theguardian--2020-05-10--Coronavirus US live: Trump 'spooked' by White House cases as death toll nears 80,000 – as it happene

Coronavirus US live: Trump 'spooked' by White House cases as death toll nears 80,000 – as it happened

Moving away from the coronavirus for a moment , the Democratic mayor of Atlanta has called the death of Ahmaud Arbery , who was shot and killed by two white men in February , a “ lynching ” .
Keisha Lance Bottoms also accused Donald Trump of inciting overt acts of racism .
Speaking to CNN ’ s State of the Union , the rising star within the Democratic party said the killing of Arbery , 25 , was “ heartbreaking ” .
Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael were charged with murder and aggravated assault on Thursday after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arbery , who was African American , was made public .
Asked if the former county police officer and his son would have been charged had the video not been posted online , Bottoms said : “ Had we not seen that video I don ’ t think they would have been charged.
” She added : “ It ’ s 2020 and this was a lynching of an African American man.
” The Guardian has disclosed that police in Glynn county , Georgia , where Arbery was killed while jogging in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a thorough investigation .
The idea that the incident was a lynching has also been expressed by the dead man ’ s father , Marcus Arbery Sr , in an interview with the Guardian .
Bottoms is an increasingly prominent voice in Georgia .
As the black mayor of the state ’ s largest city , she has been talked about as a possible vice-presidential candidate for Joe Biden .
On Sunday she was sharply critical of Trump and the US justice department .
“ With the rhetoric we hearing coming out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I think that many who are prone to being racist are given permission to do it in an overt way we otherwise would not see in 2020 , ” she said .
Where local police forced fail to take action against alleged racial killings , she said , there used to be the justice department as a “ backstop ” , ensuring appropriate prosecutions .
“ We don ’ t have that leadership at the top right now .
It ’ s disheartening.
” Trump has commented on Arbery ’ s death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heart goes out to the parents and the family and friends.
” “ Justice getting done is the thing that solves that problem , ” the president added .
On Sunday , Bottoms talked about her four children , three of whom are boys .
“ They are angry and afraid , ” she said .
“ It speaks to the need to have leadership at the top that cares about all our communities , not just in words but in deeds as well .
”

Bryan Armen Graham in New York (now), Tom Lutz and Martin Pengelly (earlier)

10 May 2020 23.21 BST Oklahoma City University president Martha Burger has condemned the “hate-filled attack” that interrupted the Methodist school’s remote graduation ceremony on Saturday. “We are heartbroken and outraged at the hate-filled attack that occurred at the end of our virtual graduation celebration,” Burger said in a statement. “During a time that should have been focused on recognizing our graduating students, an unknown source was able to bypass the system and display racist and offensive language. I want to be clear, OCU stands against racism, bigotry, and anti-Semitism.” While Burger did not give any details about the content of the interruption, the Associated Press reported that a racial slur and a swastika appeared as the names of the graduates scrolled across the screen near the end of the ceremony, which was held using the popular video-conferencing platform Zoom. Since the coronavirus lockdown, Zoom’s daily active users shot up from around 10 million to 300 million as people have increasingly relied on video-conferencing. The uptick in usage has given rise to cyberattacks known as ‘zoom-bombings’, where bad actors enter video meetings and broadcast explicit imagery or abuse other users. In April, Zoom released an update including encryption and new privacy controls, improvements that were part of a 90-day plan to address an onslaught of security concerns surrounding the service.
10 May 2020 22.38 BST New Jersey governor Phil Murphy has reported at least 1,503 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the statewide total to roughly 138,532. “We’ve tragically lost 140 more lives, pushing our total to 9,255 lives lost,” Murphy said on Sunday. NEW: NJ has 1,503 new confirmed positive cases of #COVID19, pushing our total to 138,532. Of those cases:
➡4,308 are in hospitals
➡1,338 are in critical or intensive care
➡994 are on ventilators
We’ve tragically lost 140 more lives, pushing our total to 9,255 lives lost. pic.twitter.com/7LCMQmK6Qk — Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 10, 2020 It marked the fourth straght day with fewer than 2,000 cases in the Garden State, although deaths from the virus remained up. New Jersey, with a population of approximately nine million people, remains a coronavirus hotbed with more cases and deaths than any US state besides New York. That has led Murphy to proceed with extreme caution in the easing of coronavirus restrictions. While the governor has explored allowing a limited number of more essential businesses to reopen, he stressed during Saturday’s daily briefing that he won’t do so until satisfied by the data and public health officials. “Nothing’s changed,” Murphy said on Saturday. “We’re under consideration. We’re all looking at what other steps we can take. We will let you know if nonessential retail is allowed to be open. It is not at the moment.” “I hope it can change,” he added. “I hope it’ll change sooner than later. No one would be happier.”
10 May 2020 21.44 BST A study of 5,754 employees of Major League Baseball found only 60 tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, a rate lower than what similar studies on the infection rate among the general population have found. “I was expecting a larger number,” said Dr Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine at the University of Stanford and one of the study’s authors, told ESPN. “It shows the value of doing the science as opposed to guessing.” Twenty-six of MLB’s 30 teams took park in the study, which required participants to use a pin prick to draw blood, test it themselves using a pre-shipped kit, then return a survey. Of the 5,603 employees who took the test and submitted their results, only 39 (0.7%) returned positive results. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that none of the people who tested positive have died from the virus. MLB, like every other major US sports league, has remained on hiatus since spring training was shut down and opening day postponed indefinitely. But details of a restart plan expected to be submitted on Tuesday began to trickle out on Sunday. They include a truncated season of around 80 games beginning in early July exclusively against opponents in the same geographic regions and an expanded postseason format that would send seven teams from each league to the playoffs instead of the current five.
10 May 2020 20.39 BST New York senator Chuck Schumer has called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of hydroxychloroquine on veterans for the coronavirus despite scant scientific evidence it helped. The Senate’s top Democrat said the VA needs to provide more information about a $208,000 order of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug widely promoted by President Trump as a ‘miracle cure’. The request comes on the heels of a whistleblower complaint filed on Tuesday by former Health and Human Services official Rick Bright alleging he was ousted from his position after raising concerns that the Trump administration wanted to “flood” coronavirus hotspots like New York and New Jersey despite the uncertain efficacy and potential for harm. “There are concerns that they are using this drug when the medical evidence says it doesn’t help and could hurt,” Schumer said in an interview with the Associated Press. The senator added that VA secretary Robert Wilkie must address whether anyone at the department was pressured by anyone at the White House to use hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 in light of Trump’s persistent endorsements. A VA spokesperson decried Schumer’s “preposterous” suggestion that any department official would make treatment decisions based on anything other than “the best medical interests of patients” in a statement on Sunday.
10 May 2020 19.57 BST Saturday night saw a return to major, live sports in America as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the leading promotion in mixed martial arts, staged an event broadcast live on pay-per-view on ESPN+. UFC’s president, Dana White, is a close ally of Donald Trump and the president recorded a message of support that was shown on the telecast before the event. “Let’s play,” Trump said in the video. “You do the social distancing and whatever else you have to do. But we need sports. We want our sports back.” One of the fighters had to drop out before the event after testing positive for Covid-19, but White said it had been a useful experiment as sports look to reopen during the pandemic. “I knew we could do this,” he said following the event on Saturday night. “I knew we could figure it out. Even with all the hurdles that we had early on, this has been fun. It’s been challenging and it’s been fun.” There was no live audience for the fights, which took place at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Sports leagues across America, and the world, have been shut down during the pandemic. Although professional baseball is being played in Taiwan and South Korea, and Germany’s Bundesliga plans to return later this month.
Updated at 20.04 BST
10 May 2020 19.40 BST The Covid-19 pandemic poses obvious immediate health risks but it could also place our longer-term well-being in jeopardy. If, as some forecasts predict, the unemployment rate rises to 20%, up to 43 million Americans could lose their health insurance. That could result in deaths with people unable to afford treatment. “The status quo is incredibly inefficient, it’s incredibly unfair, it’s tied to employment for no real reason,” said Katherine Hempstead, a senior policy adviser for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This problem exposes a lot of the inadequacies in our system.” You can read our full report on the subject here: Up to 43m Americans could lose health insurance amid pandemic, report says Read more
Updated at 19.41 BST
10 May 2020 19.27 BST Dr Anthony Fauci will testify remotely before a Senate committee next week. The US government’s top infectious diseases adviser had been due to appear in person while observing social distancing and wearing a mask but the Washington Post reports he will now do so via videoconference. Two other witnesses at the Senate Covid-19 hearing on Tuesday had already said they would testify remotely. CDC director Dr Robert Redfield, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn are in self-quarantine after coming into contact with Vice-President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week. “After consulting with Dr Fauci, and in an abundance of caution for our witnesses, senators, and the staff, all four administration witnesses will appear by videoconference due to these unusual circumstances,” Senator Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Health Committee said, in a statement on Sunday. The Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr Brett Giroir, had also been due to appear in person, but joined Fauci in saying he would appear via video link.
10 May 2020 19.11 BST Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, says he will continue with plans to reopen the state despite the fact that cases and deaths of Covid-19 are not going down. “We wish we were going down. We are not. We have been hit in Ohio, just like other states have been hit economically, so we’ve got to try to do two things at once, you know no one is underestimating how difficult this but, it’s something we have to do,” DeWine said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday. DeWine said that taking steps to reopen the Ohio economy is necessary as the state has taken a severe economic hit during the pandemic. “We’ve been hit very hard. We’ve had over a million people apply for unemployment,” he said. “So we’re no different than most other states. I mean we’ve been hit exceedingly hard. And again, as we look to come back carefully, it’s not so much about at this point orders that I issue or my health director issues, it’s really about what people do and I emphasize that time and time again.” DeWine said it was important for the state’s residents to observe safety rules. “The virus is still out there, it’s still very, very dangerous. We have to keep the distancing. People should wear masks, wash their hands. I mean, these are basic things that we have to do. We can’t let up,” he said. More than 23,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Ohio and there had been 1,331 recorded deaths as of Sunday morning.
10 May 2020 18.56 BST The Associated Press has spoken to Americans who have decided to sue China over the Covid-19 outbreak. So far at least nine lawsuits have been filed against China in the US, claiming the country did not do enough to control the pandemic and sought to hide the full extent of the outbreak. Many of the lawsuits are class action, filed on behalf of thousands of people and business. One was filed by the district attorney of Missouri, on behalf of the entire state. “I do feel that they hid it from the world and from Americans,” Saundra Andringa-Meuer, one of the people pursuing legal action against China told the AP. “I don’t feel we had to have the loss of life. I don’t think we had to have the economy shut down. It disrupted all of American lives. I do believe we need to right some of these wrongs.” Andringa-Meuer, 61, came down with the virus in March and was on a ventilator for 14 days. Foreign governments cannot be sued in the US, apart from in exceptional circumstances. “We think it’s going to be an uphill battle for them to ultimately take advantage of those exceptions,” Robert Boone, a specialist in class-action lawsuits told the AP. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang described the Missouri lawsuit as “very absurd and [with] no factual and legal basis.”
10 May 2020 18.32 BST Fears of a hot zone in the West Wing are mounting after a valet who handles food and beverages and the vice-president’s press secretary tested positive for Covid-19, a New York Times report citing multiple White House officials has revealed.
According to the report, Trump “was spooked that his valet, who is among those who serve him food, had not been wearing a mask” and “annoyed” to learn that Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller tested positive. “It is scary to go to work,” Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to the president, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday. Mr. Hassett said he wore a mask at times at the White House, but conceded that “I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing.” He added: “It’s a small, crowded place. It’s, you know, it’s a little bit risky. But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.” The discovery of the two infected employees has prompted the White House to ramp up its procedures to combat the coronavirus, including daily tests for some senior staff, increased usage of masks and more rigorous screening of people entering the complex. The concern about an outbreak of the virus at the White House – and the swift testing and contact tracing being done to contain it – underscores the broader challenge for Americans as Mr. Trump urges them to begin returning to their own workplaces despite warnings from public health officials that the virus continues to ravage communities across the country. Most restaurants, offices and retail stores do not have the ability to regularly test all their employees and quickly track down and quarantine the contacts of anyone who gets infected. At the White House, all employees are being tested at least weekly, officials said, and a handful of top aides who regularly interact with the president are being tested daily, they said. “To get in with the president, you have to test negative,” Mr. Hassett said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
Updated at 00.12 BST
10 May 2020 18.05 BST New York health commissioner Howard Zucker says the deaths of three young New Yorkers from inflammatory complications possibly linked to Covid-19 were in otherwise healthy children: two in elementary school and one adolescent. He says 30 to 40 people are reviewing charts of the 85 young people with the illness to “assess exactly what has happened to them”. When asked if those who died had any underlying conditions, Zucker tells parents to call their doctor if their child is suffering from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pallor or chest pains, which are common symptoms of the toxic-shock syndrome-like condition, and to “err on the side of caution”. “You want to talk about Mother’s Day?” Cuomo says. “This is every mother’s nightmare.”
10 May 2020 17.41 BST The New York governor is blasting the “corporate bailouts” embedded in the federal government’s coronavirus relief legislation. “You took care of corporate America,” Cuomo says, “but now you’re going to starve police and fire and hospitals and schools?” “Going forward, let them fund working Americans because that’s the need,” the governor says. “You look at the past legislation: they funded hotels, restaurants, airlines, big corporations, public companies. Now it turns out they funded a tax break for millionaires in the Covid response legislation. And they didn’t fund state and local governments. Who do state and local governments fund? I fund police, fire fighters, nurses, school teachers and food banks.” He ends with a warning, calling back to the much-criticized bailouts during the last financial crisis. “Don’t make the same mistake twice,” Cuomo says. “Don’t do what this nation did after the 2007-08 mortgage crisis bailout where the government bailed out all these bankers and corporations that made a fortune running a mortgage scam.”
10 May 2020 17.22 BST Cuomo holds press briefing New York governor Andrew Cuomo says the number of total of hospitalizations and intubations statewide are down from the previous 24-hour period in his daily briefing from Albany, calling it “good news”. He says that the new Covid-19 hospitalizations are also down with 521 in the last 24-hour period, the same number as 20 March before they sharply escalated. There were 207 deaths from the virus statewide in the last day – including 43 in nursing homes – which is down from 226 on Saturday. The governor, who has come under criticism for the disproportionate death toll at assisted-living facilities (particularly upstate, where in some counties they account for nearly all coronavirus-related deaths), stresses that it is a national problem and notes that New York’s percentage of deaths in nursing homes ranks 34th out of 50 states. To address the issue, he says all nursing home staff in New York must now be tested for the virus twice a week. Cuomo then says the state’s department of health is investigating up to 85 cases of what may be a Covid-related illness in children – mostly toddler to elementary school age – with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease. The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers and an additional two deaths are currently under investigation. Cuomo adds the department is issuing a notice to all other 49 state health departments to notify them of the situation.
Updated at 17.28 BST
10 May 2020 16.51 BST Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, gave his sobering assessment of the pandemic on NBC’s Meet the Press, saying “we’re going to see 60 to 70% of Americans” infected with Covid-19. “We have to understand that we’re riding this tiger, we’re not directing it,” Osterholm said. “This virus is going to do what it’s going to do. What we can do is only nibble at the edges, and I think it’s not a good message to send to the public that we can control this virus in a meaningful way. ... What we have to tell people honestly, what they want to hear, they don’t want it sugarcoated and they don’t want it coated in fear. But somewhere between now and tomorrow, next year, we’re going to see 60 to 70% of Americans ultimately infected with this virus. What we have to do is to figure out how not just to die with the virus but also how to live with it. And we’re not having that discussion. As Lewis Carrol once said: ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.’” When asked whether the United States is ready to reopen the economy, Osterholm said it was “unclear” what that exactly means. “When we say what we mean by opening the economy, that’s really unclear,” Osterholm said. “We have to, we can’t stay locked down for 18 months, but at the same time when you have cases increasing, deaths increasing, healthcare workers without adequate protective equipment, and we’re suddenly going back to what was once our normal lives, that’s not a safe place to be. We can’t do that and not expect to see a major increase in cases.”
10 May 2020 16.29 BST Atlanta mayor slams Trump for 'erratic leadership' Keisha Lance Bottoms also, of course, discussed with CNN the coronavirus outbreak in her state and attempts to reopen the Georgia economy. As she did so she hit Donald Trump again, accusing him of “erratic leadership” during the crisis. Bottoms said it was “difficult to tell” if people in Atlanta were following her recommendation to stay at home despite Georgia governor Brian Kemp’s attempts to open the state up, per Trump’s desire. “Many young people are out and about as if everything is normal,” she said. “Our malls have opened. Restaurants are reopening. But, anecdotally, I have spoken with just as many people who have said that they will remain at home. “Many of our Fortune 500 companies are not reopening for business just yet. And I think … therein lies the issue that we have really across this nation. You have Fortune 500 companies and people who have the ability to telework are able to remain at home, but our frontline workers, many who are most vulnerable in terms of having access to health insurance and to quality health care, are the people who are having to go back out to work. “And so we will see over the next couple of weeks what this massive health experiment, what the results are in our state.”
Asked what she would like to see from the federal and state government to help remedy the kind of racial disparities in Covid-19 patients referred to by Robert F Smith on NBC, Bottoms said: “One, I think that we need to make sure that people have access to funding, people who own small businesses, that they have access to these loans, and that they are able to make decisions not based on economics, but what is best for their health and for their families and for their communities. “But, also, I think that we have to be responsible. We know that there will be a time that we have to reopen this country, because we’re not at the point that there is a cure or even a vaccine for Covid-19. But I think we have to be very thoughtful. I don’t think the way to reopen up Georgia and stimulate the economy is to send the people out who can least afford to get sick.” Bottoms added: “It’s very difficult to have those decisions put forth when we are getting really what I call erratic leadership from the White House and no clear blueprint on how we move forward thoughtfully as a country.”


theguardian--2020-05-10--Trump coronavirus vaccine goal 'amazingly ambitious', Senate Republican says

White House predictions about how the US economy might rebound from the coronavirus crisis and how quickly a vaccine might be rolled out came under question on Sunday .
The US will need more tests before schools can reopen later in the year , said Lamar Alexander , Republican chairman of the Senate health committee .
Appearing on NBC ’ s Meet the Press , the Tennessee senator appeared to question the White House ’ s ability to meet a target of having 100 million vaccine doses by autumn and 300 million by the end of 2020 .
Alexander called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and added : “ I have no idea if we can reach that.
” No vaccine has been approved though a number are under development .
Neal Kashkari , president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis , told ABC ’ s This Week he would welcome a robust economic recovery .
“ But that would require a breakthrough in vaccines , ” he said , “ a breakthrough in widespread testing , a breakthrough in therapies , to give all of us confidence that it ’ s safe to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know when we ’ re going to have that confidence.
” White House advisers said they had begun informal talks with Congress about what to include in another round of coronavirus relief legislation .
But they also predicted further jobs losses .
Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and economic adviser Larry Kudlow said they were holding discussions with lawmakers on issues including aid to states whose finances have been devastated by the pandemic .
Another economic adviser , Kevin Hassett , said legislation could include food aid and broadband access .
Since March , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to combat the pandemic , including taxpayer money for individuals and companies to blunt an economic impact that includes an unemployment rate of 14.7 % in April , after job losses unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s .
Democrats who control the House of Representatives are moving to unveil new relief legislation as early as this week .
But the White House is in no hurry .
“ Let ’ s take the next few weeks , ” Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday .
“ We just want to make sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spend another few trillion of taxpayers ’ money that we do it carefully , ” he said .
“ We ’ ve been very clear that we ’ re not going to do things just to bail out states that were poorly managed.
” Pressure may mount as the economic picture worsens .
On CBS ’ s Face the Nation , Hassett said unemployment could rise “ north of 20 % ” in May or June before what administration officials insist will be a robust recovery .
The April unemployment rate undercounts some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the country could be facing a “ real ” rate of close to 25 % , Mnuchin said : “ We could be.
” Such a rate also includes people who have lost jobs and are not actively seeking employment and people considered underemployed .
Democrats are pushing for another massive bill that would include more money for state and local governments , coronavirus testing and the US Postal Service .
Advisers say the White House will not consider new stimulus legislation in May .
“ It ’ s not that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s just informal at this stage , ” Kudlow told ABC .
“ We ’ re collecting ideas for next steps , which will undoubtedly be data-driven.
” Kudlow said he took part in a Friday call with House lawmakers from both parties , and plans to do the same on Monday with members of the Senate , which is held by the Republicans .
“ If we go to a phase-four deal , I think that President Trump has signaled that , while he doesn ’ t want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s willing to help cover some of the unexpected Covid expenses that might have come their way , ” Hassett told CNN ’ s State of the Union .
The White House is “ absolutely ” pushing for a payroll tax cut , Mnuchin said .
Trump has called for a cut to the tax , which is paid by employers and workers and funds Social Security and Medicare .
The proposal has little congressional support .
Trump has also threatened to withhold funds from states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a public health crisis to advance political goals .

White House predictions about how the US economy might rebound from the coronavirus crisis and how quickly a vaccine might be rolled out came under question on Sunday.
The US will need more tests before schools can reopen later in the year, said Lamar Alexander, Republican chairman of the Senate health committee.
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, the Tennessee senator appeared to question the White House’s ability to meet a target of having 100 million vaccine doses by autumn and 300 million by the end of 2020.
Alexander called it “an amazingly ambitious goal” and added: “I have no idea if we can reach that.”
No vaccine has been approved though a number are under development.
Neal Kashkari, president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, told ABC’s This Week he would welcome a robust economic recovery.
“But that would require a breakthrough in vaccines,” he said, “a breakthrough in widespread testing, a breakthrough in therapies, to give all of us confidence that it’s safe to go back. I don’t know when we’re going to have that confidence.”
White House advisers said they had begun informal talks with Congress about what to include in another round of coronavirus relief legislation. But they also predicted further jobs losses.
Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and economic adviser Larry Kudlow said they were holding discussions with lawmakers on issues including aid to states whose finances have been devastated by the pandemic. Another economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, said legislation could include food aid and broadband access.
Since March, Congress has passed bills allocating $3tn to combat the pandemic, including taxpayer money for individuals and companies to blunt an economic impact that includes an unemployment rate of 14.7% in April, after job losses unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Democrats who control the House of Representatives are moving to unveil new relief legislation as early as this week. But the White House is in no hurry.
“Let’s take the next few weeks,” Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday.
“We just want to make sure that before we jump back in and spend another few trillion of taxpayers’ money that we do it carefully,” he said. “We’ve been very clear that we’re not going to do things just to bail out states that were poorly managed.”
Pressure may mount as the economic picture worsens. On CBS’s Face the Nation, Hassett said unemployment could rise “north of 20%” in May or June before what administration officials insist will be a robust recovery.
The April unemployment rate undercounts some out-of-work Americans, economists say. Asked if the country could be facing a “real” rate of close to 25%, Mnuchin said: “We could be.” Such a rate also includes people who have lost jobs and are not actively seeking employment and people considered underemployed.
Democrats are pushing for another massive bill that would include more money for state and local governments, coronavirus testing and the US Postal Service. Advisers say the White House will not consider new stimulus legislation in May.
“It’s not that we’re not talking. We are. It’s just informal at this stage,” Kudlow told ABC. “We’re collecting ideas for next steps, which will undoubtedly be data-driven.”
Kudlow said he took part in a Friday call with House lawmakers from both parties, and plans to do the same on Monday with members of the Senate, which is held by the Republicans.
“If we go to a phase-four deal, I think that President Trump has signaled that, while he doesn’t want to bail out the states, he’s willing to help cover some of the unexpected Covid expenses that might have come their way,” Hassett told CNN’s State of the Union.
The White House is “absolutely” pushing for a payroll tax cut, Mnuchin said. Trump has called for a cut to the tax, which is paid by employers and workers and funds Social Security and Medicare. The proposal has little congressional support.
Trump has also threatened to withhold funds from states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, a stance critics say would exploit a public health crisis to advance political goals.


theguardian--2020-05-10--Trump charges Obama with 'biggest political crime in American history'

Donald Trump continued to fume over the Russia investigation on Sunday , more than a year after special counsel Robert Mueller filed his report without recommending charges against the president but only three days after the justice department said it would drop its case against Michael Flynn , Trump ’ s first national security adviser .
“ The biggest political crime in American history , by far !
” the president wrote in a tweet accompanying a conservative talk show host ’ s claim that Barack Obama “ used his last weeks in office to target incoming officials and sabotage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ echoed previous messages retweeted by Trump , which earned rebukes for relaying conspiracy theories .
On Sunday afternoon the president continued to send out a stream of tweets of memes and rightwing talking heads claiming an anti-Trump conspiracy .
One tweet by Trump simply read : “ OBAMAGATE !
” Trump fired Flynn , a retired general , in early 2017 , for lying to Vice-President Mike Pence about conversations with the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions levied by the Obama administration in retaliation for interference in the 2016 election .
The US intelligence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were meant to tip the election towards Trump and away from Hillary Clinton , the Democratic nominee .
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI – which Trump has acknowledged – and co-operated with Mueller , who was appointed to take over the investigation of Russian interference after Trump fired FBI director James Comey .
Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy but did lay out extensive links between Trump and Moscow and instances of possible obstruction of justice by the president .
Flynn sought to change his plea while awaiting sentencing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ floating a possible pardon .
On Thursday , in an act that stunned the US media , attorney general William Barr said the justice department would drop the case entirely .
Trump and his supporters have loudly trumpeted the decision and across Saturday and Sunday the president unleashed a storm of retweets of supporters and conservative commentators attacking targets including Obama , Mueller , Comey and House intelligence committee chair Adam Schiff .
The talkshow host retweeted by the president , Buck Sexton , is a former CIA analyst who now hosts a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to power , and cuts through the liberal nonsense coming from the mainstream media ” .
In another message retweeted by the president , Sexton called former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe – who Trump fired just short of retirement – “ a dishonorable partisan scumbag who has done incalculable damage to the reputation of the FBI and should be sitting in a cell for lying under oath ” .
In February , the US justice department said it would not charge McCabe over claims he lied to investigators about a media leak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book in which he was highly critical of Trump , who he said acted like a mob boss .
McCabe also wrote that Trump had unleashed a “ strain of insanity ” in American public life .
In his own tweets , Trump did not directly address comments by Obama himself which were reported by Yahoo News .
The former president told associates the Flynn decision was “ the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic – not just institutional norms – but our basic understanding of rule of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When are the Fake Journalists , ” he wrote on Sunday , “ who received unwarranted Pulitzer Prizes for Russia , Russia , Russia , and the Impeachment Scam , going to turn in their tarnished awards so they can be given to the real journalists who got it right .
I ’ ll give you the names , there are plenty of them !
” The president did not immediately name anyone .
But in 2018 the Pulitzer committee did , awarding its prize for national reporting jointly to the Washington Post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deeply sourced , relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation ’ s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign , the president-elect ’ s transition team and his eventual administration.
” Trump has further reason to resent the Pulitzer committee and question its choices .
In 2019 , for example , a New York Times team won a Pulitzer for an “ exhaustive 18-month investigation of President Donald Trump ’ s finances that debunked his claims of self-made wealth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax dodges ” .
The Wall Street Journal , meanwhile , was rewarded for “ uncovering President Trump ’ s secret payoffs to two women during his campaign who claimed to have had affairs with him , and the web of supporters who facilitated the transactions , triggering criminal inquiries and calls for impeachment ” .
Trump ’ s actual impeachment , which he survived at trial in the Senate in February , concerned his attempts to have Ukraine investigate his political rivals .
No reporter or news outlet won a 2020 Pulitzer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverage of that affair .
Trump ’ s focus on Sunday remained largely on the Russia investigation despite continuing developments in the coronavirus outbreak , which has infected more than 1.3m Americans and killed nearly 80,000 .
With cases confirmed among White House aides close to the president , top public health experts including Dr Anthony Fauci in quarantine and Trump reported by the New York Times to be “ spooked ” , the president claimed in a rare non-Russia-related tweet : “ We are getting great marks for the handling of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his vice-president , Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic nominee for president this year , over their response to the “ disaster known as H1N1 Swine Flu ” in 2009 .
Trump also marked a special day in the calendar , tweeting in trademark capitals : “ HAPPY MOTHER ’ S DAY !
”

Donald Trump continued to fume over the Russia investigation on Sunday, more than a year after special counsel Robert Mueller filed his report without recommending charges against the president but only three days after the justice department said it would drop its case against Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.
“The biggest political crime in American history, by far!” the president wrote in a tweet accompanying a conservative talk show host’s claim that Barack Obama “used his last weeks in office to target incoming officials and sabotage the new administration”.
The tweet echoed previous messages retweeted by Trump, which earned rebukes for relaying conspiracy theories. On Sunday afternoon the president continued to send out a stream of tweets of memes and rightwing talking heads claiming an anti-Trump conspiracy. One tweet by Trump simply read: “OBAMAGATE!”
Trump fired Flynn, a retired general, in early 2017, for lying to Vice-President Mike Pence about conversations with the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions levied by the Obama administration in retaliation for interference in the 2016 election.
The US intelligence community has long held that such efforts were meant to tip the election towards Trump and away from Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI – which Trump has acknowledged – and co-operated with Mueller, who was appointed to take over the investigation of Russian interference after Trump fired FBI director James Comey.
Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy but did lay out extensive links between Trump and Moscow and instances of possible obstruction of justice by the president.
Flynn sought to change his plea while awaiting sentencing and the president championed his case, floating a possible pardon. On Thursday, in an act that stunned the US media, attorney general William Barr said the justice department would drop the case entirely.
Michael Flynn at a campaign event in Virginia Beach in September 2016. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
Trump and his supporters have loudly trumpeted the decision and across Saturday and Sunday the president unleashed a storm of retweets of supporters and conservative commentators attacking targets including Obama, Mueller, Comey and House intelligence committee chair Adam Schiff.
The talkshow host retweeted by the president, Buck Sexton, is a former CIA analyst who now hosts a show which he says “speaks truth to power, and cuts through the liberal nonsense coming from the mainstream media”.
In another message retweeted by the president, Sexton called former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe – who Trump fired just short of retirement – “a dishonorable partisan scumbag who has done incalculable damage to the reputation of the FBI and should be sitting in a cell for lying under oath”.
In February, the US justice department said it would not charge McCabe over claims he lied to investigators about a media leak.
Like Comey, McCabe released a book in which he was highly critical of Trump, who he said acted like a mob boss. McCabe also wrote that Trump had unleashed a “strain of insanity” in American public life.
In his own tweets, Trump did not directly address comments by Obama himself which were reported by Yahoo News. The former president told associates the Flynn decision was “the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic – not just institutional norms – but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk”.
But Trump’s anger was evident.
“When are the Fake Journalists,” he wrote on Sunday, “who received unwarranted Pulitzer Prizes for Russia, Russia, Russia, and the Impeachment Scam, going to turn in their tarnished awards so they can be given to the real journalists who got it right. I’ll give you the names, there are plenty of them!”
The president did not immediately name anyone.
But in 2018 the Pulitzer committee did, awarding its prize for national reporting jointly to the Washington Post and the New York Times for “deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the president-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.”
Trump has further reason to resent the Pulitzer committee and question its choices.
In 2019, for example, a New York Times team won a Pulitzer for an “exhaustive 18-month investigation of President Donald Trump’s finances that debunked his claims of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges”.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, was rewarded for “uncovering President Trump’s secret payoffs to two women during his campaign who claimed to have had affairs with him, and the web of supporters who facilitated the transactions, triggering criminal inquiries and calls for impeachment”.
Trump’s actual impeachment, which he survived at trial in the Senate in February, concerned his attempts to have Ukraine investigate his political rivals. No reporter or news outlet won a 2020 Pulitzer, announced this week, for its coverage of that affair.
Trump’s focus on Sunday remained largely on the Russia investigation despite continuing developments in the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 1.3m Americans and killed nearly 80,000.
With cases confirmed among White House aides close to the president, top public health experts including Dr Anthony Fauci in quarantine and Trump reported by the New York Times to be “spooked”, the president claimed in a rare non-Russia-related tweet: “We are getting great marks for the handling of the CoronaVirus pandemic.”
He also attacked Obama and his vice-president, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president this year, over their response to the “disaster known as H1N1 Swine Flu” in 2009.
Trump also marked a special day in the calendar, tweeting in trademark capitals: “HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!”


theguardian--2020-05-10--Fauci in quarantine as Trump projects confidence and urges states to reopen

The White House is stepping up precautions to try to stem the spread of Covid-19 in the West Wing after Dr Anthony Fauci , the US government ’ s top infectious diseases official , and two other senior leaders in the fight against Covid-19 began self-quarantining on Sunday , following positive tests for the virus among staff .
News that three core members of the US pandemic task force were having to go into some degree of self-isolation could not come at a worse time for Donald Trump .
The president is trying to project an image of confidence and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their economies , while his administration is proving unable to keep the virus at bay even within the White House .
Fauci , 79 , a calming face of the Trump administration ’ s otherwise chaotic pandemic response , has begun what is being described as “ modified quarantine ” , involving some work from home , after he had “ low risk ” contact with a White House staffer who tested positive .
He is joined by Dr Stephen Hahn , commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration , and Dr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Disease Control and Prevention , who have both gone into two weeks of isolation .
Fauci will still testify before a Senate committee next week but he will do so remotely .
The scramble to protect Trump from potential infection was prompted after two White House staffers tested positive .
They included a US Navy officer who served as valet for the president , and the press spokeswoman for vice-president Mike Pence , Katie Miller , who is married to senior policy aide Stephen Miller .
The positive tests are reported to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , given the cramped conditions in which officials work .
The New York Times cited a senior official as saying Trump himself was “ spooked ” to learn that the valet , who on occasion serves him food , had not been wearing a mask .
Senior officials took to the Sunday talk shows to try to counter the impression of internal shambles around the president .
Larry Kudlow , the White House national economic council director , told ABC ’ s This Week the two positive tests were insignificant .
“ In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is an enormous place , at least 500 people , probably much more than that … those who have tested positive is still a small fraction , ” he said .
Kevin Hassett , a special adviser to Trump on the pandemic , told CNN ’ s State of the Union extra precautions were being taken .
Nobody was being allowed to have an audience with Trump , he emphasized , unless they had tested negative .
But Hassett said there was a degree of risk involved in working in the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building and the working conditions .
Speaking to CBS ’ s Face the Nation , he said it was “ scary ” going to work and that it would have been safer staying at home .
“ The West Wing , even with all the testing in the world and the best medical team on Earth , is a relatively cramped place , ” he said .
“ There are things that have to happen in that West Wing even though the building is a little old and poorly ventilated.
” The crop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the administration a problem not only in terms of keeping the president safe .
It also provides an inconvenient framing to Trump ’ s efforts to come across as upbeat in the face of the contagion .
He has been encouraging states to reopen their economies , even though in many cases they are ill-prepared for the health challenges of doing so at a time when the virus is still on the rise .
Trump has tried to appear in control by pointedly refusing to wear a mask in White House meetings , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arizona last week without carrying any protective gear .
The Associated Press reported that Trump chose not to wear a mask because it would “ send the wrong message ” and impact his re-election chances .
The latest data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the US now has more than 1.3m confirmed cases of Covid-19 , almost a third of the global tally .
There have been 78,855 recorded deaths in the US , although the real figure is likely to be considerably higher .
Trump is having to deal with further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thanks to his predecessor , Barack Obama .
In a leaked call first reported by Yahoo News , Obama told former officials from his administration the Trump administration ’ s handling of the crisis had been “ an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of ‘ what ’ s in it for me ’ and ‘ to heck with everybody else ’ … is operationalized in our government.
” Trump lashed back in a tweet on Sunday morning , claiming to be getting “ great marks ” for the handling of coronavirus .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Obama/Sleepy Joe disaster known as H1N1 Swine Flu .
Poor marks , bad polls – didn ’ t have a clue !
” Kudlow also hit back .
He told ABC that “ with all due respect to the former president … I really don ’ t want to get into a political back-and-forth here … I don ’ t know what he ’ s talking about ” .
He added : “ I don ’ t understand what President Obama is saying .
It just sounds so darn political to @ @ @

The White House is stepping up precautions to try to stem the spread of Covid-19 in the West Wing after Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious diseases official, and two other senior leaders in the fight against Covid-19 began self-quarantining on Sunday, following positive tests for the virus among staff.
News that three core members of the US pandemic task force were having to go into some degree of self-isolation could not come at a worse time for Donald Trump. The president is trying to project an image of confidence and resolution as he encourages states to reopen their economies, while his administration is proving unable to keep the virus at bay even within the White House.
Fauci, 79, a calming face of the Trump administration’s otherwise chaotic pandemic response, has begun what is being described as “modified quarantine”, involving some work from home, after he had “low risk” contact with a White House staffer who tested positive.
He is joined by Dr Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, and Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who have both gone into two weeks of isolation.
Fauci will still testify before a Senate committee next week but he will do so remotely.
An absolute chaotic disaster Barack Obama
The scramble to protect Trump from potential infection was prompted after two White House staffers tested positive. They included a US Navy officer who served as valet for the president, and the press spokeswoman for vice-president Mike Pence, Katie Miller, who is married to senior policy aide Stephen Miller.
A spokesman for Pence issued a statement on Sunday night in response to news reports claiming the vice-president was self-isolating, saying Pence was not in quarantine. Pence “has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow,” the statement said.
The positive tests are reported to have caused alarm within the White House, given the cramped conditions in which officials work. The New York Times cited a senior official as saying Trump himself was “spooked” to learn that the valet, who on occasion serves him food, had not been wearing a mask.
Senior officials took to the Sunday talk shows to try to counter the impression of internal shambles around the president.
Larry Kudlow, the White House national economic council director, told ABC’s This Week the two positive tests were insignificant.
“In terms of the White House complex, which is an enormous place, at least 500 people, probably much more than that … those who have tested positive is still a small fraction,” he said.
Kevin Hassett, a special adviser to Trump on the pandemic, told CNN’s State of the Union extra precautions were being taken. Nobody was being allowed to have an audience with Trump, he emphasized, unless they had tested negative.
But Hassett said there was a degree of risk involved in working in the West Wing, given the age of the building and the working conditions. Speaking to CBS’s Face the Nation, he said it was “scary” going to work and that it would have been safer staying at home.
“The West Wing, even with all the testing in the world and the best medical team on Earth, is a relatively cramped place,” he said. “There are things that have to happen in that West Wing even though the building is a little old and poorly ventilated.”
The crop of infections in the White House poses the administration a problem not only in terms of keeping the president safe. It also provides an inconvenient framing to Trump’s efforts to come across as upbeat in the face of the contagion.
He has been encouraging states to reopen their economies, even though in many cases they are ill-prepared for the health challenges of doing so at a time when the virus is still on the rise. Trump has tried to appear in control by pointedly refusing to wear a mask in White House meetings, and even touring a mask-making factory in Arizona last week without carrying any protective gear.
The Associated Press reported that Trump chose not to wear a mask because it would “send the wrong message” and impact his re-election chances.
The latest data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the US now has more than 1.3m confirmed cases of Covid-19, almost a third of the global tally. There have been 78,855 recorded deaths in the US, although the real figure is likely to be considerably higher.
Trump is having to deal with further bad optics about his pandemic response, thanks to his predecessor, Barack Obama.
In a leaked call first reported by Yahoo News, Obama told former officials from his administration the Trump administration’s handling of the crisis had been “an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ … is operationalized in our government.”
Trump lashed back in a tweet on Sunday morning, claiming to be getting “great marks” for the handling of coronavirus.
He went on: “Compare that to the Obama/Sleepy Joe disaster known as H1N1 Swine Flu. Poor marks, bad polls – didn’t have a clue!”
Kudlow also hit back. He told ABC that “with all due respect to the former president … I really don’t want to get into a political back-and-forth here … I don’t know what he’s talking about”.
He added: “I don’t understand what President Obama is saying. It just sounds so darn political to me.”


theguardian--2020-05-11--Trump's environmental 'blitzkrieg' advances under cover of coronavirus

The Trump administration is diligently weakening US environment protections even amid a global pandemic , continuing its rollback as the November election approaches .
During the Covid-19 lockdown , US federal agencies have eased fuel-efficiency standards for new cars ; frozen rules for soot air pollution ; proposed to drop review requirements for liquefied natural gas terminals ; continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies ; sought to speed up permitting for offshore fish farms ; and advanced a proposal on mercury pollution from power plants that could make it easier for the government to conclude regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The government has also relaxed reporting rules for polluters during the pandemic .
Trump ’ s ambitions reach even to the moon , which he has announced he wants the US to mine .
Gina McCarthy , formerly Barack Obama ’ s environment chief , now runs the Natural Resources Defense Council .
She said the Trump administration was acting to cut public health protections while the American public is distracted by a public health crisis .
“ People right now are hunkered down trying to put food on the table , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , worry about educating their children at home , ” McCarthy said .
“ How many people are going to really be able to sit down and scrutinize these things in any way ?
” McCarthy said the government was “ literally not interested in the law or science ” , and that “ is going to become strikingly clear as people look at how the administration is handling Covid-19 ” .
The Trump administration is playing both offense and defense , rescinding and rewriting some rules and crafting others that would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) has written what critics say will be a weak proposal for climate pollution from airplanes , a placeholder that will hinder stricter regulation .
Trump officials have been attempting to create a coronavirus relief program for oil and gas corporations , a new move in his campaign to back the industry and stymie global climate action .
The president has sown distrust of climate science and vowed to exit the Paris climate agreement , which the US can do after the election .
Historians say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pendulum swing back from the environmental awakening of the 1960s and 70s , when there was bipartisan support for conservation .
Protecting the environment – and particularly the climate – is an issue that has become embroiled in political ideology .
“ What Trump ’ s done is create a blitzkrieg against the environment … trying to dismantle not just Obama ’ s environmental achievements but turn back the clock to a pre-Richard Nixon day , ” said Douglas Brinkley , a history professor at Rice University who is writing a book on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just death by a thousand cuts .
It ’ s not one issue , it ’ s just across the board.
” The administration is under a tight deadline to secure changes before the election .
A US law , the Congressional Review Act , allows lawmakers to more easily rescind regulations or rollbacks issued later in an election year .
“ They ’ re hitting a now or never timeline , ” said Christine Tezak , the managing director at the analysis firm ClearView Energy Partners .
“ There ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election , just in case.
” Some trends are working against Trump – including states advancing environmental goals , and low-cost renewable power and natural gas helping reduce the climate footprint of the electricity sector .
Even Houston , an energy hub , has issued a climate action plan .
Yet such contributions are not expected to be enough to fulfill America ’ s role in stalling the global crisis .
Environmental advocates have challenged many of the Trump changes in court – and won .
The Natural Resources Defense Council has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevailed in about 90 % of lawsuits resolved .
Recently , judges tossed out a permit for the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline and decided the EPA can not bar scientists who receive federal grants from serving as agency advisers .
Jeff Holmstead , a lawyer with the firm Bracewell who represents regulated industries and was a deputy EPA administrator under George W Bush , argued that many of the changes characterized as “ rollbacks ” are actually “ sensible , reasonable regulatory reforms ” or fixes to problems .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s EPA unless you go back and look at the Obama administration , ” he said .
“ In many groups there was a sense that there really had been a great deal of regulatory overreach .
And even if you disagree with that , the regulatory programs created problems that they didn ’ t come back and fix.
” ‘ This is about who we ’ re protecting ’ Trump ’ s deregulatory agenda has addressed some issues industry would rather were left alone .
The agency is changing the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for power plants .
Companies had already complied with the rule and most didn ’ t want it changed .
But the revision is meant to set a precedent for the government to ignore some positive health outcomes of regulation .
Trump ’ s weakened standards often go against science too , critics say .
Last month , for example , the EPA decided not to tighten rules for soot pollution , refuting rebutting guidance from experts that more stringent standards would save lives .
The EPA has also repopulated advisory boards with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is trying to change what science it can consider when developing health protections .
If a Democrat takes the White House , it will take years to reverse some changes .
Moving faster would require Democrats holding both chambers of Congress .
Even then , industry would fight hard .
Christopher Cook , the environment chief for Boston , said Trump ’ s efforts had been “ incongruous with all the actions that major cities are taking ” .
“ The thing I would ask most Americans to consider when they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t about what we ’ re protecting against , this is about who we ’ re protecting , ” Cook said , noting that places with more pollution are faring worse under the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Covid has been a dry run for the climate crisis .
We ’ ve seen the populations that Covid affects because it attacks the respiratory system .
We can ’ t continue with bad air in America .
”

The Trump administration is diligently weakening US environment protections even amid a global pandemic, continuing its rollback as the November election approaches.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, US federal agencies have eased fuel-efficiency standards for new cars; frozen rules for soot air pollution; proposed to drop review requirements for liquefied natural gas terminals; continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies; sought to speed up permitting for offshore fish farms; and advanced a proposal on mercury pollution from power plants that could make it easier for the government to conclude regulations are too costly to justify their benefits.
The government has also relaxed reporting rules for polluters during the pandemic.
Trump’s ambitions reach even to the moon, which he has announced he wants the US to mine.
Gina McCarthy, formerly Barack Obama’s environment chief, now runs the Natural Resources Defense Council. She said the Trump administration was acting to cut public health protections while the American public is distracted by a public health crisis.
“People right now are hunkered down trying to put food on the table, take care of people who are sick, worry about educating their children at home,” McCarthy said. “How many people are going to really be able to sit down and scrutinize these things in any way?”
McCarthy said the government was “literally not interested in the law or science”, and that “is going to become strikingly clear as people look at how the administration is handling Covid-19”.
The Trump administration is playing both offense and defense, rescinding and rewriting some rules and crafting others that would be time-consuming for a Democratic president to reverse.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has written what critics say will be a weak proposal for climate pollution from airplanes, a placeholder that will hinder stricter regulation.
Trump officials have been attempting to create a coronavirus relief program for oil and gas corporations, a new move in his campaign to back the industry and stymie global climate action. The president has sown distrust of climate science and vowed to exit the Paris climate agreement, which the US can do after the election.
Historians say Trump’s presidency has forced a pendulum swing back from the environmental awakening of the 1960s and 70s, when there was bipartisan support for conservation. Protecting the environment – and particularly the climate – is an issue that has become embroiled in political ideology.
The gas-powered Valley Generating Station in the San Fernando Valley on 10 March 2017. Trump officials have been attempting to create a coronavirus relief program for oil and gas corporations. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images
“What Trump’s done is create a blitzkrieg against the environment … trying to dismantle not just Obama’s environmental achievements but turn back the clock to a pre-Richard Nixon day,” said Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University who is writing a book on the subject.
“It’s just death by a thousand cuts. It’s not one issue, it’s just across the board.”
The administration is under a tight deadline to secure changes before the election. A US law, the Congressional Review Act, allows lawmakers to more easily rescind regulations or rollbacks issued later in an election year.
“They’re hitting a now or never timeline,” said Christine Tezak, the managing director at the analysis firm ClearView Energy Partners. “There’s a lot they want to get done before the election, just in case.”
Some trends are working against Trump – including states advancing environmental goals, and low-cost renewable power and natural gas helping reduce the climate footprint of the electricity sector. Even Houston, an energy hub, has issued a climate action plan. Yet such contributions are not expected to be enough to fulfill America’s role in stalling the global crisis.
Environmental advocates have challenged many of the Trump changes in court – and won. The Natural Resources Defense Council has sued 110 times and says it has prevailed in about 90% of lawsuits resolved.
Recently, judges tossed out a permit for the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline and decided the EPA cannot bar scientists who receive federal grants from serving as agency advisers.
Jeff Holmstead, a lawyer with the firm Bracewell who represents regulated industries and was a deputy EPA administrator under George W Bush, argued that many of the changes characterized as “rollbacks” are actually “sensible, reasonable regulatory reforms” or fixes to problems.
“It’s impossible to understand the Trump administration’s EPA unless you go back and look at the Obama administration,” he said. “In many groups there was a sense that there really had been a great deal of regulatory overreach. And even if you disagree with that, the regulatory programs created problems that they didn’t come back and fix.”
‘This is about who we’re protecting’
Trump’s deregulatory agenda has addressed some issues industry would rather were left alone. The agency is changing the way it calculates the benefits of mercury controls for power plants. Companies had already complied with the rule and most didn’t want it changed. But the revision is meant to set a precedent for the government to ignore some positive health outcomes of regulation.
Trump’s weakened standards often go against science too, critics say.
Last month, for example, the EPA decided not to tighten rules for soot pollution, refuting rebutting guidance from experts that more stringent standards would save lives. The EPA has also repopulated advisory boards with representatives from industry and conservative states and is trying to change what science it can consider when developing health protections.
If a Democrat takes the White House, it will take years to reverse some changes. Moving faster would require Democrats holding both chambers of Congress. Even then, industry would fight hard.
Christopher Cook, the environment chief for Boston, said Trump’s efforts had been “incongruous with all the actions that major cities are taking”.
“The thing I would ask most Americans to consider when they’re supporting stronger regulation is that this isn’t about what we’re protecting against, this is about who we’re protecting,” Cook said, noting that places with more pollution are faring worse under the coronavirus pandemic.
“Covid has been a dry run for the climate crisis. We’ve seen the populations that Covid affects because it attacks the respiratory system. We can’t continue with bad air in America.”


theguardian--2020-05-10--Kayleigh McEnany – the 'acceptable' face of Trumpism who infuriates liberals

It was a mic drop designed to thrill conservatives and infuriate liberals and the media .
Kayleigh McEnany , the latest White House press secretary aiming to become the acceptable face of Trumpism , had been asked if she wanted to take back a bold prediction in February that “ we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here ” .
“ I guess I would turn the question back on the media , and ask similar questions , ” McEnany said on Wednesday .
Consulting her briefing book , she reeled off a list of outlets and articles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I ’ ll leave you with those questions , ” she said , “ and maybe you ’ ll have some answers in a few days.
” And with a triumphant smile she stepped away from the lectern , ignoring shouted questions .
Reporters wore surprised and stony faces , then relaxed into wry smiles .
It was a classic piece of “ whataboutism ” as practised by pundits on cable news .
The TV president now has a TV emissary , a spokesperson who sometimes takes her eyes off the reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the camera .
McEnany is from what the president likes to call “ central casting ” : a polished performer , devout Christian and devout Trumpian .
And she is only 32 .
“ Kayleigh McEnany : beautiful , Christian , conservative … designed by nature to enrage MSNBC viewers , ” tweeted Ann Coulter , a rightwing author and commentator , referring to the liberal-leaning network whose hosts often eviscerate the president .
But to critics , McEnany is a Trump apologist trying to explain the inexplicable and excuse the inexcusable .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by fame and power rather than any ideological faith .
They say she has abandoned her religious principles to normalise a president widely condemned as a misogynist and racist .
The eldest child of a roofing contractor , McEnany is from Plant City , Florida , which she describes as “ the world ’ s strawberry capital ” .
She attended the Academy of the Holy Names Catholic high school in Tampa and found time to volunteer for the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 .
She moved to Washington to study at Georgetown , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study politics and served an internship in the Bush White House .
After graduating in 2010 , she worked for three years as a production assistant at Fox News for Mike Huckabee , the former governor of Arkansas and father of Sarah Sanders , Trump ’ s second press secretary .
In 2012 , she wrote a tweet about Barack Obama , the country ’ s first black president , that has come back to haunt her : “ How I Met Your Brother – Never mind , forgot he ’ s still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ObamaTVShows.
” McEnany wanted a job in front of the camera but couldn ’ t get a break .
Eventually she decided to become a student again , first at the University of Miami School of Law , then transferring to Harvard .
Huckabee told the New York Times last month : “ I think one of the reasons that Kayleigh went on to law school was because she didn ’ t see she was going to have an on-air opportunity at Fox any time soon.
” But in 2015 , McEnany received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michael Marcantonio , a fellow summer associate at a law firm and a Democrat .
In an interview with the New York Times , he recalled telling her “ Donald Trump is going to be your nominee , ” adding that if “ a smart , young , blond Harvard graduate ” wanted “ to get on television and have a career as a political pundit , you would be wise to be an early backer ” .
McEnany did so .
Networks were struggling to find eloquent champions of the Trump cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became a paid contributor on CNN , feeding the outrage machine and the concept of cable news as combat sport .
A political commentator acquainted with McEnany , who did not wish to be named , said : “ They brought her on board when it became pretty clear that there were few people who were willing to defend Donald Trump that were somewhat sane .
Most people who were credible and experienced were not willing to put their names or reputations on the line to defend Donald Trump ’ s crazy during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had described Trump ’ s comments about Mexican migrants as “ racist ” and dismissed him as a “ showman ” .
She quickly changed her tune .
The source said : “ She is unrecognisable .
If you were to read or listen to her words prior to her decision to sell her soul and jump on the Trump train , she is a completely different person.
” To Trump supporters , McEnany ’ s ability to rile liberals made her something of a heroine .
Even at the nadir of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tape revealed him boasting about grabbing women ’ s genitalia , she had his back , saying : “ Those comments are despicable [ but ] he apologised for them.
” Sean Hannity , a Fox News host , wrote in a forward to McEnany ’ s book , The New American Revolution : The Making of a Populist Movement : “ Outnumbered 8-to-1 , or if she was lucky , 7-to-2 , Kayleigh never backed down in fighting for the conservative movement supporting Donald Trump.
” Jason Miller , who also appeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now co-host of the podcast War Room : Pandemic , said : “ Keep in mind that she went through a couple of years of being a CNN political commentator where she was rumbling with Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo and Van Jones and Ana Navarro and every other hater that ’ s out there .
“ So if Kayleigh can go toe to toe with the toughest anchors and commentators on TV , she ’ ll do just fine with the White House press corps.
” Once Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House in 2016 , McEnany joined the Republican National Committee as spokeswoman , then moved to the Trump campaign in a similar role .
She would sometimes work 18 or 20 hours a day , according to Tim Murtaugh , director of communications for the Trump campaign .
“ Kayleigh was fantastic , ” he said .
“ She ’ s smart , she ’ s energetic , she ’ s engaged and she ’ s the most prepared person that I know .
She has a keen grasp of policy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complicated policy matters into language that is easily digested by the listener.
” Murtaugh accused opponents of discriminating against McEnany because of her looks and gender .
“ The first thing the liberals want to do when they see an attractive young woman in a position like this is they want to question her intelligence .
And I would just say to people , you underestimate Kayleigh McEnany at your own peril .
I don ’ t think that they ’ re turning out too many dummies from Oxford and Harvard Law School.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Bible study group with other staff that met weekly in a conference room at campaign HQ in Arlington , Virginia .
Since the pandemic lockdown , the group has continued to meet virtually .
Like many evangelicals , McEnany apparently sees no contradiction between Trump ’ s behaviour and Christian values .
Two years ago , when she had a preventative double mastectomy because of a BRCA2 genetic mutation that had put her at high risk of breast cancer , she wrote : “ My faith in Jesus Christ was my strength @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admirer of Ravi Zacharias , a preacher whose organisation included a study centre in Oxford .
She wrote in 2013 : “ Oxford needed a Christian to respond to Richard Dawkins .
Found that in Ravi , who has dismantled atheism.
” This week her sister , Ryann , who also works for the Trump campaign , tweeted : “ Watching my sister take the stage for her first White House press briefing last Friday was a surreal moment !
God ’ s spirit was ever-present in that room and undeniably flowing through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gilmartin , a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays .
She posed with Blake , the couple ’ s five-month-old daughter , at the White House lectern after her debut briefing , the first by a press secretary in more than 13 months , where she declared : “ I will never lie to you .
You have my word on that.
” She now has three briefings under her belt .
She has echoed Trump ’ s false and misleading statements but avoided major controversy – and , importantly , avoided stealing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bardella , a political analyst and Trump critic who bested McEnany in a debate on gun control on MSNBC , said : “ Kayleigh is very on point , succinct , direct and speaks with a lot of confidence and comfort from the podium.
” Like Conway , Bardella believes , McEnany saw a chance for career advancement and seized it .
“ Outside of the president , the White House press secretary traditionally is the most visible person in the administration .
This is something that she will be able to live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
“ I don ’ t think that it ’ s diehard ideological alignment more than just an opportunity .
Donald Trump is a person with no ideology or core conviction .
This is someone whose core ideology is nothing more than whatever is transactional and advantageous to him at that moment in time .
”

It was a mic drop designed to thrill conservatives and infuriate liberals and the media.
Kayleigh McEnany, the latest White House press secretary aiming to become the acceptable face of Trumpism, had been asked if she wanted to take back a bold prediction in February that “we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here”.
“I guess I would turn the question back on the media, and ask similar questions,” McEnany said on Wednesday. Consulting her briefing book, she reeled off a list of outlets and articles she said had downplayed the threat.
“I’ll leave you with those questions,” she said, “and maybe you’ll have some answers in a few days.”
And with a triumphant smile she stepped away from the lectern, ignoring shouted questions. Reporters wore surprised and stony faces, then relaxed into wry smiles. It was a classic piece of “whataboutism” as practised by pundits on cable news.
The TV president now has a TV emissary, a spokesperson who sometimes takes her eyes off the reporters in the room and looks directly into the camera. McEnany is from what the president likes to call “central casting”: a polished performer, devout Christian and devout Trumpian. And she is only 32.
“Kayleigh McEnany: beautiful, Christian, conservative … designed by nature to enrage MSNBC viewers,” tweeted Ann Coulter, a rightwing author and commentator, referring to the liberal-leaning network whose hosts often eviscerate the president.
Read or listen to her words prior to her decision to jump on the Trump train. She is a completely different person Anonymous TV pundit
But to critics, McEnany is a Trump apologist trying to explain the inexplicable and excuse the inexcusable. They characterise her as an opportunist motivated by fame and power rather than any ideological faith. They say she has abandoned her religious principles to normalise a president widely condemned as a misogynist and racist.
The eldest child of a roofing contractor, McEnany is from Plant City, Florida, which she describes as “the world’s strawberry capital”. She attended the Academy of the Holy Names Catholic high school in Tampa and found time to volunteer for the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004. She moved to Washington to study at Georgetown, took an exchange year at Oxford to study politics and served an internship in the Bush White House.
After graduating in 2010, she worked for three years as a production assistant at Fox News for Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and father of Sarah Sanders, Trump’s second press secretary. In 2012, she wrote a tweet about Barack Obama, the country’s first black president, that has come back to haunt her: “How I Met Your Brother – Never mind, forgot he’s still in that hut in Kenya. #ObamaTVShows.”
McEnany wanted a job in front of the camera but couldn’t get a break. Eventually she decided to become a student again, first at the University of Miami School of Law, then transferring to Harvard. Huckabee told the New York Times last month: “I think one of the reasons that Kayleigh went on to law school was because she didn’t see she was going to have an on-air opportunity at Fox any time soon.”
But in 2015, McEnany received some intriguing career advice over cocktails from Michael Marcantonio, a fellow summer associate at a law firm and a Democrat. In an interview with the New York Times, he recalled telling her “Donald Trump is going to be your nominee,” adding that if “a smart, young, blond Harvard graduate” wanted “to get on television and have a career as a political pundit, you would be wise to be an early backer”.
McEnany did so. Networks were struggling to find eloquent champions of the Trump cause but she fitted the bill. She became a paid contributor on CNN, feeding the outrage machine and the concept of cable news as combat sport.
McEnany attends a meeting between Donald Trump and Iowa governor Kim Reynolds in the Oval Office. Photograph: Doug Mills/EPA
A political commentator acquainted with McEnany, who did not wish to be named, said: “They brought her on board when it became pretty clear that there were few people who were willing to defend Donald Trump that were somewhat sane. Most people who were credible and experienced were not willing to put their names or reputations on the line to defend Donald Trump’s crazy during 2016.
In June 2015, McEnany had described Trump’s comments about Mexican migrants as “racist” and dismissed him as a “showman”. She quickly changed her tune. The source said: “She is unrecognisable. If you were to read or listen to her words prior to her decision to sell her soul and jump on the Trump train, she is a completely different person.”
To Trump supporters, McEnany’s ability to rile liberals made her something of a heroine. Even at the nadir of the Trump candidacy, when an Access Hollywood tape revealed him boasting about grabbing women’s genitalia, she had his back, saying: “Those comments are despicable [but] he apologised for them.”
Sean Hannity, a Fox News host, wrote in a forward to McEnany’s book, The New American Revolution: The Making of a Populist Movement: “Outnumbered 8-to-1, or if she was lucky, 7-to-2, Kayleigh never backed down in fighting for the conservative movement supporting Donald Trump.”
Jason Miller, who also appeared as a pro-Trump pundit on CNN and is now co-host of the podcast War Room: Pandemic, said: “Keep in mind that she went through a couple of years of being a CNN political commentator where she was rumbling with Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo and Van Jones and Ana Navarro and every other hater that’s out there.
“So if Kayleigh can go toe to toe with the toughest anchors and commentators on TV, she’ll do just fine with the White House press corps.”
Once Trump had stunned the world by winning the White House in 2016, McEnany joined the Republican National Committee as spokeswoman, then moved to the Trump campaign in a similar role. She would sometimes work 18 or 20 hours a day, according to Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign.
“Kayleigh was fantastic,” he said. “She’s smart, she’s energetic, she’s engaged and she’s the most prepared person that I know. She has a keen grasp of policy and is able to turn what are sometimes complicated policy matters into language that is easily digested by the listener.”
Murtaugh accused opponents of discriminating against McEnany because of her looks and gender.
McEnany holds her daughter Blake while posing with her parents, Mike and Leanne, and younger sister, Ryann, at the podium in the Brady Press Briefing Room. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“The first thing the liberals want to do when they see an attractive young woman in a position like this is they want to question her intelligence. And I would just say to people, you underestimate Kayleigh McEnany at your own peril. I don’t think that they’re turning out too many dummies from Oxford and Harvard Law School.”
Murtaugh also recalled how McEnany organised a Bible study group with other staff that met weekly in a conference room at campaign HQ in Arlington, Virginia. Since the pandemic lockdown, the group has continued to meet virtually.
Like many evangelicals, McEnany apparently sees no contradiction between Trump’s behaviour and Christian values. Two years ago, when she had a preventative double mastectomy because of a BRCA2 genetic mutation that had put her at high risk of breast cancer, she wrote: “My faith in Jesus Christ was my strength that day.”
I will never lie to you. You have my word on that Kayleigh McEnany
She is an ardent admirer of Ravi Zacharias, a preacher whose organisation included a study centre in Oxford. She wrote in 2013: “Oxford needed a Christian to respond to Richard Dawkins. Found that in Ravi, who has dismantled atheism.” This week her sister, Ryann, who also works for the Trump campaign, tweeted: “Watching my sister take the stage for her first White House press briefing last Friday was a surreal moment! God’s spirit was ever-present in that room and undeniably flowing through you.”
In 2017 McEnany married Sean Gilmartin, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. She posed with Blake, the couple’s five-month-old daughter, at the White House lectern after her debut briefing, the first by a press secretary in more than 13 months, where she declared: “I will never lie to you. You have my word on that.”
She now has three briefings under her belt. She has echoed Trump’s false and misleading statements but avoided major controversy – and, importantly, avoided stealing too much of his limelight.
Kurt Bardella, a political analyst and Trump critic who bested McEnany in a debate on gun control on MSNBC, said: “Kayleigh is very on point, succinct, direct and speaks with a lot of confidence and comfort from the podium.”
Like Conway, Bardella believes, McEnany saw a chance for career advancement and seized it.
“Outside of the president, the White House press secretary traditionally is the most visible person in the administration. This is something that she will be able to live off of for the rest of her life.
“I don’t think that it’s diehard ideological alignment more than just an opportunity. Donald Trump is a person with no ideology or core conviction. This is someone whose core ideology is nothing more than whatever is transactional and advantageous to him at that moment in time.”


theguardian--2020-05-12--'Don't ask me. Ask China': Trump clashes with reporters then abruptly leaves press briefing

Donald Trump abruptly halted a press conference on Monday after being challenged by an Asian American reporter whom he told : “ Don ’ t ask me .
Ask China.
” With the stars and stripes at his back , Trump held his first press briefing since 27 April in the White House rose garden , flanked by testing equipment and swabs and signs that proclaimed : “ America leads the world in testing.
” But during a question and answer session , Weijia Jiang , White House correspondent of CBS News , asked why the president constantly emphasises that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other country when it comes to testing .
“ Why does that matter ?
” she queried .
“ Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day ?
” Trump retorted : “ Well , they are losing their lives everywhere in the world .
Maybe that is a question you should ask China .
Don ’ t ask me .
Ask China that question .
When you ask China that question you may get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then called on another reporter , Kaitlan Collins of CNN , but she paused as Jiang interjected : “ Sir , why are you saying that to me , specifically ?
” The president replied : “ I am not saying it specifically to anybody .
I am saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that.
” The CBS correspondent pointed out : “ That is not a nasty question.
” Collins , at the microphone , then tried to ask her question , but Trump said he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As Collins repeatedly objected , the president turned on his heel and left the podium .
Trump has frequently been criticisied for adopting a particularly harsh or patronising tone at press conferences to women in general and women of colour in particular .
Jiang was born in China but immigrated to America at the age of two .
Tara Setmayer , a political commentator , tweeted : “ Another disgraceful , racist , temper tantrum by Trump b/c he was asked a pointed question by @ weijia… Trump can ’ t handle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ted Lieu of California tweeted : “ Dear @ realDonaldTrump : Asian Americans are Americans .
Some of us served on active duty in the U.S. military .
Some are on the frontlines fighting this pandemic as paramedics and health care workers .
Some are reporters like @ weijia .
Stop dividing our nation.
” Earlier at the briefing , Trump claimed that the US ’ s testing capacity is “ unmatched and unrivalled anywhere in the world , and it ’ s not even close ” .
More than 9m tests have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and where three weeks ago roughly 150,000 per day were done , the total is now 300,000 per day and will go up .
Trump said this week the US will pass 10m tests , nearly double the number of any country and more per capita than South Korea , the UK , France , Japan , Sweden , Finland and many others .
But critics point out that South Korea implemented its testing much quicker , flattening the curve of cases so fewer tests were required .
The president announced his administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ territories and tribes to boost testing .
He described it as an effort to “ back up ” states but did not unveil the national testing strategy that many experts have called for .
Trump also claimed without basis that “ if somebody wants to be tested right now , they ’ ll be able to be tested ” , echoing a spurious claim he made way back on 6 March .
“ In every generation , through every challenge and hardship and danger , America has risen to the task , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the moment and we have prevailed.
” Trump , who has been encouraging states to reopen , promised : “ We will defeat this horrible enemy , we will revive our economy and we will transition into greatness .
That ’ s a phrase you ’ re gon na hear a lot.
” Democrats expressed scepticism .
Daniel Wessel , Democratic National Committee deputy war room director , said : “ Trump says we ‘ prevailed ’ on testing , but his response has been a complete failure and made this crisis worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump still hasn ’ t helped states reach the testing capacity they need , every American who wants a test can ’ t get a test , and he is only now taking steps that should ’ ve happened weeks ago .
While Trump wants to declare mission accomplished , the American people are still suffering and will not forget how he gave up on them.
” The campaign group Protect Our Care noted that it was 13 days since Trump said the US will run 5m daily tests “ very soon ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war room , recalled that Donald Trump promised that anyone who wants a test could get a test and that the US would soon be testing 5m Americans per day .
“ This wasn ’ t true when he said it and it ’ s not true today .
What is true is that more than 80,000 Americans have lost their lives in large part because Donald Trump still hasn ’ t taken testing seriously .
The only thing that the president has prevailed at is making America first in reported deaths and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not immune from coronavirus .
Katie Miller , the press secretary for vice-president Mike Pence , and a personal valet who works for Trump both tested positive last week .
Those entering the West Wing are now required to wear a mask or face covering , after a new memo was issued on Monday .
Trump and Pence are being tested every day .
Trump , however , is exempt from wearing a mask in the White House .
It ’ s not clear if Pence will wear one or not .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how many people come in and out of the White House every day .
“ I ’ ve felt no vulnerability whatsoever , ” he said .
During the press conference , Trump ’ s presidential election opponent , Joe Biden , tweeted : “ Donald Trump and his team seem to understand how critical testing is to their own safety .
So why are they insisting that it ’ s unnecessary for the American people ?
”

Donald Trump abruptly halted a press conference on Monday after being challenged by an Asian American reporter whom he told: “Don’t ask me. Ask China.”
With the stars and stripes at his back, Trump held his first press briefing since 27 April in the White House rose garden, flanked by testing equipment and swabs and signs that proclaimed: “America leads the world in testing.”
But during a question and answer session, Weijia Jiang, White House correspondent of CBS News, asked why the president constantly emphasises that the US is doing better than any other country when it comes to testing.
“Why does that matter?” she queried. “Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we are still seeing more cases every day?”
Trump retorted: “Well, they are losing their lives everywhere in the world. Maybe that is a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me. Ask China that question. When you ask China that question you may get a very unusual answer.”
The president then called on another reporter, Kaitlan Collins of CNN, but she paused as Jiang interjected: “Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically?”
The president replied: “I am not saying it specifically to anybody. I am saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that.”
The CBS correspondent pointed out: “That is not a nasty question.”
CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins, center, tries to ask a question on the heels of Donald Trump’s exchange with CBS News correspondent Weija Jiang, left. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Collins, at the microphone, then tried to ask her question, but Trump said he was now looking to someone at the back. As Collins repeatedly objected, the president turned on his heel and left the podium.
Trump has frequently been criticised for adopting a particularly harsh or patronising tone at press conferences to women in general and women of colour in particular. Jiang was born in China but immigrated to America at the age of two.
Tara Setmayer, a political commentator, tweeted: “Another disgraceful, racist, temper tantrum by Trump b/c he was asked a pointed question by @weijia… Trump can’t handle smart, assertive women.”
The Democratic congressman Ted Lieu of California tweeted: “Dear @realDonaldTrump: Asian Americans are Americans. Some of us served on active duty in the U.S. military. Some are on the frontlines fighting this pandemic as paramedics and health care workers. Some are reporters like @weijia. Stop dividing our nation.”
Earlier at the briefing, Trump claimed that the US’s testing capacity was “unmatched and unrivalled anywhere in the world, and it’s not even close”. More than 9m tests have now been performed, he said, and where three weeks ago roughly 150,000 per day were done, the total is now 300,000 per day and will go up.
Trump said this week the US will pass 10m tests, nearly double the number of any country and more per capita than South Korea, the UK, France, Japan, Sweden, Finland and many others. But critics point out that South Korea implemented its testing much quicker, flattening the curve of cases so fewer tests were required.
The president announced his administration was sending $11bn to states, territories and tribes to boost testing. He described it as an effort to “back up” states but did not unveil the national testing strategy that many experts have called for.
Trump also claimed without basis that “if somebody wants to be tested right now, they’ll be able to be tested”, echoing a spurious claim he made way back on 6 March.
“In every generation, through every challenge and hardship and danger, America has risen to the task,” he said. “We have met the moment and we have prevailed.”
Trump, who has been encouraging states to reopen, promised: “We will defeat this horrible enemy, we will revive our economy and we will transition into greatness. That’s a phrase you’re gonna hear a lot.”
Democrats expressed scepticism. Daniel Wessel, Democratic National Committee deputy war room director, said: “Trump says we ‘prevailed’ on testing, but his response has been a complete failure and made this crisis worse than it needed to be.
“Trump still hasn’t helped states reach the testing capacity they need, every American who wants a test can’t get a test, and he is only now taking steps that should’ve happened weeks ago. While Trump wants to declare mission accomplished, the American people are still suffering and will not forget how he gave up on them.”
04:30 How Trump has berated, insulted and demeaned female reporters – video
The campaign group Protect Our Care noted that it was 13 days since Trump said the US will run 5m daily tests “very soon”. Zac Petkanas, director of its coronavirus war room, recalled that Trump promised that anyone who wants a test could get a test and that the US would soon be testing 5 million Americans per day.
“This wasn’t true when he said it and it’s not true today. What is true is that more than 80,000 Americans have lost their lives in large part because Donald Trump still hasn’t taken testing seriously. The only thing that the president has prevailed at is making America first in reported deaths and infections.”
The White House itself is not immune from coronavirus. Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice-President Mike Pence, and a personal valet who works for Trump both tested positive last week. Those entering the West Wing are now required to wear a mask or face covering, after a new memo was issued on Monday. Trump and Pence are being tested every day. Trump, however, is exempt from wearing a mask in the White House. It’s not clear if Pence will wear one or not.
The president said it was “shocking” how many people come in and out of the White House every day. “I’ve felt no vulnerability whatsoever,” he said.
During the press conference, Trump’s presidential election opponent, Joe Biden, tweeted: “Donald Trump and his team seem to understand how critical testing is to their own safety. So why are they insisting that it’s unnecessary for the American people?”