This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the “Kung-Flu” to my face. Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back. — Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 17, 2020
The alleged incident comes after President Donald Trump faced scathing criticism for referring to the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed at least 96 lives so far across the United States, as “the Chinese coronavirus” in a tweet, a move that earned him a rebuke from a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who said the U.S. should “take care of its own business” before stigmatizing the nation.
Far-right supporters of the president have falsely claimed that the pandemic is a plot perpetrated by Democrats who are working with the Chinese to remove him from office.
Earlier this week, far-right commentator Josh Bernstein doubled down on claims of conspiracy, declaring that the pandemic is the result of a collaboration between Democrats and the Chinese “medical deep state” during an appearance on “The NutriMedical Report.”
“This is a Democratic Party and a media establishment made-up pandemic,” Bernstein said. “I believe that because Russia didn’t work, and Ukraine didn’t work, and impeachment didn’t work, they are so hell-bent on destroying this country [and] this president to gain back power that they probably worked with the Chinese government, and they devised this plan. They allowed their medical deep state to release this virus into the American public, to scare the living daylights out of everybody to shut down the economy, to shut down the markets, and to stop the Trump rallies.”


politicususa--2020-03-17--Mike Pence Suggests That Americans Don’t Need Coronavirus Tests

The new White House line is that the American people don ’ t need coronavirus testing .
They just have to close everything down for 15 days .
Pence said during Tuesday ’ s coronavirus briefing : It ’ s important the American people understand that testing is happening all over the country .
But all of our health experts wanted me to tell the American people , you don ’ t need the results of testing to know what you should do .
President Trump ’ s 15-day coronavirus guidelines are advice for every American in every community .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ best guidance of CDC and our health experts .
As the president said , we continue to urge every American over the next 15 days to put into practice the principles in the president ’ s coronavirus guidelines .
By every American practicing these principles , we believe that we can slow the spread of the coronavirus .
In fact , our experts have told our task force that , if every American acts on the president ’ s coronavirus guidelines , we could see a substantial reduction in the spread of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that the American people don ’ t need testing , even though they are ramping up testing .
It is more political spin from the administration .
The country needs more and lots of testing because that is the only way to determine how bad the epidemic is .
The coronavirus isn ’ t going to go away if everyone stays in the house for two weeks .
The administration still has not increased the production of needed medical equipment or helped hospitals increase their capacity .
The lack of testing is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold down the number of reported cases .
The American people need to get tested , and since most people aren ’ t going to follow the CDC recommendations , one can expect that the coronavirus will get much worse before it gets better .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
The new White House line is that the American people don’t need coronavirus testing. They just have to close everything down for 15 days.
Pence said during Tuesday’s coronavirus briefing:
It’s important the American people understand that testing is happening all over the country. But all of our health experts wanted me to tell the American people, you don’t need the results of testing to know what you should do. President Trump’s 15-day coronavirus guidelines are advice for every American in every community. They’re the result of the best guidance of CDC and our health experts.
As the president said, we continue to urge every American over the next 15 days to put into practice the principles in the president’s coronavirus guidelines. By every American practicing these principles, we believe that we can slow the spread of the coronavirus. In fact, our experts have told our task force that, if every American acts on the president’s coronavirus guidelines, we could see a substantial reduction in the spread of the coronavirus.
Video:
Pence cites unnamed health care experts to suggest that the American people don't need a coronavirus test. They just have to follow the 15-day guidelines. pic.twitter.com/QuDIt6Xy7U — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 17, 2020
The new White House line is that the American people don’t need testing, even though they are ramping up testing. It is more political spin from the administration. The country needs more and lots of testing because that is the only way to determine how bad the epidemic is.
The coronavirus isn’t going to go away if everyone stays in the house for two weeks. The administration still has not increased the production of needed medical equipment or helped hospitals increase their capacity.
The lack of testing is a way for the Trump administration to hold down the number of reported cases. The American people need to get tested, and since most people aren’t going to follow the CDC recommendations, one can expect that the coronavirus will get much worse before it gets better.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook


politicususa--2020-03-17--Trump Lashes Out at Democratic Governors Critical of His Coronavirus Response

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to lash out at the respective governors of New York and Michigan as the death toll attributed to the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and as his administration faces blistering criticism for its response .
The president accused Governor Andrew Cuomo ( D-N.Y. ) of politicizing the growing crisis , suggesting that a wholesale federal policy is not appropriate given that some states are more overwhelmed with cases than others .
The president pointed to differences in New York , which he referred to as a “ hotspot , ” and West Virginia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case , though his argument ignores a sobering reality as the nation grapples with a testing shortage that has led many not to get tested for the virus or otherwise complicated results .
Trump ’ s tweet followed an earlier one in which he mentioned a teleconference he had conducted with governors nationwide and claiming Cuomo has “ to do more.
” “ No — YOU have to do something !
You ’ re supposed to be the President , ” Cumo later retorted .
Trump later referred to Governor Gretchen Whitmer ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Governor , ” urging her to “ work harder and be much more proactive.
” The president did not make mention of several executive orders Whitmer signed related to the pandemic that require businesses to close , extend unemployment benefits to those adversely impacted , mandate a cap on the number of attendees at indoor events , and lift weight restrictions for vehicles carrying items essential to slowing the spread of the virus .
Trump ’ s message followed an appearance Whitmer made on MSNBC outlining her administration ’ s response to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not take this seriously early enough and now it is on us to make sure we ’ re doing everything we can based on the best facts and science available and that we are always putting the health of our people front and center , ” Whitmer said at the time .
As PoliticusUSA reported earlier today , a new poll published on Tuesday from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that 60 percent of Americans do not trust the president ’ s response to the crisis after weeks of contradicting the recommendations of healthcare experts @

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
President Donald Trump took to Twitter to lash out at the respective governors of New York and Michigan as the death toll attributed to the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and as his administration faces blistering criticism for its response.
The president accused Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) of politicizing the growing crisis, suggesting that a wholesale federal policy is not appropriate given that some states are more overwhelmed with cases than others. The president pointed to differences in New York, which he referred to as a “hotspot,” and West Virginia, which has yet to report a single case, though his argument ignores a sobering reality as the nation grapples with a testing shortage that has led many not to get tested for the virus or otherwise complicated results.
Cuomo wants “all states to be treated the same.” But all states aren’t the same. Some are being hit hard by the Chinese Virus, some are being hit practically not at all. New York is a very big “hotspot”, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020
Trump’s tweet followed an earlier one in which he mentioned a teleconference he had conducted with governors nationwide and claiming Cuomo has “to do more.”
“No — YOU have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President,” Cumo later retorted.
I have to do more? No — YOU have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President. https://t.co/tYeDt1lcOZ — Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 16, 2020
Trump later referred to Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) as the “Failing Michigan Governor,” urging her to “work harder and be much more proactive.” The president did not make mention of several executive orders Whitmer signed related to the pandemic that require businesses to close, extend unemployment benefits to those adversely impacted, mandate a cap on the number of attendees at indoor events, and lift weight restrictions for vehicles carrying items essential to slowing the spread of the virus.
Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive. We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020
Trump’s message followed an appearance Whitmer made on MSNBC outlining her administration’s response to the crisis.
“The federal government did not take this seriously early enough and now it is on us to make sure we’re doing everything we can based on the best facts and science available and that we are always putting the health of our people front and center,” Whitmer said at the time.
As PoliticusUSA reported earlier today, a new poll published on Tuesday from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that 60 percent of Americans do not trust the president’s response to the crisis after weeks of contradicting the recommendations of healthcare experts.


politicususa--2020-03-17--How Does U.S. Compare To Other Nations In Testing For Coronavirus? Not Good…

Testing for coronavirus is an important aspect in protecting the citizenry of any nation .
Doing so allows health officials to track where the virus is , and to quarantine individuals or communities in order to stop the virus ’ spread .
Unfortunately for the United States , the Trump administration ’ s response to the virus has been anything but spectacular , and the country lags behind others when it comes to conducting effective testing .
According to a report from the New York Times , the U.S. has performed around 25,000 tests for COVID-19 .
Compared to Italy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or South Korea , where there have been 274,000 tests , the response in the U.S has been lackluster , to say the least .
Looking at things from a “ rates ” point of view casts the situation in an even more concerning light .
The number of coronavirus tests per million citizens in the U.S. is at just around 100 .
Meanwhile , in the United Kingdom , it ’ s at 500 .
In Australia , it sits at close to 2,000 , and in South Korea , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens .
Even the Czech Republic is ahead of the U.S. , performing tests for coronavirus at a rate that ’ s five times greater than what ’ s seen in America .
Many in the United States who have come down with symptoms of the disease have complained about the inability to be tested for it — frequently , patients are being told that , unless they meet a list of qualifying features ( international travel or been close to someone who has traveled , for instance ) they can not receive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ anybody that needs a test gets a test ” — a statement that , along with other misleading statements and rosier outlooks about the disease , has led to a majority of Americans having sentiments of distrust for the president when it comes to his statements about coronavirus .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Testing for coronavirus is an important aspect in protecting the citizenry of any nation. Doing so allows health officials to track where the virus is, and to quarantine individuals or communities in order to stop the virus’ spread.
Unfortunately for the United States, the Trump administration’s response to the virus has been anything but spectacular, and the country lags behind others when it comes to conducting effective testing.
U.S. coronavirus testing stalled for six weeks. A small German lab made 1.4 million tests in that time. https://t.co/shAVyC3MaW — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 17, 2020
According to a report from the New York Times, the U.S. has performed around 25,000 tests for COVID-19. Compared to Italy, where 134,000 tests have happened, or South Korea, where there have been 274,000 tests, the response in the U.S has been lackluster, to say the least.
Looking at things from a “rates” point of view casts the situation in an even more concerning light. The number of coronavirus tests per million citizens in the U.S. is at just around 100. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, it’s at 500. In Australia, it sits at close to 2,000, and in South Korea, it’s above 5,000 tests for every million citizens.
Even the Czech Republic is ahead of the U.S., performing tests for coronavirus at a rate that’s five times greater than what’s seen in America.
A potential shortage of cotton swabs and other basic supplies needed for coronavirus testing is emerging as a new threat to the Trump administration’s plans to roll out high-volume testing to 2,000 sites across the country by the end of the weekhttps://t.co/FejmWF6qzY — POLITICO (@politico) March 17, 2020
Many in the United States who have come down with symptoms of the disease have complained about the inability to be tested for it — frequently, patients are being told that, unless they meet a list of qualifying features (international travel or been close to someone who has traveled, for instance) they cannot receive testing.
Last week, Trump promised that “anybody that needs a test gets a test” — a statement that, along with other misleading statements and rosier outlooks about the disease, has led to a majority of Americans having sentiments of distrust for the president when it comes to his statements about coronavirus.


politicususa--2020-03-17--Few Americans Trust Trump To Lead Through Coronavirus Crisis, Poll Finds

President Donald Trump has been talking himself up as the right person for the job to lead on addressing and diminishing the spread of coronavirus , or COVID-19 , across the country .
Problem is , most Americans don ’ t trust him to do so .
A new poll published on Tuesday from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that the citizenry is split on whether the federal government is doing enough or not to address the crisis .
Forty-six percent say enough is being done , while 44 percent believe more needs to happen .
A majority of Americans see coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent saying so .
Only 38 percent say it ’ s “ blown out of proportion , ” the poll found .
Among Republican respondents , however , those numbers are flipped : 40 percent say it ’ s serious , while 54 percent say it ’ s overblown .
Americans are split on whether they can trust the media during this crisis , with 50 percent saying they can and 47 percent saying they can not .
But when it comes to Trump , an overwhelming majority say his words are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) say they do not trust what Trump has to say about coronavirus , while only 37 percent say they do trust him .
Much of the distrust in Trump likely has to do with the fact that he consistently contradicted healthcare experts for several weeks on the direction things were going .
When experts warned that things were going to get worse before they got better , for example , Trump said late in February that cases would soon “ going to be down to close to zero.
” There were only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country at that time .
Now , there are thousands .
Trump ’ s frequent contradicting of health experts likely did him no good , politically speaking : the American public trust what they have announced or recommended so far , with 84 percent saying as much , and only 13 percent saying they don ’ t put much trust in what they have to say .
Distrust in Trump may also have to do with the fact that testing for COVID-19 has been limited , as there ’ s not enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who believe they may have the disease .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
President Donald Trump has been talking himself up as the right person for the job to lead on addressing and diminishing the spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19, across the country.
Problem is, most Americans don’t trust him to do so.
A new poll published on Tuesday from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that the citizenry is split on whether the federal government is doing enough or not to address the crisis. Forty-six percent say enough is being done, while 44 percent believe more needs to happen.
A majority of Americans see coronavirus as a real threat, with 56 percent saying so. Only 38 percent say it’s “blown out of proportion,” the poll found.
Among Republican respondents, however, those numbers are flipped: 40 percent say it’s serious, while 54 percent say it’s overblown.
Americans are split on whether they can trust the media during this crisis, with 50 percent saying they can and 47 percent saying they cannot. But when it comes to Trump, an overwhelming majority say his words are not trustworthy.
60% of Americans now say they don't have very much trust — or have no trust at all — in what President Trump says about COVID-19, a new poll finds.https://t.co/UNCqjbHNBj — NPR (@NPR) March 17, 2020
Three-in-five Americans (60 percent) say they do not trust what Trump has to say about coronavirus, while only 37 percent say they do trust him.
Much of the distrust in Trump likely has to do with the fact that he consistently contradicted healthcare experts for several weeks on the direction things were going. When experts warned that things were going to get worse before they got better, for example, Trump said late in February that cases would soon “going to be down to close to zero.”
There were only a few cases of coronavirus identified in the country at that time. Now, there are thousands.
Trump’s frequent contradicting of health experts likely did him no good, politically speaking: the American public trust what they have announced or recommended so far, with 84 percent saying as much, and only 13 percent saying they don’t put much trust in what they have to say.
Distrust in Trump may also have to do with the fact that testing for COVID-19 has been limited, as there’s not enough tests available to address concerns of Americans who believe they may have the disease.


politicususa--2020-03-17--Video Shows Trump Bragging About Demolishing Pandemic Team In 2018

This past week , President Donald Trump was questioned over whether he took any responsibility — any at all — for his administration ’ s slow response in handling the outbreak of COVID-19 , also known as coronavirus , across the country .
Kristen Welker of NBC News asked the president whether the buck stopped with him when it came to early miscues .
In a follow-up question , PBS NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked about Trump firing the White House pandemic response team , an action he ( or someone in his administration ) took in 2018 .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take responsibility , but you did disband the White House pandemic office , and the officials that were working in that office left this administration abruptly .
So what responsibility do you take to that ?
” Alcindor asked .
Trump was indignant in his response .
“ Well , I just think it ’ s a nasty question , ” he said on Friday .
“ And when you say me — I didn ’ t do it…I don ’ t know anything about it.
” On Monday , video emerged of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he fired the pandemic response team , but also bragging about doing so as a cost-saving measure .
“ Some of the people we ’ ve cut , they haven ’ t been used for many , many years and if we ever need them we can get them very quickly and rather then spending the money , ” Trump said at the time .
He further rationalized the cut of the team : Dr. Beth Cameron , who had run the pandemic team before Trump shut the program down , said his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaction time the administration had in dealing with the present crisis .
“ It is clear that eliminating the office has contributed to the federal government ’ s sluggish domestic response , ” Cameron wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
This past week, President Donald Trump was questioned over whether he took any responsibility — any at all — for his administration’s slow response in handling the outbreak of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, across the country.
Kristen Welker of NBC News asked the president whether the buck stopped with him when it came to early miscues.
“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump replied.
In a follow-up question, PBS NewsHour reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked about Trump firing the White House pandemic response team, an action he (or someone in his administration) took in 2018.
Trump uses the term “nasty” when a smart, strong woman confronts him w/ hard facts & questions he can’t handle. Yes, the Trump administration fired the U.S. pandemic response team 2 years before the coronavirus crisis. #TrumpPressConference pic.twitter.com/hgTo7Pdgt6 — Stephanie Kennedy (@WordswithSteph) March 13, 2020
“You said that you don’t take responsibility, but you did disband the White House pandemic office, and the officials that were working in that office left this administration abruptly. So what responsibility do you take to that?” Alcindor asked.
Trump was indignant in his response. “Well, I just think it’s a nasty question,” he said on Friday. “And when you say me — I didn’t do it…I don’t know anything about it.”
On Monday, video emerged of Trump not only acknowledging in 2018 that he fired the pandemic response team, but also bragging about doing so as a cost-saving measure.
1/2 — Here’s Trump on cutting the pandemic response budget in 2018: “I’m a businessman. I don’t like having 1000’s of people around when you don’t need them”.https://t.co/OwkytzX3qk — Cleay 🇺🇦 (@cleay) March 14, 2020
“Some of the people we’ve cut, they haven’t been used for many, many years and if we ever need them we can get them very quickly and rather then spending the money,” Trump said at the time.
He further rationalized the cut of the team:
“I’m a business person, I don’t like having thousands of people around when you don’t need them.”
Dr. Beth Cameron, who had run the pandemic team before Trump shut the program down, said his doing so directly corresponded to the slow reaction time the administration had in dealing with the present crisis.
“It is clear that eliminating the office has contributed to the federal government’s sluggish domestic response,” Cameron wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post.


politicususa--2020-03-17--Trump Refuses To Take Power Away From Jared Kushner As Coronavirus Epidemic Spreads

Trump is refusing to adjust his governing style and take power away from his son in law Jared Kushner , who knows nothing about the coronavirus .
Vis The New York Times : Mr. Trump has refused repeated warnings to rely on experts or to neutralize some of the power held by his son-in-law , Jared Kushner , in favor of a traditional staff structure .
He has rarely fully empowered people in the jobs they hold .
Mr. Kushner ’ s early involvement with dealing with the virus was in advising the President that the media ’ s coverage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sought to take on a more expansive role for himself despite his lack of knowledge on the topic and without talking to most of the task force members or public health experts .
The details match earlier reporting that Trump wouldn ’ t declare a national emergency until after Jared Kushner had finished his research .
Kushner did get Trump to declare a national emergency .
Still , he also advised him to deliver an Oval Office address that has been widely criticized and mocked and an even worse Rose Garden press conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fuming over his bad media coverage , but this bungled crisis has been three-plus years in the making .
The President is listening to his son-in-law instead of healthcare experts , and his lack of staff and bad decisionmaking is pushing the economy toward collapse .
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group .

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
Trump is refusing to adjust his governing style and take power away from his son in law Jared Kushner, who knows nothing about the coronavirus.
Vis The New York Times:
Mr. Trump has refused repeated warnings to rely on experts or to neutralize some of the power held by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in favor of a traditional staff structure. He has rarely fully empowered people in the jobs they hold.
….
Mr. Kushner’s early involvement with dealing with the virus was in advising the President that the media’s coverage exaggerated the threat.
….
Mr. Kushner also sought to take on a more expansive role for himself despite his lack of knowledge on the topic and without talking to most of the task force members or public health experts.
The details match earlier reporting that Trump wouldn’t declare a national emergency until after Jared Kushner had finished his research. Kushner did get Trump to declare a national emergency. Still, he also advised him to deliver an Oval Office address that has been widely criticized and mocked and an even worse Rose Garden press conference.
Trump is now angry at Kushner and fuming over his bad media coverage, but this bungled crisis has been three-plus years in the making. The President is listening to his son-in-law instead of healthcare experts, and his lack of staff and bad decisionmaking is pushing the economy toward collapse.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook