truthout--2020-08-04--Trump Now Says Mail-In Ballots Are Safe, But Only in His Home State of Florida

President Donald Trump , who has for the past several months repeatedly made unverified and dubious claims about fraud associated with mail-in voting , authored a tweet on Tuesday urging voters in his home state of Florida to vote by mail if that ’ s what they wanted to do .
“ Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting , in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure , Tried and True , ” Trump said .
The president elaborated in his social media posting that the Sunshine State ’ s voting system “ has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Democratic lawmakers there had tried to make the system less secure .
“ I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail !
” Trump added .
The tweet contradicts a number of statements that Trump has made since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States , when many began touting mail-in voting as a means to cast ballots without having to physically appear at ballot boxes .
In April , for example , Trump described the practice as “ horrible ” and “ corrupt.
” When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had benefited from voting through the mail , the president justified it by saying that he was voting absentee — a distinction that many say is nonexistent as it ’ s the same as mail-in voting .
“ Sure I can vote by mail … because I ’ m allowed to , ” Trump said at the time .
In a tweet on July 30 , Trump again tried to say mail-in voting and absentee voting were different , and even called for possibly delaying the 2020 federal elections because of unsubstantiated claims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in voting .
“ With Universal Mail-In Voting ( not Absentee Voting , which is good ) , 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history , ” Trump wrote in a tweet .
“ Delay the Election until people can properly , securely and safely vote ?
” he added at the end of the Twitter posting .
On the same day that the tweet was written by the president , however , Trump ’ s lawyers acknowledged in court documents that voting by absentee ballot was no different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Noting that some states use the terms differently , Trump ’ s legal team wrote in a briefing that “ the terms ‘ mail-in ’ and ‘ absentee ’ are used interchangeably to discuss the use of the United States Postal Service to deliver ballots to and from electors.
” Trump ’ s campaign team has also promoted mail-in voting in states like Wisconsin .
With both Florida and Wisconsin being so-called “ swing states ” in this year ’ s presidential race , some might speculate that Trump is making the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might benefit him electorally , while trying to bad-mouth the practice in other , especially “ blue ” states .
Trump ’ s tweet on Tuesday appears to be evidence that the president himself understands that there ’ s no difference between mail-in voting and absentee ballots .
There is no evidence to suggest that voting by mail is rife with fraud , as Trump has claimed .
Indeed , one analysis demonstrated only 31 ballots were fraudulent among billions of ballots sent through the mail during a 15-year period .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind Trump ’ s attempts to make mail-in voting seem fraudulent .
“ In the face of COVID-19 , states are expanding absentee voting and , in some cases , vote-by-mail , ” FiveThirtyEight elections analyst Geoffrey Skelley recently said .
“ But the president is making the case that mailed ballots are illegitimate and highly vulnerable to fraud — this is not true , of course , but by casting aspersions , he ’ s setting up the potential for delegitimizing the results as they come in , on and after Election @ @ @

For months, Trump has made a number of inaccurate claims of voter fraud being associated with ballots sent by mail.
President Donald Trump, who has for the past several months repeatedly made unverified and dubious claims about fraud associated with mail-in voting, authored a tweet on Tuesday urging voters in his home state of Florida to vote by mail if that’s what they wanted to do.
“Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True,” Trump said.
The president elaborated in his social media posting that the Sunshine State’s voting system “has been cleaned up,” alleging without evidence that Democratic lawmakers there had tried to make the system less secure.
“I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail!” Trump added.
The tweet contradicts a number of statements that Trump has made since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, when many began touting mail-in voting as a means to cast ballots without having to physically appear at ballot boxes. In April, for example, Trump described the practice as “horrible” and “corrupt.”
When it was pointed out that he himself had benefited from voting through the mail, the president justified it by saying that he was voting absentee — a distinction that many say is nonexistent as it’s the same as mail-in voting.
“Sure I can vote by mail … because I’m allowed to,” Trump said at the time.
In a tweet on July 30, Trump again tried to say mail-in voting and absentee voting were different, and even called for possibly delaying the 2020 federal elections because of unsubstantiated claims of fraud he said were inherent in mail-in voting.
“With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
“Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote?” he added at the end of the Twitter posting.
On the same day that the tweet was written by the president, however, Trump’s lawyers acknowledged in court documents that voting by absentee ballot was no different from what he described as mail-in voting.
Noting that some states use the terms differently, Trump’s legal team wrote in a briefing that “the terms ‘mail-in’ and ‘absentee’ are used interchangeably to discuss the use of the United States Postal Service to deliver ballots to and from electors.”
Trump’s campaign team has also promoted mail-in voting in states like Wisconsin. With both Florida and Wisconsin being so-called “swing states” in this year’s presidential race, some might speculate that Trump is making the push for mail-in voting in locations where it might benefit him electorally, while trying to bad-mouth the practice in other, especially “blue” states.
Trump’s tweet on Tuesday appears to be evidence that the president himself understands that there’s no difference between mail-in voting and absentee ballots.
There is no evidence to suggest that voting by mail is rife with fraud, as Trump has claimed. Indeed, one analysis demonstrated only 31 ballots were fraudulent among billions of ballots sent through the mail during a 15-year period.
Some believe there are possibly more worrisome reasons behind Trump’s attempts to make mail-in voting seem fraudulent.
“In the face of COVID-19, states are expanding absentee voting and, in some cases, vote-by-mail,” FiveThirtyEight elections analyst Geoffrey Skelley recently said. “But the president is making the case that mailed ballots are illegitimate and highly vulnerable to fraud — this is not true, of course, but by casting aspersions, he’s setting up the potential for delegitimizing the results as they come in, on and after Election Day.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-04--Trump Dismisses John Lewis’s Legacy Saying, “He Didn’t Come to My Inauguration”

During an interview with Axios ’ s Jonathan Swan that aired on HBO Monday evening , President Donald Trump was asked to give his opinion on Rep. John Lewis , who passed away last month at age 80 .
“ How do you think history will remember John Lewis ?
” Swan asked Trump .
The president appeared unwilling to give the late congressman and Civil Rights icon any praise .
“ I don ’ t know , I really don ’ t know .
I don ’ t know John Lewis , ” he said .
Trump also seemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lewis had skipped his inauguration and swearing-in ceremony as president .
“ He chose not to come to my inauguration , ” Trump lamented .
Lewis announced in January 2017 that he wouldn ’ t attend the event because he didn ’ t believe the president-elect was the legitimate winner in the 2016 presidential election .
Swan pressed on , asking Trump if he found Lewis or his story at least impressive .
Again , the president demurred on the question .
“ I can ’ t say one way or the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impressive .
I find many people not impressive , ” Trump said .
“ But he didn ’ t come to my inauguration .
He didn ’ t come to my State of the Union speeches .
And that ’ s okay , that ’ s his right.
” Trump tried to change the topic of the conversation at that point .
“ Nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have , ” he said .
A number of historians , however , object to that claim , noting that several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help Black Americans .
The Trump administration also presently stands in the way of restoring the Voting Rights Act , which would protect the voting rights of Black Americans , and which was an issue that Lewis himself devoted his life toward .
On top of a veto threat of a bill that would restore key aspects of the law , Trump has appointed a number of judges to federal posts who have signaled an unwillingness to protect the rights of Black voters .
Trump has frequently expressed racist viewpoints as president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he told four congresswomen of color whom he disagreed with to “ go back ” to their countries of origin , in spite of the fact that three of the four were born in the U.S. , with the fourth member having lived here since she was a teenager .
Trump ’ s actions as a businessman have also been criticized for being racist and discriminatory toward Black Americans .
In the 1970s , for example , he and his father Fred Trump were sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for discriminating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out housing in properties owned by the Trumps .
Swan tried one last time to get Trump ’ s opinion on Lewis , asking the president to “ take [ his ] relationship with him out of it ” and to say whether he found the late congressman ’ s story impressive or not .
Trump ’ s response was to try and diminish Lewis ’ s role in the Civil Rights movement .
“ He was a person that devoted a lot of energy and a lot of heart to Civil Rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there were many others also .

Trump also reduced Lewis’s role in the civil rights movement, saying there were “many others” who took part besides him.
During an interview with Axios’s Jonathan Swan that aired on HBO Monday evening, President Donald Trump was asked to give his opinion on Rep. John Lewis, who passed away last month at age 80.
“How do you think history will remember John Lewis?” Swan asked Trump.
The president appeared unwilling to give the late congressman and Civil Rights icon any praise. “I don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t know John Lewis,” he said.
Trump also seemed to be upset with the fact that Lewis had skipped his inauguration and swearing-in ceremony as president. “He chose not to come to my inauguration,” Trump lamented.
Lewis announced in January 2017 that he wouldn’t attend the event because he didn’t believe the president-elect was the legitimate winner in the 2016 presidential election.
Swan pressed on, asking Trump if he found Lewis or his story at least impressive. Again, the president demurred on the question.
“I can’t say one way or the other. I find a lot of people impressive. I find many people not impressive,” Trump said. “But he didn’t come to my inauguration. He didn’t come to my State of the Union speeches. And that’s okay, that’s his right.”
Trump tried to change the topic of the conversation at that point. “Nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have,” he said.
A number of historians, however, object to that claim, noting that several presidents before Trump have done significantly more to help Black Americans. The Trump administration also presently stands in the way of restoring the Voting Rights Act, which would protect the voting rights of Black Americans, and which was an issue that Lewis himself devoted his life toward. On top of a veto threat of a bill that would restore key aspects of the law, Trump has appointed a number of judges to federal posts who have signaled an unwillingness to protect the rights of Black voters.
Trump has frequently expressed racist viewpoints as president, too, including in 2019 when he told four congresswomen of color whom he disagreed with to “go back” to their countries of origin, in spite of the fact that three of the four were born in the U.S., with the fourth member having lived here since she was a teenager.
Trump’s actions as a businessman have also been criticized for being racist and discriminatory toward Black Americans. In the 1970s, for example, he and his father Fred Trump were sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for discriminating against Blacks when it came to renting out housing in properties owned by the Trumps.
Swan tried one last time to get Trump’s opinion on Lewis, asking the president to “take [his] relationship with him out of it” and to say whether he found the late congressman’s story impressive or not. Trump’s response was to try and diminish Lewis’s role in the Civil Rights movement.
“He was a person that devoted a lot of energy and a lot of heart to Civil Rights,” Trump began, “but there were many others also.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-04--COVID Is Soaring in the Military — and It’s Aiding the Virus’s Global Spread

American military personnel are getting sick in significant numbers in the midst of the ongoing pandemic .
As The New York Times reported in a piece buried in the back pages of its July 21st edition , “ The infection rate in the services has tripled over the past six weeks as the United States military has emerged as a potential source of transmission both domestically and abroad.
” Indeed , the military is sick and I think of it as both a personal and an imperial disaster .
As the wife of a naval officer , I bear witness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all sorts play out among military families and lately I ’ ve been bracing for the Covid-19 version of just such a disaster .
Normally , for my husband and me , the stressors are relatively mild .
After all , between us we have well-paid jobs , two healthy children , and supportive family and friends , all of which allow us to weather the difficulties of military life fairly smoothly .
In our 10 years together , however , over two submarine assignments and five moves , we ’ ve dealt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when I will next be left to care for our children alone , and periods of 16-hour workdays for my spouse that strained us both , not to speak of his surviving a major submarine accident .
You would think that , as my husband enters his third year of “ shore duty ” as a Pentagon staffer , the immediate dangers of military service would finally be negligible .
No such luck .
Since around mid-June , as President Trump searched for scapegoats like the World Health Organization for his own Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection rates could mean for his approval ratings , he decided that it was time to push this country to “ reopen.
” As it turned out , that wouldn ’ t just be a disaster for states from Florida to California , but also meant that the Pentagon resumed operations at about 80 % capacity .
So , after a brief reprieve , my spouse is now required to report to his office four days a week for eight-hour workdays in a poorly ventilated , crowded hive of cubicles where people neither @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this for what often adds up to an hour or two of substantive daily work .
Restaurants , dry cleaners , and other services where Pentagon staffers circulate only add to the possibility of his being exposed to Covid-19 .
My husband , in other words , is now unnecessarily risking his own and his family ’ s exposure to a virus that has to date claimed more than 150,000 American lives — already more than eight times higher than the number of Americans who died in both the 9/11 terrorist attacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Afghanistan that followed .
In mid-August , he will transfer to an office job in Maryland , a state where cases and deaths are again on the rise .
One evening , I asked him why it seemed to be business as usual at the Pentagon when numbers were spiking in a majority of states .
His reply : “ Don ’ t ask questions about facts and logic.
” After all , unless Secretary of Defense Mark Esper decides to speak out against the way President Trump has worked to reopen the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of troops and personnel like my husband within and among duty stations will simply continue , even as Covid-19 numbers soar in the military .
Global freedom of movement has been a hallmark of America ’ s vast empire of bases , at least 800 of them scattered across much of the planet .
Now , it may prove part of the downfall of that very imperial structure .
After all , Donald Trump ’ s America is at the heart of the present pandemic .
So it ’ s hardly surprising that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troops seem to be carrying Covid-19 infections with them from hard-hit states like Arizona , California , Florida , and Texas , a number of which have had lax and inconsistently enforced safety guidelines , to other countries where they are stationed .
For example , at just one U.S. base on the Japanese island of Okinawa , the Marine Corps reported nearly 100 cases in July , angering local officials because American soldiers had socialized off-base and gone to local bars in a place where the coronavirus had initially been suppressed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ official case counts are low but healthcare workers in large cities are reporting a spike in deaths among residents with symptoms , the U.S. military arms , supplies , and trains the national security forces .
So a spike in cases among U.S. troops now places local populations ( as well as those soldiers ) at additional risk in a country where testing and contact tracing are severely lacking .
And this is a problem now for just about any U.S. ally from Europe to South Korea .
What this virus ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is that the U.S. empire of bases that spans some 80 countries — about 40 % of the nations on this planet — is now part of the growing American Covid-19 disaster .
There is increasing reason to believe that new outbreaks of what the president likes to call the “ Chinese virus ” in some of these countries may actually prove to be American imports .
Like many American civilians , our military personnel are traveling , going to work , socializing , buying things , often unmasked and ungloved , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health experts have been clear that the criteria for safely reopening the economy without sparking yet more outbreaks are numerous .
They include weeks of lower case counts , positive test rates at or beneath four new cases per 100,000 people daily , adequate testing capacity , enforcing strict social-distancing guidelines , and the availability of at least 40 % of hospital ICU beds to treat any possible future surge .
To date , only three states have met these criteria : Connecticut , New Jersey , and New York .
The White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on the other hand , includes guidelines of just the weakest and vaguest sort like noting a downward trajectory in cases over 14-day periods and “ robust testing capacity ” for healthcare workers ( without any definition of what this might actually mean ) .
Following White House guidance , the Department of Defense is deferring to local and state governments to determine what , if any , safety measures to take .
As the White House then suggested , in March when a military-wide lockdown began , troops needed to quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next duty station .
At the close of June , the Pentagon broadly removed travel restrictions , allowing both inter-state recreational and military travel by troops and their families .
Now , in a country that lacks any disciplined and unified response to the global pandemic , our ever-mobile military has become a significant conduit of its spread , both domestically and abroad .
To be sure , none of us knew how to tackle the dangers posed by this virus .
The last global pandemic of this sort , the “ Spanish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million or more people died worldwide , suggested just how dire the consequences of such an outbreak could be when uncontained .
But facts and lived experience are two different things .
If you ’ re young , physically fit , have survived numerous viruses of a more known and treatable sort , and most of the people around you are out and about , you probably dismiss it as just another illness , even if you ’ re subject to some of the Covid-19 death risk factors that are indeed endemic among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of this pandemic among our troops shows is that the military-civilian divide isn ’ t as great as we often think .
Full disclosure : I write this at a time when I ’ m frustrated and tired .
For the past month , I ’ ve provided full-time child care for our two pre-school age kids , even while working up to 50 hours a week , largely on evenings and weekends , as a psychotherapist for local adults and children themselves acutely experiencing the fears , health dangers , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many other moms across the country , I cram work , chores , pre-K Zoom sessions , pediatrician and dentist appointments , and grocery shopping into endless days , while taking as many security precautions as I can .
My husband reminds me of the need to abide by quarantines , as ( despite his working conditions ) he needs to be protected from exposing top Pentagon officials to the disease .
Yet the military has done little or nothing to deal with the ways the families of service members , asked to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be exposed to infection .
In the dizziness of fatigue , I have little patience for any institution that carries on with business as usual under such circumstances .
What ’ s more , it ’ s hard to imagine how any efforts to quarantine will bear fruit in a country where even those Americans who do follow scientific news about Covid-19 have often dropped precautions against its spread .
I ’ ve noted that , these days , some of my most progressive friends have started to socialize , eat indoors at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state to more deeply affected places by plane .
They are engaging in what we therapists sometimes call “ emotion-based reasoning , ” or “ I ’ m tired of safety precautions , so they must no longer be necessary.
” And that ’ s not even taking into account the no-maskers among us who flaunt the safety guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to indicate their supposed love of individual liberties .
A relative , an officer with the Department of Homeland Security , recently posted a picture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and those of a workmate watching fireworks arm in arm at an unmasked July 4th gathering .
The picture was clearly staged to provoke those like me who support social-distancing and masking guidelines .
When I talk with him , he quickly changes the subject to how he could , at any moment , be deployed to “ control the rioters in D.C. and other local cities.
” In other words , in his mind like those of so many others the president relies on as his “ base , ” the real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s the people in the streets protesting police violence .
I wonder how the optics of American families celebrating together could have superseded safety based on an understanding of how diseases spread , as well as a healthy respect for the unknowns that go with them .
Sometimes , our misplaced priorities take my breath away , quite literally so recently .
Craving takeout from my favorite Peruvian chicken restaurant and wanting to support a struggling local business , I ordered such a meal and drove with my kids to pick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I noted multiple unmasked people packed inside despite a sign on the door mandating masks and social distancing .
Making a quick risk-benefit assessment , I opened the car windows , blasted the air conditioning , and ran into the restaurant without my kids , making faces at them through the window while I stood in line .
A voice suddenly cut through the hum of the rotisseries : “ Shameful !
Shameful !
” A woman , unmasked , literally spat these words , pointing right at me .
“ Leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could take them !
Shameful !
” I caught my breath .
Riddled with guilt and fearful of what she might do , I returned to my car without my food .
She followed me , yelling , “ Shameful !
” Aside from the spittle flying from this woman ’ s mouth , notable was what she wasn ’ t ashamed of : entering such a place , unmasked and ready to spit , with other people ’ s children also in there running about .
( Not to mention that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are nil . )
What has this country come to when we are more likely to blame the usual culprits — negligent mothers , brown and Black people , illegal immigrants ( you know the list ) — than accept responsibility for what ’ s actually going on and make the necessary sacrifices to deal with it ( perhaps including , I should admit , going without takeout food ) ?
Typically in these years , top Pentagon officials and the high command are prioritizing the maintenance of empire at the expense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the armed services ( not to speak of those inhabitants of other countries living near our hundreds of global garrisons ) .
After all , what ’ s the problem , when nothing could be more important than keeping this country in the ( increasingly embattled ) position of global overseer ?
More bodies can always be produced .
( Thank you , military spouses ! )
The spread of this virus around the globe , now aided in part by the U.S. military , reminds me of one of those paint-with-water children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gradually as the brush moves over the page , including in places you didn ’ t expect .
Everywhere that infected Americans socialize , shop , arm , and fight , this virus is popping up , eroding both our literal ability to be present and the institutions ( however corrupt ) we ’ re still trying to prop up .
If we are truly in a “ war ” against Covid-19 — President Trump has , of course , referred to himself as a “ wartime president ” — then it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make the sacrifices of a wartime nation by prioritizing public health over pleasure .
Otherwise , I fear that what ’ s good about life in this country will also be at risk , as will the futures of my own children .

American military personnel are getting sick in significant numbers in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. As The New York Times reported in a piece buried in the back pages of its July 21st edition, “The infection rate in the services has tripled over the past six weeks as the United States military has emerged as a potential source of transmission both domestically and abroad.”
Indeed, the military is sick and I think of it as both a personal and an imperial disaster.
As the wife of a naval officer, I bear witness to the unexpected ways that disasters of all sorts play out among military families and lately I’ve been bracing for the Covid-19 version of just such a disaster. Normally, for my husband and me, the stressors are relatively mild. After all, between us we have well-paid jobs, two healthy children, and supportive family and friends, all of which allow us to weather the difficulties of military life fairly smoothly. In our 10 years together, however, over two submarine assignments and five moves, we’ve dealt with unpredictable months-long deployments, uncertainty about when I will next be left to care for our children alone, and periods of 16-hour workdays for my spouse that strained us both, not to speak of his surviving a major submarine accident.
You would think that, as my husband enters his third year of “shore duty” as a Pentagon staffer, the immediate dangers of military service would finally be negligible. No such luck. Since around mid-June, as President Trump searched for scapegoats like the World Health Organization for his own Covid-19 ineptitude and his concern over what rising infection rates could mean for his approval ratings, he decided that it was time to push this country to “reopen.”
As it turned out, that wouldn’t just be a disaster for states from Florida to California, but also meant that the Pentagon resumed operations at about 80% capacity. So, after a brief reprieve, my spouse is now required to report to his office four days a week for eight-hour workdays in a poorly ventilated, crowded hive of cubicles where people neither consistently mask nor social distance.
All of this for what often adds up to an hour or two of substantive daily work. Restaurants, dry cleaners, and other services where Pentagon staffers circulate only add to the possibility of his being exposed to Covid-19.
My husband, in other words, is now unnecessarily risking his own and his family’s exposure to a virus that has to date claimed more than 150,000 American lives — already more than eight times higher than the number of Americans who died in both the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that followed.
In mid-August, he will transfer to an office job in Maryland, a state where cases and deaths are again on the rise. One evening, I asked him why it seemed to be business as usual at the Pentagon when numbers were spiking in a majority of states. His reply: “Don’t ask questions about facts and logic.”
After all, unless Secretary of Defense Mark Esper decides to speak out against the way President Trump has worked to reopen the country to further disaster, the movement of troops and personnel like my husband within and among duty stations will simply continue, even as Covid-19 numbers soar in the military.
America’s Archipelago of Bases
Global freedom of movement has been a hallmark of America’s vast empire of bases, at least 800 of them scattered across much of the planet. Now, it may prove part of the downfall of that very imperial structure. After all, Donald Trump’s America is at the heart of the present pandemic. So it’s hardly surprising that, according to the Times, U.S. troops seem to be carrying Covid-19 infections with them from hard-hit states like Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, a number of which have had lax and inconsistently enforced safety guidelines, to other countries where they are stationed.
For example, at just one U.S. base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, the Marine Corps reported nearly 100 cases in July, angering local officials because American soldiers had socialized off-base and gone to local bars in a place where the coronavirus had initially been suppressed. No longer. In Nigeria, where official case counts are low but healthcare workers in large cities are reporting a spike in deaths among residents with symptoms, the U.S. military arms, supplies, and trains the national security forces. So a spike in cases among U.S. troops now places local populations (as well as those soldiers) at additional risk in a country where testing and contact tracing are severely lacking. And this is a problem now for just about any U.S. ally from Europe to South Korea.
What this virus’s spread among troops means, of course, is that the U.S. empire of bases that spans some 80 countries — about 40% of the nations on this planet — is now part of the growing American Covid-19 disaster. There is increasing reason to believe that new outbreaks of what the president likes to call the “Chinese virus” in some of these countries may actually prove to be American imports. Like many American civilians, our military personnel are traveling, going to work, socializing, buying things, often unmasked and ungloved, and anything but social distanced.
Public health experts have been clear that the criteria for safely reopening the economy without sparking yet more outbreaks are numerous. They include weeks of lower case counts, positive test rates at or beneath four new cases per 100,000 people daily, adequate testing capacity, enforcing strict social-distancing guidelines, and the availability of at least 40% of hospital ICU beds to treat any possible future surge.
To date, only three states have met these criteria: Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The White House’s Opening Up America plan, on the other hand, includes guidelines of just the weakest and vaguest sort like noting a downward trajectory in cases over 14-day periods and “robust testing capacity” for healthcare workers (without any definition of what this might actually mean).
Following White House guidance, the Department of Defense is deferring to local and state governments to determine what, if any, safety measures to take. As the White House then suggested, in March when a military-wide lockdown began, troops needed to quarantine for 14 days before moving to their next duty station. At the close of June, the Pentagon broadly removed travel restrictions, allowing both inter-state recreational and military travel by troops and their families. Now, in a country that lacks any disciplined and unified response to the global pandemic, our ever-mobile military has become a significant conduit of its spread, both domestically and abroad.
To be sure, none of us knew how to tackle the dangers posed by this virus. The last global pandemic of this sort, the “Spanish Flu” of 1918-1919 in which 50 million or more people died worldwide, suggested just how dire the consequences of such an outbreak could be when uncontained. But facts and lived experience are two different things. If you’re young, physically fit, have survived numerous viruses of a more known and treatable sort, and most of the people around you are out and about, you probably dismiss it as just another illness, even if you’re subject to some of the Covid-19 death risk factors that are indeed endemic among U.S. military personnel.
Perhaps what the spread of this pandemic among our troops shows is that the military-civilian divide isn’t as great as we often think.
Protecting Life in the COVID-19 Era
Full disclosure: I write this at a time when I’m frustrated and tired. For the past month, I’ve provided full-time child care for our two pre-school age kids, even while working up to 50 hours a week, largely on evenings and weekends, as a psychotherapist for local adults and children themselves acutely experiencing the fears, health dangers, and economic effects of the coronavirus. Like many other moms across the country, I cram work, chores, pre-K Zoom sessions, pediatrician and dentist appointments, and grocery shopping into endless days, while taking as many security precautions as I can. My husband reminds me of the need to abide by quarantines, as (despite his working conditions) he needs to be protected from exposing top Pentagon officials to the disease.
Yet the military has done little or nothing to deal with the ways the families of service members, asked to work and “rotate,” might be exposed to infection. In the dizziness of fatigue, I have little patience for any institution that carries on with business as usual under such circumstances.
What’s more, it’s hard to imagine how any efforts to quarantine will bear fruit in a country where even those Americans who do follow scientific news about Covid-19 have often dropped precautions against its spread. I’ve noted that, these days, some of my most progressive friends have started to socialize, eat indoors at restaurants, and even travel out of state to more deeply affected places by plane. They are engaging in what we therapists sometimes call “emotion-based reasoning,” or “I’m tired of safety precautions, so they must no longer be necessary.”
And that’s not even taking into account the no-maskers among us who flaunt the safety guidelines offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to indicate their supposed love of individual liberties. A relative, an officer with the Department of Homeland Security, recently posted a picture on Facebook of his three young children and those of a workmate watching fireworks arm in arm at an unmasked July 4th gathering. The picture was clearly staged to provoke those like me who support social-distancing and masking guidelines. When I talk with him, he quickly changes the subject to how he could, at any moment, be deployed to “control the rioters in D.C. and other local cities.” In other words, in his mind like those of so many others the president relies on as his “base,” the real threat isn’t the pandemic, it’s the people in the streets protesting police violence.
I wonder how the optics of American families celebrating together could have superseded safety based on an understanding of how diseases spread, as well as a healthy respect for the unknowns that go with them.
Sometimes, our misplaced priorities take my breath away, quite literally so recently. Craving takeout from my favorite Peruvian chicken restaurant and wanting to support a struggling local business, I ordered such a meal and drove with my kids to pick it up. Stopping at the restaurant, I noted multiple unmasked people packed inside despite a sign on the door mandating masks and social distancing. Making a quick risk-benefit assessment, I opened the car windows, blasted the air conditioning, and ran into the restaurant without my kids, making faces at them through the window while I stood in line.
A voice suddenly cut through the hum of the rotisseries: “Shameful! Shameful!” A woman, unmasked, literally spat these words, pointing right at me. “Leaving your kids in the car! Someone could take them! Shameful!” I caught my breath. Riddled with guilt and fearful of what she might do, I returned to my car without my food. She followed me, yelling, “Shameful!”
Aside from the spittle flying from this woman’s mouth, notable was what she wasn’t ashamed of: entering such a place, unmasked and ready to spit, with other people’s children also in there running about. (Not to mention that in Maryland reported abductions of children by strangers are nil.)
What has this country come to when we are more likely to blame the usual culprits — negligent mothers, brown and Black people, illegal immigrants (you know the list) — than accept responsibility for what’s actually going on and make the necessary sacrifices to deal with it (perhaps including, I should admit, going without takeout food)?
Typically in these years, top Pentagon officials and the high command are prioritizing the maintenance of empire at the expense of protecting the very bodies that make up the armed services (not to speak of those inhabitants of other countries living near our hundreds of global garrisons). After all, what’s the problem, when nothing could be more important than keeping this country in the (increasingly embattled) position of global overseer? More bodies can always be produced. (Thank you, military spouses!)
The spread of this virus around the globe, now aided in part by the U.S. military, reminds me of one of those paint-with-water children’s books where the shading appears gradually as the brush moves over the page, including in places you didn’t expect. Everywhere that infected Americans socialize, shop, arm, and fight, this virus is popping up, eroding both our literal ability to be present and the institutions (however corrupt) we’re still trying to prop up. If we are truly in a “war” against Covid-19 — President Trump has, of course, referred to himself as a “wartime president” — then it’s time for all of us to make the sacrifices of a wartime nation by prioritizing public health over pleasure. Otherwise, I fear that what’s good about life in this country will also be at risk, as will the futures of my own children.
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truthout--2020-08-04--White House Scrapped Nationwide COVID-19 Testing Plan to Hurt Blue States

As the U.S. coronavirus death toll passes 155,000 , there is still no national testing program , with widespread shortages and delays hampering efforts to contain the pandemic .
This continues months after President Trump ’ s son-in-law Jared Kushner launched a White House task force with the goal of establishing a national testing plan .
We speak to investigative reporter Katherine Eban , whose explosive Vanity Fair report chronicles Kushner ’ s fumbling efforts and the sudden decision to abandon the project on political grounds .
“ The participants expected that at any moment in early April , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eban .
“ It vanished into thin air.
” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : As the national coronavirus death toll surpasses 156,000 — the highest by far in the world , the U.S. making up more than a quarter of global deaths — on Monday , President Trump attacked top White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx for saying that the U.S. is in a new phase as the virus spreads out of control .
AMY GOODMAN : President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx , going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus , including Vaccines & Therapeutics .
In order to counter Nancy , Deborah took the bait & hit us .
Pathetic !
” he said .
Dr. Anthony Fauci defended Dr. Birx , saying community spread is “ insidious.
” Despite this , Trump told Axios ’ s Jonathan Swan the coronavirus is under control .
AMY GOODMAN : In fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States .
More than five months into the crisis , there continue to be critical testing shortages and delays .
How did we get here ?
We turn now to a stunning new exposé in Vanity Fair that reveals how the Trump administration ended up with no national testing plan despite a months-long effort spearheaded by Trump ’ s son-in-law Jared Kushner .
In an explosive piece headlined “ How Jared Kushner ’ s Secret Testing Plan ‘ Went Poof Into Thin Air , ’ ” reporter Katherine Eban writes Jared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the help of handful of wealthy business owners , when the White House decided it was not necessary because COVID-19 had , quote , “ hit blue states hardest.
” Eban writes , quote , “ This summer has illustrated in devastating detail the human and economic cost of not launching a system of national testing , which most every other industrialized nation has done , ” Eban writes .
She joins us now from Truro , Massachusetts .
She ’ s author of Bottle of Lies : The Inside Story of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : A True Story of Cops , Counterfeiters , and the Contamination of America ’ s Drug Supply .
Katherine , welcome back to Democracy Now !
KATHERINE EBAN : Thanks .
It ’ s great to join you .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you lay out what you learned about why we are at this point in this country , where people around the country are waiting hours and hours and hours for their tests , and then they wait days , if not weeks , for the results , rendering them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this White House was doing in the early months .
KATHERINE EBAN : So , starting in March , it was very clear to every public health expert that we needed a nationally organized diagnostic testing plan , one that could surge supplies , allocate test kits , allocate precious laboratory capacity .
And Jared Kushner , inside the White House , gathered a group of his associates , including his college roommate , some Morgan Stanley bankers , a sort of brain trust .
They began reaching out to billionaires who did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But then they brought in a group of diagnostic testing experts from the industry .
Working night and day , in secret , on the encrypted WhatsApp platform , they hammered out a national testing plan that essentially resembled what every other advanced nation has established.And the participants in the plan — and we obtained the plan , I should say .
The participants expected that at any moment in early April , the plan would be announced .
It vanished into thin air , as one participant described it .
AMY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reason ?
KATHERINE EBAN : So , the plan at that moment hit shifting sentiment at the White House .
The view at that point in early April , in part led by predictions by Dr. Deborah Birx , is that the virus was on its way out , it was subsiding .
There was a view that a national testing plan would be an enormous effort with a lot of political liability .
But there was an additional calculation , which was expressed from one member of Kushner ’ s team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that this was mostly affecting blue states .
And if a political argument was needed , they could simply blame those Democratic governors for the spread .
And so the national testing plan was abandoned .
And on April 27th , Trump stepped to the podium in the Rose Garden and announced the administration plan , which bore no resemblance to the one hammered out by the group .
And this was a plan that essentially kicked the problem to the states .
The states would individually be responsible for getting test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that really has led to what we have seen over this terrible summer : miles-long lines of cars in Texas and Arizona heat waiting on line to get tests , people waiting seven-plus days to get results , which essentially renders the tests useless .
And that ’ s where we are .
You know , we can not monitor where this virus is at point , because we don ’ t have enough testing .
You can not fight what you don ’ t see .
And that is the predicament we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And , Katherine Eban , what about the reaction of the medical experts in the federal government to this , first of all , to the Kushner team itself , and then to the fact that the president didn ’ t even implement the plan of that team ?
KATHERINE EBAN : Well , you know , public health experts have known all along that a national testing plan was absolutely required .
But my understanding is that this Jared Kushner team did not really work with the public health agencies .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting , his plan , which we obtained , never trickled down to the agencies and the decision-makers within HHS and other entities .
Now , of course , the White House has come out and denied this and denied our report .
But , you know , as one participant said to us , “ We were working in a bubble .
You know , we were in a bubble , they were in a bubble , and the bubbles never overlapped.
” JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And what about this whole issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the states ?
You quote a Dr. Pellini saying that the diagnostic testing industry is a , quote , “ loosely constructed web ” and that COVID-19 is , in essence , “ a stage five hurricane.
” How is this loosely connected web going to be able to deal with the current crisis that we have ?
KATHERINE EBAN : It ’ s a great question .
The answer is , it ’ s not .
You know , as someone described it to me , it ’ s like the early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right ?
And every city and location had its own power grid , and you couldn ’ t surge power from one grid to another , right ?
So , Quest Diagnostics ’ lab capacity only belongs to Quest .
And LabCorp ’ s capacity only belongs to LabCorp .
And Quest Diagnostics came out in July and announced that the median time to get results was seven days , because they were so overrun .
Now , the testing plan that was worked out by Kushner ’ s team would have solved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things it called for was allowing any lab with capacity to test any sample , right ?
And you would have had an organized system of sending samples to labs that had capacity .
You know , it ’ s just like when you go to a supermarket , or in the old days , before coronavirus , when we all shopped at crowded supermarkets , and there were people who guided shoppers to checkout lines that had space .
That is essentially what was required here .
I mean , as one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not rocket science .
This is just like creating UPS for an industry .
You know , you have to connect these dots .
And that was never done .
AMY GOODMAN : Confusing here , Katherine Eban , is that President Trump wants to open the economy , and he is demanding that kids be able to go to school all over the country .
Of course , his son , his school is not open .
He doesn ’ t talk about that very much .
But in order to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rational plan where everyone doesn ’ t come down with COVID , you need the tests .
So it goes against his own interests .
KATHERINE EBAN : Well , that ’ s right .
I mean , it ’ s stunningly shortsighted .
So , the Rockefeller Foundation , I described their effort in the piece .
They saw this absolute absence of a plan , and they stepped forward with a very detailed plan , which they ’ re now trying to implement , which would surge up testing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is what they say we need in order to reopen safely , right ?
So , kids who are going to school , workers who are returning back , how do you do any of that if you can ’ t quickly identify who is infected ?
So , without a national plan , the only thing that is left for you to do is to shut down the economy again , which is a really blunt instrument .
So , you know , President Trump says he wants to reopen the economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But , literally , the only way to do that , according to the Rockefeller Foundation and other experts , is to have this widespread system of testing , which we currently lack .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Katherine , your piece in Vanity Fair starts out with a delivery of a 1 million Chinese-made diagnostic tests in March , and with a strange invoice for 3.5 million tests for $ 52 million , and there ’ s just a note that says “ WH.
” Could you talk about that ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is actually where my reporting for this piece began , which is I obtained this very strange invoice .
It ’ s from a company , Cogna Technology Solutions , which misspells its name on the invoice .
They ’ re a subsidiary of Group 42 , which is an artificial intelligence company that has close ties to the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates .
The invoice is for 52 million diagnostic — excuse me , $ 52 million worth of diagnostic tests .
But what was so strange about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name , which was just two initials , “ WH.
” And that was the White House .
And as I further reported it , the tests got delivered to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates .
So , this was first 1 million tests delivered , then 2.5 million more delivered .
And when they were tested in a government lab , it turned out that they were contaminated and useless .
So , as the FDA said to me , they were shipped from the Middle East .
The reagents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so , you know , this was , as I understand it now , an early effort , overseen by Jared Kushner ’ s task force , to ramp up diagnostic testing .
I mean , I think you ’ ll remember — I think it was March 6th — Donald Trump goes to the CDC , and he said , rather infamously now , you know , “ The tests are beautiful .
Anyone who wants a test gets a test.
” That was completely untrue .
And so , behind the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are trying to ramp up diagnostic tests and access to tests , but the tests that they seem to have procured didn ’ t work .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you talk about , for example , Phoenix and what happened , what the mayor of Phoenix , Mayor Gallego , said ?
And then also talk about another country , like South Korea , an example of what can work .
KATHERINE EBAN : Yeah .
I mean , this is really two different universes .
So , in Arizona , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goes to FEMA in April and says , “ We need assistance and help to ramp up diagnostic testing .
We need money .
We need organization.
” And they say to her — because at this point now the decision has been made to shift the responsibility to the states , they say , “ Well , you ’ re not really qualified to get our assistance because your case count is low.
” And behind the scenes , people who work for her pointed out , in emails I obtained , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low is because we don ’ t have access to tests .
Right ?
The tests that we need would show that our case counts aren ’ t low.
” That was ignored .
Fast-forward to June .
You know , Arizona was the first state — the last state to close its economy and the first state to reopen , with really no provisions for a phased reopening .
Their case counts start skyrocketing in June .
The mayor described to me , she lives near one of these drive-thru testing sites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s seeing her neighbors waiting in miles-long lines of cars in heat over 100 degrees .
People who can ’ t breathe , are struggling to breathe , are waiting for tests .
And when they finally are able to get tests , Gallego ’ s own staff had to wait two weeks to get back test results .
So , what that means is those tests are essentially useless , right ?
I mean , it ’ s not just getting a test .
It ’ s how quickly you get back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those results .
So — AMY GOODMAN : I want to turn to Jared Kushner himself , speaking on Fox & Friends two days after President Trump ’ s news conference in late April .
He was asked about testing .
AMY GOODMAN : So , that ’ s Jared Kushner speaking in April .
Of course , Florida went into free fall after that , when it came to the numbers of deaths and infections .
So , then , contrast this — I mean , you have Harvard University saying there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being done in this country to even begin to deal with this community spread throughout the country — with South Korea .
KATHERINE EBAN : Yeah .
So , I mean , the whole idea of preparedness is you prepare before you have a problem .
Then , if you don ’ t need what you prepared for , that ’ s wonderful , but if things get bad , you are prepared .
So that ’ s what South Korea did .
Before they had rising case counts , they set up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing sites , but walk-thru testing sites .
They ’ re sort of phone booth testing sites with plexiglass barriers .
And that has two effects .
It preserves PPE , protective equipment , because if staff are protected , they don ’ t have to wear as much of it .
It preserves their energy , because it ’ s very hard to be wearing that while you ’ re testing .
So , people can get tested .
Then , they get the results back within 24 hours .
So , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ act on .
Further , when they get a positive test , their contacts are traced , and they ’ re put in supportive isolation , which means food is brought to them .
They ’ re able to quarantine with support .
So , if you contrast that with the miles-long lines of cars , you know , waiting for tests , it ’ s really stunning .
And just to say one more thing about that clip you played from Jared Kushner , you know , I ’ m struck by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s way more supply than there is demand .
I mean , they were really gambling here , you know ?
They were really banking on this idea that you would not have spread from blue states to red states , which is an incredibly dumb gamble when you consider that this was a virus that crossed oceans , you know .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Katherine , I wanted to ask you about the racial and class breakdown in even this testing crisis .
I mean , we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being tested almost on a daily basis ; we now have the spectacle — and to me , I consider it outrageous — that Major League Baseball is testing its players constantly to make sure that the teams can stay on the field , and yet so many Americans don ’ t have access , not only to a test right away , but , most especially , as you ’ re mentioning , to the results .
KATHERINE EBAN : You know , you ’ re absolutely right .
I mean , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is demanding reopenings of schools and businesses , and yet there is this incredible discrepancy .
So , you know , in my reporting of the Rockefeller Foundation ’ s plan , I sort of sat in on some of their deliberations .
This was a huge question about school reopenings .
You know , you have private schools that can afford to stand up a system of testing .
They have nurses .
Then you have impoverished public school systems where they can ’ t even afford a school nurse .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this ?
You know , they ’ re not getting help with testing .
They don ’ t have access to anything .
So there is this remarkable discrepancy which is at the heart of it , yes .
AMY GOODMAN : And finally , Katherine Eban , you ’ re the author of Bottle of Lies : The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom .
Talk about your concerns about drug shortages , regulations , quality control , and just overall in the midst of this pandemic .
KATHERINE EBAN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widespread fraud in overseas manufacturing plants that make the bulk of our low-cost generics .
You know , many , many people viewed , with concern , that this was a national security crisis in the making , because we are dependent on Chinese active ingredients , finished doses from India .
Once the pandemic hit , we were literally flying blind , right ?
The FDA can no longer go overseas to inspect those plants .
The FDA was also basically eroding its own safeguards by accepting pharmaceutical products from plants they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is saying , you know , “ We ’ re going to ban the export of 26 essential drugs , ” right ?
So we ’ re in shortage .
We need all kinds of specialized pharmaceuticals in order to ventilate patients .
So we ’ ve seen , you know , increased shortages .
So , what I wrote about in that book is , really , coronavirus has accelerated all these issues .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to thank so you much for being with us , Katherine Eban , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report for Vanity Fair is headlined “ How Jared Kushner ’ s Secret Testing Plan ‘ Went Poof Into Thin Air.
’ ” We ’ ll link to it at democracynow.org .
She ’ s also author of Bottle of Lies : The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom and Dangerous Doses : A True Story of Cops , Counterfeiters , and the Contamination of America ’ s Drug Supply .
When we come back , we talk to one of the immigration attorneys arrested outside the California governor ’ s mansion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into immigrant jails , where they can spread or catch COVID .
And we ’ ll speak to a hunger striker inside an ICE jail .
And then , what about that raid of a humanitarian camp on the Arizona-Mexico border ?
We ’ ll go there .
Stay with us .

As the U.S. coronavirus death toll passes 155,000, there is still no national testing program, with widespread shortages and delays hampering efforts to contain the pandemic. This continues months after President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner launched a White House task force with the goal of establishing a national testing plan. We speak to investigative reporter Katherine Eban, whose explosive Vanity Fair report chronicles Kushner’s fumbling efforts and the sudden decision to abandon the project on political grounds. “The participants expected that at any moment in early April, the plan would be announced,” says Eban. “It vanished into thin air.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: As the national coronavirus death toll surpasses 156,000 — the highest by far in the world, the U.S. making up more than a quarter of global deaths — on Monday, President Trump attacked top White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx for saying that the U.S. is in a new phase as the virus spreads out of control.
AMY GOODMAN: President Trump responded Monday, tweeting, “So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines & Therapeutics. In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!” he said. Dr. Anthony Fauci defended Dr. Birx, saying community spread is “insidious.” Despite this, Trump told Axios’s Jonathan Swan the coronavirus is under control.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Under the circumstances — JONATHAN SWAN: It’s giving them a false sense of security. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — right now I think it’s under control. I’ll tell you what. JONATHAN SWAN: How? A thousand Americans are dying a day. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They are dying, that’s true. And you have — it is what it is. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it. This is a horrible plague that beset us.
AMY GOODMAN: In fact, the coronavirus has spread all over the United States. More than five months into the crisis, there continue to be critical testing shortages and delays. How did we get here?
We turn now to a stunning new exposé in Vanity Fair that reveals how the Trump administration ended up with no national testing plan despite a months-long effort spearheaded by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
In an explosive piece headlined “How Jared Kushner’s Secret Testing Plan ‘Went Poof Into Thin Air,’” reporter Katherine Eban writes Jared Kushner was pursuing a national testing plan with the help of handful of wealthy business owners, when the White House decided it was not necessary because COVID-19 had, quote, “hit blue states hardest.” Eban writes, quote, “This summer has illustrated in devastating detail the human and economic cost of not launching a system of national testing, which most every other industrialized nation has done,” Eban writes.
She joins us now from Truro, Massachusetts. She’s author of Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom and Dangerous Doses: A True Story of Cops, Counterfeiters, and the Contamination of America’s Drug Supply.
Katherine, welcome back to Democracy Now!
KATHERINE EBAN: Thanks. It’s great to join you.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you lay out what you learned about why we are at this point in this country, where people around the country are waiting hours and hours and hours for their tests, and then they wait days, if not weeks, for the results, rendering them virtually ineffective? Go back to what this White House was doing in the early months.
KATHERINE EBAN: So, starting in March, it was very clear to every public health expert that we needed a nationally organized diagnostic testing plan, one that could surge supplies, allocate test kits, allocate precious laboratory capacity. And Jared Kushner, inside the White House, gathered a group of his associates, including his college roommate, some Morgan Stanley bankers, a sort of brain trust. They began reaching out to billionaires who did not have public health experience per se. But then they brought in a group of diagnostic testing experts from the industry.
Working night and day, in secret, on the encrypted WhatsApp platform, they hammered out a national testing plan that essentially resembled what every other advanced nation has established.And the participants in the plan — and we obtained the plan, I should say. The participants expected that at any moment in early April, the plan would be announced. It vanished into thin air, as one participant described it.
AMY GOODMAN: Why? And what was the reason?
KATHERINE EBAN: So, the plan at that moment hit shifting sentiment at the White House. The view at that point in early April, in part led by predictions by Dr. Deborah Birx, is that the virus was on its way out, it was subsiding. There was a view that a national testing plan would be an enormous effort with a lot of political liability.
But there was an additional calculation, which was expressed from one member of Kushner’s team to someone that we interviewed, which is that this was mostly affecting blue states. And if a political argument was needed, they could simply blame those Democratic governors for the spread.
And so the national testing plan was abandoned. And on April 27th, Trump stepped to the podium in the Rose Garden and announced the administration plan, which bore no resemblance to the one hammered out by the group. And this was a plan that essentially kicked the problem to the states. The states would individually be responsible for getting test kits, getting lab capacity.
And that really has led to what we have seen over this terrible summer: miles-long lines of cars in Texas and Arizona heat waiting on line to get tests, people waiting seven-plus days to get results, which essentially renders the tests useless. And that’s where we are. You know, we cannot monitor where this virus is at point, because we don’t have enough testing. You cannot fight what you don’t see. And that is the predicament we are currently in.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Katherine Eban, what about the reaction of the medical experts in the federal government to this, first of all, to the Kushner team itself, and then to the fact that the president didn’t even implement the plan of that team?
KATHERINE EBAN: Well, you know, public health experts have known all along that a national testing plan was absolutely required. But my understanding is that this Jared Kushner team did not really work with the public health agencies. As far as I can tell from my reporting, his plan, which we obtained, never trickled down to the agencies and the decision-makers within HHS and other entities. Now, of course, the White House has come out and denied this and denied our report. But, you know, as one participant said to us, “We were working in a bubble. You know, we were in a bubble, they were in a bubble, and the bubbles never overlapped.”
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what about this whole issue of kicking the testing situation down to the states? You quote a Dr. Pellini saying that the diagnostic testing industry is a, quote, “loosely constructed web” and that COVID-19 is, in essence, “a stage five hurricane.” How is this loosely connected web going to be able to deal with the current crisis that we have?
KATHERINE EBAN: It’s a great question. The answer is, it’s not. You know, as someone described it to me, it’s like the early 20th century and the power grids, right? And every city and location had its own power grid, and you couldn’t surge power from one grid to another, right? So, Quest Diagnostics’ lab capacity only belongs to Quest. And LabCorp’s capacity only belongs to LabCorp. And Quest Diagnostics came out in July and announced that the median time to get results was seven days, because they were so overrun.
Now, the testing plan that was worked out by Kushner’s team would have solved that problem, because one of the things it called for was allowing any lab with capacity to test any sample, right? And you would have had an organized system of sending samples to labs that had capacity.
You know, it’s just like when you go to a supermarket, or in the old days, before coronavirus, when we all shopped at crowded supermarkets, and there were people who guided shoppers to checkout lines that had space. That is essentially what was required here. I mean, as one person we interviewed said, this is not rocket science. This is just like creating UPS for an industry. You know, you have to connect these dots. And that was never done.
AMY GOODMAN: Confusing here, Katherine Eban, is that President Trump wants to open the economy, and he is demanding that kids be able to go to school all over the country. Of course, his son, his school is not open. He doesn’t talk about that very much. But in order to do those things, in order to have a rational plan where everyone doesn’t come down with COVID, you need the tests. So it goes against his own interests.
KATHERINE EBAN: Well, that’s right. I mean, it’s stunningly shortsighted. So, the Rockefeller Foundation, I described their effort in the piece. They saw this absolute absence of a plan, and they stepped forward with a very detailed plan, which they’re now trying to implement, which would surge up testing to 30 million tests a week, which is what they say we need in order to reopen safely, right? So, kids who are going to school, workers who are returning back, how do you do any of that if you can’t quickly identify who is infected? So, without a national plan, the only thing that is left for you to do is to shut down the economy again, which is a really blunt instrument.
So, you know, President Trump says he wants to reopen the economy, he wants to reopen schools. But, literally, the only way to do that, according to the Rockefeller Foundation and other experts, is to have this widespread system of testing, which we currently lack.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Katherine, your piece in Vanity Fair starts out with a delivery of a 1 million Chinese-made diagnostic tests in March, and with a strange invoice for 3.5 million tests for $52 million, and there’s just a note that says “WH.” Could you talk about that?
KATHERINE EBAN: Yeah. So, this is actually where my reporting for this piece began, which is I obtained this very strange invoice. It’s from a company, Cogna Technology Solutions, which misspells its name on the invoice. They’re a subsidiary of Group 42, which is an artificial intelligence company that has close ties to the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates. The invoice is for 52 million diagnostic — excuse me, $52 million worth of diagnostic tests. But what was so strange about this invoice is it lists a client name, which was just two initials, “WH.” And that was the White House.
And as I further reported it, the tests got delivered to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates. So, this was first 1 million tests delivered, then 2.5 million more delivered. And when they were tested in a government lab, it turned out that they were contaminated and useless. So, as the FDA said to me, they were shipped from the Middle East. The reagents have to be kept cold.
And so, you know, this was, as I understand it now, an early effort, overseen by Jared Kushner’s task force, to ramp up diagnostic testing. I mean, I think you’ll remember — I think it was March 6th — Donald Trump goes to the CDC, and he said, rather infamously now, you know, “The tests are beautiful. Anyone who wants a test gets a test.” That was completely untrue. And so, behind the scenes, his son-in-law and this team are trying to ramp up diagnostic tests and access to tests, but the tests that they seem to have procured didn’t work.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about, for example, Phoenix and what happened, what the mayor of Phoenix, Mayor Gallego, said? And then also talk about another country, like South Korea, an example of what can work.
KATHERINE EBAN: Yeah. I mean, this is really two different universes. So, in Arizona, the mayor of Phoenix, Kate Gallego, goes to FEMA in April and says, “We need assistance and help to ramp up diagnostic testing. We need money. We need organization.” And they say to her — because at this point now the decision has been made to shift the responsibility to the states, they say, “Well, you’re not really qualified to get our assistance because your case count is low.” And behind the scenes, people who work for her pointed out, in emails I obtained, “The reason our case counts are low is because we don’t have access to tests. Right? The tests that we need would show that our case counts aren’t low.” That was ignored.
Fast-forward to June. You know, Arizona was the first state — the last state to close its economy and the first state to reopen, with really no provisions for a phased reopening. Their case counts start skyrocketing in June. The mayor described to me, she lives near one of these drive-thru testing sites, and, literally, she’s seeing her neighbors waiting in miles-long lines of cars in heat over 100 degrees. People who can’t breathe, are struggling to breathe, are waiting for tests. And when they finally are able to get tests, Gallego’s own staff had to wait two weeks to get back test results. So, what that means is those tests are essentially useless, right? I mean, it’s not just getting a test. It’s how quickly you get back the results and what you do with those results. So —
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to Jared Kushner himself, speaking on Fox & Friends two days after President Trump’s news conference in late April. He was asked about testing.
JARED KUSHNER: Everyone’s talking about testing. And I have to say that the work that’s been done over the last 60 days on testing has been absolutely extraordinary. We’re at about 5.8 million tests now performed, by far the most in the world, and you’re going to see that number continue to accelerate. We’re starting another round of calls with all the governors today to ask them what additional supplies they need, what’s their two-month plan, what’s their six-month plan. And right now we’ve fulfilled all the orders that the governors have. They have excess capacity in their states. Yesterday Governor DeSantis was saying that he has more testing capacity than he has demand for the tests. And so, we’re really doing quite well with that. And I always find that we see the leading indicators, and often the media sees the lagging indicators. But the leading indicators are testing — are extraordinarily positive, and I’m very confident that we have all the testing we need to start opening the country.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s Jared Kushner speaking in April. Of course, Florida went into free fall after that, when it came to the numbers of deaths and infections. So, then, contrast this — I mean, you have Harvard University saying there should be 20 million tests a day being done in this country to even begin to deal with this community spread throughout the country — with South Korea.
KATHERINE EBAN: Yeah. So, I mean, the whole idea of preparedness is you prepare before you have a problem. Then, if you don’t need what you prepared for, that’s wonderful, but if things get bad, you are prepared.
So that’s what South Korea did. Before they had rising case counts, they set up a whole system of not just drive-thru testing sites, but walk-thru testing sites. They’re sort of phone booth testing sites with plexiglass barriers. And that has two effects. It preserves PPE, protective equipment, because if staff are protected, they don’t have to wear as much of it. It preserves their energy, because it’s very hard to be wearing that while you’re testing. So, people can get tested. Then, they get the results back within 24 hours. So, that is timely information that you can act on. Further, when they get a positive test, their contacts are traced, and they’re put in supportive isolation, which means food is brought to them. They’re able to quarantine with support. So, if you contrast that with the miles-long lines of cars, you know, waiting for tests, it’s really stunning.
And just to say one more thing about that clip you played from Jared Kushner, you know, I’m struck by what he said about Texas, how there’s way more supply than there is demand. I mean, they were really gambling here, you know? They were really banking on this idea that you would not have spread from blue states to red states, which is an incredibly dumb gamble when you consider that this was a virus that crossed oceans, you know.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Katherine, I wanted to ask you about the racial and class breakdown in even this testing crisis. I mean, we have not only people in the White House being tested almost on a daily basis; we now have the spectacle — and to me, I consider it outrageous — that Major League Baseball is testing its players constantly to make sure that the teams can stay on the field, and yet so many Americans don’t have access, not only to a test right away, but, most especially, as you’re mentioning, to the results.
KATHERINE EBAN: You know, you’re absolutely right. I mean, they’re demanding — President Trump is demanding reopenings of schools and businesses, and yet there is this incredible discrepancy. So, you know, in my reporting of the Rockefeller Foundation’s plan, I sort of sat in on some of their deliberations. This was a huge question about school reopenings. You know, you have private schools that can afford to stand up a system of testing. They have nurses. Then you have impoverished public school systems where they can’t even afford a school nurse. So, how are they going to manage this? You know, they’re not getting help with testing. They don’t have access to anything. So there is this remarkable discrepancy which is at the heart of it, yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, Katherine Eban, you’re the author of Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom. Talk about your concerns about drug shortages, regulations, quality control, and just overall in the midst of this pandemic.
KATHERINE EBAN: Yeah. So, the book exposes widespread fraud in overseas manufacturing plants that make the bulk of our low-cost generics. You know, many, many people viewed, with concern, that this was a national security crisis in the making, because we are dependent on Chinese active ingredients, finished doses from India. Once the pandemic hit, we were literally flying blind, right? The FDA can no longer go overseas to inspect those plants. The FDA was also basically eroding its own safeguards by accepting pharmaceutical products from plants they had never inspected. Suddenly, India is saying, you know, “We’re going to ban the export of 26 essential drugs,” right? So we’re in shortage. We need all kinds of specialized pharmaceuticals in order to ventilate patients. So we’ve seen, you know, increased shortages. So, what I wrote about in that book is, really, coronavirus has accelerated all these issues.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank so you much for being with us, Katherine Eban, investigative journalist and author. Her new report for Vanity Fair is headlined “How Jared Kushner’s Secret Testing Plan ‘Went Poof Into Thin Air.’” We’ll link to it at democracynow.org. She’s also author of Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom and Dangerous Doses: A True Story of Cops, Counterfeiters, and the Contamination of America’s Drug Supply.
When we come back, we talk to one of the immigration attorneys arrested outside the California governor’s mansion calling on him to stop transferring people into immigrant jails, where they can spread or catch COVID. And we’ll speak to a hunger striker inside an ICE jail. And then, what about that raid of a humanitarian camp on the Arizona-Mexico border? We’ll go there. Stay with us.


truthout--2020-08-05--Lawmakers Question Legality of Trump Accepting GOP Nomination From White House

Former Vice President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he would not be going to Milwaukee , Wisconsin , later this month to deliver his acceptance speech for the Democratic Party ’ s nomination for president .
Before the coronavirus pandemic reached the United States earlier this year , it was assumed that the Democratic nominee would accept the nomination in person as was customary .
Instead , Biden will be delivering his acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware , and likely not in the presence of a crowd given the concerns around the rise in COVID-19 infections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak at the Democratic National Convention will also not be making the trip to Milwaukee .
Meanwhile , President Donald Trump , who has had his own set of troubles nailing down a place to accept the nomination for president on the Republican ticket , made a controversial statement Wednesday morning on “ Fox & Friends ” that he may just use the White House itself to give his acceptance speech .
“ It ’ s easy and I think it ’ s a beautiful setting , ” Trump explained .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s certainly one of the alternatives .
It ’ s the easiest alternative .
I think it ’ s a beautiful alternative.
” The idea of using the White House , a government-funded place of official business for the chief executive , for a political purpose would be highly controversial , if not illegal .
Under the Hatch Act , no federal employee may use government resources to promote political causes or purposes .
While Trump isn ’ t technically subject to the Hatch Act , others at the White House who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be found in violation of it if they ’ re seen assisting him in any way with the speech .
Although in the same interview Trump also said he could “ go someplace else ” if people had qualms about him using the executive residence for his political speech , it nevertheless set off a number of criticisms from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle shortly after he made the suggestion .
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ( D-California ) , for example , said “ it ’ s very wrong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House in such a way .
“ For the President of the United States to degrade once again the White House as he has done over and over again by saying he ’ s going to completely politicize it , is something that should be rejected right out of hand , ” Pelosi explained .
A number of Republicans in Congress were also averse to using the White House for Trump ’ s campaign speech , including John Thune , a high-ranking Republican senator from South Dakota .
“ Is that even legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confronted with the question .
“ I assume that ’ s not something that you could do , ” he added .
“ I assume there ’ s some Hatch Act issues or something … I think anything to do with federal property would seem to me to be problematic.
” Richard Painter , who served as White House ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush , agreed that Trump would be making things incredibly difficult for those who are subject to the law on the matter .
“ He may not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he is ordering other people to .
At a certain point you are using White House resources , and that is a violation of the Hatch Act , ” Painter said .
Kedric Payne , the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center , agreed .
“ Government employees can not wear or display campaign material at the White House , ” Payne told The Washington Post .
“ The RNC would have a difficult time arguing that they can reimburse for the expenses , because how do you calculate such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House lawn ?
” The time to figure out a venue to accept the nomination is winding down , but there are still a few weeks left to make a decision .
Trump is scheduled to accept his party ’ s nomination on August 27 .
Biden will accept the Democratic Party ’ s nomination just one week earlier , on August 20 .

While Trump is not subject to the Hatch Act, his staff is, inevitably setting them up for possibly breaking the law.
Former Vice President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he would not be going to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, later this month to deliver his acceptance speech for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. Before the coronavirus pandemic reached the United States earlier this year, it was assumed that the Democratic nominee would accept the nomination in person as was customary.
Instead, Biden will be delivering his acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware, and likely not in the presence of a crowd given the concerns around the rise in COVID-19 infections in the U.S. Other speakers slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention will also not be making the trip to Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who has had his own set of troubles nailing down a place to accept the nomination for president on the Republican ticket, made a controversial statement Wednesday morning on “Fox & Friends” that he may just use the White House itself to give his acceptance speech.
“It’s easy and I think it’s a beautiful setting,” Trump explained. “And we are thinking about that. It’s certainly one of the alternatives. It’s the easiest alternative. I think it’s a beautiful alternative.”
The idea of using the White House, a government-funded place of official business for the chief executive, for a political purpose would be highly controversial, if not illegal. Under the Hatch Act, no federal employee may use government resources to promote political causes or purposes.
While Trump isn’t technically subject to the Hatch Act, others at the White House who work under him are, and could be found in violation of it if they’re seen assisting him in any way with the speech.
Although in the same interview Trump also said he could “go someplace else” if people had qualms about him using the executive residence for his political speech, it nevertheless set off a number of criticisms from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle shortly after he made the suggestion. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California), for example, said “it’s very wrong” for Trump to use the White House in such a way.
“For the President of the United States to degrade once again the White House as he has done over and over again by saying he’s going to completely politicize it, is something that should be rejected right out of hand,” Pelosi explained.
A number of Republicans in Congress were also averse to using the White House for Trump’s campaign speech, including John Thune, a high-ranking Republican senator from South Dakota.
“Is that even legal?” Thune asked out loud when confronted with the question.
“I assume that’s not something that you could do,” he added. “I assume there’s some Hatch Act issues or something … I think anything to do with federal property would seem to me to be problematic.”
Richard Painter, who served as White House ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush, agreed that Trump would be making things incredibly difficult for those who are subject to the law on the matter.
“He may not be violating the Hatch Act, but he is ordering other people to. At a certain point you are using White House resources, and that is a violation of the Hatch Act,” Painter said.
Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, agreed.
“Government employees cannot wear or display campaign material at the White House,” Payne told The Washington Post. “The RNC would have a difficult time arguing that they can reimburse for the expenses, because how do you calculate such things as the fair market value of the White House lawn?”
The time to figure out a venue to accept the nomination is winding down, but there are still a few weeks left to make a decision. Trump is scheduled to accept his party’s nomination on August 27. Biden will accept the Democratic Party’s nomination just one week earlier, on August 20.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-05--Poll: Most Americans Believe Mail-In Voting Should Be Allowed in 2020 Elections

Voting by mail has become a political issue in this election year , thanks in part to many errant and unverifiable statements by President Donald Trump .
But a new poll demonstrates most Americans still trust the practice of voting by mail .
Only 31 percent of respondents in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday say the United States shouldn ’ t allow mail-in voting under the mistaken belief that it “ jeopardizes election security ” — a likely outcome of viewpoints widely expressed by Trump and others in his campaign over the past several months that voting by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the vast majority of respondents in the poll , 58 percent , when asked their opinion about mail-in voting said that it should be allowed to let voters take part in this year ’ s elections in order to prevent or slow down the spread of coronavirus while Americans exercise their constitutional right to vote .
Those who say they belong to or align with the Republican Party are more likely to be wary of mail-in voting , with 57 percent of GOP voters saying they ’ re against the practice for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other side , 81 percent of Democratic-leaning voters say the practice should be allowed for anyone with concerns about contracting COVID-19 while trying to cast their votes this year .
Every state in the country allows some form of mail-in ( or absentee ballot ) voting , but not every state this year will allow voters to use a mail-in ballot if their reason for doing so is to prevent exposure to COVID-19 or limit the spread of the disease .
Sixteen states require an excuse to obtain an absentee ballot , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make travel arrangements to the polling place , or being out of town on business or vacation and thus , too far away to make it to the polls in their jurisdictions on Election Day .
In seven of those states , fear of catching a highly contagious disease like COVID-19 is not yet an acceptable excuse for obtaining absentee ballots .
Other polling has shown strong support for allowing “ no excuse ” absentee ballot voting across the entire nation during the pandemic .
A Pew Research poll from last month , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Americans would favor giving every voter the chance to cast their ballots by mail , even in states that don ’ t typically allow such exceptions to be recognized .
Except for a rare instance this week in which he said that mail-in voting was fine in his home state of Florida , Trump has made several statements since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. warning against the practice , suggesting despite plenty of evidence to the contrary , that voting by mail would invite fraud .
Just last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history , ” adding that consideration for delaying the election should be given “ until people can properly , securely and safely vote.
” Trump ’ s messaging on mail-in voting is not consistent with reality — there ’ s no evidence of widespread fraud with those ballots — and it also breaks away from the talking points his own campaign is making in swing states , where supporters of the president are actually being encouraged to vote by mail .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s bogus warnings , the Politico/Morning Consult poll found that most did not agree with him .
Just 7 percent of respondents in the poll said that the election should be delayed , while 86 percent said the election should go on as scheduled — with 52 percent saying that most Americans should vote by mail rather than in person .

Eighty-six percent of voters also said they did not want to delay the set date of the general election.
Voting by mail has become a political issue in this election year, thanks in part to many errant and unverifiable statements by President Donald Trump. But a new poll demonstrates most Americans still trust the practice of voting by mail.
Only 31 percent of respondents in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday say the United States shouldn’t allow mail-in voting under the mistaken belief that it “jeopardizes election security” — a likely outcome of viewpoints widely expressed by Trump and others in his campaign over the past several months that voting by mail is rife with fraud.
However, the vast majority of respondents in the poll, 58 percent, when asked their opinion about mail-in voting said that it should be allowed to let voters take part in this year’s elections in order to prevent or slow down the spread of coronavirus while Americans exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Those who say they belong to or align with the Republican Party are more likely to be wary of mail-in voting, with 57 percent of GOP voters saying they’re against the practice for this year’s races. On the other side, 81 percent of Democratic-leaning voters say the practice should be allowed for anyone with concerns about contracting COVID-19 while trying to cast their votes this year.
Every state in the country allows some form of mail-in (or absentee ballot) voting, but not every state this year will allow voters to use a mail-in ballot if their reason for doing so is to prevent exposure to COVID-19 or limit the spread of the disease.
Sixteen states require an excuse to obtain an absentee ballot, such as being elderly and unable to make travel arrangements to the polling place, or being out of town on business or vacation and thus, too far away to make it to the polls in their jurisdictions on Election Day. In seven of those states, fear of catching a highly contagious disease like COVID-19 is not yet an acceptable excuse for obtaining absentee ballots.
Other polling has shown strong support for allowing “no excuse” absentee ballot voting across the entire nation during the pandemic. A Pew Research poll from last month, for example, found that 65 percent of Americans would favor giving every voter the chance to cast their ballots by mail, even in states that don’t typically allow such exceptions to be recognized.
Except for a rare instance this week in which he said that mail-in voting was fine in his home state of Florida, Trump has made several statements since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. warning against the practice, suggesting despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, that voting by mail would invite fraud.
Just last week, the president claimed in a tweet that “2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history,” adding that consideration for delaying the election should be given “until people can properly, securely and safely vote.”
Trump’s messaging on mail-in voting is not consistent with reality — there’s no evidence of widespread fraud with those ballots — and it also breaks away from the talking points his own campaign is making in swing states, where supporters of the president are actually being encouraged to vote by mail.
As far as how Americans view the president’s bogus warnings, the Politico/Morning Consult poll found that most did not agree with him. Just 7 percent of respondents in the poll said that the election should be delayed, while 86 percent said the election should go on as scheduled — with 52 percent saying that most Americans should vote by mail rather than in person.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.