theguardian--2020-03-28--The missing six weeks: how Trump failed the biggest test of his life

When the definitive history of the coronavirus pandemic is written , the date 20 January 2020 is certain to feature prominently .
It was on that day that a 35-year-old man in Washington state , recently returned from visiting family in Wuhan in China , became the first person in the US to be diagnosed with the virus .
On the very same day , 5,000 miles away in Asia , the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in South Korea .
The confluence was striking , but there the similarities ended .
In the two months since that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ displayed by the US and South Korea have been polar opposites .
One country acted swiftly and aggressively to detect and isolate the virus , and by doing so has largely contained the crisis .
The other country dithered and procrastinated , became mired in chaos and confusion , was distracted by the individual whims of its leader , and is now confronted by a health emergency of daunting proportions .
Within a week of its first confirmed case , South Korea ’ s disease control agency had summoned 20 private companies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and told them to develop a test for the virus at lightning speed .
A week after that , the first diagnostic test was approved and went into battle , identifying infected individuals who could then be quarantined to halt the advance of the disease .
Some 357,896 tests later , the country has more or less won the coronavirus war .
On Friday only 91 new cases were reported in a country of more than 50 million .
The US response tells a different story .
Two days after the first diagnosis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on air on CNBC and bragged : “ We have it totally under control .
It ’ s one person coming from China .
It ’ s going to be just fine.
” A week after that , the Wall Street Journal published an opinion article by two former top health policy officials within the Trump administration under the headline Act Now to Prevent an American Epidemic .
Luciana Borio and Scott Gottlieb laid out a menu of what had to be done instantly to avert a massive health disaster .
Top of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry to develop an “ easy-to-use , rapid diagnostic test ” – in other words , just what South Korea was doing .
It was not until 29 February , more than a month after the Journal article and almost six weeks after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country that the Trump administration put that advice into practice .
Laboratories and hospitals would finally be allowed to conduct their own Covid-19 tests to speed up the process .
Those missing four to six weeks are likely to go down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tale of the potentially devastating consequences of failed political leadership .
Today , 86,012 cases have been confirmed across the US , pushing the nation to the top of the world ’ s coronavirus league table – above even China .
More than a quarter of those cases are in New York City , now a global center of the coronavirus pandemic , with New Orleans also raising alarm .
Nationally , 1,301 people have died .
Most worryingly , the curve of cases continues to rise precipitously , with no sign of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The US response will be studied for generations as a textbook example of a disastrous , failed effort , ” Ron Klain , who spearheaded the fight against Ebola in 2014 , told a Georgetown university panel recently .
“ What ’ s happened in Washington has been a fiasco of incredible proportions.
” Jeremy Konyndyk , who led the US government ’ s response to international disasters at USAid from 2013 to 2017 , frames the past six weeks in strikingly similar terms .
He told the Guardian : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the greatest failures of basic governance and basic leadership in modern times.
” In Konyndyk ’ s analysis , the White House had all the information it needed by the end of January to act decisively .
Instead , Trump repeatedly played down the severity of the threat , blaming China for what he called the “ Chinese virus ” and insisting falsely that his partial travel bans on China and Europe were all it would take to contain the crisis .
If Trump ’ s travel ban did nothing else @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the advent of the virus in the US , buying a little time .
Which makes the lack of decisive action all the more curious .
“ We didn ’ t use that time optimally , especially in the case of testing , ” said William Schaffner , an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University medical center .
“ We have been playing reluctant catch-up throughout.
” As Schaffner sees it , the stuttering provision of mass testing “ put us behind the eight-ball ” right at the start .
“ It did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t permit us , to define the extent of the virus in this country.
” Though the decision to allow private and state labs to provide testing has increased the flow of test kits , the US remains starkly behind South Korea , which has conducted more than five times as many tests per capita .
That makes predicting where the next hotspot will pop up after New York and New Orleans almost impossible .
In the absence of sufficient test kits , the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on testing , creating a bottleneck .
“ I believe the CDC was caught flat-footed , ” was how the governor of New York , Andrew Cuomo , put it on 7 March .
“ They ’ re slowing down the state.
” The CDC ’ s botched rollout of testing was the first indication that the Trump administration was faltering as the health emergency gathered pace .
Behind the scenes , deep flaws in the way federal agencies had come to operate under Trump were being exposed .
In 2018 the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which was tasked to prepare for health emergencies precisely like the current one – was disbanded .
“ Eliminating the office has contributed to the federal government ’ s sluggish domestic response , ” Beth Cameron , senior director of the office at the time it was broken up , wrote in the Washington Post .
Disbanding the unit exacerbated a trend that was already prevalent after two years of Trump – an exodus of skilled and experienced officials who knew what they were doing .
“ There ’ s been an erosion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at important levels of government , ” a former senior government official told the Guardian .
“ Over time there was a lot of paranoia and people left and they had a hard time attracting good replacements , ” the official said .
“ Nobody wanted to work there.
” It was hardly a morale-boosting gesture when Trump proposed a 16 % cut in CDC funding on 10 February – 11 days after the World Health Organization had declared a public health emergency over Covid-19 .
Schaffner , who describes himself as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , said he has been saddened by how sidelined the CDC has become over the past two months .
“ Here we have the public health issue of our era and one doesn ’ t hear from the CDC , the premier public health organization in the world , ” Schaffner said .
The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) , which regulates the diagnostic tests and will control any new treatments for coronavirus , has also shown vulnerabilities .
The agency recently indicated that it was looking into the possibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus sufferers , even though there is no evidence it would work and some indication it could have serious side-effects .
The decision dismayed experts , given that Trump has personally pushed the unproven remedy on a whim .
It smacked of the wave of anti-science sentiment sweeping federal agencies under this presidency .
As the former senior official put it : “ We have the FDA bowing to political pressure and making decisions completely counter to modern science.
” Highly respected career civil servants , with impeccable scientific credentials , have struggled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president .
Dr Anthony Fauci , an infectious disease expert who has become a rare trusted face in the administration amid the coronavirus scourge , has expressed his frustration .
This week Fauci was asked by a Science magazine writer , Jon Cohen , how he could stand beside Trump at daily press briefings and listen to him misleading the American people with comments such as that the China travel ban had been a great success in blocking entry of the virus .
Fauci replied : “ I know , but what do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mean , seriously Jon , let ’ s get real , what do you want me to do ?
” Trump has designated himself a “ wartime president ” .
But if the title bears any validity , his military tactics have been highly unconventional .
He has exacerbated the problems encountered by federal agencies by playing musical chairs at the top of the coronavirus force .
The president began by creating on 29 January a special coronavirus taskforce , then gave Vice-President Mike Pence the job , who promptly appointed Deborah Birx @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal emergency agency Fema began taking charge of key areas , with Jared Kushner , the president ’ s son-in-law , creating a shadow team that increasingly appears to be calling the shots .
“ There ’ s no point of responsibility , ” the former senior official told the Guardian .
“ It keeps shifting .
Nobody owns the problem.
” Trump : everything ’ s going to be great Amid the confusion , day-to-day management of the crisis has frequently come directly from Trump himself via his Twitter feed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ an eye on the New York stock exchange , has consistently talked down the scale of the crisis .
On 30 January , as the World Health Organization was declaring a global emergency , Trump said : “ We only have five people .
Hopefully , everything ’ s going to be great.
” On 24 February , Trump claimed “ the coronavirus is very much under control in the USA ” .
The next day , Nancy Messonnier , the CDC ’ s top official on respiratory diseases , took the radically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warning the American people that “ disruption to everyday life might be severe ” .
Trump was reportedly so angered by the comment and its impact on share prices that he shouted down the phone at Messonnier ’ s boss , the secretary of health and human services , Alex Azar .
“ Messonnier was 100 % right .
She gave a totally honest and accurate assessment , ” Konyndyk told the Guardian .
And for that , Trump angrily rebuked her department .
“ That sent a very clear message about what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say.
” Konyndyk recalls attending a meeting in mid-February with top Trump administration officials present in which the only topic of conversation was the travel bans .
That ’ s when he began to despair about the federal handling of the crisis .
“ I thought , ‘ Holy Jesus !
’ Where ’ s the discussion on protecting our hospitals ?
Where ’ s the discussion on high-risk populations , on surveillance so we can detect where the virus is .
I knew then that the president had set the priority , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was the wrong priority.
” So it has transpired .
In the wake of the testing disaster has come the personal protective equipment ( PPE ) disaster , the hospital bed disaster , and now the ventilator disaster .
Ventilators , literal life preservers , are in dire short supply across the country .
When governors begged Trump to unleash the full might of the US government on this critical problem , he gave his answer on 16 March .
In a phrase that will stand beside 20 January 2020 as one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of coronavirus , he said : “ Respirators , ventilators , all of the equipment – try getting it yourselves.
” To date , the Trump administration has supplied 400 ventilators to New York .
By Cuomo ’ s estimation , 30,000 are needed .
“ You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators ?
” Cuomo scathingly asked on Tuesday .
“ You pick the 26,000 who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.
” In the absence of a strong federal response , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
State governors are doing their own thing .
Cities , even individual hospitals , are coping as best they can .
In an improvised attempt to address such inconsistencies , charitable startups have proliferated on social media .
Konyndyk has clubbed together with fellow disaster relief experts to set up Covid Local , an online “ quick and dirty ” guide to how to fight a pandemic .
“ We are seeing the emergence of 50-state anarchy , because of a total vacuum of federal leadership .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more actionable guidance in the US than the federal government , but that ’ s where we are.
” Valerie Griffeth is a founding member of another of the new online startups that are trying to fill the Trump void .
Set up by emergency department doctors across the country , GetUsPPE.org seeks to counter the top-down chaos that is putting frontline health workers like herself in danger through a dearth of protective gear .
Griffeth is an emergency and critical care physician in Portland , Oregon .
She spends most days now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with coronavirus .
Her hospital is relatively well supplied , she said , but even so protective masks will run out within two weeks .
“ We are all worried about it , we ’ re scared for our own health , the health of our families , of our patients.
” Early on in the crisis , Griffeth said , it dawned on her and many of her peers that the federal government to which they would normally look to keep them safe was nowhere to be seen .
They resigned themselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We said to ourselves we are going to get exposed to the virus .
When the federal government isn ’ t there to provide adequate supplies , it ’ s just a matter of time.
” But just in the last few days , Griffeth has started to see the emergence of something else .
She has witnessed an explosion of Americans doing it for themselves , filling in the holes left by Trump ’ s failed leadership .
“ People are stepping up all around us , ” she said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happened in such short time .
It gives me hope .
”

Ed Pilkington and Tom McCarthy in New York

When the definitive history of the coronavirus pandemic is written, the date 20 January 2020 is certain to feature prominently. It was on that day that a 35-year-old man in Washington state, recently returned from visiting family in Wuhan in China, became the first person in the US to be diagnosed with the virus.
On the very same day, 5,000 miles away in Asia, the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in South Korea. The confluence was striking, but there the similarities ended.
In the two months since that fateful day, the responses to coronavirus displayed by the US and South Korea have been polar opposites.
One country acted swiftly and aggressively to detect and isolate the virus, and by doing so has largely contained the crisis. The other country dithered and procrastinated, became mired in chaos and confusion, was distracted by the individual whims of its leader, and is now confronted by a health emergency of daunting proportions.
Within a week of its first confirmed case, South Korea’s disease control agency had summoned 20 private companies to the medical equivalent of a war-planning summit and told them to develop a test for the virus at lightning speed. A week after that, the first diagnostic test was approved and went into battle, identifying infected individuals who could then be quarantined to halt the advance of the disease.
A nurse at testing booth outside the Yangji hospital in Seoul. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Some 357,896 tests later, the country has more or less won the coronavirus war. On Friday only 91 new cases were reported in a country of more than 50 million.
The US response tells a different story. Two days after the first diagnosis in Washington state, Donald Trump went on air on CNBC and bragged: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming from China. It’s going to be just fine.”
‘A fiasco of incredible proportions’
A week after that, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion article by two former top health policy officials within the Trump administration under the headline Act Now to Prevent an American Epidemic. Luciana Borio and Scott Gottlieb laid out a menu of what had to be done instantly to avert a massive health disaster.
Top of their to-do list: work with private industry to develop an “easy-to-use, rapid diagnostic test” – in other words, just what South Korea was doing.
It was not until 29 February, more than a month after the Journal article and almost six weeks after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country that the Trump administration put that advice into practice. Laboratories and hospitals would finally be allowed to conduct their own Covid-19 tests to speed up the process.
Today, 86,012 cases have been confirmed in the US, pushing the nation to the top of the world’s coronavirus league table
Those missing four to six weeks are likely to go down in the definitive history as a cautionary tale of the potentially devastating consequences of failed political leadership. Today, 86,012 cases have been confirmed across the US, pushing the nation to the top of the world’s coronavirus league table – above even China.
More than a quarter of those cases are in New York City, now a global center of the coronavirus pandemic, with New Orleans also raising alarm. Nationally, 1,301 people have died.
Most worryingly, the curve of cases continues to rise precipitously, with no sign of the plateau that has spared South Korea.
“The US response will be studied for generations as a textbook example of a disastrous, failed effort,” Ron Klain, who spearheaded the fight against Ebola in 2014, told a Georgetown university panel recently. “What’s happened in Washington has been a fiasco of incredible proportions.”
An empty Times Square. New York is now considered a global center of the pandemic. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Jeremy Konyndyk, who led the US government’s response to international disasters at USAid from 2013 to 2017, frames the past six weeks in strikingly similar terms. He told the Guardian: “We are witnessing in the United States one of the greatest failures of basic governance and basic leadership in modern times.”
In Konyndyk’s analysis, the White House had all the information it needed by the end of January to act decisively. Instead, Trump repeatedly played down the severity of the threat, blaming China for what he called the “Chinese virus” and insisting falsely that his partial travel bans on China and Europe were all it would take to contain the crisis.
If Trump’s travel ban did nothing else, it staved off to some degree the advent of the virus in the US, buying a little time. Which makes the lack of decisive action all the more curious.
“We didn’t use that time optimally, especially in the case of testing,” said William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University medical center. “We have been playing reluctant catch-up throughout.”
As Schaffner sees it, the stuttering provision of mass testing “put us behind the eight-ball” right at the start. “It did not permit us, and still doesn’t permit us, to define the extent of the virus in this country.”
Though the decision to allow private and state labs to provide testing has increased the flow of test kits, the US remains starkly behind South Korea, which has conducted more than five times as many tests per capita. That makes predicting where the next hotspot will pop up after New York and New Orleans almost impossible.
The national guard is helping to manage a Covid-19 testing site in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. Photograph: Bryan Tarnowski for the Guardian
In the absence of sufficient test kits, the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially kept a tight rein on testing, creating a bottleneck. “I believe the CDC was caught flat-footed,” was how the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, put it on 7 March. “They’re slowing down the state.”
The CDC’s botched rollout of testing was the first indication that the Trump administration was faltering as the health emergency gathered pace. Behind the scenes, deep flaws in the way federal agencies had come to operate under Trump were being exposed.
In 2018 the pandemic unit in the national security council – which was tasked to prepare for health emergencies precisely like the current one – was disbanded. “Eliminating the office has contributed to the federal government’s sluggish domestic response,” Beth Cameron, a former senior director of the office, wrote in the Washington Post.
We didn’t use that time optimally, especially in the case of testing. We have been playing reluctant catch-up William Schaffner
Disbanding the unit exacerbated a trend that was already prevalent after two years of Trump – an exodus of skilled and experienced officials who knew what they were doing. “There’s been an erosion of expertise, of competent leadership, at important levels of government,” a former senior government official told the Guardian.
“Over time there was a lot of paranoia and people left and they had a hard time attracting good replacements,” the official said. “Nobody wanted to work there.”
It was hardly a morale-boosting gesture when Trump proposed a 16% cut in CDC funding on 10 February – 11 days after the World Health Organization had declared a public health emergency over Covid-19.
Schaffner, who describes himself as the “president of the CDC fan club”, said he has been saddened by how sidelined the CDC has become over the past two months. “Here we have the public health issue of our era and one doesn’t hear from the CDC, the premier public health organization in the world,” Schaffner said.
Under Trump, anti-science sweeps through DC
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the diagnostic tests and will control any new treatments for coronavirus, has also shown vulnerabilities. The agency recently indicated that it was looking into the possibility of prescribing the malaria drug chloroquine for coronavirus sufferers, even though there is no evidence it would work and some indication it could have serious side-effects.
The decision dismayed experts, given that Trump has personally pushed the unproven remedy on a whim. It smacked of the wave of anti-science sentiment sweeping federal agencies under this presidency.
As the former senior official put it: “We have the FDA bowing to political pressure and making decisions completely counter to modern science.”
Highly respected career civil servants, with impeccable scientific credentials, have struggled to get out in front of the president. Dr Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert who has become a rare trusted face in the administration amid the coronavirus scourge, has expressed his frustration.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, with Dr Anthony Fauci and the health secretary, Alex Azar. Photograph: Al Drago/EPA
This week Fauci was asked by a Science magazine writer, Jon Cohen, how he could stand beside Trump at daily press briefings and listen to him misleading the American people with comments such as that the China travel ban had been a great success in blocking entry of the virus. Fauci replied: “I know, but what do you want me to do? I mean, seriously Jon, let’s get real, what do you want me to do?”
Trump has designated himself a “wartime president”. But if the title bears any validity, his military tactics have been highly unconventional. He has exacerbated the problems encountered by federal agencies by playing musical chairs at the top of the coronavirus force.
The president began by creating on 29 January a special coronavirus taskforce, then gave Vice-President Mike Pence the job, who promptly appointed Deborah Birx “coronavirus response coordinator”, before the federal emergency agency Fema began taking charge of key areas, with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, creating a shadow team that increasingly appears to be calling the shots.
“There’s no point of responsibility,” the former senior official told the Guardian. “It keeps shifting. Nobody owns the problem.”
Trump: everything’s going to be great
Amid the confusion, day-to-day management of the crisis has frequently come directly from Trump himself via his Twitter feed. The president, with more than half an eye on the New York stock exchange, has consistently talked down the scale of the crisis.
On 30 January, as the World Health Organization was declaring a global emergency, Trump said: “We only have five people. Hopefully, everything’s going to be great.”
01:57 Trump's changing reactions to coronavirus: from calm to closing borders – video report
On 24 February, Trump claimed “the coronavirus is very much under control in the USA”. The next day, Nancy Messonnier, the CDC’s top official on respiratory diseases, took the radically different approach of telling the truth, warning the American people that “disruption to everyday life might be severe”.
Trump was reportedly so angered by the comment and its impact on share prices that he shouted down the phone at Messonnier’s boss, the secretary of health and human services, Alex Azar.
“Messonnier was 100% right. She gave a totally honest and accurate assessment,” Konyndyk told the Guardian. And for that, Trump angrily rebuked her department. “That sent a very clear message about what is and isn’t permissible to say.”
Traders, some in medical masks, work on the floor of the New York stock exchange last week. Traders are now working remotely. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Konyndyk recalls attending a meeting in mid-February with top Trump administration officials present in which the only topic of conversation was the travel bans. That’s when he began to despair about the federal handling of the crisis.
“I thought, ‘Holy Jesus!’ Where’s the discussion on protecting our hospitals? Where’s the discussion on high-risk populations, on surveillance so we can detect where the virus is. I knew then that the president had set the priority, the bureaucracy was following it, but it was the wrong priority.”
So it has transpired. In the wake of the testing disaster has come the personal protective equipment (PPE) disaster, the hospital bed disaster, and now the ventilator disaster.
Ventilators, literal life preservers, are in dire short supply across the country. When governors begged Trump to unleash the full might of the US government on this critical problem, he gave his answer on 16 March.
In a phrase that will stand beside 20 January 2020 as one of the most revelatory moments of the history of coronavirus, he said: “Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment – try getting it yourselves.”
To date, the Trump administration has supplied 400 ventilators to New York. By Cuomo’s estimation, 30,000 are needed.
“You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?” Cuomo scathingly asked on Tuesday. He added: “You pick the 26,000 who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.”
‘A total vacuum of federal leadership’
In the absence of a strong federal response, a patchwork of efforts has sprouted all across the country. State governors are doing their own thing. Cities, even individual hospitals, are coping as best they can.
In an improvised attempt to address such inconsistencies, charitable startups have proliferated on social media. Konyndyk has clubbed together with fellow disaster relief experts to set up Covid Local, an online “quick and dirty” guide to how to fight a pandemic.
“We are seeing the emergence of 50-state anarchy, because of a total vacuum of federal leadership. It’s absurd that thinktanks and Twitter are providing more actionable guidance in the US than the federal government, but that’s where we are.”
Valerie Griffeth is a founding member of another of the new online startups that are trying to fill the Trump void. Set up by emergency department doctors across the country, GetUsPPE.org seeks to counter the top-down chaos that is putting frontline health workers like herself in danger through a dearth of protective gear.
Griffeth is an emergency and critical care physician in Portland, Oregon. She spends most days now in intensive care treating perilously ill patients with coronavirus.
Medical personnel are silhouetted against the back of a tent at a coronavirus test site in Tampa, Florida. Photograph: Chris O’Meara/AP
Her hospital is relatively well supplied, she said, but even so protective masks will run out within two weeks. “We are all worried about it, we’re scared for our own health, the health of our families, of our patients.”
Early on in the crisis, Griffeth said, it dawned on her and many of her peers that the federal government to which they would normally look to keep them safe was nowhere to be seen. They resigned themselves to a terrible new reality.
“We said to ourselves we are going to get exposed to the virus. When the federal government isn’t there to provide adequate supplies, it’s just a matter of time.”
But just in the last few days, Griffeth has started to see the emergence of something else. She has witnessed an explosion of Americans doing it for themselves, filling in the holes left by Trump’s failed leadership.
“People are stepping up all around us,” she said. “I’m amazed by what has happened in such short time. It gives me hope.”


theguardian--2020-03-27--Trump is trying to stop people from seeing this ad on his response to coronavirus

A Biden Super Pac has released an advert which Trump is fighting with cease and desist letters .
And it ’ s about his response to the coronavirus .
The video juxtaposes a number of Trump ’ s statements underplaying the seriousness of the pandemic next to a chart showing the rising number of US cases of Covid-19 .
At the end of the clip , Trump can be heard refusing to take responsibility for lack of testing in the US ( comments he made at a 13 March press conference ) , before the texts appears : “ America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s lawyers have now sent a cease and desist letter to television broadcast stations across the country to stop airing the ad created by Priorities USA , a Democratic Super Pac .
In particular , his lawyers take issue with one of the edits to a speech made by Trump at a rally in South Carolina .
The edited video has Trump saying : “ Coronavirus .
This is their new hoax , ” whereas , during the actual speech Trump also referred to the impeachment inquiry and the investigation into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hoaxes .
A full excerpt from the speech is detailed in the cease and desist letter , and is as follows ( our emphasis in bold , for the lines that were kept in the clip ) : “ Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus .
You know that , right ?
Coronavirus .
They ’ re politicizing it .
We did one of the great jobs , you say , “ How ’ s President Trump doing ?
” , “ Oh , nothing , nothing.
” They have no clue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clue .
They can ’ t even count their votes in Iowa , they can ’ t even count .
No , they can ’ t .
They can ’ t count their votes .
One of my people came up to me and said , “ Mr President , they tried to beat you on Russia , Russia , Russia.
” That didn ’ t work out too well .
They couldn ’ t do it .
They tried the impeachment hoax .
That was on a perfect conversation .
They tried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over , they ’ ve been doing it since he got in .
It ’ s all turning , they lost .
It ’ s all turning , think of it , think of it .
And this is their new hoax.
” Because of this edit , Trump ’ s lawyers are calling the advert “ patently false , misleading , and deceptive ” .
The letter reads : “ Your station has an obligation to cease and desist from airing [ the advert ] immediately to comply with FCC licensing requirements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.
” In another line , the letter states that failure to remove the advert could be classed as an abdication of licensee responsibility .
The president controls the FCC and appoints its commissioners , so it is up to them to pull broadcast licenses for stations that do not comply with its requirements .
The line reads : “ Your station has a responsibility to ‘ protect the public from false , misleading or deceptive advertising ’ … your failure to remove this deceptive ad … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in jeopardy .
”

A Biden Super Pac has released an advert which Trump is fighting with cease and desist letters. And it’s about his response to the coronavirus.
The video juxtaposes a number of Trump’s statements underplaying the seriousness of the pandemic next to a chart showing the rising number of US cases of Covid-19. At the end of the clip, Trump can be heard refusing to take responsibility for lack of testing in the US (comments he made at a 13 March press conference), before the texts appears: “America needs a leader we can trust.”
Trump refused to take the threat of the coronavirus seriously, now he won’t take responsibility as his administration has been totally unprepared for this crisis. pic.twitter.com/Jdh1GY9HHS — Priorities USA (@prioritiesUSA) March 23, 2020
Trump’s lawyers have now sent a cease and desist letter to television broadcast stations across the country to stop airing the ad created by Priorities USA, a Democratic Super Pac.
In particular, his lawyers take issue with one of the edits to a speech made by Trump at a rally in South Carolina. The edited video has Trump saying: “Coronavirus. This is their new hoax,” whereas, during the actual speech Trump also referred to the impeachment inquiry and the investigation into Russian interference in the US elections as hoaxes. A full excerpt from the speech is detailed in the cease and desist letter, and is as follows (our emphasis in bold, for the lines that were kept in the clip):
“Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. You know that, right? Coronavirus. They’re politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs, you say, “How’s President Trump doing?”, “Oh, nothing, nothing.” They have no clue, they don’t have any clue. They can’t even count their votes in Iowa, they can’t even count. No, they can’t. They can’t count their votes. One of my people came up to me and said, “Mr President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.” That didn’t work out too well. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over, they’ve been doing it since he got in. It’s all turning, they lost. It’s all turning, think of it, think of it. And this is their new hoax.”
Because of this edit, Trump’s lawyers are calling the advert “patently false, misleading, and deceptive”.
The letter reads: “Your station has an obligation to cease and desist from airing [the advert] immediately to comply with FCC licensing requirements, to serve the public interest, and to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.”
In another line, the letter states that failure to remove the advert could be classed as an abdication of licensee responsibility. The president controls the FCC and appoints its commissioners, so it is up to them to pull broadcast licenses for stations that do not comply with its requirements.
The line reads: “Your station has a responsibility to ‘protect the public from false, misleading or deceptive advertising’ … your failure to remove this deceptive ad … could put your station’s license in jeopardy.”


theguardian--2020-03-27--Did a New York Times article inspire Trump's 'back to work' plan?

At the start of this week , as millions were following US government advice to combat the coronavirus pandemic by physical distancing and staying indoors , Donald Trump abruptly declared that people needed to soon return to work .
“ At a certain point we have to get open and we have to get moving .
We don ’ t want to lose these companies .
We don ’ t want to lose these workers , ” Trump said at a White House press conference .
Trump said this was going to happen “ very soon ” .
The policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ epidemiologists warn , carries a threat of catastrophe : of allowing the virus to spread just as the measures proven to curb it are starting to work .
So where did Trump ’ s U-turn come from ?
As frequently is the case with Trump ’ s political ideas , he seems to have been inspired – at least in part – by Fox News , and also by thinkpieces popular among conservatives , but often not written by epidemiologists .
On Sunday , the Fox News host Steve Hilton railed against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claimed “ working Americans ” will be “ crushed ” by an indefinite work shutdown .
Hilton mused that there could be a situation where “ the cure is worse than the disease ” .
Within hours , the Fox News message found its intended target .
On Sunday evening Trump tweeted , mangling Hilton ’ s words slightly : “ WE CAN NOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.
” The idea of sending people back to work and restarting the economy had been floating around last weekend , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One was written on Medium .
Another , published two days before the Hilton show , was an opinion piece by David Katz , a former director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center , which was published by the New York Times .
Given the reach of the New York Times this piece , headlined Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease ?
, attracted huge attention .
In the piece , Katz argues that those over 60 and those who are immunologically compromised should be “ preferentially protect [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This focus on a much smaller portion of the population would allow most of society to return to life as usual and perhaps prevent vast segments of the economy from collapsing , ” Katz wrote , adding that then children could return to school and adults return to their jobs .
In time , people would develop immunity to the coronavirus , and in the meantime , damage to the economy would be minimized , Katz opined .
But as many pointed out , Katz is not an epidemiologist .
Instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and has published a number of dietary books , including The Way to Eat , Cut Your Cholesterol and Stealth Health .
Katz ’ s piece was shared widely among conservatives , including by Fox News host and informal Trump adviser Pete Hegseth .
The article served as a handy tool for conservatives advancing the argument that the economy shouldn ’ t be sacrificed for coronavirus containment .
A group of Yale epidemiologists swiftly wrote a letter to the Times , rebutting Katz ’ s piece .
Others pointed out Katz ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big industry .
He was once paid $ 3,500 an hour as an expert witness in a Chobani legal case to defend the sugar contained in its yoghurts .
Katz has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies including Hershey ’ s , Kind Bars , the walnut industry and Quaker Oats .
The science journalist Nina Teicholz has written about how in some cases , Katz wrote positive articles about those companies after receiving grants .
“ Dr Katz ’ s efforts on behalf of public health during this pandemic are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ duty and commitment to public health , ” a spokeswoman for Katz told the Guardian .
She pointed to a post Katz wrote on LinkedIn following the criticism , where he stresses how damage to the economy is also a massive public health issue .
Yale itself went to lengths to distance itself from Katz .
“ David Katz is not academically affiliated with Yale and has not held an academic appointment here since 2016 , ” the university posted on Twitter .
Gregg Gonsalves , an assistant professor of epidemiology at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Yes , the elderly are at risk .
But the ability to sequester safely for months on end , in the United States is untenable .
We don ’ t have a social safety net that maybe continental European countries have.
” He said : “ The other thing is , low risk doesn ’ t mean no risk .
We don ’ t know the natural history of the disease well enough to say : ‘ Everybody under 65 is A-OK and ready to go back to work.
’ ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sole inspiration for Trump ’ s change of mind .
The influential Fox News host Laura Ingraham and others eagerly shared a Medium article written by a tech worker named Aaron Ginn over the weekend , which advances some of the same ideas as Katz .
Medium later took the article down after widespread criticism , including from experts in infectious diseases .
The concept of trading off self-isolation for returning to normal to help the economy has also been pushed by Trump ’ s cabinet including , his economic adviser Larry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Public health includes economic health.
” The arguments advanced by Katz and others , however , are a piece of a movement which could lead to Trump flip-flopping again on the seriousness of the coronavirus – which could be problematic for all .

At the start of this week, as millions were following US government advice to combat the coronavirus pandemic by physical distancing and staying indoors, Donald Trump abruptly declared that people needed to soon return to work.
“At a certain point we have to get open and we have to get moving. We don’t want to lose these companies. We don’t want to lose these workers,” Trump said at a White House press conference. Trump said this was going to happen “very soon”.
The policy of returning to normal, nearly all epidemiologists warn, carries a threat of catastrophe: of allowing the virus to spread just as the measures proven to curb it are starting to work.
So where did Trump’s U-turn come from?
As frequently is the case with Trump’s political ideas, he seems to have been inspired – at least in part – by Fox News, and also by thinkpieces popular among conservatives, but often not written by epidemiologists.
On Sunday, the Fox News host Steve Hilton railed against the idea of long-term social distancing. Hilton claimed “working Americans” will be “crushed” by an indefinite work shutdown. Hilton mused that there could be a situation where “the cure is worse than the disease”.
Within hours, the Fox News message found its intended target. On Sunday evening Trump tweeted, mangling Hilton’s words slightly: “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.”
The idea of sending people back to work and restarting the economy had been floating around last weekend, propagated by two opinion pieces in particular. One was written on Medium. Another, published two days before the Hilton show, was an opinion piece by David Katz, a former director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, which was published by the New York Times. Given the reach of the New York Times this piece, headlined Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease?, attracted huge attention.
In the piece, Katz argues that those over 60 and those who are immunologically compromised should be “preferentially protect[ed]”, with focused testing.
“This focus on a much smaller portion of the population would allow most of society to return to life as usual and perhaps prevent vast segments of the economy from collapsing,” Katz wrote, adding that then children could return to school and adults return to their jobs.
In time, people would develop immunity to the coronavirus, and in the meantime, damage to the economy would be minimized, Katz opined.
But as many pointed out, Katz is not an epidemiologist. Instead, he specializes in nutrition advice, and has published a number of dietary books, including The Way to Eat, Cut Your Cholesterol and Stealth Health.
Katz’s piece was shared widely among conservatives, including by Fox News host and informal Trump adviser Pete Hegseth. The article served as a handy tool for conservatives advancing the argument that the economy shouldn’t be sacrificed for coronavirus containment.
A group of Yale epidemiologists swiftly wrote a letter to the Times, rebutting Katz’s piece. Others pointed out Katz’s lack of credentials and his links to big industry. He was once paid $3,500 an hour as an expert witness in a Chobani legal case to defend the sugar contained in its yoghurts.
Katz has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies including Hershey’s, Kind Bars, the walnut industry and Quaker Oats. The science journalist Nina Teicholz has written about how in some cases, Katz wrote positive articles about those companies after receiving grants.
“Dr Katz’s efforts on behalf of public health during this pandemic are uncompensated and born from a sense of duty and commitment to public health,” a spokeswoman for Katz told the Guardian. She pointed to a post Katz wrote on LinkedIn following the criticism, where he stresses how damage to the economy is also a massive public health issue.
Yale itself went to lengths to distance itself from Katz. “David Katz is not academically affiliated with Yale and has not held an academic appointment here since 2016,” the university posted on Twitter.
Gregg Gonsalves, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale school of public health, said: “Yes, the elderly are at risk. But the ability to sequester safely for months on end, in the United States is untenable. We don’t have a social safety net that maybe continental European countries have.”
He said: “The other thing is, low risk doesn’t mean no risk. We don’t know the natural history of the disease well enough to say: ‘Everybody under 65 is A-OK and ready to go back to work.’”
Katz’s piece wasn’t the sole inspiration for Trump’s change of mind. The influential Fox News host Laura Ingraham and others eagerly shared a Medium article written by a tech worker named Aaron Ginn over the weekend, which advances some of the same ideas as Katz.
Medium later took the article down after widespread criticism, including from experts in infectious diseases.
The concept of trading off self-isolation for returning to normal to help the economy has also been pushed by Trump’s cabinet including, his economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who on Tuesday told reporters: “Public health includes economic health.”
The arguments advanced by Katz and others, however, are a piece of a movement which could lead to Trump flip-flopping again on the seriousness of the coronavirus – which could be problematic for all.


theguardian--2020-03-27--How US governors are fighting coronavirus – and Donald Trump

America ’ s state governors have found themselves under an intense national spotlight in response to the coronavirus pandemic .
The additional scrutiny has also highlighted an evolving dynamic between these chief executives who operate the country ’ s states and a White House run by a mercurial president whose public statements and policy turns are often impossible to predict .
As the virus crisis has grown stronger governors ’ daily press conferences and media calls on the coronavirus have become primetime events for a worried and often fearful populace .
Governors , the typically aloof top state officials , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sources of information on confirmed coronavirus cases and updates on medical supplies in response to the virus .
“ The governors are acting in a way governors traditionally act , it just so happens that governors have more of an audience for it now , ” said the former Delaware governor Jack Markell , a Democrat .
Responses to the pandemic have varied from state to state .
Partially because not every governor has the same amount of authority .
Some governors can activate the national guard or order schools closed essentially on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take legislative routes or make other bureaucratic moves .
There have been some markings of a deeper ideological divide to responding to the virus .
Some Republican governors , such as Arizona ’ s Doug Ducey , have loudly touted new partnerships with private business to fight the pandemic while some Democrats have leaned more on executive orders to slow the outbreak down .
Governors have also received more attention from Donald Trump than they otherwise would .
New York ’ s governor , Andrew Cuomo , a Democrat , has received both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuomo has regularly been in touch with Trump but at times criticized the federal government ’ s help to his state .
Illinois ’ governor , JB Pritzker , and Michigan ’ s governor , Gretchen Whitmer , , have gotten into public spats with Trump on Twitter .
At the same time , Republican and Democratic governors are learning how to shape their public comments under the intense scrutiny of a TV-obsessed president eager to return praise and respond to criticism with more criticism .
It is a tough tightrope to walk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pandemic comes with life-or-death high stakes .
California ’ s governor , Gavin Newsom , usually an eager critic of the president , has repeatedly praised the Trump administration for how it has responded to the crisis .
Newsom has praised Trump for the president ’ s “ focus on treatments ” .
Conversely , Pritzker found himself in a Twitter feud with the president where , at one point , the top Illinois Democrat called Trump a carnival barker .
Trump has also fumed at Washington ’ s governor , Jay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
“ It ’ s a two-way street , ” Trump said of dealing with governors during a Fox News town hall .
“ They have to treat us well.
” There ’ s been an increased level of coordination and note trading between governors as well .
Usually , each governor is mostly siloed off from even their closest neighbors .
But conference calls with the White House or one-on-one calls and joint statements between governors have become more regular .
“ There is a lot of chatter amongst governors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kelly , a Democrat , in an interview with the Guardian .
“ We ’ ve just started texting and calling each other as we look to [ ask ] ‘ Why did you do this ?
What was the thought process behind this ?
’ as we ’ re trying to make decisions for our own states.
” The National Governors Association , the nonpartisan umbrella organization , has helped to facilitate conference calls between the governors and a White House .
The Democratic Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been doing on the pandemic with their members .
A call between Florida ’ s governor , Ron DeSantis , and Georgia ’ s governor , Brian Kemp , on Covid-19 was listed on DeSantis ’ s public schedule in mid-March .
Whitmer , a Democrat , and Ohio ’ s Republican governor , Mike DeWine issued a joint statement urging Trump to take extra steps to protect the auto industry from financial ruin during the pandemic and resulting economic collapse .
The White House has been interacting with governors regularly .
South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , talked extensively with Larry Kudlow , the director of Trump ’ s National Economic Council , on Wednesday .
On Thursday the Trump administration released a letter sent to every governor detailing how it planned to release new guidelines for classifying counties as “ high-risk ” , “ medium-risk ” or “ low-risk ” on the coronavirus .
The Trump administration has regularly held conference calls with governors .
According to a Republican aide to one of the governors on those calls , oftentimes the calls start out with “ Vice-President Mike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest is that ’ s going on on a federal level ” .
Then Dr Deborah Birx , the response coordinator for the Trump administration ’ s coronavirus taskforce , will give a medical update on the virus .
Then governors are free to ask questions .
The calls have been cordial and fairly non combative .
There was another one on Thursday and one planned for next week .
“ It really , probably more than anything , continues to be a discussion about supply chains and quantities , ” Kelly said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiencing a problem with that .
A problem with getting tests done and getting test results back.
” As governors have enjoyed additional national and local attention , New York ’ s Cuomo has received an outsized amount .
That ’ s partially because New York has been one of the most hardest hit locations of the virus .
He has seen more press than any other governor , even ones being mentioned as possible presidential candidates in 2024 .
“ Quite honestly , he has done a wonderful job of communicating and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She pointed out that New York has really been a “ hotbed ” for the virus and that “ it ’ s such a huge driver of all things American – it ’ s our financial sector , it ’ s all sorts of things ” .
Elsewhere there has been an unusual level of agreement among governors .
In the community of governors there ’ s a growing , bipartisan level of skepticism about that the US could reopen by Easter , as Trump is hoping for .
Asked if that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ No , and I think it ’ s very unhelpful to even say those things.
” Similarly , during a press conference on Thursday , Noem , when pressed , doubted that her state would be back to normal soon .
“ I do not think South Dakota will be back to normal for many months – many months , ” Noem said .

America’s state governors have found themselves under an intense national spotlight in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The additional scrutiny has also highlighted an evolving dynamic between these chief executives who operate the country’s states and a White House run by a mercurial president whose public statements and policy turns are often impossible to predict.
As the virus crisis has grown stronger governors’ daily press conferences and media calls on the coronavirus have become primetime events for a worried and often fearful populace. Governors, the typically aloof top state officials, are currently some of the most reliable sources of information on confirmed coronavirus cases and updates on medical supplies in response to the virus.
“The governors are acting in a way governors traditionally act, it just so happens that governors have more of an audience for it now,” said the former Delaware governor Jack Markell, a Democrat.
Responses to the pandemic have varied from state to state. Partially because not every governor has the same amount of authority. Some governors can activate the national guard or order schools closed essentially on their own. Others have had to take legislative routes or make other bureaucratic moves.
There have been some markings of a deeper ideological divide to responding to the virus. Some Republican governors, such as Arizona’s Doug Ducey, have loudly touted new partnerships with private business to fight the pandemic while some Democrats have leaned more on executive orders to slow the outbreak down.
Governors have also received more attention from Donald Trump than they otherwise would.
New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has received both praise and criticism from the president. Cuomo has regularly been in touch with Trump but at times criticized the federal government’s help to his state. Illinois’ governor, JB Pritzker, and Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, , have gotten into public spats with Trump on Twitter.
At the same time, Republican and Democratic governors are learning how to shape their public comments under the intense scrutiny of a TV-obsessed president eager to return praise and respond to criticism with more criticism. It is a tough tightrope to walk and in the face of dealing with a pandemic comes with life-or-death high stakes.
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, usually an eager critic of the president, has repeatedly praised the Trump administration for how it has responded to the crisis. Newsom has praised Trump for the president’s “focus on treatments”.
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, speaks in Rancho Cordova, California, on 23 March. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Conversely, Pritzker found himself in a Twitter feud with the president where, at one point, the top Illinois Democrat called Trump a carnival barker. Trump has also fumed at Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, calling him a “snake”.
“It’s a two-way street,” Trump said of dealing with governors during a Fox News town hall. “They have to treat us well.”
There’s been an increased level of coordination and note trading between governors as well. Usually, each governor is mostly siloed off from even their closest neighbors. But conference calls with the White House or one-on-one calls and joint statements between governors have become more regular.
We’ve just started texting and calling each other as we look to [ask] ‘Why did you do this? What was the thought process?' Kansas’ governor, Laura Kelly
“There is a lot of chatter amongst governors,” said Kansas’ governor, Laura Kelly, a Democrat, in an interview with the Guardian. “We’ve just started texting and calling each other as we look to [ask] ‘Why did you do this? What was the thought process behind this?’ as we’re trying to make decisions for our own states.”
The National Governors Association, the nonpartisan umbrella organization, has helped to facilitate conference calls between the governors and a White House. The Democratic Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association have been sharing information about what governors have been doing on the pandemic with their members.
A call between Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, and Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, on Covid-19 was listed on DeSantis’s public schedule in mid-March. Whitmer, a Democrat, and Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine issued a joint statement urging Trump to take extra steps to protect the auto industry from financial ruin during the pandemic and resulting economic collapse.
The White House has been interacting with governors regularly. South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, talked extensively with Larry Kudlow, the director of Trump’s National Economic Council, on Wednesday. On Thursday the Trump administration released a letter sent to every governor detailing how it planned to release new guidelines for classifying counties as “high-risk”, “medium-risk” or “low-risk” on the coronavirus. The Trump administration has regularly held conference calls with governors.
According to a Republican aide to one of the governors on those calls, oftentimes the calls start out with “Vice-President Mike Pence giving an update on what the latest is that’s going on on a federal level”. Then Dr Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the Trump administration’s coronavirus taskforce, will give a medical update on the virus. Then governors are free to ask questions. The calls have been cordial and fairly non combative. There was another one on Thursday and one planned for next week.
“It really, probably more than anything, continues to be a discussion about supply chains and quantities,” Kelly said. “I think every governor is experiencing a problem with that. A problem with getting tests done and getting test results back.”
As governors have enjoyed additional national and local attention, New York’s Cuomo has received an outsized amount. That’s partially because New York has been one of the most hardest hit locations of the virus. He has seen more press than any other governor, even ones being mentioned as possible presidential candidates in 2024.
“Quite honestly, he has done a wonderful job of communicating and keeping people informed,” Kelly said. She pointed out that New York has really been a “hotbed” for the virus and that “it’s such a huge driver of all things American – it’s our financial sector, it’s all sorts of things”.
Elsewhere there has been an unusual level of agreement among governors. In the community of governors there’s a growing, bipartisan level of skepticism about that the US could reopen by Easter, as Trump is hoping for. Asked if that’s feasible, Kelly said: “No, and I think it’s very unhelpful to even say those things.”
Similarly, during a press conference on Thursday, Noem, when pressed, doubted that her state would be back to normal soon.
“I do not think South Dakota will be back to normal for many months – many months,” Noem said.


theguardian--2020-03-29--'As the president fiddles, people are dying': Nancy Pelosi slams Trump's coronavirus delays – video

The House Speaker , Nancy Pelosi , delivered a devastating critique of Donald Trump on Sunday , accusing the president @ @ @ @ @ through his constant denials and delays in response to the coronavirus outbreak .
'The president @ @ @ @ @ beginning was deadly , ' the House Speaker told CNN ’ s State of the @ @ @ @ @ getting equipment to where it ’ s needed is deadly … As the president fiddles @ @ @ @ @ Pelosi accuses Trump of costing US lives with coronavirus denials and delays

The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, delivered a devastating critique of Donald Trump on Sunday, accusing the president directly of costing American lives through his constant denials and delays in response to the coronavirus outbreak. 'The president’s denial at the beginning was deadly,' the House Speaker told CNN’s State of the Union. 'His delay in getting equipment to where it’s needed is deadly … As the president fiddles, people are dying'


theguardian--2020-03-28--Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decries 'shameful' corporate bailout – video

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clashed with Republicans as the US Senate voted on a $ 2.2tn coronavirus relief bill on Friday .
@ @ @ @ @ ‘ shameful ’ corporate bailout that would further widen the income inequality gap .
‘ @ @ @ @ @ fight for ?
’ the New York congresswoman asled .
‘ One of the largest @ @ @ @ @ strings as possible in American history ’ • Trump signs $ 2.2tn stimulus bill after @ @ @ @ @ as it happened

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clashed with Republicans as the US Senate voted on a $2.2tn coronavirus relief bill on Friday. She said it was a ‘shameful’ corporate bailout that would further widen the income inequality gap. ‘What did the Senate majority fight for?’ the New York congresswoman asled. ‘One of the largest corporate bailouts with as few strings as possible in American history’


theguardian--2020-03-30--Coronavirus US live: Trump boasts about sending supplies abroad as US hospitals struggle

Late Friday afternoon , the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs notified the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe that it would revoke reservation @ @ @ @ @ tribal land , and remove it from the federal trust , according to Cedric Cromwell @ @ @ @ @ chairman .
“ The steps being taken right now – in the middle of a @ @ @ @ @ our reservation and take our land out of trust has created a crisis on top @ @ @ @ @ Cromwell said in a statement .
“ We now have no choice but to divert @ @ @ @ @ address this unwarranted attack on our sovereignty.
” When the federal government holds tribal land @ @ @ @ @ it allows the tribe special legal status and autonomy over that land .
In February @ @ @ @ @ upheld a lower court decision declaring that the federal government didn ’ t have the @ @ @ @ @ acres of land in Massachusetts into trust .

Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington and Martin Pengelly in New York (earlier)

31 Mar 2020 01.16 BST Summary Donald Trump repeated misleading and false claims at a coronavirus briefing. During the briefing, the president invited several executives — including My Pillow CEO and Trump rally fixture Mike Lidell — to tout their coronavirus efforts.
During the briefing, the president invited several executives — including My Pillow CEO and Trump rally fixture Mike Lidell — to tout their coronavirus efforts. Even as US hospitals complained of shortages and struggles, Trump boasted that the US would soon have a surplus , and be able to provide millions in aid to Italy, France and Spain. He came under fire today over reports that the US provided nearly 18 tons of ventilators and other equipment to China, weeks after the first cases were reported in Washington state.
, and be able to provide millions in aid to Italy, France and Spain. He came under fire today over reports that the US provided nearly 18 tons of ventilators and other equipment to China, weeks after the first cases were reported in Washington state. Judges in Texas and Ohio temporarily overrode efforts to ban abortions during the coronavirus pandemic. A federal judge in Texas ruled that only the Supreme Court can decide if states are allowed to restrict abortion access during a national emergency. Conservative lawmakers have tried to block abortions by asserting that they do not constitute an “essential” health care service.
A federal judge in Texas ruled that only the Supreme Court can decide if states are allowed to restrict abortion access during a national emergency. Conservative lawmakers have tried to block abortions by asserting that they do not constitute an “essential” health care service. Joe Biden called on Trump to move “more rapidly” against coronavirus. The Democratic frontrunner has also demanded that Trump use the powers of the Defense Production Act to speed up the production of medical equipment.
The Democratic frontrunner has also demanded that Trump use the powers of the Defense Production Act to speed up the production of medical equipment. The governors of Virginia and Maryland issued “stay at home” orders, as the number of coronavirus cases in the Washington metropolitan area continues to rise.
Here’s the full story on Trump’s latest briefing: Trump accused of using coronavirus briefing as corporate advertising spot Read more
Updated at 01.28 BST
31 Mar 2020 01.03 BST Feds rescinds reservation status for Mashpee Wampanoag land Late Friday afternoon, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs notified the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe that it would revoke reservation status for 300 acres of tribal land, and remove it from the federal trust, according to Cedric Cromwell, the tribe’s chairman. “The steps being taken right now – in the middle of a nationwide pandemic – to disestablish our reservation and take our land out of trust has created a crisis on top of a crisis,” Cromwell said in a statement. “We now have no choice but to divert precious resources from COVID-19 to address this unwarranted attack on our sovereignty.” When the federal government holds tribal land “in trust”, it allows the tribe special legal status and autonomy over that land. In February, a US appeals court upheld a lower court decision declaring that the federal government didn’t have the authority to take the 300 acres of land in Massachusetts into trust.
30 Mar 2020 00.48 BST In Texas and Ohio, abortion providers gain temporary relief A Planned Parenthood building in Houston. Photograph: Godofredo A Vasquez/AP In Texas, a federal district judge granted abortion providers a temporary restraining, allowing them to continue through April 13, after attorney general Ken Paxton sought to ban abortion access during the coronavirus pandemic, saying it did not qualify as “essential” health care. In Ohio, a judge struck down a similar policy put forth by the state’s health department. “Patients will suffer serious and irreparable harm,” said Judge Lee Yeakel of the Western District of Texas. Only the Supreme Court has the power to decide whether a ban on abortions during a national crisis is constitutional, Yeakel said. Women’s health advocates are seeking similar rulings in Oklahoma, Iowa, and Alabama, which have also sought to restrict abortion access amid the pandemic.
30 Mar 2020 00.31 BST Senators, they’re just like us! Many of us who are sheltering in place, or under quarantine, have sought artistic outlets for our anxieties. Senator Cory Booker has turned to poetry. Some late night writing: pic.twitter.com/uwcY3yEH1e — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) March 30, 2020 “We can’t touch/But we still reach out,” Booker writes. “We are distant/But we stand together.”
30 Mar 2020 00.26 BST Report: Trump dismissed rural governors' need for medical supplies “I haven’t heard about testing in weeks,” Donald Trump told the governors of rural states, who are requesting medical supplies and testing equipment, according to an audio recording of the call between the president and governors obtained by CBS News. LISTEN: A portion of President Trump’s call today with state governors. @GovernorBullock raises concerns about testing in his state in response to a question from Dr. Fauci. Trump responds, “I haven’t heard anything about testing being a problem.” https://t.co/c9AelkeH9j — Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) March 30, 2020
30 Mar 2020 23.49 BST The president finished speaking a while back, but. we’ve just now finished fact-checking his words — for now. Please reach out to me via Twitter (@maanvisings) if you spotted any other statements from the president that you’d like us to vet.
Updated at 23.50 BST
30 Mar 2020 23.35 BST Adam Gabbatt Fact check: Are American coronavirus tests better? “Our testing is also better than any country in the world,” Trump bragged. In fact, some of the initial coronavirus tests sent out to states were seriously flawed – some did not even work. Part of the problem came from the CDC insisting it would manufacture the tests itself. Other countries – after their first coronavirus case – swiftly asked private companies to develop their own tests. South Korea, which recorded its first case on the same day as the US, did so within a week The US only allowed laboratories and hospitals to conduct their own tests on February 29, almost six weeks after the first case was confirmed. “The federal agency shunned the World Health Organization test guidelines used by other countries and set out to create a more complicated test of its own that could identify a range of similar viruses,” ProPublica reported. The missing six weeks: how Trump failed the biggest test of his life Read more
Updated at 23.50 BST
30 Mar 2020 23.31 BST Even as US hospitals report shortages and struggles, Trump boasted during the briefing that the US is “going to be sending approximately $100 million worth of things, of surgical and medical and hospital things to Italy.” “And Giuseppe was very, very happy, I will tell you that, they’re having a very hard time,” the president said. Trump said he had spoken with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and made the pledge. It’s unclear why Trump is emphasizing aid to other counties, which he has often opposed and runs counter to his principle of “America first”. His administration came under criticism today amid reports that the government sent nearly 17.8 tons of medical supplies to China—including masks and respirators— weeks after the first cases of coronavirus were reported in the US. Trump, you incompetent idiot! You sent 18 tons of PPE to China early but ignored warnings & called COVID19 concerns a hoax. You've endangered doctors, nurses, aids, orderlies, & janitors - all risking their lives to save ours. Pray 4 forgiveness for the harm that you're causing! — Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) March 30, 2020 “Trump, you incompetent idiot!”, said Maxine Waters, a democratic representative of California, in a tweet criticizing the move.


theguardian--2020-03-31--Rights advocates worry that crisis has become an excuse to trample freedoms

As the US continues its scrambling response to the coronavirus outbreak , it has closed borders , quarantined some neighborhoods , and shut down businesses in a number of the most populous states .
Behind the scenes , federal and state governments have also been pushing for a series of draconian measures to respond to the virus , which would disproportionately affect asylum seekers , people embroiled in the justice system and even those seeking an abortion .
The efforts have already had a striking impact on civil liberties , and bear hints of a 2020 version of the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2001 , which ultimately led to the Patriot Act , a sweeping piece of legislation that allowed , among other things , the government to collect citizens ’ phone data , in an unprecedented encroachment on personal rights .
Amid the indisputable need to contain the coronavirus outbreak , many of the measures have civil rights advocates concerned .
With the Trump administration ’ s poor record on openness and on freedom – seen especially in its treatment of undocumented workers – there is a real risk of Covid-19 having a permanent impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troubling efforts is a government proposal that would allow it to detain people indefinitely without trial during national emergencies .
The justice department sent a request for the move to Congress around 20 March , in response to the coronavirus outbreak .
Politico viewed justice department documents sent to Congress detailing the measure which would allow the justice department to ask federal chief judges to detain citizens without trial .
One document would mean the attorney general – currently the controversial Trump supporting Bill Barr – could ask judges in a district court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster , civil disobedience , or other emergency situation ” .
Norman L Reimer , executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers , told Politico that the proposal would affect “ pre-arrest ” cases .
“ So that means you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over , ” Reimer said .
“ I find it absolutely terrifying .
Especially in a time of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about granting new powers to the government.
” The request is even more troubling given Trump ’ s willingness to use national emergencies for political motives .
In February 2019 Trump declared a national emergency in an attempt to force through money to construct his border wall .
With the House currently dominated by Democrats , the measure is unlikely to be approved , although the election in November could change the dynamic , especially as Trump has risen in popularity in recent polls .
Other proposals hit asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enact measures which would mean people with confirmed cases of Covid-19 not be allowed to apply for asylum , ABC News reported .
The department is also seeking to deport undocumented immigrants who are confirmed to have the virus .
The department ’ s proposal would send those immigrants back to their home countries , regardless of whether they are unsafe .
While those rules depend on congressional support , other measures are already being enacted which impede individual rights .
Dozens of courts across the US have already been closed due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of selecting a jury at a time when many Americans are being told to social-distance means further delays are inevitable .
Elsewhere , Texas and Ohio have banned almost all abortions in response to the coronavirus , a move it claimed followed federal guidance , but one which fits neatly with their previous efforts to restrict access to abortion .
Under the Texas order any medical worker providing an abortion can be fined $ 1,000 , claiming abortions fit within federal government guidelines which prohibit non-essential surgery .
In response to the order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency lawsuit on Wednesday , Buzzfeed reported , stating the move is unconstitutional .
Nancy Northup , head of the Center for Reproductive Rights , accused Texas ’ s attorney general , Ken Paxton , of “ exploiting this pandemic to end abortion in the state ” .
Some of the most vulnerable are those detained by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement .
As cities have released some low-level offenders from jail , Ice has remained resolute in refusing to release undocumented people from its detention centers .
With social distancing almost impossible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear the consequences could be severe .
Last Wednesday Ice confirmed it had pepper-sprayed detainees during a briefing on the coronavirus at a center in Louisiana , alleging they had become confrontational .
Ice told CBS News pepper spray had also been used on detainees at two other centers , following protests where undocumented people asked to be released .

As the US continues its scrambling response to the coronavirus outbreak, it has closed borders, quarantined some neighborhoods, and shut down businesses in a number of the most populous states.
Behind the scenes, federal and state governments have also been pushing for a series of draconian measures to respond to the virus, which would disproportionately affect asylum seekers, people embroiled in the justice system and even those seeking an abortion.
The efforts have already had a striking impact on civil liberties, and bear hints of a 2020 version of the US government response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, which ultimately led to the Patriot Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that allowed, among other things, the government to collect citizens’ phone data, in an unprecedented encroachment on personal rights.
Amid the indisputable need to contain the coronavirus outbreak, many of the measures have civil rights advocates concerned. With the Trump administration’s poor record on openness and on freedom – seen especially in its treatment of undocumented workers – there is a real risk of Covid-19 having a permanent impact on society.
One of the most troubling efforts is a government proposal that would allow it to detain people indefinitely without trial during national emergencies. The justice department sent a request for the move to Congress around 20 March, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Politico viewed justice department documents sent to Congress detailing the measure which would allow the justice department to ask federal chief judges to detain citizens without trial. One document would mean the attorney general – currently the controversial Trump-supporting Bill Barr – could ask judges in a district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation”.
Norman L Reimer, executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told Politico that the proposal would affect “pre-arrest” cases.
“So that means you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over,” Reimer said. “I find it absolutely terrifying. Especially in a time of emergency, we should be very careful about granting new powers to the government.”
The request is even more troubling given Trump’s willingness to use national emergencies for political motives. In February 2019 Trump declared a national emergency in an attempt to force through money to construct his border wall.
With the House currently dominated by Democrats, the measure is unlikely to be approved, although the election in November could change the dynamic, especially as Trump has risen in popularity in recent polls.
Other proposals hit asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants hardest. The justice department recommended Congress enact measures which would mean people with confirmed cases of Covid-19 not be allowed to apply for asylum, ABC News reported. The department is also seeking to deport undocumented immigrants who are confirmed to have the virus. The department’s proposal would send those immigrants back to their home countries, regardless of whether they are unsafe.
While those rules depend on congressional support, other measures are already being enacted which impede individual rights.
Dozens of courts across the US have already been closed due to the coronavirus, and the inherent difficulty of selecting a jury at a time when many Americans are being told to social-distance means further delays are inevitable.
Elsewhere, Texas and Ohio have banned almost all abortions in response to the coronavirus, a move it claimed followed federal guidance, but one which fits neatly with their previous efforts to restrict access to abortion. Under the Texas order any medical worker providing an abortion can be fined $1,000, claiming abortions fit within federal government guidelines which prohibit non-essential surgery.
In response to the order, Planned Parenthood and others filed an emergency lawsuit on Wednesday, Buzzfeed reported, stating the move is unconstitutional. Nancy Northup, head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, accused Texas’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, of “exploiting this pandemic to end abortion in the state”.
Some of the most vulnerable are those detained by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. As cities have released some low-level offenders from jail, Ice has remained resolute in refusing to release undocumented people from its detention centers. With social distancing almost impossible in detention centers, lawyers and advocates fear the consequences could be severe.
Last Wednesday Ice confirmed it had pepper-sprayed detainees during a briefing on the coronavirus at a center in Louisiana, alleging they had become confrontational. Ice told CBS News pepper spray had also been used on detainees at two other centers, following protests where undocumented people asked to be released.


theguardian--2020-03-31--Coronavirus US live: Trump boasts about sending supplies abroad as US hospitals struggle – as it hap

Coronavirus US live: Trump boasts about sending supplies abroad as US hospitals struggle – as it happened


theguardian--2020-03-31--Trump accused of using coronavirus briefing as corporate advertising spot

Donald Trump was accused on Monday of turning his daily White House coronavirus briefing into an advertising spot for corporate allies , even as the number of US cases topped 160,000 .
The president paraded several company leaders in the White House Rose Garden , starting with Mike Lindell , the chief executive of MyPillow , who has become a regular cheerleader for Trump at his campaign rallies .
Trump praised companies for doing their “ patriotic duty ” by producing or donating medical equipment to meet America ’ s most urgent needs .
“ What they ’ re doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ These are great companies.
” He went on to invite Lindell , Darius Adamczyk of Honeywell , Debra Waller of Jockey International , David Taylor of Procter & Gamble and Greg Hayes of United Technologies to make short speeches .
He introduced Lindell as a “ friend ” and riffed : “ Boy , do you sell those pillows , it ’ s unbelievable what you do.
” Lindell then stood at the presidential podium and said his company has dedicated 75 % of its manufacturing to producing cotton face masks .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to 50,000 a day , ” he said , going on to thank Trump for his “ call to action ” .
Then , in a bizarre gear change , Lindell went into campaign rally mode and referenced the date of Trump ’ s election .
“ God gave us grace on November 8 , 2016 , to change the course we were on , ” he said .
“ God had been taken out of our schools and lives , a nation had turned its back on God .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home to get back in the word , read our Bibles and spend time with our families.
” Lindell added : “ Our president gave us so much hope when just a few short months ago we had the best economy , the lower unemployment and wages going up .
It was amazing ... We will get through this and get back to a place that ’ s stronger and safer than ever.
” Trump told reporters : “ I did not know he was going to do that , but he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do appreciate it .
Thank you , Mike.
” The White House coronavirus taskforce briefings have become notorious for Vice-President Mike Pence and other officials paying homage to Trump ’ s “ leadership ” while he scolds reporters for being too negative .
This occurred again on Monday when Jim Acosta , chief White House correspondent at CNN , quoted some of Trump ’ s own statements back to him in which he claimed America has the virus “ very much under control ” and “ it will go away ” .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go away ” , without offering a timeline , and praised his government ’ s efforts .
“ It ’ s almost a miracle the way it ’ s all come together , and instead of asking a nasty , snarky question like that , you should ask a real question.
” Later , questioned by Yamiche Alcindor of PBS , Trump again snapped : “ You should be saying congratulations instead of asking a really snarky question.
” The administration has extended federal guidelines on social distancing to 30 April as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths .
State governors have complained of a crippling shortage of ventilators , masks and other critical equipment .
But on Monday Trump insisted mass production and distribution were under way and highlighted the building of a temporary hospital in New York and arrival there of a medical ship .
He said the US would be sending around $ 100m worth of “ things – surgical and medical and hospital things ” to Italy , one of the hardest-hit countries .
The US has the biggest coronavirus caseload @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carry out testing in the crucial early weeks .
Ever the TV host , Trump opened a cardboard box – marked “ Covid-19 ” with images of the virus – containing a machine made by Abbott that can administer a test in just five minutes .
Stephen Hahn , commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration , said : “ We ’ ve had a substantial addition to testing with the authorisation of point-of-care tests , especially the Abbott point-of-care test , which the president has pulled out of the box.
” Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans have now been tested , more than any other country by far.
” He has long been making such a claim even as the US trailed other countries , such as South Korea , on testing per capita .
According to the Covid-19 Tracking Project , a journalist-maintained database , there have been 945,793 coronavirus tests administered in the US as of Monday , although that number could be higher , as the results of negative tests can take longer to report .
“ I know South Korea better than anybody , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s very tight .
Do you know how many people are in Seoul ?
Do you know how big the city of Seoul is ?
Thirty-eight million people .
That ’ s bigger than anything we have.
” The population of Seoul is less than 10m .

Donald Trump was accused on Monday of turning his daily White House coronavirus briefing into an advertising spot for corporate allies, even as the number of US cases topped 160,000.
The president paraded several company leaders in the White House Rose Garden, starting with Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow, who has become a regular cheerleader for Trump at his campaign rallies.
Trump praised companies for doing their “patriotic duty” by producing or donating medical equipment to meet America’s most urgent needs. “What they’re doing is incredible,” he said. “These are great companies.”
He went on to invite Lindell, Darius Adamczyk of Honeywell, Debra Waller of Jockey International, David Taylor of Procter & Gamble and Greg Hayes of United Technologies to make short speeches. He introduced Lindell as a “friend” and riffed: “Boy, do you sell those pillows, it’s unbelievable what you do.”
Lindell then stood at the presidential podium and said his company has dedicated 75% of its manufacturing to producing cotton face masks. “By Friday, I want to be up to 50,000 a day,” he said, going on to thank Trump for his “call to action”.
Then, in a bizarre gear change, Lindell went into campaign rally mode and referenced the date of Trump’s election. “God gave us grace on November 8, 2016, to change the course we were on,” he said. “God had been taken out of our schools and lives, a nation had turned its back on God.
“I encourage you to use this time at home to get back in the word, read our Bibles and spend time with our families.”
Lindell added: “Our president gave us so much hope when just a few short months ago we had the best economy, the lower unemployment and wages going up. It was amazing ... We will get through this and get back to a place that’s stronger and safer than ever.”
Trump told reporters: “I did not know he was going to do that, but he’s a friend of mine and I do appreciate it. Thank you, Mike.”
The White House coronavirus taskforce briefings have become notorious for Vice-President Mike Pence and other officials paying homage to Trump’s “leadership” while he scolds reporters for being too negative.
This occurred again on Monday when Jim Acosta, chief White House correspondent at CNN, quoted some of Trump’s own statements back to him in which he claimed America has the virus “very much under control” and “it will go away”.
02:30 Trump attacks journalists for asking 'snarky' questions on coronavirus testing in US – video
The president retorted that the virus “will go away”, without offering a timeline, and praised his government’s efforts. “It’s almost a miracle the way it’s all come together, and instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question.”
Later, questioned by Yamiche Alcindor of PBS, Trump again snapped: “You should be saying congratulations instead of asking a really snarky question.”
The administration has extended federal guidelines on social distancing to 30 April as the country braces for what experts estimate could be between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths.
State governors have complained of a crippling shortage of ventilators, masks and other critical equipment. But on Monday, Trump insisted mass production and distribution were under way and highlighted the building of a temporary hospital in New York and arrival there of a medical ship.
He said the US would be sending around $100m worth of “things – surgical and medical and hospital things” to Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries.
The US has the biggest coronavirus caseload in the world after chronic failings to carry out testing in the crucial early weeks.
Ever the TV host, Trump opened a cardboard box – marked “Covid-19” with images of the virus – containing a machine made by the health company Abbott that can administer a test in just five minutes. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration, said: “We’ve had a substantial addition to testing with the authorisation of point-of-care tests, especially the Abbott point-of-care test, which the president has pulled out of the box.”
Trump told reporters: “Over one million Americans have now been tested, more than any other country by far.” He has long been making such a claim even as the US trailed other countries, such as South Korea, on testing per capita.
According to the Covid-19 Tracking Project, a journalist-maintained database, there have been 945,793 coronavirus tests administered in the US as of Monday, although that number could be higher, as the results of negative tests can take longer to report.
“I know South Korea better than anybody,” he argued. “It’s very tight. Do you know how many people are in Seoul? Do you know how big the city of Seoul is? Thirty-eight million people. That’s bigger than anything we have.”
The population of Seoul is less than 10m.