truthout--2020-05-11--Trump Death Clock Creator Says Reckless Mishandling of COVID Must Be Quantified

As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000 , an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock in New York City ’ s Times Square keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction .
“ What we found was that there was an amazing and very dark truth underlying the numbers that spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team , and we felt that ought to be quantified , ” says Eugene Jarecki , the award-winning documentary filmmaker , author and activist behind the project .
This is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000 — higher than any other country in the world — an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock has been unveiled in New York City ’ s Times Square .
The 56-foot sign keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction .
It was created by filmmaker Eugene Jarecki , who writes in The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is time for the establishment of a national ‘ death clock ’ to measure the cost in human lives of President Trump and his team ’ s reckless handling of the coronavirus pandemic , ” unquote .
White House Coronavirus Task Force adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the virus would have been mitigated , and lives would have been saved , if social distancing guidelines had been implemented earlier .
Dr. Fauci is now one of three members of the task force who have entered self-quarantine after possible exposure to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have just tested positive at the White House — among them , Vice President Pence ’ s press secretary , though Vice President Pence says he will be coming to the White House today .
This is Dr. Fauci on CNN last month .
AMY GOODMAN : Reports show President Trump ignored warnings from advisers and experts as early as January about the need for urgent mitigation measures against the spread of the virus .
It wasn ’ t until March 16th that Trump reversed his previously dismissive stance and announced new guidelines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too late .
Well , for more , we ’ re joined by Eugene Jarecki , award-winning documentary filmmaker , author , activist .
He created the Trump Death Clock billboard that was unveiled in New York City ’ s Times Square Friday morning .
We will also link to his piece in The Washington Post , “ Trump ’ s covid-19 inaction killed Americans .
Here ’ s a counter that shows how many.
” It ’ s great to have you with us , Eugene .
Just explain what went into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Well , it started out actually as a website .
It wasn ’ t a billboard ; it was just an effort on the part of myself and my team to quantify what we were learning from the epidemiologists .
And then we got in contact with the leading epidemiologists , on whom The New York Times had relied and the British government had relied , Drs .
Jewell and Jewell , and spoke to them about their findings .
And what we found was that there was an amazing and very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team .
And we thought that ought to be quantified .
And first , it became a website .
AMY GOODMAN : So , talk about — describe the website for us , where it is in Times Square .
EUGENE JARECKI : So , the website itself is called TrumpDeathClock.com , and you can go to it .
Every minute , you ’ ll see it update .
And you ’ ll see , very tragically , the death toll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration ’ s failure to handle the outbreak as they should have .
But what was inspiring to me originally — I ’ m a New Yorker .
And every New Yorker knows , and most visitors to New York at one time or another pass , the famous Debt Clock that hangs over the Avenue of the Americas , 6th Avenue .
And that National Debt Clock stands for something .
It ’ s symbolic , and it speaks about the country ’ s reckless borrowing .
And it warns , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ symbol , that there will be grave future consequences to that borrowing .
Well , I didn ’ t need to look far to see the grave consequences of the reckless handling of this pandemic .
And so , it seemed to me that in the spirit of the Debt Clock , there ought to be a Death Clock .
And it ought to be somewhere hanging for the world to see , for the media to see , and to be sort of implanted in our minds , our public imagination , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of reckless leadership during a time of crisis .
AMY GOODMAN : Tell us exactly the place it is in Times Square , how you got — AMY GOODMAN : — permission to do it , and then how you make the calculation , because , clearly , the United States would have been affected by the coronavirus , whether it was President Trump or President Obama or the next president .
EUGENE JARECKI : Yes .
So , the Trump Death Clock now lives in Times Square at 43rd and 7th , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the building that it ’ s at .
And , you know , what we found — people read my editorial , when I was writing it for The Washington Post , and I showed it to friends and acquaintances , who were supportive of what I was thinking , but they were , you know , giving me good editorial ideas .
And over time , they said , “ You know , if you ’ re so focused on the Debt Clock , why don ’ t you find out about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world ?
Why just do it as a website ?
” And , of course , I had thought about that , but I didn ’ t know — my gosh , what must a billboard cost , you know , or a big clock to put up ?
Well , when we poked around a little bit — friends had offered to give some support — we found that , maybe not surprisingly , billboard space is not very expensive right now , because , after all , there ’ s nobody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pandemic , if people are sort of living by the guidelines that they ’ ve been supposed to be under .
And that means that billboard space in New York was much , much more affordable than one would have ever dreamt , a tiny , tiny fraction of what it usually costs to advertise in Times Square , which is one of the most expensive areas of the world .
So , some friends put together some support to really put this up , to put it up and start the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roll across the country .
We hope that the Trump Death Clock in New York can be emulated in small towns and big cities across the country , where people can get a billboard that ’ s sitting dormant , or they can actually just project it .
You know , those little projectors that people have , you can project it on a building , you can project it on your house , just to remind your community of what the incredible cost has been of the reckless handling of this .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical .
As you say , you know , this could have happened to any president .
So , the fact is , there is a specific calculation that we base the Death Clock on .
We ’ re not just saying , “ Oh , Donald Trump , you ’ ve been bad , ” in some general , blurry way .
We wanted to find the single calculation that was most damning and most specific .
In other words , we looked for the most conservative number .
And that number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know , reasonable people will debate .
The president ’ s defenders will say , “ Oh , it was China ’ s fault , ” or “ It was the World Health Organization , ” or “ It was the CDC , ” or blame individuals , blame anybody but the White House .
Well , they can do that .
Trump ’ s ’ s detractors will point to things that happened much earlier , like that his team disbanded the White House pandemic directorate in 2018 , got rid of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak .
Or they might have pointed to — they want to say , “ Well , in January and February , the intelligence services gave the president countless warnings about the need to move quickly.
” That is all true , and reasonable people can debate that .
But they can debate it ’ til they ’ re not reasonable .
We wanted a single calculation , and that ’ s the basis of the Trump Death Clock , which just looks at one period around which there is no debate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 and March 16 .
And after Dr. Fauci and others made clear that they had knowledge that mitigation guidelines were not put in when they should have been , the question is , “ OK , what was the cost of that ?
” Because when a virus is spreading exponentially , as viruses do , every second counts .
And in my view , every life counts .
So the question is , “ The seconds that you lost , Mr. President , while you dithered ” — you know , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at that same moment that we were beginning to see the outbreak of this , they instituted mitigation guidelines , and they ended up with 300 deaths to our 70,000 , 80,000 .
You know ?
So , you ’ re in a position where the enormity of the mistake , Donald Trump made a political calculation , whatever his reasoning was .
He made a bet .
The bet failed , was a failure .
At what cost ?
And at what cost being borne by the American people ?
AMY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eugene Jarecki , who has just erected the Trump Death Clock in Times Square .
Eugene , have you gotten response from the administration ?
EUGENE JARECKI : We have not heard from the administration .
Most of what we ’ ve heard from , frankly , are from people who are detractors of the president , who wish that we had used a higher number .
They say , “ Your Death Clock only shows that the administration is sort of attributable to 60 % of the death toll in America , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows .
Basically , Drs .
Jewell and Jewell , in the piece they published in The New York Times and in other releases of their findings , said , had the president and his team moved on March 9 rather than March 16 , 60 % of American lives would have been saved .
That ’ s a harrowing statistic , that puts us today , at this moment , at 48,337 deaths could have been averted had mitigation guidelines been put in place earlier .
To me , that is damning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier and enter the debate , the big echo chamber of hyperbolic claims that will go in both directions , they may even have truth in them , but the president will try to use that to get out of accountability .
The goal here is to require accountability , to demand it .
Amy , thousands of people lost their lives needlessly .
And in their name , we must demand not just accountability , but more responsible and more responsive leadership , going forward .
AMY GOODMAN : Let me go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was produced by The Recount and captures those months of downplaying and denial , before President Trump pivoted to coronavirus crisis mode .
It begins on January 22nd .
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP : We have it totally under control .
It ’ s one person coming in from China .
… We think we have it very well under control .
… We pretty much shut it down , coming in from China .
… You know , in April , supposedly it dies , with the hotter weather .
… When it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been able to kill the virus .
… The people are getting better .
They ’ re all getting better .
… And the 15 , within a couple of days , is going to be down to close to zero .
… It ’ s going to disappear one day .
It ’ s like a miracle .
It will disappear .
… And you ’ ll be fine .
… Now , they ’ re going to have vaccines , I think , relatively soon .
… Not only the vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sort of another word for cure .
… We ’ re talking about very small numbers in the United States .
… Our numbers are lower than just about anybody .
… It ’ s really working out , and a lot of good things are going to happen .
… And we are responding with great speed and professionalism .
… It ’ s going to go away .
… Yeah , no , I don ’ t take responsibility at all .
… We ’ re going to all be great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so good .
… This came up .
It — we came up so suddenly .
… This is a pandemic .
I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic .
All you had to do was look at other countries .
… The coronavirus .
You know that , right ?
Coronavirus .
This is their new hoax .
We have 15 people in this massive country .
And because of the fact that we went early — we went early .
We could have had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re doing great .
Our country is doing so great .
AMY GOODMAN : So , there you have President Trump in that lead-up , he who repeatedly says that he was the first to institute that Chinese travel ban .
But if that is true , in late January , the question is : Where was the gearing up for the tests , and where was the gearing up for making the personal protective equipment that so many in hospitals all over this country , not to mention people all over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks ?
Why wasn ’ t that begun at that time , clearly a life-saving measure ?
Now you have , to this day , President Trump and his new press secretary mocking the need for massive testing in this country , but we see , over the weekend , with three people very close to the White House testing positive for COVID , that what the president and the vice president are saying is , “ We ’ re getting tested every day , ” and everyone is being tested regularly there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for how the rest of the country should be , that we also should be able to have access regularly to tests , especially as the country reopens .
Eugene Jarecki , your final comments on what this means , going forward ?
EUGENE JARECKI : Well , the president is conducting himself like an emperor .
You know , this is where we see the breakdown of American democracy .
And Donald Trump is sort of the epitome of what it looks like when you no longer have a democratic process at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have a separation of powers , let alone between the branches .
And then , within those branches , there are experts who are brought in to represent areas of public policy with all that they have learned and all that they know from the full time they devote to it .
Donald Trump steps in .
Then , like any sort of would-be despot — I ’ ve seen a very funny clip on Trevor Noah , where Trevor Noah compares the way that Donald Trump speaks about his brain and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he is and how everything he does is great and nothing he does is wrong and everything is working in the country .
That delusionary speak that he engages himself in , Trevor Noah compares that to Idi Amin , literally shows clips back and forth between the African dictator and Donald Trump , back and forth , back and forth .
And it just makes clear we are dealing with a person who thinks he ’ s a dictator , and we ’ re dealing with a person whose dictatorial leanings have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this country , as dictators often do , and as democracies are supposed to protect against .
EUGENE JARECKI : When you reject the experts and you make yourself the focus of everything , you screw up , like the president did here .
And the Trump Death Clock is meant to hold him accountable and to demand a better path forward .
We hope he takes it .
AMY GOODMAN : Eugene Jarecki , I want to thank you so much for being with us , award-winning documentary filmmaker , author , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clock website and the billboard that ’ s been unveiled in New York City ’ s Times Square .
That does it for our show .
Democracy Now !
is working with as few people on site as possible .
The majority of our amazing team is working from home .
Democracy Now !
is produced with Renée Feltz , Mike Burke , Deena Guzder , Libby Rainey , Nermeen Shaikh , Carla Wills , Tami Woronoff , Charina Nadura , Sam Alcoff , Tey-Marie Astudillo , John Hamilton , Robby Karran , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taracena .
Our general manager is Julie Crosby .
Special thanks to Becca Staley , Miriam Barnard , Denis Moynihan , Paul Powell , Mike DiFilippo , Miguel Nogueira , Hugh Gran , David Prude .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Thanks for joining us .

As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000, an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock in New York City’s Times Square keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction. “What we found was that there was an amazing and very dark truth underlying the numbers that spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team, and we felt that ought to be quantified,” says Eugene Jarecki, the award-winning documentary filmmaker, author and activist behind the project.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. As the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpasses 80,000 — higher than any other country in the world — an unusual new billboard called the Trump Death Clock has been unveiled in New York City’s Times Square. The 56-foot sign keeps tally of lives lost to government inaction. It was created by filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who writes in The Washington Post that, quote, “it is time for the establishment of a national ‘death clock’ to measure the cost in human lives of President Trump and his team’s reckless handling of the coronavirus pandemic,” unquote.
White House Coronavirus Task Force adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the virus would have been mitigated, and lives would have been saved, if social distancing guidelines had been implemented earlier. Dr. Fauci is now one of three members of the task force who have entered self-quarantine after possible exposure to the virus by one of several people who have just tested positive at the White House — among them, Vice President Pence’s press secretary, though Vice President Pence says he will be coming to the White House today. This is Dr. Fauci on CNN last month.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated. But you’re right. I mean, obviously, if we had, right from the very beginning, shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then. Related Story News | Politics & Elections Obama Calls Trump’s Coronavirus Response an “Absolute Chaotic Disaster” The former president expressed grave concern in the way Trump governs to thousands of former staffers on Friday. Truthout
AMY GOODMAN: Reports show President Trump ignored warnings from advisers and experts as early as January about the need for urgent mitigation measures against the spread of the virus. It wasn’t until March 16th that Trump reversed his previously dismissive stance and announced new guidelines. But by then, it was too late.
Well, for more, we’re joined by Eugene Jarecki, award-winning documentary filmmaker, author, activist. He created the Trump Death Clock billboard that was unveiled in New York City’s Times Square Friday morning. We will also link to his piece in The Washington Post, “Trump’s covid-19 inaction killed Americans. Here’s a counter that shows how many.”
It’s great to have you with us, Eugene. Just explain what went into this billboard.
EUGENE JARECKI: Sure. Well, it started out actually as a website. It wasn’t a billboard; it was just an effort on the part of myself and my team to quantify what we were learning from the epidemiologists. And then we got in contact with the leading epidemiologists, on whom The New York Times had relied and the British government had relied, Drs. Jewell and Jewell, and spoke to them about their findings. And what we found was that there was an amazing and very dark truth underlying the numbers, that spoke to reckless mishandling of a pandemic by the president and his team. And we thought that ought to be quantified. And first, it became a website.
AMY GOODMAN: So, talk about — describe the website for us, where it is in Times Square.
EUGENE JARECKI: So, the website itself is called TrumpDeathClock.com, and you can go to it. Every minute, you’ll see it update. And you’ll see, very tragically, the death toll rise, that is attributable to the Trump administration’s failure to handle the outbreak as they should have.
But what was inspiring to me originally — I’m a New Yorker. And every New Yorker knows, and most visitors to New York at one time or another pass, the famous Debt Clock that hangs over the Avenue of the Americas, 6th Avenue. And that National Debt Clock stands for something. It’s symbolic, and it speaks about the country’s reckless borrowing. And it warns, in a way, just as a symbol, that there will be grave future consequences to that borrowing.
Well, I didn’t need to look far to see the grave consequences of the reckless handling of this pandemic. And so, it seemed to me that in the spirit of the Debt Clock, there ought to be a Death Clock. And it ought to be somewhere hanging for the world to see, for the media to see, and to be sort of implanted in our minds, our public imagination, as a reminder of the grave consequences of reckless leadership during a time of crisis.
AMY GOODMAN: Tell us exactly the place it is in Times Square, how you got —
EUGENE JARECKI: Sure.
AMY GOODMAN: — permission to do it, and then how you make the calculation, because, clearly, the United States would have been affected by the coronavirus, whether it was President Trump or President Obama or the next president.
EUGENE JARECKI: Yes. So, the Trump Death Clock now lives in Times Square at 43rd and 7th, at 1500 Broadway. That’s the building that it’s at.
And, you know, what we found — people read my editorial, when I was writing it for The Washington Post, and I showed it to friends and acquaintances, who were supportive of what I was thinking, but they were, you know, giving me good editorial ideas. And over time, they said, “You know, if you’re so focused on the Debt Clock, why don’t you find out about putting a Death Clock in the real world? Why just do it as a website?” And, of course, I had thought about that, but I didn’t know — my gosh, what must a billboard cost, you know, or a big clock to put up?
Well, when we poked around a little bit — friends had offered to give some support — we found that, maybe not surprisingly, billboard space is not very expensive right now, because, after all, there’s nobody on the streets in the height of a pandemic, if people are sort of living by the guidelines that they’ve been supposed to be under. And that means that billboard space in New York was much, much more affordable than one would have ever dreamt, a tiny, tiny fraction of what it usually costs to advertise in Times Square, which is one of the most expensive areas of the world.
So, some friends put together some support to really put this up, to put it up and start the ball rolling, which we hope will roll across the country. We hope that the Trump Death Clock in New York can be emulated in small towns and big cities across the country, where people can get a billboard that’s sitting dormant, or they can actually just project it. You know, those little projectors that people have, you can project it on a building, you can project it on your house, just to remind your community of what the incredible cost has been of the reckless handling of this.
And this is not just about being critical. As you say, you know, this could have happened to any president. So, the fact is, there is a specific calculation that we base the Death Clock on. We’re not just saying, “Oh, Donald Trump, you’ve been bad,” in some general, blurry way. We wanted to find the single calculation that was most damning and most specific. In other words, we looked for the most conservative number. And that number was so damning, that — you know, reasonable people will debate. The president’s defenders will say, “Oh, it was China’s fault,” or “It was the World Health Organization,” or “It was the CDC,” or blame individuals, blame anybody but the White House. Well, they can do that. Trump’s’s detractors will point to things that happened much earlier, like that his team disbanded the White House pandemic directorate in 2018, got rid of people chiefly concerned with this kind of outbreak. Or they might have pointed to — they want to say, “Well, in January and February, the intelligence services gave the president countless warnings about the need to move quickly.” That is all true, and reasonable people can debate that. But they can debate it ’til they’re not reasonable.
We wanted a single calculation, and that’s the basis of the Trump Death Clock, which just looks at one period around which there is no debate, and that is the period between March 9 and March 16. And after Dr. Fauci and others made clear that they had knowledge that mitigation guidelines were not put in when they should have been, the question is, “OK, what was the cost of that?” Because when a virus is spreading exponentially, as viruses do, every second counts. And in my view, every life counts.
So the question is, “The seconds that you lost, Mr. President, while you dithered” — you know, look at South Korea. South Korea, at that same moment that we were beginning to see the outbreak of this, they instituted mitigation guidelines, and they ended up with 300 deaths to our 70,000, 80,000. You know? So, you’re in a position where the enormity of the mistake, Donald Trump made a political calculation, whatever his reasoning was. He made a bet. The bet failed, was a failure. At what cost? And at what cost being borne by the American people?
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Eugene Jarecki, who has just erected the Trump Death Clock in Times Square. Eugene, have you gotten response from the administration?
EUGENE JARECKI: We have not heard from the administration. Most of what we’ve heard from, frankly, are from people who are detractors of the president, who wish that we had used a higher number. They say, “Your Death Clock only shows that the administration is sort of attributable to 60% of the death toll in America,” because that’s what it shows.
Basically, Drs. Jewell and Jewell, in the piece they published in The New York Times and in other releases of their findings, said, had the president and his team moved on March 9 rather than March 16, 60% of American lives would have been saved. That’s a harrowing statistic, that puts us today, at this moment, at 48,337 deaths could have been averted had mitigation guidelines been put in place earlier. To me, that is damning enough.
And to try to go earlier and enter the debate, the big echo chamber of hyperbolic claims that will go in both directions, they may even have truth in them, but the president will try to use that to get out of accountability. The goal here is to require accountability, to demand it. Amy, thousands of people lost their lives needlessly. And in their name, we must demand not just accountability, but more responsible and more responsive leadership, going forward.
AMY GOODMAN: Let me go to the Trump Coronavirus Calendar, that was produced by The Recount and captures those months of downplaying and denial, before President Trump pivoted to coronavirus crisis mode. It begins on January 22nd.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. … We think we have it very well under control. … We pretty much shut it down, coming in from China. … You know, in April, supposedly it dies, with the hotter weather. … When it gets warm, historically, that has been able to kill the virus. … The people are getting better. They’re all getting better. … And the 15, within a couple of days, is going to be down to close to zero. … It’s going to disappear one day. It’s like a miracle. It will disappear. … And you’ll be fine. … Now, they’re going to have vaccines, I think, relatively soon. … Not only the vaccines, but the therapies. Therapies is sort of another word for cure. … We’re talking about very small numbers in the United States. … Our numbers are lower than just about anybody. … It’s really working out, and a lot of good things are going to happen. … And we are responding with great speed and professionalism. … It’s going to go away. … Yeah, no, I don’t take responsibility at all. … We’re going to all be great. We’re going to be so good. … This came up. It — we came up so suddenly. … This is a pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic. All you had to do was look at other countries. … The coronavirus. You know that, right? Coronavirus. This is their new hoax. We have 15 people in this massive country. And because of the fact that we went early — we went early. We could have had a lot more than that. We’re doing great. Our country is doing so great.
AMY GOODMAN: So, there you have President Trump in that lead-up, he who repeatedly says that he was the first to institute that Chinese travel ban. But if that is true, in late January, the question is: Where was the gearing up for the tests, and where was the gearing up for making the personal protective equipment that so many in hospitals all over this country, not to mention people all over the country, in general, need, masks? Why wasn’t that begun at that time, clearly a life-saving measure?
Now you have, to this day, President Trump and his new press secretary mocking the need for massive testing in this country, but we see, over the weekend, with three people very close to the White House testing positive for COVID, that what the president and the vice president are saying is, “We’re getting tested every day,” and everyone is being tested regularly there — which seems like a perfect model for how the rest of the country should be, that we also should be able to have access regularly to tests, especially as the country reopens. Eugene Jarecki, your final comments on what this means, going forward?
EUGENE JARECKI: Well, the president is conducting himself like an emperor. You know, this is where we see the breakdown of American democracy. And Donald Trump is sort of the epitome of what it looks like when you no longer have a democratic process at work.
In a democratic process, you have a separation of powers, let alone between the branches. And then, within those branches, there are experts who are brought in to represent areas of public policy with all that they have learned and all that they know from the full time they devote to it.
Donald Trump steps in. Then, like any sort of would-be despot — I’ve seen a very funny clip on Trevor Noah, where Trevor Noah compares the way that Donald Trump speaks about his brain and how smart he is and how great he is and how everything he does is great and nothing he does is wrong and everything is working in the country. That delusionary speak that he engages himself in, Trevor Noah compares that to Idi Amin, literally shows clips back and forth between the African dictator and Donald Trump, back and forth, back and forth. And it just makes clear we are dealing with a person who thinks he’s a dictator, and we’re dealing with a person whose dictatorial leanings have caused a massive human death toll in this country, as dictators often do, and as democracies are supposed to protect against.
AMY GOODMAN: We have 10 seconds.
EUGENE JARECKI: When you reject the experts and you make yourself the focus of everything, you screw up, like the president did here. And the Trump Death Clock is meant to hold him accountable and to demand a better path forward. We hope he takes it.
AMY GOODMAN: Eugene Jarecki, I want to thank you so much for being with us, award-winning documentary filmmaker, author, activist, who created the Trump Death Clock website and the billboard that’s been unveiled in New York City’s Times Square.
That does it for our show. Democracy Now! is working with as few people on site as possible. The majority of our amazing team is working from home. Democracy Now! is produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Libby Rainey, Nermeen Shaikh, Carla Wills, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hani Massoud, Adriano Contreras and María Taracena. Our general manager is Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley, Miriam Barnard, Denis Moynihan, Paul Powell, Mike DiFilippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran, David Prude. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us.


truthout--2020-05-11--Trump and His Staff Wouldn’t Wear Masks. Now the White House Is a COVID Hotspot.

It is one of the most familiar horror movie tropes on file : On a dark and stormy night , the phone rings and an evil voice whispers terrifying threats .
The phone keeps ringing , the mystery grows , the tension builds , until the big reveal : THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE !
Donald Trump is now living that trope in real time .
After months of ignoring and dismissing the COVID-19 pandemic in a show of violent disregard for the communities most disproportionately affected , the wolf is not just at his door .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus into that rarefied air .
“ The Trump administration is racing to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus inside the White House , ” reported The New York Times on Sunday , “ as some senior officials believe that the disease is already spreading rapidly through the warren of cramped offices that make up the three floors of the West Wing.
” Before the weekend began , we had learned that one of Trump ’ s personal valets had tested positive for COVID-19 .
Katie Miller , spokesperson for Vice President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senior adviser and vivid fascist Stephen Miller , also tested positive .
A personal assistant to Ivanka Trump has likewise tested positive , though reports indicate the assistant and the first daughter have not been near each other for weeks .
At least 11 Secret Service members have tested positive , but there is no available information on how close any of them may have come to Trump or other administration officials , because the Secret Service resolutely does not comment on anything having to do with protection duties .
Trump is said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presence of the virus in the White House .
Anthony Fauci , along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield and Commissioner of Food and Drugs Stephen Hahn , have placed themselves in quarantine for the coming weeks due to their level of exposure .
The most secure building in the world is now a COVID-19 hot spot .
“ It is scary to go to work , ” said top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on the CBS News program “ Face the Nation.
” “ I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing .
It ’ s a small , crowded place .
It ’ s , you know , it ’ s a little bit risky .
But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.
” Yet Kevin and his pals in the White House have appeared not to take even the simple precaution of wearing masks at work , seemingly because masks are a symbol of bad news , and nobody brings bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mask has become a twisted form of loyalty oath to Donald Trump , and that galloping folly has now exposed the entire building to a deadly pathogen that gives not a single damn who you voted for or what you believe .
Nowhere was this phenomenon more evident than in the Cabinet Room this past Saturday , where Trump met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , Defense Secretary Mark Esper , his national security team , and a clutch of high-ranking military officials .
The photo released by the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in close quarters for an extensive period of time .
Nary a one of them was wearing a mask .
While there is categorically never a “ good ” time for any location to become a nest of COVID-19 infections , the timing of this particular White House outbreak is particularly gruesome for Trump and his allies .
A number of Trump-allied governors , and even a few Democratic governors , began lifting their states ’ stay-at-home strictures despite howls of warnings from scientists and medical professionals .
As expected , these premature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported infections .
“ In a week when the novel coronavirus ravaged new communities across the country and the number of dead soared past 78,000 , President Trump and his advisers shifted from hour-by-hour crisis management to what they characterize as a long-term strategy aimed at reviving the decimated economy and preparing for additional outbreaks this fall , ” reports The Washington Post .
“ But in doing so , the administration is effectively bowing to — and asking Americans to accept — a devastating proposition : that a steady , daily accumulation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of reopening the nation.
” In other words — as I have stated time and time and time and time and time again — Donald Trump ’ s primary concern beyond himself and re-election is to defend this hypercapitalist system at all cost .
He and his allies spent the week attempting to hypnotize a terrified , cloistered , frustrated population into believing tens of thousands of deaths , even hundreds of thousands of deaths , is an acceptable price for doing business .
It is a monstrous argument put forth by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s lethal sales pitch was reaching its peak , COVID-19 came into his home and tapped him on the shoulder .
By all reports , he and his closest minions are tested multiple times a day , despite his claims that testing is “ overrated.
” Yet testing does not prevent infection , and clearly , whatever testing regimen they were using was not nearly enough .
What is happening inside Trump ’ s house right now is a perfect allegory for how the administration has handled the pandemic to date .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and faux-courageous showboating for the cameras back when concrete steps could have been taken , even as the virus made itself at home and began to spread .
Upon discovery that whatever they were doing was insufficient , incomplete steps were taken to mitigate the damage , but it was already far too late .
Now comes the part where we wait to see how bad it will get .

What is happening in the White House is a perfect allegory for how the Trump administration has handled the pandemic.
Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
It is one of the most familiar horror movie tropes on file: On a dark and stormy night, the phone rings and an evil voice whispers terrifying threats. The phone keeps ringing, the mystery grows, the tension builds, until the big reveal: THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!
Donald Trump is now living that trope in real time. After months of ignoring and dismissing the COVID-19 pandemic in a show of violent disregard for the communities most disproportionately affected, the wolf is not just at his door. It is in his house, breathing the virus into that rarefied air.
“The Trump administration is racing to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus inside the White House,” reported The New York Times on Sunday, “as some senior officials believe that the disease is already spreading rapidly through the warren of cramped offices that make up the three floors of the West Wing.”
Before the weekend began, we had learned that one of Trump’s personal valets had tested positive for COVID-19. Katie Miller, spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence and wife of White House senior adviser and vivid fascist Stephen Miller, also tested positive. A personal assistant to Ivanka Trump has likewise tested positive, though reports indicate the assistant and the first daughter have not been near each other for weeks.
At least 11 Secret Service members have tested positive, but there is no available information on how close any of them may have come to Trump or other administration officials, because the Secret Service resolutely does not comment on anything having to do with protection duties.
Trump is said to be “spooked” by the presence of the virus in the White House. Anthony Fauci, along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield and Commissioner of Food and Drugs Stephen Hahn, have placed themselves in quarantine for the coming weeks due to their level of exposure. The most secure building in the world is now a COVID-19 hot spot.
“It is scary to go to work,” said top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on the CBS News program “Face the Nation.” “I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing. It’s a small, crowded place. It’s, you know, it’s a little bit risky. But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.”
Yet Kevin and his pals in the White House have appeared not to take even the simple precaution of wearing masks at work, seemingly because masks are a symbol of bad news, and nobody brings bad news to the boss. Not wearing a mask has become a twisted form of loyalty oath to Donald Trump, and that galloping folly has now exposed the entire building to a deadly pathogen that gives not a single damn who you voted for or what you believe.
Nowhere was this phenomenon more evident than in the Cabinet Room this past Saturday, where Trump met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, his national security team, and a clutch of high-ranking military officials. The photo released by the White House shows a roomful of older men seated in close quarters for an extensive period of time. Nary a one of them was wearing a mask.
While there is categorically never a “good” time for any location to become a nest of COVID-19 infections, the timing of this particular White House outbreak is particularly gruesome for Trump and his allies. A number of Trump-allied governors, and even a few Democratic governors, began lifting their states’ stay-at-home strictures despite howls of warnings from scientists and medical professionals. As expected, these premature reopenings have led to a spike in reported infections.
“In a week when the novel coronavirus ravaged new communities across the country and the number of dead soared past 78,000, President Trump and his advisers shifted from hour-by-hour crisis management to what they characterize as a long-term strategy aimed at reviving the decimated economy and preparing for additional outbreaks this fall,” reports The Washington Post. “But in doing so, the administration is effectively bowing to — and asking Americans to accept — a devastating proposition: that a steady, daily accumulation of lonely deaths is the grim cost of reopening the nation.”
In other words — as I have stated time and time and time and time and time again — Donald Trump’s primary concern beyond himself and re-election is to defend this hypercapitalist system at all cost. He and his allies spent the week attempting to hypnotize a terrified, cloistered, frustrated population into believing tens of thousands of deaths, even hundreds of thousands of deaths, is an acceptable price for doing business.
It is a monstrous argument put forth by a monstrous man, and just as Trump’s lethal sales pitch was reaching its peak, COVID-19 came into his home and tapped him on the shoulder. By all reports, he and his closest minions are tested multiple times a day, despite his claims that testing is “overrated.” Yet testing does not prevent infection, and clearly, whatever testing regimen they were using was not nearly enough.
What is happening inside Trump’s house right now is a perfect allegory for how the administration has handled the pandemic to date. There was a lot of bluff talk and faux-courageous showboating for the cameras back when concrete steps could have been taken, even as the virus made itself at home and began to spread. Upon discovery that whatever they were doing was insufficient, incomplete steps were taken to mitigate the damage, but it was already far too late. Now comes the part where we wait to see how bad it will get.
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--2020-05-11--Black Scholar Jill Nelson Arrested for Chalking “Trump = Plague” in New York

Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City ’ s response to the spread of COVID-19 .
We speak with author and activist Jill Nelson , who was herself arrested by NYPD in April for writing “ Trump = Plague ” in chalk on an abandoned building in her Washington Heights neighborhood .
The 67-year-old scholar was handcuffed , taken to the police station and held for five hours .
Now she is speaking out .
The president is “ telling us that as people of color , and older people , we should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s ridiculous.
” This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : We turn now to look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City ’ s response to the spread of COVID-19 — and it ’ s not just limited to New York .
Data released Friday reveals more than 80 % of summonses issued by the NYPD for social distancing violations have been to Black and Latinx people , and 92 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distancing are non-White .
Images circulated widely on social media shone a spotlight on uneven policing .
Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks , apparently arresting no one .
Meanwhile , videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods .
Earlier this month , cellphone video went viral showing police officers aggressively pinning a Black man to the ground as they arrested him , then violently attacking a Black passerby , dragging him on the street , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , during what was supposed to be a social distancing enforcement action .
The man who was attacked , the second man , 33-year-old Donnie Wright , was hospitalized with severe injuries to his back , ribs and chest .
The officer involved , Francisco Garcia , has since been put on modified assignment .
Last week , the Brooklyn District Attorney ’ s Office said 35 of 40 people arrested for social distancing violations were Black .
Mayor Bill de Blasio has rejected comparisons to New York City ’ s unconstitutional stop-and-frisk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in a tweet “ the disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values.
” Well , for more on racist policing , we are joined by an author and activist who was herself arrested by the New York Police Department on April 16 .
She was writing “ Trump = Plague ” in chalk on a boarded-up building in her Washington Heights neighborhood in northern Manhattan .
Jill Nelson was handcuffed and spent more than five hours in jail before being released .
The 67-year-old scholar , writer and activist , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” is speaking out against the NYPD .
She ’ s a longtime reporter , has written several books , including the autobiographical Volunteer Slavery : My Authentic Negro Experience , which won an American Book Award .
She ’ s a former professor of journalism at the City College of New York .
Jill Nelson , welcome back to Democracy Now !
It ’ s great to have you with us , but unfortunately under these circumstances .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you talk about what happened to you — JILL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the drugstore and the supermarket , essential trips .
I was walking from the drugstore down to Broadway to go to the supermarket , when I saw a green boarded-up , empty , for-rent building .
It was covered with plywood .
And I wrote — had a piece of chalk in my pocket , and I wrote “ Trump = Plague.
” Before I could even step back , cops swooped in , cut me off on — made an L , two cop cars — cut me off , jumped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
What are you doing ?
You ’ re under arrest.
” They searched me , asked me if I had weapons , told me to take my hands out of my pockets — it was a cold day , so I said no — frisked me , shoved me into a police car and took me to the 33rd Precinct , where they put me in a cell and left me there for five-and-a-half hours .
I took my shoes off .
I had had a mask , a fabric mask I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demanded that they give me one of their more professional masks .
They didn ’ t allow me to make any phone calls .
I was never read my rights .
It was absurd , absolutely absurd , a total waste of time , energy .
And this is in a community that has one of the highest rates of COVID , has many people who are poor and working poor .
And there ’ s something the police could have been doing besides attacking me for writing the truth .
I have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I said .
AMY GOODMAN : Let ’ s go back to the beginning .
Talk about the building that you were writing on .
You were using chalk ?
JILL NELSON : I was using chalk , washable chalk .
And it was a boarded-up front of a building , when you build it out and cover it with plywood as if you ’ re going to renovate , but it had a “ for rent ” sign .
So it was not occupied by anyone .
AMY GOODMAN : And why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NELSON : Because he is a plague and a pox on all our houses .
And I think we need — JILL NELSON : “ Trump = Plague , ” yes .
I mean , it sums it up , to me , what ’ s going on , how it is , what ’ s happening in this country and in the world .
And we have a president who is aiding and abetting and telling us that as people of color , and older people , we should just die , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s ridiculous .
There are so many disparities in healthcare , in treatment , in coverage .
You know , I think the police are out of control .
I think the mayor is afraid of the police .
Instead of saying what he ought to say , which is , “ Now I see how you feel , people of color , ” he ’ s fronting for the police , as always .
Apparently , the only person he worries about is Dante .
AMY GOODMAN : And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NELSON : Well , because it ’ s always an excuse .
I ’ m tired of — you know , I ’ m 67 years old .
I was politicized by the killing of Clifford Glover when I was 18 .
This notion that it ’ s only a few bad apples and that this isn ’ t policy and that the police are there to serve and protect , I don ’ t buy it .
I don ’ t buy it .
I don ’ t see it .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or rushing down those young men in Brooklyn serves any purpose .
It doesn ’ t make us safer .
And I frankly feel that COVID-19 has been racialized , really , and it ’ s now being used as a way to further oppress people of color .
It ’ s just absolutely wrong .
The police aren ’ t doing their job .
What a waste .
And — JILL NELSON : You know , I think we have to stand up and resist .
Go ahead .
AMY GOODMAN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police moved in on you .
You were wearing your mask .
Were they wearing masks ?
JILL NELSON : They were wearing masks .
They were wearing gloves .
They jumped in .
I mean , you would have thought I was selling crack in the early ’ 80s , the way they swooped down .
It was seconds .
They subsequently said — told someone that someone had called in a complaint .
I find that hard to accept .
It was between 15 and 30 seconds max between when I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there .
“ What are you doing ?
We ’ re going to arrest you .
Is this your property ?
Do you know what you ’ re doing ?
Do you have any weapons ?
” I said , “ Words.
” They didn ’ t think that was funny or intelligent .
They shoved me into — cuffed me roughly , shoved me into a police car , took my pocketbook , took me to the station , booked me , and then put me in a filthy cell for five-and-a-half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my rights .
I wasn ’ t offered the right to make a phone call .
I took all of my — AMY GOODMAN : You weren ’ t able to make a phone call ?
JILL NELSON : No , no .
I ’ m sorry , at 3:00 — this was after being there a couple hours — they told me I could call and get my — try to get my husband , because I didn ’ t have a photo ID , and he needed to — they needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dialed my home number .
When my husband answered , the guy , after 53 , 50 seconds , says — the cop says , “ I ’ m going to cut you off after a minute.
” Boom , cut me off .
So my husband had no idea what precinct I was in .
And they had — AMY GOODMAN : You hadn ’ t gotten a chance to say where you were yet .
JILL NELSON : No .
And they had told me to tell him that they would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is like 10 blocks away , to pick up my ID .
My husband put my license in an envelope , went downstairs and waited for 40 minutes , and they never came to get it .
Then he came back upstairs , figured out where I was , came to the precinct , dropped off my ID .
I didn ’ t even know that until I happened to see my identification in a plastic evidence bag and was like , “ Has my husband been here ?
Where is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Oh , yeah , yeah .
He came a while ago .
You couldn ’ t have seen him anyway.
” AMY GOODMAN : Which police station were you being held in ?
Which community ?
AMY GOODMAN : So , did they threaten to bring you to Central Booking , to bring you downtown ?
JILL NELSON : Yes , because I didn ’ t have ID , and they wouldn ’ t either go pick up my ID , or I had offered earlier , “ Take me .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ can come up to my apartment .
I ’ ll show you my — give you my ID.
” They told me they were going to take me downtown , and that if they took me downtown , I ’ d probably be there all night .
And when they finally released me , Amy , the desk sergeant said , “ And be sure to show up for your desk appearance ticket , or else we ’ ll come to your house and arrest you.
” JILL NELSON : The whole thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
AMY GOODMAN : Jill Nelson , we ’ re going to break , and we ’ re going to also be joined by your lawyer , Norman Siegel , former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union , and talk about this issue .
AMY GOODMAN : These are the kinds of issues you write about , not only in New York City , but all over the country .
We ’ re talking to the author , activist , former professor , Jill Nelson , 67 years old , lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York City and was handcuffed by police after they moved in on her for graffitiing on a boarded-up building “ Trump = Plague.
” Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Freedom Blues ” by Little Richard .
The man called the “ architect of rock ‘ n ’ roll ” died of cancer Saturday at the age of 87 .

Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City’s response to the spread of COVID-19. We speak with author and activist Jill Nelson, who was herself arrested by NYPD in April for writing “Trump = Plague” in chalk on an abandoned building in her Washington Heights neighborhood. The 67-year-old scholar was handcuffed, taken to the police station and held for five hours. Now she is speaking out. The president is “telling us that as people of color, and older people, we should just die,” says Nelson. “It’s ridiculous.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City’s response to the spread of COVID-19 — and it’s not just limited to New York. Data released Friday reveals more than 80% of summonses issued by the NYPD for social distancing violations have been to Black and Latinx people, and 92% of people arrested for not social distancing are non-White. Images circulated widely on social media shone a spotlight on uneven policing. Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks, apparently arresting no one. Meanwhile, videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods.
Earlier this month, cellphone video went viral showing police officers aggressively pinning a Black man to the ground as they arrested him, then violently attacking a Black passerby, dragging him on the street, punching him and kneeling on his neck, during what was supposed to be a social distancing enforcement action. The man who was attacked, the second man, 33-year-old Donnie Wright, was hospitalized with severe injuries to his back, ribs and chest. The officer involved, Francisco Garcia, has since been put on modified assignment.
Last week, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said 35 of 40 people arrested for social distancing violations were Black. Mayor Bill de Blasio has rejected comparisons to New York City’s unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policies under former Mayor Bloomberg, but said in a tweet “the disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values.”
Well, for more on racist policing, we are joined by an author and activist who was herself arrested by the New York Police Department on April 16. She was writing “Trump = Plague” in chalk on a boarded-up building in her Washington Heights neighborhood in northern Manhattan. Jill Nelson was handcuffed and spent more than five hours in jail before being released. The 67-year-old scholar, writer and activist, now being called the “graffiti grandma,” is speaking out against the NYPD. She’s a longtime reporter, has written several books, including the autobiographical Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience, which won an American Book Award. She’s a former professor of journalism at the City College of New York.
Jill Nelson, welcome back to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us, but unfortunately under these circumstances.
JILL NELSON: Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what happened to you —
JILL NELSON: Thank you, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: — just under a month ago?
JILL NELSON: I went out to go to the drugstore and the supermarket, essential trips. I was walking from the drugstore down to Broadway to go to the supermarket, when I saw a green boarded-up, empty, for-rent building. It was covered with plywood. And I wrote — had a piece of chalk in my pocket, and I wrote “Trump = Plague.”
Before I could even step back, cops swooped in, cut me off on — made an L, two cop cars — cut me off, jumped out. “What are you doing? What are you doing? You’re under arrest.” They searched me, asked me if I had weapons, told me to take my hands out of my pockets — it was a cold day, so I said no — frisked me, shoved me into a police car and took me to the 33rd Precinct, where they put me in a cell and left me there for five-and-a-half hours. I took my shoes off. I had had a mask, a fabric mask I had made, on, but I demanded that they give me one of their more professional masks. They didn’t allow me to make any phone calls. I was never read my rights.
It was absurd, absolutely absurd, a total waste of time, energy. And this is in a community that has one of the highest rates of COVID, has many people who are poor and working poor. And there’s something the police could have been doing besides attacking me for writing the truth. I have yet to have anyone disagree with what I said.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go back to the beginning. Talk about the building that you were writing on. You were using chalk?
JILL NELSON: I was using chalk, washable chalk. And it was a boarded-up front of a building, when you build it out and cover it with plywood as if you’re going to renovate, but it had a “for rent” sign. So it was not occupied by anyone.
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you choose that phrase?
JILL NELSON: Because he is a plague and a pox on all our houses. And I think we need —
AMY GOODMAN: You were writing, “Trump = Plague”?
JILL NELSON: “Trump = Plague,” yes. I mean, it sums it up, to me, what’s going on, how it is, what’s happening in this country and in the world. And we have a president who is aiding and abetting and telling us that as people of color, and older people, we should just die, get out there and die for capitalism. It’s ridiculous. There are so many disparities in healthcare, in treatment, in coverage.
You know, I think the police are out of control. I think the mayor is afraid of the police. Instead of saying what he ought to say, which is, “Now I see how you feel, people of color,” he’s fronting for the police, as always. Apparently, the only person he worries about is Dante.
AMY GOODMAN: Dante being his son.
JILL NELSON: His son.
AMY GOODMAN: And why do you say that?
JILL NELSON: Well, because it’s always an excuse. I’m tired of — you know, I’m 67 years old. I was politicized by the killing of Clifford Glover when I was 18. This notion that it’s only a few bad apples and that this isn’t policy and that the police are there to serve and protect, I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it. I don’t see it. I can’t see how arresting me or rushing down those young men in Brooklyn serves any purpose. It doesn’t make us safer.
And I frankly feel that COVID-19 has been racialized, really, and it’s now being used as a way to further oppress people of color. It’s just absolutely wrong. The police aren’t doing their job. What a waste. And —
AMY GOODMAN: So, Jill Nelson —
JILL NELSON: You know, I think we have to stand up and resist. Go ahead.
AMY GOODMAN: So, describe what happened when the police moved in on you. You were wearing your mask. Were they wearing masks?
JILL NELSON: They were wearing masks. They were wearing gloves. They jumped in. I mean, you would have thought I was selling crack in the early ’80s, the way they swooped down. It was seconds. They subsequently said — told someone that someone had called in a complaint. I find that hard to accept. It was between 15 and 30 seconds max between when I started writing and when the cops got there.
“What are you doing? We’re going to arrest you. Is this your property? Do you know what you’re doing? Do you have any weapons?” I said, “Words.” They didn’t think that was funny or intelligent. They shoved me into — cuffed me roughly, shoved me into a police car, took my pocketbook, took me to the station, booked me, and then put me in a filthy cell for five-and-a-half hours. I wasn’t read my rights. I wasn’t offered the right to make a phone call. I took all of my —
AMY GOODMAN: You weren’t able to make a phone call?
JILL NELSON: No, no. I’m sorry, at 3:00 — this was after being there a couple hours — they told me I could call and get my — try to get my husband, because I didn’t have a photo ID, and he needed to — they needed that to release me. But they dialed my home number. When my husband answered, the guy, after 53, 50 seconds, says — the cop says, “I’m going to cut you off after a minute.” Boom, cut me off. So my husband had no idea what precinct I was in. And they had —
AMY GOODMAN: You hadn’t gotten a chance to say where you were yet.
JILL NELSON: No. And they had told me to tell him that they would send a cop car by my apartment, which is like 10 blocks away, to pick up my ID. My husband put my license in an envelope, went downstairs and waited for 40 minutes, and they never came to get it. Then he came back upstairs, figured out where I was, came to the precinct, dropped off my ID. I didn’t even know that until I happened to see my identification in a plastic evidence bag and was like, “Has my husband been here? Where is he?” And they were like, “Oh, yeah, yeah. He came a while ago. You couldn’t have seen him anyway.”
AMY GOODMAN: Which police station were you being held in? Which community?
JILL NELSON: The 33rd Precinct in Washington Heights.
AMY GOODMAN: So, did they threaten to bring you to Central Booking, to bring you downtown?
JILL NELSON: Yes, because I didn’t have ID, and they wouldn’t either go pick up my ID, or I had offered earlier, “Take me. Drive me to my house. You can come up to my apartment. I’ll show you my — give you my ID.” They told me they were going to take me downtown, and that if they took me downtown, I’d probably be there all night. And when they finally released me, Amy, the desk sergeant said, “And be sure to show up for your desk appearance ticket, or else we’ll come to your house and arrest you.”
AMY GOODMAN: Jill —
JILL NELSON: The whole thing was — yes, ma’am.
AMY GOODMAN: Jill Nelson, we’re going to break, and we’re going to also be joined by your lawyer, Norman Siegel, former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and talk about this issue.
JILL NELSON: Great.
AMY GOODMAN: These are the kinds of issues you write about, not only in New York City, but all over the country. We’re talking to the author, activist, former professor, Jill Nelson, 67 years old, lives in the Washington Heights area of New York City and was handcuffed by police after they moved in on her for graffitiing on a boarded-up building “Trump = Plague.” Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Freedom Blues” by Little Richard. The man called the “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” died of cancer Saturday at the age of 87.


truthout--2020-05-11--Obama Calls Trump’s Coronavirus Response an “Absolute Chaotic Disaster”

On Mother ’ s Day , President Donald Trump launched a “ tweetstorm ” against his predecessor , former President Barack Obama , in part for criticisms the latter made over the weekend about the current commander in chief .
While speaking during a conference call to members of the Obama Alumni Association — around 3,000 individuals who once served in his administration — the former president made clear his misgivings and doubts of Trump being able to lead during the coronavirus crisis .
Obama urged his former staff members to support presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ What we ’ re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish , being tribal , being divided , and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life , ” Obama said on the call on Friday .
That mindset is “ part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty , ” Obama explained .
The current crisis “ would have been bad even with the best of governments , ” he elaborated .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ disaster when that mindset — of ‘ what ’ s in it for me ’ and ‘ to heck with everybody else ’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.
” Although Trump had other criticisms about Obama during his marathon-esque tweeting on Sunday , he used language that suggested the former president ’ s criticisms were scandalous in their own right .
After quoting another Twitter user who was friendly to the current president , Trump weighed in by saying , “ He got caught , OBAMAGATE !
” about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama violated a protocol that dictates how former presidents should behave , particularly when it comes to the work of those who follow after them .
Indeed , Obama ’ s own immediate predecessor , former President George W. Bush , stayed silent on the sidelines during Obama ’ s time in office .
However , that protocol hasn ’ t always been followed , and while controversial for a former president to discuss the actions of a current chief executive , it isn ’ t as uncommon as Trump makes it seem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidents have weighed in on the actions of those that came later , as noted by The New York Times .
For example , former President Jimmy Carter once described the Bush administration as “ the worst in history ” because of its foreign policy decisions .
Gerald Ford also had a negative viewpoint of those decisions , too , though his opinions only became public after his death .
Bush ’ s father , former President George H.W .
Bush , was also critical of Bill Clinton in the 1990s over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Most famously , Theodore Roosevelt , upon exiting the presidency and supporting his successor William Howard Taft in 1908 , had such an extreme bit of buyer ’ s remorse that he even tried to usurp the Republican nomination from Taft in 1912 .
When that didn ’ t work , Roosevelt ran on the Progressive Party ’ s presidential ticket , a move that resulted in helping Democratic Party nominee Woodrow Wilson win the election that year .
Trump ’ s incredulous reaction toward Obama may be based on an informal rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every little thing that happens for the current administration .
Yet , if an action or series of actions is egregious enough to warrant criticism , it ’ s not unheard of for former leaders to speak up against what ’ s happening .
That appears to be what Obama was doing on Friday .

The former president expressed grave concern in the way Trump governs to thousands of former staffers on Friday.
On Mother’s Day, President Donald Trump launched a “tweetstorm” against his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, in part for criticisms the latter made over the weekend about the current commander in chief.
While speaking during a conference call to members of the Obama Alumni Association — around 3,000 individuals who once served in his administration — the former president made clear his misgivings and doubts of Trump being able to lead during the coronavirus crisis.
Obama urged his former staff members to support presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden, and had harsh words for Trump.
“What we’re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life,” Obama said on the call on Friday.
That mindset is “part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty,” Obama explained.
The current crisis “would have been bad even with the best of governments,” he elaborated. “It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset — of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.”
Although Trump had other criticisms about Obama during his marathon-esque tweeting on Sunday, he used language that suggested the former president’s criticisms were scandalous in their own right. After quoting another Twitter user who was friendly to the current president, Trump weighed in by saying, “He got caught, OBAMAGATE!” about the matter.
Trump is suggesting that Obama violated a protocol that dictates how former presidents should behave, particularly when it comes to the work of those who follow after them. Indeed, Obama’s own immediate predecessor, former President George W. Bush, stayed silent on the sidelines during Obama’s time in office. However, that protocol hasn’t always been followed, and while controversial for a former president to discuss the actions of a current chief executive, it isn’t as uncommon as Trump makes it seem.
Indeed, a number of former presidents have weighed in on the actions of those that came later, as noted by The New York Times. For example, former President Jimmy Carter once described the Bush administration as “the worst in history” because of its foreign policy decisions. Gerald Ford also had a negative viewpoint of those decisions, too, though his opinions only became public after his death. Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, was also critical of Bill Clinton in the 1990s over the latter’s positions on Haiti.
Most famously, Theodore Roosevelt, upon exiting the presidency and supporting his successor William Howard Taft in 1908, had such an extreme bit of buyer’s remorse that he even tried to usurp the Republican nomination from Taft in 1912. When that didn’t work, Roosevelt ran on the Progressive Party’s presidential ticket, a move that resulted in helping Democratic Party nominee Woodrow Wilson win the election that year.
Trump’s incredulous reaction toward Obama may be based on an informal rule prohibiting former presidents from weighing in on every little thing that happens for the current administration. Yet, if an action or series of actions is egregious enough to warrant criticism, it’s not unheard of for former leaders to speak up against what’s happening. That appears to be what Obama was doing on Friday.
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--2020-05-11--1918 Flu Was Linked to a Rise in Nazi Support. Will This Pandemic Be Similar?

A new study by an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York linked the 1918 flu pandemic to the rise in Nazi support in Germany , a finding that could have significant relevance as the United States and the world grapples with the health and economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus .
Experts have frequently compared the current health crisis to the 1918 pandemic , which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide .
A new report by Kristian Blickle , an economist at the New York Fed , suggests that along with high death tolls and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ correlated with the rise in support for extremist right-wing parties , particularly the Nazis , in regions with the highest death rates .
Though historians have often pointed to Germany ’ s defeat in World War I and dissatisfaction with the post-war Weimar Republic as paving the way for the rise of the Nazis , the Fed study found that “ influenza deaths are correlated with the share of votes received by extremist parties in 1932 and 1933.
” The trend particularly favored right-wing extremist parties , Blickle noted .
While extreme left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw their vote share decline , the Nazi Party , the “ clear party of the extreme right , ” saw gains in support in regions with the highest death rates .
The study looked at vote shares in different regions of Germany in the wake of the pandemic , which killed an estimated 287,000 people in Germany alone .
“ The particular strain of influenza that raged in 1918 to 1920 largely affected younger people and thereby reshaped demographics , ” the report said .
“ Regions most heavily affected lost a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which compounded the effects of the war .
This may have changed the development of societal attitudes going forward.
” The age groups affected seems to be the major difference between the 1918 flu pandemic and the current pandemic , which is more likely to be deadly to seniors .
In the case of the 1918 pandemic , these trends were evident even when controlling for various other factors .
“ This holds even when we control for a city ’ s ethnic and religious makeup , regional unemployment , past right-wing voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drive the extremist vote share , ” Blickle wrote .
“ The deaths brought about by the influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 profoundly shaped German society.
” The pandemic was unique , and other illnesses were not linked to similar trends .
“ Tuberculosis was still rampant and a cause of death for many people during and immediately following the first world war , ” Blickle said .
“ In fact , it killed a similar number of people as influenza in 1918 .
However , mortality from tuberculosis was a well-established part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The virus , frequently referred to as the “ Spanish flu ” even though it likely originated at a military base in the United States , also gave rise to xenophobic attitudes toward foreigners .
“ Given the virus ’ perceived foreign origins , it may have fostered a resentment of foreigners who were seen as responsible for the pandemic , ” Blickle wrote , adding that the vote share for right-wing extremists particularly increased in “ regions that had historically blamed minorities , particularly Jews , for medieval plagues.
” The study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak contributed to the rise in extremist voting .
“ Clearly , austerity has an influence on extremism even in the face of the influenza pandemic , ” the report argued .
“ However , it is also evident that changes in regional spending are not the only channel through which influenza mortality affects voting behavior.
” The report did not argue that the pandemic led to Nazism , since many other countries that suffered high flu deaths did not move rightward .
However , Germany was particularly affected because it “ suffered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Given a number of econometric challenges , we are cautious about the interpretation of our results , ” Blickle acknowledged .
“ Nevertheless , the study offers a novel contribution to the discussion surrounding the long-term effects of pandemics.
” Though the study looked at effects in the years following the pandemic , there are already signs that the United States and other countries could experience a period not unlike the one that followed the 1918 pandemic .
The U.S. has by far the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases and more than 76,000 deaths as of Thursday .
The pandemic has led to an increase in xenophobia toward Asian Americans .
Roughly one in three Americans , and about 60 % of Asian Americans , said they have witnessed people blaming Asians for the health crisis in a recent Ipsos survey .
There have been increasing reports of attacks targeting Asian Americans across the country and colleges have reported a rise in attacks on Asian and Asian American students .
President Donald Trump and his administration have contributed to the rhetoric @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese virus , ” the “ Wuhan virus , ” and reportedly even the “ Kung Flu.
” Trump has pushed a conspiracy theory that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan despite intelligence agencies pushing back on the claim .
Michael Caputo , a longtime Trump adviser who was recently appointed as the spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services , tweeted that “ millions of Chinese suck the blood out of rabid bats as an appetizer and eat the ass out of anteaters ” among a number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sen. Tom Cotton , R-Ark.
, argued that Chinese students should be banned from studying science at American colleges .
Trump has also used the crisis to advance his anti-immigration agenda and undermine global agencies .
The Royal United Service Institute , a British-based independent think tank , reported last week that far-right groups have attempted to exploit the current crisis by “ promoting disinformation and conspiracy theories to enhance their anti-immigrant or anti-government agendas and attract a new range of followers.
” The U.S. could also face a period of austerity on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels .
Republicans are already pushing to cut unemployment benefits to the more than 30 million people who have lost their jobs amid the crisis .
Trump and Republican leaders have also come out against providing aid to states and local governments to alleviate their massive budget shortfalls .
“ If we don ’ t get federal assistance , you ’ re looking at education cuts of close to 50 percent in the state of New York , ” New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo warned last month , adding that cuts would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health workers .
“ How ludicrous would it be to now cut hospital funding from state governments ?
” As the country deals with a rise in xenophobia and possible austerity measures , the current pandemic has also helped far-right groups ramp up recruitment , particularly among young people .
The lockdowns across the country create a “ perfect storm for recruitment and radicalization ” by far-right groups , Cynthia Miller-Idriss , an American University professor who heads the extremism research lab PERIL , told NPR .
“ For extremists , this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about their lack of agency , their families ’ economic distress , and their intense sense of disorientation , confusion , fear and anxiety.
” Brad Galloway of the anti-extremist group Life After Hate agreed that it was important to combat the explosion in far-right recruitment efforts amid the pandemic .
“ They prey upon any kind of societal or community division , ” he told Time .
“ Right now people are pretty fragile , and this is the time that they will try to take advantage .
”

As with coronavirus, the 1918 pandemic led to a rise in xenophobia and budget cuts. Then it helped usher in Nazi rule.
A new study by an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York linked the 1918 flu pandemic to the rise in Nazi support in Germany, a finding that could have significant relevance as the United States and the world grapples with the health and economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus.
Experts have frequently compared the current health crisis to the 1918 pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. A new report by Kristian Blickle, an economist at the New York Fed, suggests that along with high death tolls and an economic downturn, the 1918 flu also correlated with the rise in support for extremist right-wing parties, particularly the Nazis, in regions with the highest death rates.
Though historians have often pointed to Germany’s defeat in World War I and dissatisfaction with the post-war Weimar Republic as paving the way for the rise of the Nazis, the Fed study found that “influenza deaths are correlated with the share of votes received by extremist parties in 1932 and 1933.”
The trend particularly favored right-wing extremist parties, Blickle noted. While extreme left parties, like the Communist Party, saw their vote share decline, the Nazi Party, the “clear party of the extreme right,” saw gains in support in regions with the highest death rates.
The study looked at vote shares in different regions of Germany in the wake of the pandemic, which killed an estimated 287,000 people in Germany alone.
“The particular strain of influenza that raged in 1918 to 1920 largely affected younger people and thereby reshaped demographics,” the report said. “Regions most heavily affected lost a relatively larger share of their youth, which compounded the effects of the war. This may have changed the development of societal attitudes going forward.”
The age groups affected seems to be the major difference between the 1918 flu pandemic and the current pandemic, which is more likely to be deadly to seniors.
In the case of the 1918 pandemic, these trends were evident even when controlling for various other factors.
“This holds even when we control for a city’s ethnic and religious makeup, regional unemployment, past right-wing voting, and other local characteristics assumed to drive the extremist vote share,” Blickle wrote. “The deaths brought about by the influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 profoundly shaped German society.”
The pandemic was unique, and other illnesses were not linked to similar trends.
“Tuberculosis was still rampant and a cause of death for many people during and immediately following the first world war,” Blickle said. “In fact, it killed a similar number of people as influenza in 1918. However, mortality from tuberculosis was a well-established part of life in the early twentieth century.”
The virus, frequently referred to as the “Spanish flu” even though it likely originated at a military base in the United States, also gave rise to xenophobic attitudes toward foreigners.
“Given the virus’ perceived foreign origins, it may have fostered a resentment of foreigners who were seen as responsible for the pandemic,” Blickle wrote, adding that the vote share for right-wing extremists particularly increased in “regions that had historically blamed minorities, particularly Jews, for medieval plagues.”
The study also found that reduced spending following the outbreak contributed to the rise in extremist voting.
“Clearly, austerity has an influence on extremism even in the face of the influenza pandemic,” the report argued. “However, it is also evident that changes in regional spending are not the only channel through which influenza mortality affects voting behavior.”
The report did not argue that the pandemic led to Nazism, since many other countries that suffered high flu deaths did not move rightward. However, Germany was particularly affected because it “suffered a high number of influenza deaths.”
“Given a number of econometric challenges, we are cautious about the interpretation of our results,” Blickle acknowledged. “Nevertheless, the study offers a novel contribution to the discussion surrounding the long-term effects of pandemics.”
Though the study looked at effects in the years following the pandemic, there are already signs that the United States and other countries could experience a period not unlike the one that followed the 1918 pandemic.
The U.S. has by far the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, reporting more than 1.25 million cases and more than 76,000 deaths as of Thursday.
The pandemic has led to an increase in xenophobia toward Asian Americans. Roughly one in three Americans, and about 60% of Asian Americans, said they have witnessed people blaming Asians for the health crisis in a recent Ipsos survey.
There have been increasing reports of attacks targeting Asian Americans across the country and colleges have reported a rise in attacks on Asian and Asian American students.
President Donald Trump and his administration have contributed to the rhetoric, labeling the current illness the “Chinese virus,” the “Wuhan virus,” and reportedly even the “Kung Flu.”
Trump has pushed a conspiracy theory that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan despite intelligence agencies pushing back on the claim. Michael Caputo, a longtime Trump adviser who was recently appointed as the spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, tweeted that “millions of Chinese suck the blood out of rabid bats as an appetizer and eat the ass out of anteaters” among a number of racist tweets he has since deleted. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., argued that Chinese students should be banned from studying science at American colleges.
Trump has also used the crisis to advance his anti-immigration agenda and undermine global agencies.
The Royal United Service Institute, a British-based independent think tank, reported last week that far-right groups have attempted to exploit the current crisis by “promoting disinformation and conspiracy theories to enhance their anti-immigrant or anti-government agendas and attract a new range of followers.”
The U.S. could also face a period of austerity on the local, state, and federal levels. Republicans are already pushing to cut unemployment benefits to the more than 30 million people who have lost their jobs amid the crisis. Trump and Republican leaders have also come out against providing aid to states and local governments to alleviate their massive budget shortfalls.
“If we don’t get federal assistance, you’re looking at education cuts of close to 50 percent in the state of New York,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned last month, adding that cuts would also hit police, firefighters, and health workers. “How ludicrous would it be to now cut hospital funding from state governments?”
As the country deals with a rise in xenophobia and possible austerity measures, the current pandemic has also helped far-right groups ramp up recruitment, particularly among young people.
The lockdowns across the country create a “perfect storm for recruitment and radicalization” by far-right groups, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an American University professor who heads the extremism research lab PERIL, told NPR. “For extremists, this is an ideal time to exploit youth grievances about their lack of agency, their families’ economic distress, and their intense sense of disorientation, confusion, fear and anxiety.”
Brad Galloway of the anti-extremist group Life After Hate agreed that it was important to combat the explosion in far-right recruitment efforts amid the pandemic.
“They prey upon any kind of societal or community division,” he told Time. “Right now people are pretty fragile, and this is the time that they will try to take advantage.”
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.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-05-11--Trump Admin Wants to Cut Social Security in Exchange for Direct COVID Payments

Suddenly concerned about the growing national debt now that corporations have secured access to trillions of dollars in Covid-19 bailout funds with little oversight , Trump administration officials are reportedly considering several proposals purportedly aimed at reducing government spending — including a pair of plans that would provide Americans with cash payments in exchange for delays or cuts to their Social Security benefits .
In addition to weighing a push for automatic federal spending cuts that would take effect once the economy rebounds from the coronavirus crisis , Washington Post reported Sunday that top White House economic officials are “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scholars that would allow Americans to choose to receive checks of up to $ 5,000 in exchange for a delay of their Social Security benefits.
” Senior administration officials have also “ discussed the ‘ Eagle Plan , ’ a 29-page memo that called for an overhaul of federal retirement programs in exchange for upfront payments to some workers , ” according to the Post .
“ The proposal calls for giving Americans $ 10,000 upfront in exchange for curbing their federal retirement benefits , such as Social Security.
” The “ Eagle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department official close to President Donald Trump ’ s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner , who forwarded the proposal to the White House Council of Economic Advisers .
Art Laffer , a conservative economist and Trump adviser , told the Post that he supports the proposal .
“ They ’ re calling this monstrous idea the ‘ Eagle Plan ’ but it should be called the ‘ Work ‘ Til You Die Plan , ' ” tweeted progressive advocacy group Social Security Works .
“ The only reason to support it over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undermine our Social Security system.
” Hogan Gidley , a White House spokesman , indicated that Trump is opposed to the ideas laid out in the “ Eagle Plan ” — which he described as “ ludicrous on its face ” — but the Post reported that the president has not reviewed the proposal .
After vowing during his 2016 presidential run to shield Social Security and Medicare from cuts , Trump has proposed slashing both programs in his annual budget blueprints .
Trump also said during an interview at the World Economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare if reelected in November .
Amid a global pandemic that has left more than 30 million people in the U.S. jobless , Trump ’ s top economic stimulus idea has been cutting the payroll tax , which funds Social Security and Medicare .
The president said during a Fox News town hall last week that he would not sign any future Covid-19 stimulus package that does not include a payroll tax cut .
“ Donald Trump and his administration will stop at nothing to cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jayapal ( D-Wash. ) , co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus .

Suddenly concerned about the growing national debt now that corporations have secured access to trillions of dollars in Covid-19 bailout funds with little oversight, Trump administration officials are reportedly considering several proposals purportedly aimed at reducing government spending — including a pair of plans that would provide Americans with cash payments in exchange for delays or cuts to their Social Security benefits.
In addition to weighing a push for automatic federal spending cuts that would take effect once the economy rebounds from the coronavirus crisis, Washington Post reported Sunday that top White House economic officials are “exploring a proposal floated by two conservative scholars that would allow Americans to choose to receive checks of up to $5,000 in exchange for a delay of their Social Security benefits.”
Senior administration officials have also “discussed the ‘Eagle Plan,’ a 29-page memo that called for an overhaul of federal retirement programs in exchange for upfront payments to some workers,” according to the Post. “The proposal calls for giving Americans $10,000 upfront in exchange for curbing their federal retirement benefits, such as Social Security.”
The “Eagle Plan” was crafted by a State Department official close to President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who forwarded the proposal to the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Art Laffer, a conservative economist and Trump adviser, told the Post that he supports the proposal.
“They’re calling this monstrous idea the ‘Eagle Plan’ but it should be called the ‘Work ‘Til You Die Plan,'” tweeted progressive advocacy group Social Security Works. “The only reason to support it over simply sending people $2,000/month is to undermine our Social Security system.”
One page of the State plan says it is an “Opportunity to Rethink Social Security” It adds: “If you want to grow a tree, is it better to water it early in life, or at the end of life, or maybe a little bit of both? Our economy might work the same way.”https://t.co/iPb1OFZsU0 — Jeffrey Stein (@JStein_WaPo) May 10, 2020
Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, indicated that Trump is opposed to the ideas laid out in the “Eagle Plan” — which he described as “ludicrous on its face” — but the Post reported that the president has not reviewed the proposal.
After vowing during his 2016 presidential run to shield Social Security and Medicare from cuts, Trump has proposed slashing both programs in his annual budget blueprints. Trump also said during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January that he would consider cuts to Social Security and Medicare if reelected in November.
Amid a global pandemic that has left more than 30 million people in the U.S. jobless, Trump’s top economic stimulus idea has been cutting the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare. The president said during a Fox News town hall last week that he would not sign any future Covid-19 stimulus package that does not include a payroll tax cut.
“Donald Trump and his administration will stop at nothing to cut Social Security,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
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.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.