theguardian--2020-04-04--Unloved by progressives, New York's Andrew Cuomo has the spotlight now

It ’ s rare for a single US state governor to get so much attention it even rivals the president during a historical national crisis – but that ’ s exactly what New York ’ s Andrew Cuomo is experiencing .
Cuomo , the technocratic three-term governor who ’ s had to deal with the state hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic , has emerged as the most prominent Democrat in charge of fighting the virus , filling a role many felt former vice-president Joe Biden should be occupying .
But while Biden , the presumptive Democratic nominee set to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November , has been holed up in his basement streaming online briefings , it is Cuomo who has loomed far larger in America ’ s fight against Covid-19 .
Cuomo ’ s televised daily press conferences – calm , measured and honest – have emerged as the rival to Trump ’ s chaotic and misleading evening broadcasts .
Though Cuomo has vociferously denied harboring presidential ambitions , it is telling that speculation about a future Cuomo run for the White House is now one of the hottest topics in US politics – a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by America ’ s resurgent left wing .
But the age of the coronavirus has upset conventional politics around the globe and there is no doubt Cuomo has seized his moment .
“ I ’ ve been very very impressed by the way in which he ’ s approached it , ” the former Washington governor Gary Locke , an ex-chairman of the Democratic Governors Association , said .
“ Very frank , very honest – upfront .
Preparing the people , presenting facts so that the public is not caught off guard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He ’ s very even-keeled and I think the public appreciates that .
He ’ s not trying to gloss over things , the magnitude , the severity of the pandemic.
” Governors are usually some of the more aloof elected officials in the pantheon of American politicians .
Often they ’ re less well-known than senators or members of Congress , and their power varies from state to state .
It ’ s virtually unheard of for any politician – other than the president – to have his press conferences aired live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s just what has happened with Cuomo .
Cuomo ’ s briefings always feature the governor and his deputies on a panel , with Cuomo delivering an update on the number of infected cases in New York and then a description of how his administration is fighting the virus .
Often – and unlike Trump – Cuomo will admit where New York is falling short on equipment .
He is frank that the crisis won ’ t end tomorrow or any time soon .
“ In general , I am tired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve been behind this virus since day one , ” Cuomo said at a press conference last week .
“ Everybody wants to know one thing : when is it over ?
Nobody knows .
‘ Well , the president said by Easter , this one said by this ’ … nobody knows .
But I can say this : it is not going to be soon.
” He will also , without hesitation , praise the Trump administration when he feels it is merited and then separate himself from the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ share when he ’ s recently had a call with Vice-President Mike Pence or Jared Kushner , the president ’ s son-in-law and an influential adviser in the Trump administration .
He has repeatedly stressed New York ’ s deficit of ventilators .
“ The federal government is a partner in this obviously .
I spoke to the president again yesterday about the situation , I spoke to the vice-president , I spoke to Jared Kushner , ” Cuomo said .
“ The White house has been very helpful.
” Cuomo ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few months ago , before the coronavirus crisis .
For years he ’ s been known as a technocratic governor reviled by the most hardcore liberal sections of the Democratic party .
He has cut deals with Republicans and repeatedly angered progressives .
Many Democrats sometimes snicker at the thought of him doing retail politics in early voting states like Iowa , where endless hours of handshakes and diner visits are seen as non-negotiable facts of campaign life .
Yet Cuomo ’ s New York speeches , his personal tangents about how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or how frightened he is about his brother , CNN anchor Chris Cuomo , having contracted coronavirus , have matched the moment more than any other governor in the nation .
“ I ’ m frightened for my brother .
I ’ m worried about my brother – as everyone is worried about their humanity and everyone they love , ” Cuomo said at his press conference on Wednesday as news of Chris ’ s infection broke .
New York politicians are constantly under the national spotlight .
Rudy Giuliani became “ America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handled the city ’ s response to the attacks on the World Trade Center .
More recently , at the beginning of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary the New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand was a top-tier contender before failing to gain any real traction .
Cuomo ’ s name had been bandied about as a potential candidate for 2020 but he took only a modest look at running for president before deciding against it , according to a Democratic strategist with knowledge of those considerations .
Cuomo has never been a friend of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leftwing challengers .
When he ran for re-election in 2014 , his more liberal primary opponent , Zephyr Teachout , became a national progressive icon for challenging the establishment-aligned Cuomo .
In 2018 , when Cuomo ran again , he faced another challenge from his left , that time from the former Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon , who became the darling of liberals hoping to oust the incumbent governor .
The common liberal critique of Cuomo is that his administration has been rife with corruption and his agenda has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The Democratic party has spent the past two decades moving away from its New Deal values and refusing to unequivocally stand up for working people – and Governor Cuomo embodies this shift to the center , ” said Monica Klein , a New York-based progressive Democratic strategist .
“ The governor has consistently led New York as a corporate Democrat – slashing funding for hospitals , public schools and affordable housing instead of raising taxes on the wealthy .
If Democrats want to take back the White House , we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working people – and leaders like Cuomo are doing the exact opposite , ” Klein added .
He is the son of the former New York governor Mario Cuomo , who memorably decided against running for president at the last moment in 1992 .
He has known Trump for years .
His personal life has been the subject of local and national scrutiny .
His first marriage was to Kerry Kennedy , a daughter of the late Robert F Kennedy .
Cuomo ’ s romances and breakups have been documented in the New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently his breakup with longtime partner and Food Network star Sandra Lee ) .
These days , Cuomo ’ s prominence has earned him a new level of attention .
His press conferences have even sparked speculation around the internet over whether he sports a nipple ring .
But it is Cuomo ’ s actions that have won him acclaim .
He has taken an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to fighting the virus .
He has pleaded for more ventilators , worked with the federal government , issued strict edicts on isolating , and talked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the praise and attention , however , and mutterings over White House ambition , Cuomo has solidly stuck with supporting Biden .
When his brother asked him on CNN if he was thinking about running for president , Cuomo kept saying no .

It’s rare for a single US state governor to get so much attention it even rivals the president during a historical national crisis – but that’s exactly what New York’s Andrew Cuomo is experiencing.
Cuomo, the technocratic three-term governor who’s had to deal with the state hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, has emerged as the most prominent Democrat in charge of fighting the virus, filling a role many felt former vice-president Joe Biden should be occupying.
But while Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee set to fight Trump for the White House in November, has been holed up in his basement streaming online briefings, it is Cuomo who has loomed far larger in America’s fight against Covid-19. Cuomo’s televised daily press conferences – calm, measured and honest – have emerged as the rival to Trump’s chaotic and misleading evening broadcasts.
Though Cuomo has vociferously denied harboring presidential ambitions, it is telling that speculation about a future Cuomo run for the White House is now one of the hottest topics in US politics – a remarkable turnaround for a politician widely disliked by America’s resurgent left wing.
Andrew Cuomo speaks as the navy hospital ship USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan’s Pier 90 to help relieve the strain on local hospitals. Photograph: Ron Adar/SOPA Images/REX
But the age of the coronavirus has upset conventional politics around the globe and there is no doubt Cuomo has seized his moment.
“I’ve been very very impressed by the way in which he’s approached it,” the former Washington governor Gary Locke, an ex-chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said. “Very frank, very honest – upfront. Preparing the people, presenting facts so that the public is not caught off guard, they know what to expect. He’s very even-keeled and I think the public appreciates that. He’s not trying to gloss over things, the magnitude, the severity of the pandemic.”
Governors are usually some of the more aloof elected officials in the pantheon of American politicians. Often they’re less well-known than senators or members of Congress, and their power varies from state to state.
I’m worried about my brother, as everyone is worried about everyone they love Cuomo on his brother who has Covid-19
It’s virtually unheard of for any politician – other than the president – to have his press conferences aired live on major cable networks daily, but that’s just what has happened with Cuomo. Cuomo’s briefings always feature the governor and his deputies on a panel, with Cuomo delivering an update on the number of infected cases in New York and then a description of how his administration is fighting the virus.
Often – and unlike Trump – Cuomo will admit where New York is falling short on equipment. He is frank that the crisis won’t end tomorrow or any time soon.
“In general, I am tired of being behind this virus. We’ve been behind this virus since day one,” Cuomo said at a press conference last week. “Everybody wants to know one thing: when is it over? Nobody knows. ‘Well, the president said by Easter, this one said by this’ … nobody knows. But I can say this: it is not going to be soon.”
He will also, without hesitation, praise the Trump administration when he feels it is merited and then separate himself from the president the next minute. He will also share when he’s recently had a call with Vice-President Mike Pence or Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and an influential adviser in the Trump administration. He has repeatedly stressed New York’s deficit of ventilators.
Members of the national guard await the arrival of Governor Andrew Cuomo at the Javits convention center, which is being turned into a hospital to help fight coronavirus cases in New York City. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Getty Images
“The federal government is a partner in this obviously. I spoke to the president again yesterday about the situation, I spoke to the vice-president, I spoke to Jared Kushner,” Cuomo said. “The White house has been very helpful.”
Cuomo’s visibility is a dramatic flip from just a few months ago, before the coronavirus crisis.
For years he’s been known as a technocratic governor reviled by the most hardcore liberal sections of the Democratic party. He has cut deals with Republicans and repeatedly angered progressives. Many Democrats sometimes snicker at the thought of him doing retail politics in early voting states like Iowa, where endless hours of handshakes and diner visits are seen as non-negotiable facts of campaign life.
Yet Cuomo’s New York speeches, his personal tangents about how his mother is responding to the pandemic or how frightened he is about his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, having contracted coronavirus, have matched the moment more than any other governor in the nation.
“I’m frightened for my brother. I’m worried about my brother – as everyone is worried about their humanity and everyone they love,” Cuomo said at his press conference on Wednesday as news of Chris’s infection broke.
New York politicians are constantly under the national spotlight. Rudy Giuliani became “America’s mayor” for how he handled the city’s response to the attacks on the World Trade Center. More recently, at the beginning of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary the New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand was a top-tier contender before failing to gain any real traction.
The Cuomo family: from left to right, Maria, 15, Madeline, 12, Andrew, 19, Margaret, 22, father Mario, Christopher, seven, and mother Matilda at their home in 1977. Photograph: George Argeroplos/Newsday LLC/Newsday RM via Getty Images
Cuomo’s name had been bandied about as a potential candidate for 2020 but he took only a modest look at running for president before deciding against it, according to a Democratic strategist with knowledge of those considerations.
Leftwing opponents
Cuomo has never been a friend of grassroots progressives and he has repeatedly defeated leftwing challengers. When he ran for re-election in 2014, his more liberal primary opponent, Zephyr Teachout, became a national progressive icon for challenging the establishment-aligned Cuomo. In 2018, when Cuomo ran again, he faced another challenge from his left, that time from the former Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon, who became the darling of liberals hoping to oust the incumbent governor.
The common liberal critique of Cuomo is that his administration has been rife with corruption and his agenda has been too deferential to centrists and the right.
“The Democratic party has spent the past two decades moving away from its New Deal values and refusing to unequivocally stand up for working people – and Governor Cuomo embodies this shift to the center,” said Monica Klein, a New York-based progressive Democratic strategist.
“The governor has consistently led New York as a corporate Democrat – slashing funding for hospitals, public schools and affordable housing instead of raising taxes on the wealthy. If Democrats want to take back the White House, we need to once again become the party for working people – and leaders like Cuomo are doing the exact opposite,” Klein added.
Cuomo is certainly party establishment. He is the son of the former New York governor Mario Cuomo, who memorably decided against running for president at the last moment in 1992. He has known Trump for years. His personal life has been the subject of local and national scrutiny. His first marriage was to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of the late Robert F Kennedy. Cuomo’s romances and breakups have been documented in the New York and national press (including more recently his breakup with longtime partner and Food Network star Sandra Lee).
New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo celebrates with his father Mario Cuomo and mother Matilda Cuomo at the Sheraton New York on 2 November 2010. Photograph: Michael Nagle/Getty Images
These days, Cuomo’s prominence has earned him a new level of attention. His press conferences have even sparked speculation around the internet over whether he sports a nipple ring.
But it is Cuomo’s actions that have won him acclaim. He has taken an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to fighting the virus. He has pleaded for more ventilators, worked with the federal government, issued strict edicts on isolating, and talked with business leaders privately.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he has no plans to ever run for President, has not considered it, and will never consider it. https://t.co/igWoHEPPNm pic.twitter.com/fv1bVgfSNm — Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) March 31, 2020
Despite all the praise and attention, however, and mutterings over White House ambition, Cuomo has solidly stuck with supporting Biden.
When his brother asked him on CNN if he was thinking about running for president, Cuomo kept saying no.
“No. No. The answer’s no,” Cuomo responded curtly.


theguardian--2020-04-04--'It's an exhausting story': Jonathan Karl on his up-close view of Trump

At a White House briefing late last month , Jonathan Karl asked what he regarded as the fundamental question that day , about the coronavirus pandemic .
“ And everybody who needs one will be able to get a ventilator ?
” Donald Trump ’ s reply was probably the strangest ABC News ’ chief White House correspondent has ever had from a US president .
“ Look , ” he said .
“ Don ’ t be a cutie pie .
OK ?
” Trump went on .
Karl , he said , was “ a wise guy ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known is that the two men go way back .
They first met in 1994 when Karl was a cub reporter at the New York Post and Trump , a millionaire property developer , gave him a tour of Trump Tower , where newly married couple Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were staying .
The result was a front-page scoop : “ Inside Michael ’ s Honeymoon Hideaway ” .
Now president of the White House Correspondents ’ Association , Karl recounts the episode both at the start of his new book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and in a phone interview with the Guardian .
“ The thing that blew me away about that moment , my first real introduction to Donald Trump , was the way he understood exactly what my job was and how to make a compelling story , and the way he operated so quickly , ” he says .
“ It wasn ’ t going through handlers and PR advisers and spokespeople .
It was Donald Trump : ‘ Come on over , let me show you what I got.
’ There was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was incredibly , in a way , charming and we had a great story and he was willing to break rules to tell it .
“ There was intense security all around , keeping the press at bay , and here ’ s Donald Trump bringing me right up to Michael ’ s apartment , showing me their secret vehicle to get in and out of the place .
He didn ’ t play it the way it ’ s normally played.
” Karl , 52 , adds : “ I knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point on whenever I wanted to and he would be accessible and willing to play along and loved to be in the mix .
The idea that I would go on to become a White House reporter , president of the White House Correspondents Association , and he would be the president is kind of mind-blowing.
” Trump ’ s gut instinct for publicity and reptilian genius for making media weather would be evident in his 2016 election campaign and throughout his presidency .
The White House press secretary ’ s daily briefing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chopper talk ” , before Trump boarded Marine One on the South Lawn .
He has turned the daily coronavirus updates into a new form of campaign rally .
Karl reflects : “ We ’ ve had three White House press secretaries , we ’ ve had – I guess depends on how you count – three or four communications directors in the Trump White House , but in reality we ’ ve really only had one .
Donald Trump has always been the press secretary , the spokesperson , the communications director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1994 when I first encountered him and it ’ s absolutely true in 2020.
” Karl finds himself promoting a book in the middle of a pandemic .
He has been doing TV interviews from remote locations .
Stephen Colbert teased him for speaking from a home office where his Emmy awards were prominently displayed .
One of Karl ’ s most memorable anecdotes is about 10 November 2016 .
It has become a commonplace to quote the musical Hamilton ’ s song The Room Where It Happens but Karl was genuinely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting between President Barack Obama and President-elect Trump ( and snapping a few photos from 5ft away ) .
And this collision of matter and anti-matter produced a surprise .
“ It was the first time that I saw what seemed to be a humbled Donald Trump , ” Karl recalls .
“ He seemed to be taken with the moment .
I was almost imagining he ’ s like , ‘ Oh , my God , what did I get myself into ?
’ “ Nobody thought he was going to win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really thought he was going to win and here he was in the Oval Office , a place where he was gon na be returning in just a short period of time as the president and all the weight of all that meant and the problems he was gon na be dealing with and the responsibility he was going to have .
“ He seemed humbled .
He seemed a little bit freaked out .
Now , that didn ’ t last : we never saw that look again , really .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struck me.
” When Trump was asked if he intended to ask Obama or any of his other predecessors for advice on dealing with the coronavirus crisis , he replied : “ I don ’ t want to disturb them , bother them .
I don ’ t think I ’ m going to learn much .
And , you know , I guess you could say that there ’ s probably a natural inclination not to call.
” For more than three years , Karl has been on Trump ’ s trail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ West in the Oval Office .
He has also witnessed Trump ’ s war on the media with barbs such as “ the enemy of the people ” – a phrase which , Karl notes , the Nazis used in 1934 .
So what message does it send to the rest of the world ?
“ I think it is deeply disturbing that you have authoritarian leaders around the world who shut down a free press , jail reporters and potentially even worse and do so invoking the words of the American president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You see it ’ s been documented in Kazakhstan and in Egypt .
You see authoritarian leaders echoing the precise words of Donald Trump , talking about ‘ fake news ’ as reporters are thrown in jail .
“ The other thing that I think is really troubling is when the president calls real news ‘ fake news ’ , when he suggests that the act of being an aggressive reporter is ‘ treasonous ’ , it has undermined the faith in an independent free press among a significant segment of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem .
I do worry about that a lot.
” Trump ’ s use of the bully pulpit for his daily coronavirus briefings has led to renewed calls for the press corps to be more combative .
In his book , however , Karl cautions against reporters behaving like a political opposition or the anti-Trump “ resistance ” .
He explains : “ There is a breathlessly negative tone to a lot of the news coverage of Trump and Trump ’ s provided ample material to fuel that , but what happens is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tunes it all out .
It all becomes noise and everything is the outrage of the day and then it ’ s hard to differentiate between a real outrage and an outrage that is maybe not as important .
“ I mention the case of one CNN reporter literally getting up on live television and saying reporters should be protesting the president in Lafayette Square .
We are not protesters .
We are not the resistance .
We need to report on a president fairly and objectively and a lot of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ negative.
” He adds : “ Your north star is to provide objective and balanced news and let ’ s remember that this president has branded the news media as the opposition party , so when those working for mainstream news organisations act like the opposition party , you ’ re actually playing right into his media strategy.
” Karl ’ s book draws on fresh research and interviews , including with John Kelly , the former White House chief of staff .
In 2017 , Karl writes , Kelly had to talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , out of passing on the president ’ s order for a Venezuela war plan to the Pentagon .
Now , however , as Trump faces the biggest test of his life , most voices of restraint are gone .
Karl says : “ Up until this moment he ’ s had a series of people in the White House who have tried to steer him or put some guardrails up .
John Kelly made the most aggressive effort to try to protect Donald Trump from his most destructive tendencies .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think that ’ s potentially dangerous .
Any president , no matter how competent , needs to have strong advisers .
He ’ s got the medical people that are advising him on this , sure , but those are not on his West Wing staff there .
“ This is truly Donald Trump calling all the shots and doing it by his gut instinct .
So I think that is potentially worrisome , as is the way the truth has been undermined , the credibility of the White House and also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s tried so hard to undermine .
Both of those things make this crisis harder to deal with day to day.
” As the title of his book implies , Karl already had a front-row seat to history , reporting on the most peculiar president of this or any other age .
Now there is a once-in-a-century global pandemic added to the mix .
What a time to be alive .
Is a part of him secretly enjoying the daily adrenaline rush ?
“ It ’ s an exhausting story , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Yes , there is something rewarding about people wanting to know the story and the interest and the fascination in it , but it ’ s exhausting and some of it ’ s truly been troubling.
” He elaborates : “ I think , especially in light of what we ’ re seeing with this pandemic , there is something very dangerous that is unfolding here .
“ We ’ re at a point where nearly half the country doesn ’ t believe what this president and White House says and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country that ’ s been told not to believe what they see in a newspaper or see in television news or any other form of mainstream news .
“ That ’ s a deeply troubling , deeply dangerous place to be where there isn ’ t a shared agreement and sense of some basic facts , especially now where reliable information , and believing you have reliable information , can literally be a matter of life and death .
”

At a White House briefing late last month, Jonathan Karl asked what he regarded as the fundamental question that day, about the coronavirus pandemic. “And everybody who needs one will be able to get a ventilator?”
Donald Trump’s reply was probably the strangest Karl, ABC News’s chief White House correspondent, has ever received from a US president.
“Look,” he said. “Don’t be a cutie pie. OK?”
Trump went on. Karl, he said, was “a wise guy” too.
What viewers may not have known is that the two men go way back.
They first met in 1994 when Karl was a cub reporter at the New York Post and Trump, a millionaire property developer, gave him a tour of Trump Tower, where newly married couple Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were staying. The result was a front-page scoop: “Inside Michael’s Honeymoon Hideaway”.
Now president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, Karl recounts the episode both at the start of his new book, Front Row at the Trump Show, and in a phone interview with the Guardian.
“The thing that blew me away about that moment, my first real introduction to Donald Trump, was the way he understood exactly what my job was and how to make a compelling story, and the way he operated so quickly,” he says.
“It wasn’t going through handlers and PR advisers and spokespeople. It was Donald Trump: ‘Come on over, let me show you what I got.’ There was no filter. It was him and he was incredibly, in a way, charming and we had a great story and he was willing to break rules to tell it.
“There was intense security all around, keeping the press at bay, and here’s Donald Trump bringing me right up to Michael’s apartment, showing me their secret vehicle to get in and out of the place. He didn’t play it the way it’s normally played.”
Karl, 52, adds: “I knew that I could call him from that point on whenever I wanted to and he would be accessible and willing to play along and loved to be in the mix. The idea that I would go on to become a White House reporter, president of the White House Correspondents Association, and he would be the president is kind of mind-blowing.”
Trump’s gut instinct for publicity and reptilian genius for making media weather would be evident in his 2016 election campaign and throughout his presidency. The White House press secretary’s daily briefing was killed off and replaced by “chopper talk”, before Trump boarded Marine One on the South Lawn. He has turned the daily coronavirus updates into a new form of campaign rally.
Karl with Sarah Sanders, then White House press secretary, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2018. Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Karl reflects: “We’ve had three White House press secretaries, we’ve had – I guess depends on how you count – three or four communications directors in the Trump White House, but in reality we’ve really only had one. Donald Trump has always been the press secretary, the spokesperson, the communications director for Donald Trump. That was true in 1994 when I first encountered him and it’s absolutely true in 2020.”
Karl finds himself promoting a book in the middle of a pandemic. He has been doing TV interviews from remote locations. Stephen Colbert teased him for speaking from a home office where his Emmy awards were prominently displayed.
One of Karl’s most memorable anecdotes is about 10 November 2016. It has become a commonplace to quote the musical Hamilton’s song The Room Where It Happens but Karl was genuinely in there, witnessing the Oval Office meeting between President Barack Obama and President-elect Trump (and snapping a few photos from 5ft away). And this collision of matter and anti-matter produced a surprise.
“It was the first time that I saw what seemed to be a humbled Donald Trump,” Karl recalls. “He seemed to be taken with the moment. I was almost imagining he’s like, ‘Oh, my God, what did I get myself into?’
“Nobody thought he was going to win. I don’t think he really thought he was going to win and here he was in the Oval Office, a place where he was gonna be returning in just a short period of time as the president and all the weight of all that meant and the problems he was gonna be dealing with and the responsibility he was going to have.
“He seemed humbled. He seemed a little bit freaked out. Now, that didn’t last: we never saw that look again, really. That was a fleeting moment but it really struck me.”
When Trump was asked if he intended to ask Obama or any of his other predecessors for advice on dealing with the coronavirus crisis, he replied: “I don’t want to disturb them, bother them. I don’t think I’m going to learn much. And, you know, I guess you could say that there’s probably a natural inclination not to call.”
‘Enemy of the people’
For more than three years, Karl has been on Trump’s trail, even receiving a hug from Kanye West in the Oval Office. He has also witnessed Trump’s war on the media with barbs such as “the enemy of the people” – a phrase which, Karl notes, the Nazis used in 1934. So what message does it send to the rest of the world?
A famous confrontation between the president and Jim Acosta of CNN at the White House in November 2018. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
“I think it is deeply disturbing that you have authoritarian leaders around the world who shut down a free press, jail reporters and potentially even worse and do so invoking the words of the American president. So you see Erdoğan and Putin. You see it’s been documented in Kazakhstan and in Egypt. You see authoritarian leaders echoing the precise words of Donald Trump, talking about ‘fake news’ as reporters are thrown in jail.
“The other thing that I think is really troubling is when the president calls real news ‘fake news’, when he suggests that the act of being an aggressive reporter is ‘treasonous’, it has undermined the faith in an independent free press among a significant segment of the population. That’s a big problem. I do worry about that a lot.”
Trump’s use of the bully pulpit for his daily coronavirus briefings has led to renewed calls for the press corps to be more combative. In his book, however, Karl cautions against reporters behaving like a political opposition or the anti-Trump “resistance”.
He explains: “There is a breathlessly negative tone to a lot of the news coverage of Trump and Trump’s provided ample material to fuel that, but what happens is a segment of the population sees it and tunes it all out. It all becomes noise and everything is the outrage of the day and then it’s hard to differentiate between a real outrage and an outrage that is maybe not as important.
“I mention the case of one CNN reporter literally getting up on live television and saying reporters should be protesting the president in Lafayette Square. We are not protesters. We are not the resistance. We need to report on a president fairly and objectively and a lot of that’s going to end up being negative.”
He adds: “Your north star is to provide objective and balanced news and let’s remember that this president has branded the news media as the opposition party, so when those working for mainstream news organisations act like the opposition party, you’re actually playing right into his media strategy.”
Karl’s book draws on fresh research and interviews, including with John Kelly, the former White House chief of staff. In 2017, Karl writes, Kelly had to talk the national security adviser, HR McMaster, out of passing on the president’s order for a Venezuela war plan to the Pentagon.
Now, however, as Trump faces the biggest test of his life, most voices of restraint are gone.
Karl says: “Up until this moment he’s had a series of people in the White House who have tried to steer him or put some guardrails up. John Kelly made the most aggressive effort to try to protect Donald Trump from his most destructive tendencies.
“It is all Donald Trump right now and I think that’s potentially dangerous. Any president, no matter how competent, needs to have strong advisers. He’s got the medical people that are advising him on this, sure, but those are not on his West Wing staff there.
“This is truly Donald Trump calling all the shots and doing it by his gut instinct. So I think that is potentially worrisome, as is the way the truth has been undermined, the credibility of the White House and also the credibility of the press corps that he’s tried so hard to undermine. Both of those things make this crisis harder to deal with day to day.”
‘An exhausting story’
As the title of his book implies, Karl already had a front-row seat to history, reporting on the most peculiar president of this or any other age. Now there is a once-in-a-century global pandemic added to the mix. What a time to be alive. Is a part of him secretly enjoying the daily adrenaline rush?
Trump speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
“It’s an exhausting story,” he says, suddenly sounding weary. “Yes, there is something rewarding about people wanting to know the story and the interest and the fascination in it, but it’s exhausting and some of it’s truly been troubling.”
He elaborates: “I think, especially in light of what we’re seeing with this pandemic, there is something very dangerous that is unfolding here.
“We’re at a point where nearly half the country doesn’t believe what this president and White House says and we have nearly half the rest of the country that’s been told not to believe what they see in a newspaper or see in television news or any other form of mainstream news.
“That’s a deeply troubling, deeply dangerous place to be where there isn’t a shared agreement and sense of some basic facts, especially now where reliable information, and believing you have reliable information, can literally be a matter of life and death.”


theguardian--2020-04-04--Donald Trump fires intelligence watchdog who sparked impeachment process

Donald Trump has fired the inspector general for the intelligence community who handled the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment , prompting fierce criticism from Democrats .
The US president chose a Friday night , with America consumed by the coronavirus pandemic , to tell the House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees of his decision to dismiss Michael Atkinson .
In a letter , Trump claimed it was “ vital ” that he had confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general , and “ that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has his full confidence at a later date , he added .
There was swift condemnation from Democrats .
Chuck Schumer , the minority leader in the Senate , said : “ President Trump fires people for telling the truth .
“ Michael Atkinson is a man of integrity who has served our nation for almost two decades .
Being fired for having the courage to speak truth to power makes him a patriot.
” Adam Schiff , chairman of the House intelligence committee and a prominent figure in the impeachment hearings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another blatant attempt by the president to gut the independence of the intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing ” .
He added : “ At a time when our country is dealing with a national emergency and needs people in the intelligence community to speak truth to power , the president ’ s dead of night decision puts our country and national security at even greater risk.
” Neera Tanden , president of the Center for American Progress think tank in Washington , tweeted : “ Leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic as cover for his retaliation against those who helped bring to light his wrongdoing .
Disgusting.
” Atkinson was the first official to alert Congress last year to an anonymous whistleblower complaint that described a phone call in which Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to announce an investigation into his political rival , Joe Biden .
In letters to Congress in August and September , Atkinson said he believed the complaint was urgent and credible .
But Joseph Maguire , who was acting director of National Intelligence at the time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to withhold the complaint from Congress .
Under huge political pressure , the White House eventually released the complaint , triggering an investigation by the Democratic-controlled House , which charged Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and voted to impeach a president for only the third time in history .
Trump was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate in February in what critics described as a show trial with no documents or witnesses allowed .
Nevertheless , the president claimed he had been vindicated following a “ witch hunt ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chose Atkinson , who had served in the justice department for 15 years , for inspector general in late 2017 and he was confirmed in May 2018 .
At his Senate confirmation hearing , Atkinson promised whistleblower protection that “ validates moral courage without compromising national security and without retaliation ” .
In November last year , the New York Times reported that Trump had discussed with aides the possibility of firing Atkinson because he could not understand why the inspector general failed to dismiss the complaint .
In a tweet , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testify at the impeachment hearings .
The removal of Atkinson fits a long pattern of retribution against the intelligence community .
In May 2017 he fired James Comey , the director of the FBI , who was leading an investigation into his contacts with Russia during the presidential election .
More recently Maguire was also ousted and replaced by Richard Grenell , who had been US ambassador to Germany and is a strong Trump backer .
The president has nominated Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe to the permanent position but he must await Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hundred intelligence and national security professionals signed a joint letter warning that Trump “ has created an existential danger to the United States ” and endorsing Biden for president .

Donald Trump has fired the inspector general for the intelligence community who handled the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment, prompting fierce criticism from Democrats.
The US president chose a Friday night, with America consumed by the coronavirus pandemic, to tell the House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees of his decision to dismiss Michael Atkinson.
In a letter, Trump claimed it was “vital” that he had confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general, and “that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general”.
The president would nominate an individual who has his full confidence at a later date, he added.
There was swift condemnation from Democrats. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, said: “President Trump fires people for telling the truth.
“Michael Atkinson is a man of integrity who has served our nation for almost two decades. Being fired for having the courage to speak truth to power makes him a patriot.”
Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee and a prominent figure in the impeachment hearings, described the move as “yet another blatant attempt by the president to gut the independence of the intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing”.
Inspector general of the intelligence community Michael Atkinson. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
He added: “At a time when our country is dealing with a national emergency and needs people in the intelligence community to speak truth to power, the president’s dead of night decision puts our country and national security at even greater risk.”
Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress think tank in Washington, tweeted: “Leave it to Trump to use a global pandemic as cover for his retaliation against those who helped bring to light his wrongdoing. Disgusting.”
Atkinson was the first official to alert Congress last year to an anonymous whistleblower complaint that described a phone call in which Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to announce an investigation into his political rival, Joe Biden.
In letters to Congress in August and September, Atkinson said he believed the complaint was urgent and credible. But Joseph Maguire, who was acting director of National Intelligence at the time, decided it was not urgent and tried to withhold the complaint from Congress.
Under huge political pressure, the White House eventually released the complaint, triggering an investigation by the Democratic-controlled House, which charged Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and voted to impeach a president for only the third time in history.
Trump was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate in February in what critics described as a show trial with no documents or witnesses allowed. Nevertheless, the president claimed he had been vindicated following a “witch hunt” and purged two officials who testified.
Trump chose Atkinson, who had served in the justice department for 15 years, for inspector general in late 2017 and he was confirmed in May 2018. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Atkinson promised whistleblower protection that “validates moral courage without compromising national security and without retaliation”.
In November last year, the New York Times reported that Trump had discussed with aides the possibility of firing Atkinson because he could not understand why the inspector general failed to dismiss the complaint. In a tweet, he suggested that Atkinson should be forced to testify at the impeachment hearings.
The removal of Atkinson fits a long pattern of retribution against the intelligence community. In May 2017 he fired James Comey, the director of the FBI, who was leading an investigation into his contacts with Russia during the presidential election.
More recently Maguire was also ousted and replaced by Richard Grenell, who had been US ambassador to Germany and is a strong Trump backer. The president has nominated Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe to the permanent position but he must await Senate confirmation.
Last month more than a hundred intelligence and national security professionals signed a joint letter warning that Trump “has created an existential danger to the United States” and endorsing Biden for president.


theguardian--2020-04-04--How science finally caught up with Trump's playbook – with millions of lives at stake

On 6 March , a group of epidemiologists at Imperial College London gave the White House coronavirus taskforce a heads-up about the terrifying projections for the disease they were about to publish relating to the US .
The Imperial scientists ’ findings would have induced paralytic fear in all but the most nonchalant American .
They likened Covid-19 , which by that point had already extended its tentacles into at least 28 states in the US , to the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed 50 million people around the globe .
On the basis of their modelling , they calculated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of the disease , within weeks it would infect 81 % of the US population .
The virus would ravage the nation , eviscerate its health system and – here came the sting – put 2.2 million Americans into body bags .
We don ’ t know at what point that bone-chilling figure was presented to Donald Trump .
What we do know is that on the same day , 6 March , the president of the United States was taking a tour of the Atlanta offices of the federal disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
He was in ebullient mood .
He had just heard on Fox News that the latest tally of coronavirus cases in the country was 240 , with 11 deaths .
Trump and his favourite TV channel were as one in their interpretation of those figures – things were going great , there was really nothing to worry about .
“ It will end , ” he told the reporters trailing after him .
“ People have to remain calm … All I say is : ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporter asked him to set out the Trump administration ’ s latest forecast for how coronavirus would progress in the country .
He replied : “ We don ’ t have a forecast , because we don ’ t know.
” ‘ One day – it ’ s like a miracle – it will disappear ’ Trump ’ s answer was one of the few candid moments over the past three months of his handling of the coronavirus crisis .
It was true that they didn ’ t know .
That in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Already by 6 March the absence of effective diagnostic testing – caused in part by the CDC ’ s botched rollout of its own Covid-19 test – was severely hampering efforts to track the spread of the disease in the hope of containing it before it overwhelmed the country .
“ Anybody that needs a test gets a test , ” Trump told the gaggle of reporters in Atlanta .
“ They have the tests .
And the tests are beautiful.
” The tests were not beautiful , they were critically flawed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ them .
With virtually no testing available to inform public conversation , Trump was free to unleash his “ natural ability ” on the problem , which he did with abandon throughout the early weeks of the crisis .
Trump took to describing himself as a “ wartime president ” , with Covid-19 as the enemy .
But his dogged pursuit of his own instincts , his preference for letting his “ hunches ” lead the nation into battle rather than deploying the weaponry of evidence and science , has been the hallmark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far .
From the first confirmed US case in Washington state on 20 January to Trump ’ s citing of Imperial ’ s 2.2 million projected deaths which he did for the first time just this week , he has kept up a relentlessly upbeat facade , downplaying the severity of the threat largely for the benefit of the New York stock exchange .
“ We have it totally under control , ” he said two days after that first confirmed case and a day before China cut off Wuhan , a city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have five people , we pretty much shut it down coming from China , ” he said on 30 January , the day the World Health Organization declared a global emergency .
“ It ’ s going to disappear .
One day – it ’ s like a miracle – it will disappear , ” he said on 27 February , the day America mourned its first coronavirus death .
On Tuesday he finally switched tone .
The country was in for a “ very , very painful two weeks ” , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be prepared “ for the hard days that lie ahead ” .
By then the bitter truth could no longer be avoided .
With stringent social distancing , the Imperial ’ s 2.2m body bags could be reduced , but by the reckoning even of Trump ’ s own advisers between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans are still likely to die .
Trump now has on his watch a public health disaster of devastating proportions .
Some 245,573 cases have been confirmed across the states , twice the number in Italy , the second-highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More than 6,000 people have died and the curve is still rising exponentially .
Covid-19 is overwhelming hospitals in New York , New Orleans , Detroit and is hurtling towards the Trump-supporting heartlands .
The federal stockpile of essential medical equipment is nearly empty .
Ventilators and protective gear for frontline medical staff are running fatally low .
Doctors are improvising masks to save their own lives out of plastic bags and rubber bands .
Even diagnostic testing , the most critical hope for getting on top of the disease , remains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swabs and vials leaving emergency coordinators still – three months into the crisis – in the dark .
It is a catastrophe that many scientists and public health emergency experts believe could substantially have been averted , if only Trump had listened .
“ This will be regarded as the worst public health disaster in America in a century , ” said Eric Topol , professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research in San Diego .
“ The root cause of the disaster was the lack of readiness to understand where , how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jeremy Konyndyk , a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development who led the US government ’ s response to international disasters between 2013 and 2017 , said that stark contrasts in outcomes between different countries in terms of illness and death have been determined not by Covid-19 itself , but by how seriously each government took the risk and how early they acted .
“ On that score we failed badly , ” he said .
“ You can have the best system in the world , but if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will eat you alive.
” For Naomi Oreskes , a history of science professor at Harvard , the unfolding calamity is the fulfilment of her worst fears .
“ When we first heard about coronavirus , I and several of my colleagues worried that Trump would not attend to scientific advice .
This is a man who has exhibited a reckless disregard for scientific evidence over climate change ; if he could do that , there was always the question of whether he would take seriously any science.
” Oreskes sees Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Would he put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans first , or would he dig into the tried-and-tested Republican playbook of showing hostility to science and expertise , reining in government intervention and prioritizing the money markets ?
“ This was a test of whether Trump ’ s government would act .
What we ’ ve seen is that for the people in power in this country , ideology beats even an imminent threat.
” Nancy Pelosi , the top Democrat in Congress , took the extraordinary step on Sunday of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives ” .
His lessening of the severity of the virus early on “ was deadly ” , she told CNN , as will be the delays in delivering medical equipment to where it is needed .
“ As the president fiddles , people are dying , ” she said .
That was a tough accusation , even by the standards of these hyper-partisan times .
But a growing number of scientists and health emergency experts are tentatively drawing the same conclusion .
“ We now know there will be well over 100,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A vast majority of those will have been unnecessarily lost because of the lack of preparedness of the United States .
As a leader , Trump has to accept responsibility , which of course he won ’ t. ” It is not as though Trump wasn ’ t warned .
In the wake of the Ebola epidemic in 2014 , the Obama administration was so fearful of the dangers of another epidemic that they put in place several innovations designed to prepare the nation for a pandemic .
Konyndyk , who was central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aghast as every element of that effort has been unpicked or overlooked by the Trump administration .
“ We set up a special team for pandemic preparedness at the national security council – they dismantled that .
We left them a very detailed playbook of the initial steps for managing an event like this – they ignored that.
” When coronavirus reared its ugly head , there was plenty of early warning .
Alex Azar , the health and human services secretary , became aware of the outbreak of a virus in China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 January scientists in Shanghai had obtained a complete viral genome from an infected patient and reported it immediately to GenBank , the genetic sequencing database of the US National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) .
By early February , scientists were aware that Covid-19 was both easily transmitted between individuals and had a relatively high fatality rate , especially for older and vulnerable people .
“ That was enough for scientists to know the virus had the potential to spread far and wide and that urgent action was needed , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , US intelligence agencies were passing on their own warnings to the White House .
According to the Washington Post , Azar tried several times to sound the alarm but couldn ’ t get an audience with Trump until 18 January , at which point all the president wanted to talk about was vaping .
The Post quoted an anonymous US official who said the system was “ blinking red ” .
The official said : “ Donald Trump may not have been expecting this , but a lot of other people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t get him to do anything about it.
” With the full might of the US scientific community at his disposal , Trump appointed individuals not known for their prowess with pandemics in charge of the federal response .
The coronavirus taskforce was to be led by the vice-president , Mike Pence , who has been widely criticized for his handling of a 2015 HIV outbreak when governor of Indiana .
Trump is also increasingly relying on his son-in-law Jared Kushner , who made his first appearance at the taskforce briefing on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whose skill set is in real estate , has in turn reached out to his brother ’ s father-in-law , who is at least a physician , for advice on fighting the pandemic .
‘ Trump was out of step with all the experts ’ Trump ’ s failure to heed the warnings and act quickly has set in train a domino effect that now imperils large swathes of the US .
What began as an inability to get diagnostic testing going on a mass scale has developed into a sluggish mobilization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deployment of the Defense Production Act to enlist the firepower of corporations , and a stand-back , almost detached approach that has allowed state governors to take the lead in what Konyndyk called the birth of “ 50-state anarchy ” .
One of the few proactive measures taken by Trump was to impose a partial travel ban on China and Europe .
Scientists told him the move would only delay the advance of Covid-19 in the US , it could never stop it .
Again , he didn ’ t listen .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Put a wall around China and the virus won ’ t come to the US .
He was out of step with all the experts around him , ” Topol said .
As a result , the US lost the early potential to contain the virus , either by locking down hotspots as China did with Hubei province or through aggressive testing to isolate those infected as South Korea has done .
Tomas Pueyo , a Stanford-trained consultant based in California , has laid out in sobering detail how quickly the disaster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His first exploration of the subject , a data-driven plea to take the disease seriously posted on Medium in early March , received 40m views .
On Wednesday he published his updated research .
It shows America ’ s curve of confirmed cases rising more steeply than that of any other country in the world .
Three weeks ago , Pueyo reminds us , the US had fewer than 1,000 confirmed cases at a time when Trump was telling the world : “ No , I ’ m not concerned at all .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ No , we ’ ve done a great job.
” Now it stands at almost a quarter of a million .
“ This is what exponential growth looks like , ” he said .
Having hit the Democratic-controlled high-density urban centers first – San Francisco and Seattle , then New York and New Jersey , now Detroit – the virus is marching inexorably in the direction of the more rural southern and heartland states that happen to form the crucible of Trump ’ s base .
Many of those states followed the lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remaining relaxed about the threat and moving astonishingly slowly to put physical distancing controls in place .
Florida , under its Republican governor , Ron DeSantis , has echoed Trump ’ s approach and only imposed a statewide stay-at-home order on Friday despite having the sixth-largest tally of confirmed cases in the country .
Georgia and Mississippi followed suit .
Some Republican states including Oklahoma and South Carolina still have no statewide mandatory stay-at-home orders .
Pueyo points out that Republican voters are additionally vulnerable as they have a higher age profile than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as to party , but it does prey on the elderly .
So it is one of the great paradoxes of Trump ’ s pandemic that he may have put many of his own loyal supporters in mortal peril .
As Konyndyk put it : “ Trump has endangered his own supporters by sending out a message in contradiction to the science , and they believed him .
”

On 6 March, a group of epidemiologists at Imperial College London gave the White House coronavirus taskforce a heads-up about the terrifying projections for the disease they were about to publish relating to the US.
The Imperial scientists’ findings would have induced paralytic fear in all but the most nonchalant American. They likened Covid-19, which by that point had already extended its tentacles into at least 28 states in the US, to the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed 50 million people around the globe.
On the basis of their modelling, they calculated that if nothing was done to halt the spread of the disease, within weeks it would infect 81% of the US population. The virus would ravage the nation, eviscerate its health system and – here came the sting – put 2.2 million Americans into body bags.
We don’t know at what point that bone-chilling figure was presented to Donald Trump. What we do know is that on the same day, 6 March, the president of the United States was taking a tour of the Atlanta offices of the federal disease control agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
He was in ebullient mood. He had just heard on Fox News that the latest tally of coronavirus cases in the country was 240, with 11 deaths. Trump and his favourite TV channel were as one in their interpretation of those figures – things were going great, there was really nothing to worry about.
Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Alex Azar, health and human services secretary; Robert Redfield, CDC director; and Steve Monroe, associate director for laboratory science and safety, in Atlanta, Georgia, on 6 March. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
“It will end,” he told the reporters trailing after him. “People have to remain calm … All I say is: ‘Be calm.’”
Then a resourceful reporter asked him to set out the Trump administration’s latest forecast for how coronavirus would progress in the country. He replied: “We don’t have a forecast, because we don’t know.”
01:57 Trump's changing reactions to coronavirus: from calm to closing borders – video report
‘One day – it’s like a miracle – it will disappear’
Trump’s answer was one of the few candid moments over the past three months of his handling of the coronavirus crisis. It was true that they didn’t know. That in a real sense they were walking blind.
Already by 6 March the absence of effective diagnostic testing – caused in part by the CDC’s botched rollout of its own Covid-19 test – was severely hampering efforts to track the spread of the disease in the hope of containing it before it overwhelmed the country.
“Anybody that needs a test gets a test,” Trump told the gaggle of reporters in Atlanta. “They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful.”
The tests were not beautiful, they were critically flawed. Anybody who needed them was not getting them.
A woman leaves Life Care Center of Kirkland in Washington state on 29 February. Dozens of staff and residents at the facility had already started exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms. Photograph: David Ryder/Getty Images
With virtually no testing available to inform public conversation, Trump was free to unleash his “natural ability” on the problem, which he did with abandon throughout the early weeks of the crisis.
Trump took to describing himself as a “wartime president”, with Covid-19 as the enemy. But his dogged pursuit of his own instincts, his preference for letting his “hunches” lead the nation into battle rather than deploying the weaponry of evidence and science, has been the hallmark of his response to the contagion so far.
From the first confirmed US case in Washington state on 20 January to Trump’s citing of Imperial’s 2.2 million projected deaths which he did for the first time just this week, he has kept up a relentlessly upbeat facade, downplaying the severity of the threat largely for the benefit of the New York stock exchange.
“We have it totally under control,” he said two days after that first confirmed case and a day before China cut off Wuhan, a city of 11 million.
“We only have five people, we pretty much shut it down coming from China,” he said on 30 January, the day the World Health Organization declared a global emergency.
“It’s going to disappear. One day – it’s like a miracle – it will disappear,” he said on 27 February, the day America mourned its first coronavirus death.
Trump’s ‘hunches’ versus science
Chinese commuters wear protective masks as they line up in a staggered formation while waiting for a bus at the end of the work day on 20 March in Beijing, China. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
On Tuesday he finally switched tone. The country was in for a “very, very painful two weeks”, he said, and every American had to be prepared “for the hard days that lie ahead”.
By then the bitter truth could no longer be avoided. With stringent social distancing, the Imperial’s 2.2m body bags could be reduced, but by the reckoning even of Trump’s own advisers between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans are still likely to die.
Trump now has on his watch a public health disaster of devastating proportions. Some 245,573 cases have been confirmed across the states, twice the number in Italy, the second-highest nation in the Johns Hopkins league table.
More than 6,000 people have died and the curve is still rising exponentially. Covid-19 is overwhelming hospitals in New York, New Orleans, Detroit and is hurtling towards the Trump-supporting heartlands. The federal stockpile of essential medical equipment is nearly empty. Ventilators and protective gear for frontline medical staff are running fatally low. Doctors are improvising masks to save their own lives out of plastic bags and rubber bands. Even diagnostic testing, the most critical hope for getting on top of the disease, remains hard to get because of shortages in swabs and vials leaving emergency coordinators still – three months into the crisis – in the dark.
You can have the best system in the world, but if you give the virus an eight-week head start it will eat you alive Jeremy Konyndyk
It is a catastrophe that many scientists and public health emergency experts believe could substantially have been averted, if only Trump had listened.
“This will be regarded as the worst public health disaster in America in a century,” said Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research in San Diego. “The root cause of the disaster was the lack of readiness to understand where, how and when the disease was spreading.”
Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development who led the US government’s response to international disasters between 2013 and 2017, said that stark contrasts in outcomes between different countries in terms of illness and death have been determined not by Covid-19 itself, but by how seriously each government took the risk and how early they acted.
“On that score we failed badly,” he said. “You can have the best system in the world, but if you give the virus an eight-week head start it will eat you alive.”
For Naomi Oreskes, a history of science professor at Harvard, the unfolding calamity is the fulfilment of her worst fears.
“When we first heard about coronavirus, I and several of my colleagues worried that Trump would not attend to scientific advice. This is a man who has exhibited a reckless disregard for scientific evidence over climate change; if he could do that, there was always the question of whether he would take seriously any science.”
Oreskes sees Covid-19 as Trump’s ultimate challenge. Would he put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans first, or would he dig into the tried-and-tested Republican playbook of showing hostility to science and expertise, reining in government intervention and prioritizing the money markets?
“This was a test of whether Trump’s government would act. What we’ve seen is that for the people in power in this country, ideology beats even an imminent threat.”
A view of the White House on 11 March when Donald Trump made a primetime address about the coronavirus crisis. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
‘As the president fiddles, people are dying’
Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, took the extraordinary step on Sunday of accusing Trump directly of “costing American lives”. His lessening of the severity of the virus early on “was deadly”, she told CNN, as will be the delays in delivering medical equipment to where it is needed.
“As the president fiddles, people are dying,” she said.
That was a tough accusation, even by the standards of these hyper-partisan times. But a growing number of scientists and health emergency experts are tentatively drawing the same conclusion.
“We now know there will be well over 100,000 deaths,” Topol said. “A vast majority of those will have been unnecessarily lost because of the lack of preparedness of the United States. As a leader, Trump has to accept responsibility, which of course he won’t.”
Healthcare workers wheel the bodies of deceased people from the Wyckoff Heights medical center in Brooklyn, New York. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
It is not as though Trump wasn’t warned. In the wake of the Ebola epidemic in 2014, the Obama administration was so fearful of the dangers of another epidemic that they put in place several innovations designed to prepare the nation for a pandemic.
Konyndyk, who was central to the Ebola response, has watched aghast as every element of that effort has been unpicked or overlooked by the Trump administration. “We set up a special team for pandemic preparedness at the national security council – they dismantled that. We left them a very detailed playbook of the initial steps for managing an event like this – they ignored that.”
‘Scientists knew the risk – urgent action was needed’
When coronavirus reared its ugly head, there was plenty of early warning. Alex Azar, the health and human services secretary, became aware of the outbreak of a virus in China as early as 3 January.
By 5 January scientists in Shanghai had obtained a complete viral genome from an infected patient and reported it immediately to GenBank, the genetic sequencing database of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). By early February, scientists were aware that Covid-19 was both easily transmitted between individuals and had a relatively high fatality rate, especially for older and vulnerable people.
What we’ve seen is that for the people in power in this country, ideology beats even an imminent threat.
“That was enough for scientists to know the virus had the potential to spread far and wide and that urgent action was needed,” Konyndyk said.
At the same time, US intelligence agencies were passing on their own warnings to the White House. According to the Washington Post, Azar tried several times to sound the alarm but couldn’t get an audience with Trump until 18 January, at which point all the president wanted to talk about was vaping.
The Post quoted an anonymous US official who said the system was “blinking red”. The official said: “Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were – they just couldn’t get him to do anything about it.”
With the full might of the US scientific community at his disposal, Trump appointed individuals not known for their prowess with pandemics in charge of the federal response. The coronavirus taskforce was to be led by the vice-president, Mike Pence, who has been widely criticized for his handling of a 2015 HIV outbreak when governor of Indiana.
Trump is also increasingly relying on his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who made his first appearance at the taskforce briefing on Thursday. Politico has reported that Kushner, whose skill set is in real estate, has in turn reached out to his brother’s father-in-law, who is at least a physician, for advice on fighting the pandemic.
Jared Kushner listens as Donald Trump meets with bank CEOs about the Covid-19 response in the Cabinet Room at the White House on 11 March. Photograph: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
‘Trump was out of step with all the experts’
Trump’s failure to heed the warnings and act quickly has set in train a domino effect that now imperils large swathes of the US. What began as an inability to get diagnostic testing going on a mass scale has developed into a sluggish mobilization of the federal government, a stuttering deployment of the Defense Production Act to enlist the firepower of corporations, and a stand-back, almost detached approach that has allowed state governors to take the lead in what Konyndyk called the birth of “50-state anarchy”.
One of the few proactive measures taken by Trump was to impose a partial travel ban on China and Europe. Scientists told him the move would only delay the advance of Covid-19 in the US, it could never stop it. Again, he didn’t listen.
“Trump thought in terms of a wall. Put a wall around China and the virus won’t come to the US. He was out of step with all the experts around him,” Topol said.
EMS personnel outside St Barnabas hospital in the Bronx, New York, on 28 March. Photograph: Misha Friedman/Getty Images
As a result, the US lost the early potential to contain the virus, either by locking down hotspots as China did with Hubei province or through aggressive testing to isolate those infected as South Korea has done.
Tomas Pueyo, a Stanford-trained consultant based in California, has laid out in sobering detail how quickly the disaster is laying waste to the US. His first exploration of the subject, a data-driven plea to take the disease seriously posted on Medium in early March, received 40m views.
On Wednesday he published his updated research. It shows America’s curve of confirmed cases rising more steeply than that of any other country in the world.
Three weeks ago, Pueyo reminds us, the US had fewer than 1,000 confirmed cases at a time when Trump was telling the world: “No, I’m not concerned at all. No, I’m not. No, we’ve done a great job.”
Now it stands at almost a quarter of a million. “This is what exponential growth looks like,” he said.
Donald Trump arrives behind Dr Anthony Fauci for a coronavirus taskforce briefing at the White House on 31 March. Photograph: Tom Brenner/Reuters
Having hit the Democratic-controlled high-density urban centers first – San Francisco and Seattle, then New York and New Jersey, now Detroit – the virus is marching inexorably in the direction of the more rural southern and heartland states that happen to form the crucible of Trump’s base.
Many of those states followed the lead set by Trump and Fox News, remaining relaxed about the threat and moving astonishingly slowly to put physical distancing controls in place. Florida, under its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has echoed Trump’s approach and only imposed a statewide stay-at-home order on Friday despite having the sixth-largest tally of confirmed cases in the country.
Georgia and Mississippi followed suit. Some Republican states including Oklahoma and South Carolina still have no statewide mandatory stay-at-home orders.
Pueyo points out that Republican voters are additionally vulnerable as they have a higher age profile than Democratic voters. Coronavirus makes no distinctions as to party, but it does prey on the elderly.
So it is one of the great paradoxes of Trump’s pandemic that he may have put many of his own loyal supporters in mortal peril. As Konyndyk put it: “Trump has endangered his own supporters by sending out a message in contradiction to the science, and they believed him.”


theguardian--2020-04-04--Sanctions are crippling Iran's fight against coronavirus | Pirouz Hanachi

To many of us urban administrators in Iran , the onslaught of coronavirus has underscored an important fact of life : no town , city or nation can be indifferent to global crises , even in far-flung corners of our world .
Indeed , while the mantra of good governance over the past century has been to “ think global , act local ” , we must today think and act both locally and globally .
Unfortunately , the small-mindedness that has dominated the politics of various countries in past years has not dissipated .
Rather , those who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national interests ” at any cost are doubling down .
The consequences of this posturing are many .
In Iran , urban administrators are left facing an unprecedented public health crisis .
Figures show that 3,160 had died from the disease by 2 April and there are more than 50,000 cases of infection .
The rate of infections is not yet slowing , and many of them are in Tehran , the city of which I am mayor .
Doubtless there are things that we could do differently , like every country in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the backdrop of the most extreme sanctions regime in history .
The US embargo not only prohibits American companies and individuals from conducting lawful trade with Iranian counterparts , but given that the sanctions are extra-territorial , all other countries and companies are also bullied into refraining from doing legitimate business with Iranians , even the selling of medicines .
As a result , the ability of my colleagues and I to provide the health , logistical and other essential infrastructure necessary to combat the disease has been drastically reduced .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it can be counted in people that would not have died .
This unjust treatment of Iran has come about via the policies of one country – the United States – whose ruling administration does not seem to prioritise even its own national interests , but instead the narrow interests of a governing party .
The outcome of such irresponsible policies and behaviour is not limited to Iran ; they have also inflicted harm on the American public .
Indeed , the Donald Trump administration ’ s refusal to halt its economic warfare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with a virus which knows no borders .
Is it in the US ’ s national interest for the coronavirus pandemic to become permanent ?
In order to better confront these new global crises , there is a need for politicians to realise that the path to pursuing national interests is not separate or contrary to that of global interests and international accountability .
Of equal importance , it must be recognised that as long as the general consensus in international politics does not actively move toward reducing injustice and inequality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crises will continue to indiscriminately endanger every country in the world .
The world can not go on like this .
If global leaders fail to seize the opportunity to embrace change , we will all continue to remain highly vulnerable to communicable diseases , environmental catastrophes , global warming , terrorism , violent extremism and other shared threats .
• Pirouz Hanachi is the mayor of Tehran

To many of us urban administrators in Iran, the onslaught of coronavirus has underscored an important fact of life: no town, city or nation can be indifferent to global crises, even in far-flung corners of our world.
Indeed, while the mantra of good governance over the past century has been to “think global, act local”, we must today think and act both locally and globally.
Unfortunately, the small-mindedness that has dominated the politics of various countries in past years has not dissipated. Rather, those who have aggressively advocated pursuit of narrowly defined “national interests” at any cost are doubling down. The consequences of this posturing are many.
In Iran, urban administrators are left facing an unprecedented public health crisis. Figures show that 3,160 had died from the disease by 2 April and there are more than 50,000 cases of infection. The rate of infections is not yet slowing, and many of them are in Tehran, the city of which I am mayor.
Doubtless there are things that we could do differently, like every country in the world. But we are operating against the backdrop of the most extreme sanctions regime in history. The US embargo not only prohibits American companies and individuals from conducting lawful trade with Iranian counterparts, but given that the sanctions are extra-territorial, all other countries and companies are also bullied into refraining from doing legitimate business with Iranians, even the selling of medicines.
As a result, the ability of my colleagues and I to provide the health, logistical and other essential infrastructure necessary to combat the disease has been drastically reduced. We experience this loss every day, and it can be counted in people that would not have died.
This unjust treatment of Iran has come about via the policies of one country – the United States – whose ruling administration does not seem to prioritise even its own national interests, but instead the narrow interests of a governing party. The outcome of such irresponsible policies and behaviour is not limited to Iran; they have also inflicted harm on the American public.
Indeed, the Donald Trump administration’s refusal to halt its economic warfare against Iran is directly impeding our efforts to deal with a virus which knows no borders. Is it in the US’s national interest for the coronavirus pandemic to become permanent?
In order to better confront these new global crises, there is a need for politicians to realise that the path to pursuing national interests is not separate or contrary to that of global interests and international accountability.
Of equal importance, it must be recognised that as long as the general consensus in international politics does not actively move toward reducing injustice and inequality beyond national and racial boundaries, global crises will continue to indiscriminately endanger every country in the world.
The world cannot go on like this. If global leaders fail to seize the opportunity to embrace change, we will all continue to remain highly vulnerable to communicable diseases, environmental catastrophes, global warming, terrorism, violent extremism and other shared threats.


theguardian--2020-04-04--'I don't want to': Trump rejects CDC coronavirus face mask guidance – video

Donald Trump has said he will probably not wear a protective face mask despite his administration encouraging people in the @ @ @ @ @ public to prevent spreading the coronavirus .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( @ @ @ @ @ for people to wear bandanas , T-shirts and other cloth-based coverings in crowded areas , @ @ @ @ @ I 'm not going to do it ' : Trump rejects his own administration 's @ @ @ @ @ live news : China remembers 'martyrs ' as US urges face masks in public

The Queen has praised Britain’s 'national spirit' in facing the challenge of coronavirus as she evoked wartime memories to reassure those 'feeling a painful sense of separation from their loved ones' to take comfort in the fact: 'We will meet again.'