buzzfeed--2020-03-21--How The Ultimate Career Politician Is Making The Coronavirus Crisis His Moment

CLEVELAND — Not long after Mike DeWine became Ohio ’ s governor last year , people noticed all of the fun he was having with the ceremonial duties .
At 72 , he finally got the job he always wanted .
There was no ribbon-cutting too small , no photo op too corny .
He was , as one lobbyist observed to a reporter in Columbus , “ Ohio ’ s Grandpa.
” The image wasn ’ t entirely favorable .
Even a few of his fellow Republicans wondered if DeWine was coasting , treating the governor ’ s mansion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four decades in public life .
But the last few weeks have been a revelation for DeWine ’ s doubters and vindication for those who believed his governorship could be more than a capstone .
He has asserted himself as a national example for how to manage the coronavirus crisis , combining a reassuring presence with aggressive action .
He understood earlier than other governors that closing schools , restaurants , and bars — as disruptive as those decisions were — would help contain COVID-19 ’ s spread .
He took unprecedented steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primary and keep voters at home .
DeWine ’ s paternal instincts used to prompt snickers , his decades grinding through public office discounted as the bloodless work of a career politician .
But in a crisis , where DeWine has parlayed 40 years of government experience into calm and quick decisiveness , those old weaknesses now project as strengths .
“ Sometimes you have an instinct based on the facts , ” DeWine said by telephone Thursday , in between local radio interviews and a call with the state ’ s mayors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my instincts , I 've made mistakes .
My instinct throughout this has been that we ’ ve got to move faster.
” Republicans are happy to rally around DeWine even as they wrestle with uncomfortable questions about how he has approached the pandemic with more urgency than President Donald Trump has .
Many Democrats are lauding his approach too .
“ The good governors , and DeWine has been one of them in this , know they have to drive this because we have a president who has been AWOL on this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s caused damage to their efforts , ” Sen. Sherrod Brown , a past DeWine rival , told me .
“ DeWine won ’ t say that .
I would think he wouldn ’ t , but of course he knows that .
We all know that.
” Citizens who don ’ t ordinarily tune in to state government are tuning in for DeWine ’ s daily press conferences .
The afternoon briefings , where he relies on the expertise of his health director , a medical doctor with a master ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viewing .
I ’ ve been an Ohio resident for all of my 38 years .
Mike DeWine has held one public office or another for almost all of them .
I can ’ t remember him being an actual household name here until now .
“ I think he ’ s treating Ohio like he would treat his own family , ” John Kasich , DeWine ’ s Republican predecessor as governor , told me approvingly , echoing a sentiment others shared .
When I spoke this week with DeWine and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them talked — in a way that would seem cultish or at least scripted if it wasn ’ t true — about how this job , being governor , is the job he prepared for his entire life .
He ’ d been a county prosecutor and state lawmaker .
He ’ d served in both chambers of Congress .
He ’ d been the lieutenant governor and the state ’ s attorney general .
“ We all talk about career politicians and people like that , ” Lt. Gov .
Jon Husted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daily press conferences , told me as he began to laugh .
“ But this is probably one time that you want a guy like Mike DeWine in charge — because he ’ s seen it all , and you ’ re not going to slip anything by him .
He was built for this moment.
” The most notable thing about DeWine ’ s career might be its longevity .
Until now , he wasn ’ t defined by a signature achievement or piece of legislation .
The work that stands out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of untested rape kits while he was attorney general .
During the types of historical events that friends say informed DeWine ’ s approach to crises , he was mostly a bystander .
As lieutenant governor , he watched his boss , the late George Voinovich , deal with the deadly Lucasville prison riot .
He experienced 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina as a senator .
Ideologically , DeWine rates as a social conservative .
He signed into law last year a ban on abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected .
( Kasich @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was governor . )
A question that animated the closing days of the 2018 gubernatorial race was whether DeWine was more of a Donald Trump Republican or a John Kasich Republican .
He and his allies argued he was neither — he was a Mike DeWine Republican .
The “ heartbeat bill ” notwithstanding , DeWine is more in sync with Kasich ’ s old-guard mainstream conservatism than Trump ’ s populism .
But his political identity is tethered more to his personality and to his family than to any ideology .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ wouldn ’ t know by the suits that hang off his short and slender frame that he ’ s the kind of guy who can loan his campaign $ 4 million , thanks largely to his family ’ s seed and twine businesses .
( When I saw him sporting new and fashionable eyeglasses at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland , I joked it was a sure sign he was running for governor . )
He met his wife , Fran , when he was in the first grade .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and settled in for a life as political partners .
No one in his tight circle of advisers has as much influence on his decision-making as Fran does , J.B. Hadden , a lawyer who ’ s been close to DeWine and his family for more than 30 years , told me .
Fran is a constant presence at DeWine ’ s side , often sporting an “ I Like Mike ” button with “ Like ” crossed out and replaced with “ Love.
” When DeWine turned over the first portion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her , she encouraged parents to read and cook with their kids as a way to pass time during self-isolation and school closings .
Friends said the death of the DeWines ’ 22-year-old daughter Becky in a 1993 car accident shaped them more than any political event .
“ It ’ s internal , but it ’ s profound , ” Hadden told me .
“ It ’ s what drives the two of them.
” DeWine was in the midst of his second Senate bid at the time .
This one would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t where he wanted to be long-term .
As Hadden described it , DeWine found himself lulled into seeking a third term in 2006 .
“ Back in ’ 05 I think he decided in his head , he could tell things were getting rough for Republicans , ” Hadden said .
“ I think he just decided he was going to stay in the Senate for the rest of his life .
If Sherrod wouldn ’ t have run , Mike DeWine probably wouldn ’ t be governor right now .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the job .
He always wanted to be governor.
” Brown beat DeWine in a heated campaign that exposed some of DeWine ’ s questionable judgment .
In an ad accusing Brown of being soft on terrorism , DeWine ’ s campaign used an altered image of the World Trade Center towers burning on 9/11 .
As DeWine suspected , 2006 was a terrible year for Republicans .
Brown won .
DeWine went home .
Fourteen years later , as DeWine leads Ohio through a crisis , Brown is one of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not surprising , ” Brown told me when I asked if it was , given their acrimonious history , “ because he ’ s an honorable elected official , and I thought that running against him.
” Brown said he ’ s been talking and texting with DeWine , mostly about how they can share information that would be helpful as Brown fights for more federal resources .
“ Quarterbacks are better when they have experience , ” Brown said .
“ DeWine could not do this so well if he didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way government works.
” In the middle of intense partisanship and frustration over how Trump has handled the coronavirus response so far , Democrats have been exuberant in their praise for DeWine .
David Pepper , who failed in a bid to unseat DeWine as attorney general in 2014 and now chairs the Ohio Democratic Party , has cheered DeWine ’ s response .
Emilia Sykes , the Democratic leader in the Ohio House of Representatives , told me she has largely positive views of DeWine ’ s efforts .
“ What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when you have someone experienced in this role , ” she said .
“ The reach goes far , the relationships are long.
” Sykes has been especially impressed with DeWine ’ s empowerment of Amy Acton , the health director who ’ s been a major presence at the daily press conferences .
Acton has built up her own devoted following : An Ohio T-shirt company printed a tribute to her this week ; a TV reporter presented her with flowers Thursday .
DeWine allies point to Acton ’ s appointment last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The top spot at the Ohio Department of Health can be a soft landing for patronage hires or career bureaucrats .
It was the last Cabinet post DeWine filled , at least in part because he took time to find someone with both experience in public health and strong communication skills .
“ A lot of times people hire administrators , ” Husted , DeWine ’ s lieutenant governor , observed .
“ He wanted to hire a doctor that really understood how public health worked .
It was that decision that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Who better could you have in that position at this moment ?
” Acton “ has been both that voice of confidence and authority but also reassurance , ” Frank LaRose , Ohio ’ s Republican secretary of state , told me .
“ She ’ s been reassuring to Ohioans while at the same time not sugarcoating things .
He ’ s been right there by her side saying , ‘ I ’ m the governor , the buck stops here , and what my health director says is law.
’ ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together this month have been tough , even as they ’ ve since been replicated across the country .
DeWine , a traditional , pro-business Republican , has found himself telling restaurants and bars they could only stay open for takeout or delivery and ordering the closings of gyms , movie theaters , barber shops , and hair and nail salons .
He told me he struggled with balancing the loss of jobs against the loss of life .
“ The decisions we ’ re making throw some people out of work , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ But we ’ ve got to balance that with ... we ’ ve got to get them through it.
” Pat Tiberi , a Republican who served in Congress with DeWine and now leads the Ohio Business Roundtable , told me DeWine sought input from the private sector .
“ He ’ s the type of elected official who ’ s deliberative but then acts .
Whether you agree with him or not — and I tend to agree with almost everything he 's done — you ca n't say he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friends cringe about how casual DeWine is about handing out his personal cellphone number , but the move has created an information network that has helped serve as a gut check .
On Sunday , for example , DeWine received texts from people worried about how crowded bars were the night before .
That day , he and Acton announced the bar and restaurant restrictions .
DeWine ’ s moves have not gone without criticism .
Larry Householder , the Republican speaker of the Ohio House and one of the most ambitious politicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet urging the governor against a restaurant shutdown , drawing an attaboy from DeWine ’ s Republican successor as attorney general .
And DeWine ’ s efforts to postpone Ohio ’ s presidential primary were particularly messy .
On Monday , after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised against gatherings larger than 50 people , DeWine determined holding in-person voting the next day would be a health risk .
But because of provisions in Ohio law and a legislature that no one was sure could convene under the circumstances , DeWine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state to work with LaRose to find a solution .
The result was a last-minute , third-party lawsuit to delay the primary until June and allow absentee voting in the meantime .
A judge ruled against the plaintiffs , and for several hours Monday night there was chaos , as no one knew if polls would open the next morning .
Finally , DeWine and Acton invoked a health emergency to keep the polls closed .
If and when a new vote will be scheduled remains unclear .
The emergency closing , LaRose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resort .
The lawyerly DeWine didn ’ t want to do an end run around the courts if he didn ’ t have to .
“ It wasn ’ t because of indecisiveness , ” said LaRose , addressing the second-guessing that DeWine should have set the postponement in motion days earlier .
“ It was because of new science.
” Those who know DeWine best told me the politics surrounding the coronavirus matter little to him .
That ’ s been evident in how far ahead of Trump he ’ s been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cues from the president have been slower to react , hemming , hawing , and encouraging their citizens to “ go to Bob Evans and eat.
” DeWine has been careful not to frame his approach as a contrast to Trump ’ s , and he and his allies mostly parried my questions about the obvious differences .
“ Look , ” DeWine told me Thursday , “ I think a public health crisis is naturally the province of the governor , and that people look to a governor , they look to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we inherently have the power to deal with.
” He said Trump ’ s administration has been helpful throughout the crisis : “ I feel good about that relationship.
” He praised the Agriculture Department for granting a waiver that allows the state to keep school meal programs running while the buildings are closed .
“ We can pick up the phone if we ’ ve got a problem and we can find somebody to help drive it through.
” Others turned the Trump questions around to gently suggest DeWine is showing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before he was elected , matters .
“ I guess at this point in my life , at age 73 , having been in politics for 40 years , I think there is some advantage to experience , ” DeWine said .
“ I ’ m literally using my lifetime of experience in government .
I ’ d rather have that experience than not have it.
” Then DeWine , who at his coronavirus briefings often talks about lessons learned from the 1918 flu pandemic , made a comment that suggested he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Every governor who I talked to before I took the oath of office said , ‘ There ’ ll be something that comes up — you don ’ t have a clue what it is , but there ’ ll be something that comes up .
It 'll be a flood or a tornado , ’ ” DeWine said .
“ Well , this is the ultimate crisis , a once-in-a-century crisis .
I kind of laughed with a friend last night .
I said , ‘ We have n't had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'm the governor when it happens.
’ You can ’ t make this stuff up , right ?
”

CLEVELAND — Not long after Mike DeWine became Ohio’s governor last year, people noticed all of the fun he was having with the ceremonial duties. At 72, he finally got the job he always wanted. There was no ribbon-cutting too small, no photo op too corny. He was, as one lobbyist observed to a reporter in Columbus, “Ohio’s Grandpa.”
The image wasn’t entirely favorable. Even a few of his fellow Republicans wondered if DeWine was coasting, treating the governor’s mansion as some sort of retirement home after four decades in public life.
But the last few weeks have been a revelation for DeWine’s doubters and vindication for those who believed his governorship could be more than a capstone. He has asserted himself as a national example for how to manage the coronavirus crisis, combining a reassuring presence with aggressive action. He understood earlier than other governors that closing schools, restaurants, and bars — as disruptive as those decisions were — would help contain COVID-19’s spread. He took unprecedented steps to preempt his state’s presidential primary and keep voters at home.
DeWine’s paternal instincts used to prompt snickers, his decades grinding through public office discounted as the bloodless work of a career politician. But in a crisis, where DeWine has parlayed 40 years of government experience into calm and quick decisiveness, those old weaknesses now project as strengths.
“Sometimes you have an instinct based on the facts,” DeWine said by telephone Thursday, in between local radio interviews and a call with the state’s mayors. “When I have not trusted my instincts, I've made mistakes. My instinct throughout this has been that we’ve got to move faster.”
Republicans are happy to rally around DeWine even as they wrestle with uncomfortable questions about how he has approached the pandemic with more urgency than President Donald Trump has. Many Democrats are lauding his approach too.
“The good governors, and DeWine has been one of them in this, know they have to drive this because we have a president who has been AWOL on this — worse than AWOL, he’s caused damage to their efforts,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, a past DeWine rival, told me. “DeWine won’t say that. I would think he wouldn’t, but of course he knows that. We all know that.”
Citizens who don’t ordinarily tune in to state government are tuning in for DeWine’s daily press conferences. The afternoon briefings, where he relies on the expertise of his health director, a medical doctor with a master’s degree in public health, are appointment viewing. I’ve been an Ohio resident for all of my 38 years. Mike DeWine has held one public office or another for almost all of them. I can’t remember him being an actual household name here until now.
“I think he’s treating Ohio like he would treat his own family,” John Kasich, DeWine’s Republican predecessor as governor, told me approvingly, echoing a sentiment others shared.
When I spoke this week with DeWine and his close friends and colleagues, all of them talked — in a way that would seem cultish or at least scripted if it wasn’t true — about how this job, being governor, is the job he prepared for his entire life. He’d been a county prosecutor and state lawmaker. He’d served in both chambers of Congress. He’d been the lieutenant governor and the state’s attorney general.
“We all talk about career politicians and people like that,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who appears with DeWine at the daily press conferences, told me as he began to laugh. “But this is probably one time that you want a guy like Mike DeWine in charge — because he’s seen it all, and you’re not going to slip anything by him. He was built for this moment.”


buzzfeed--2020-03-22--The Disorienting Thing Is You Can't Compare This To Anything

One of the more surreal aspects of this is that everything defies comparison .
There 's no one-to-one in living memory in American life : a self-imposed stop to the economy and a soft , country-wide quarantine .
There 's no fixed point toward which we 're supposed to be enduring , except to stay away to reduce the systemic strain of COVID-19 on people and hospitals .
What compares ?
There 's trivia to set off the macro elements of this — that the Supreme Court had n't canceled arguments since the Spanish Flu in 1918 , that Disneyland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mourning JFK 's assassination .
But the nontrivial , elevator-drop economic statistics that have begun rolling in illustrate the scale of what you can see in front of you .
This is not like the last , catastrophic recession ; this is total suspension of the economy that is catastrophically different — without comparison — and even looks that way in chart form .
And without a comparison , there ’ s no trajectory , just income disappearing and expenses fixed .
It ’ s like the US economy has turned into a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nothing functional .
The lack of macro comparison — and the depthless consideration of where this all leads — also extends into the micro level .
Technically , many of us are already having the same experience : socially distanced , at home , ad infinitum .
New York and California have locked down .
The next month will , by definition , be intense : isolated and constrained in space , accentuated by the strain of illness or joblessness or the potential for them .
There 's really no way this wo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's memory for the rest of their lives — where the streets of major cities turn into the almost soundless retreats of daytime walkers .
And just as you might be able to map out in memory your childhood bedroom , wherever you are right now and remain , this image and the everyday dynamic in that space will likely live forever .
But , paradoxically , these experiences are hyper-individualized .
Can you have a true , collective experience when the central vividness and intensity of the experience ( the people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between any two homes ?
If you 've talked over text or phone with people in slightly different circumstances than your own the last week , you can maybe feel some of the little fault lines and frustrations , even in the opening phases .
People at home with young children will never know what it 's like to live alone during this period , and people who live alone will never know what it 's like to be a pair limited by health or age in venturing much of anywhere .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment free from demand , and the unending stretch of silent hours ca n't really be alike in shared , cultural memory .
It 's this weird distillation of the individual experience — the same but incomparable — during a heightened period that we 're all living concurrently .
Even in the case of similar elements that might comprise A and B 's spring of social distancing , the reality of isolation necessarily prevents comparison between like and like .
In Frederick Exley ’ s A Fan ’ s Notes — a dark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being out of place — when the narrator describes a recurrent dream of his , Exley writes , “ John Jay Chapman once said of William James that he seemed always to be stepping out of a sadness to meet one ; as , a little startled , most of us seem always to be stepping out of predominant hues , whether of gaiety or equanimity or frolicsomeness or gravity , to meet another.
” The fundamental gap in social isolation is the lack of comparison — the inability to meaningfully step out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a more complicated understanding .
You can attempt this kind of exchange on the phone or in writing , and you can , of course , work to imagine the circumstances of others , physical or emotional .
But from within the disorienting , incomparable quasi-quarantine where you can practically feel your mind carving the memories up already , there ’ s no intellectual distance or fluid act of comparison .
There ’ s only the depthless consideration of the hazy , ever darkening national situation , and the sharpening personal one .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ca n't or wo n't happen ultimately .
In a time without much history or memory to work backward and forward from , if anything , the promise of that future comparison , even if it 's chaotic , is the destination for endurance .
That has formed vaguely in my own mind as a party : a crowd reunited , in too small a space , inside an open business , on a summer night — think that good New York-in-the-movies lighting , black and gold , with something with synths playing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to carry off , but that ’ s been floating through my head in idle moments as the fixed , if ephemeral point .
●

One of the more surreal aspects of this is that everything defies comparison.
There's no one-to-one in living memory in American life: a self-imposed stop to the economy and a soft, country-wide quarantine. There's no fixed point toward which we're supposed to be enduring, except to stay away to reduce the systemic strain of COVID-19 on people and hospitals. What compares?
There's trivia to set off the macro elements of this — that the Supreme Court hadn't canceled arguments since the 1918 flu pandemic, that Disneyland hadn't closed except for 9/11 and mourning JFK's assassination. But the nontrivial, elevator-drop economic statistics that have begun rolling in illustrate the scale of what you can see in front of you. This is not like the last, catastrophic recession; this is total suspension of the economy that is catastrophically different — without comparison — and even looks that way in chart form. And without a comparison, there’s no trajectory, just income disappearing and expenses fixed. It’s like the US economy has turned into a dead amusement park, everything visible but nothing functional.
The lack of macro comparison — and the depthless consideration of where this all leads — also extends into the micro level.
Technically, many of us are already having the same experience: socially distanced, at home, ad infinitum. New York and California have locked down.
The next month will, by definition, be intense: isolated and constrained in space, accentuated by the strain of illness or joblessness or the potential for them. There's really no way this won't be a time etched into everyone's memory for the rest of their lives — where the streets of major cities turn into the almost soundless retreats of daytime walkers. And just as you might be able to map out in memory your childhood bedroom, wherever you are right now and remain, this image and the everyday dynamic in that space will likely live forever.
But, paradoxically, these experiences are hyper-individualized. Can you have a true, collective experience when the central vividness and intensity of the experience (the people, the place) will vary so much between any two homes?
If you've talked over text or phone with people in slightly different circumstances than your own the last week, you can maybe feel some of the little fault lines and frustrations, even in the opening phases. People at home with young children will never know what it's like to live alone during this period, and people who live alone will never know what it's like to be a pair limited by health or age in venturing much of anywhere. The total lack of a quiet, ordered moment free from demand, and the unending stretch of silent hours can't really be alike in shared, cultural memory. It's this weird distillation of the individual experience — the same but incomparable — during a heightened period that we're all living concurrently.
Even in the case of similar elements that might comprise A and B's spring of social distancing, the reality of isolation necessarily prevents comparison between like and like. In Frederick Exley’s A Fan’s Notes — a dark book about sports, alcoholism, and being out of place — when the narrator describes a recurrent dream of his, Exley writes, “John Jay Chapman once said of William James that he seemed always to be stepping out of a sadness to meet one; as, a little startled, most of us seem always to be stepping out of predominant hues, whether of gaiety or equanimity or frolicsomeness or gravity, to meet another.”
The fundamental gap in social isolation is the lack of comparison — the inability to meaningfully step out of our predominant hues and enter into a more complicated understanding. You can attempt this kind of exchange on the phone or in writing, and you can, of course, work to imagine the circumstances of others, physical or emotional. But from within the disorienting, incomparable quasi-quarantine where you can practically feel your mind carving the memories up already, there’s no intellectual distance or fluid act of comparison. There’s only the depthless consideration of the hazy, ever-darkening national situation, and the sharpening personal one.
Which isn't to say that this can't or won't happen ultimately. In a time without much history or memory to work backward and forward from, if anything, the promise of that future comparison, even if it's chaotic, is the destination for endurance. That has formed vaguely in my own mind as a party: a crowd reunited, in too small a space, inside an open business, on a summer night — think that good New York–in-the-movies lighting, black and gold, with something with synths playing. This is nothing I am even likely to carry off, but that’s been floating through my head in idle moments as the fixed, if ephemeral point. ●


buzzfeed--2020-03-24--Trump Said He Wants People "Back To Work" By Easter. His Medical Advisers Pushed Back.

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he hoped to have the country “ back to work ” by Easter , setting the most concrete deadline yet as his attention turns from stopping the onslaught of the coronavirus and toward restarting the ailing US economy .
He received immediate pushback and hedging from some of his advisers — including Dr. Deborah Birx , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Task Force , Surgeon General Jerome Adams , and even Vice President Mike Pence — after making the statement during a Fox News town hall .
“ I ’ d love to have it open by Easter , ” Trump said .
“ I would love to have that .
It ’ s such an important day for other reasons , but I ’ ll make it an important day for this too .
I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.
” Easter falls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deadline does not have any medical significance for slowing the spread of the coronavirus , and Trump did not immediately give any reason for the date .
It also conflicts with what New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo suggested just hours earlier could be the peak for the outbreak in his state , which Pence has called the “ epicenter ” for the virus outbreak in the United States .
In an interview on Fox News later Tuesday afternoon , Trump said , Easter `` is a very special day for me , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great to have all of the churches full . ''
`` So , I think Easter Sunday , and you will have packed churches all over our country .
I think it would be a beautiful time and it 's just about the timeline that I think is right , '' he later added .
He said he is n't `` sure '' that would be the official deadline .
By his Tuesday night White House press briefing , Trump had begun to hedge the Easter deadline , saying his administration would `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do it if it 's good and maybe we do sections of the country , we do large sections of the country , '' and that he 's talking with the medical advisers .
`` I just thought it was a beautiful time , '' he said when asked who suggested the date .
`` It 's a beautiful time , a beautiful timeline . ''
In public statements and tweets in the past few days , Trump has made clear he is growing more concerned about the economic fallout of the outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the novel coronavirus , as many Americans retreat to their homes and both small and large businesses fire workers en masse following a sharp drop in demand .
A growing discourse on the right has floated sacrificing the lives of those most at risk of the virus — the elderly and those with underlying conditions — in exchange for focusing on an economic revival .
It is unclear what Trump could actually do to “ open ” the country — shelter-in-place orders come from governors , not the federal government .
And how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centers like New York City are still dealing with an unprecedented medical crisis is uncertain .
But his words send an important signal to people looking for guidance as they maneuver a fast-moving pandemic , and it ’ s advice that medical professionals are not remotely sanctioning .
Trump received almost immediate pushback to his Easter deadline from members of the White House ’ s Coronavirus Task Force , who took part in the Fox News town hall alongside him in the Rose Garden .
Adams , the surgeon general , said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 14 days and we ’ ll figure out the most appropriate thing to do.
” He praised Trump for listening to his medical and scientific advisers .
“ Based on my experience , the president will make the appropriate decision based on all the data , ” he said .
Birx urged Americans to continue following the White House guidelines designed to slow the spread of the virus , which were released on March 16 and provided for 15 days of action .
“ Every American needs to continue the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days or seven days .
We have to have them following those guidelines , ” she said , as Adams nodded along .
Trump then broke in to say that his thinking had changed once it appeared that the mortality rate of COVID-19 was lower than the worst case estimates .
( There is no way to know the true mortality rate since testing has been so limited in the United States . )
“ Excuse me just one second , ” Trump said .
“ You can ’ t compare this to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died , ” he said , referring to the 1918 flu pandemic .
“ If you got it , you had a 50/50 chance , or very close , of dying .
I think we ’ re substantially under 1 % , because the people that get better are not reporting , ” he said .
“ When they came into my office , don ’ t forget — they said 3 % , 4 % , 5 % — there ’ s a very big difference .
No – we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After following the guidance of medical professionals for the first few weeks of the crisis , Trump has grown increasingly frustrated .
“ They came in , experts , and said we ’ re gon na have to close the country .
I said , 'Are you serious about this ? '
We are going to take this country that is fully employed , and you ’ re telling me we have to close it ?
And people are gon na go out of business and they ’ re gon na go bankrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have jobs ?
“ I gave it two weeks , ” he said .
Trump tried to allay concerns that he was turning sour on Dr. Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has become a public face of reassurance during the crisis and was absent from both the town hall and Monday ’ s White House press briefing .
“ We get along very well , ” Trump said in response to a question from Fox News host Bill Hemmer , who then asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ I think it ’ s been very good .
You would have heard about it if it wasn ’ t. ” He called both Fauci and Birx “ extraordinary.
” But Trump has never navigated a crisis of this length or depth in his three years as president .
And he is known to bore easily , while also turning on advisers who don ’ t tell him what he wants to hear , or who grab too much of the spotlight .
Fauci , and Birx , have tried to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also seemed to find it increasingly difficult to hide their momentary frustrations with the president during briefings , and Fauci recently gave a forthright interview in which he described working with Trump .
Fauci , who spoke at the Tuesday night White House briefing , said the Easter timeline is `` really very flexible , '' and that he had just talked with Trump about the timeline in the Oval Office prior to the briefing .
Birx and Adams made clear in Tuesday ’ s town hall that they were not ready to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nor was Pence , who said governors had brought down various orders to enforce social distancing .
“ We defer to that , we respect that , ” he said .
“ We want to open the country as soon as we can .
The more people that put into practice the president ’ s coronavirus guidelines , the sooner we ’ ll be able to open up.
” Trump stuck to his guns.
” I think it ’ s possible — why isn ’ t it ?
” he asked , referring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down on his theory that the number of people who would die by suicide in a recession or depression would outnumber those who could die of the virus .
“ We need to get our country back to work , ’ he said .
“ If we delay this thing out , you ’ re gon na lose more people than you ’ re losing with the situation as we know it.
” More than 50,000 people are known to have contracted the coronavirus in the United States , and more than 600 @ @ @ @ @ @

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he hoped to have the country “back to work” by Easter, setting the most concrete deadline yet as his attention turns from stopping the onslaught of the coronavirus and toward restarting the ailing US economy.
He received immediate pushback and hedging from some of his advisers — including Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and even Vice President Mike Pence — after making the statement during a Fox News town hall.
“I’d love to have it open by Easter,” Trump said. “I would love to have that. It’s such an important day for other reasons, but I’ll make it an important day for this too. I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.” Easter falls on April 12 this year.
The deadline does not have any medical significance for slowing the spread of the coronavirus, and Trump did not immediately give any reason for the date. It also conflicts with what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested just hours earlier could be the peak for the outbreak in his state, which Pence has called the “epicenter” for the virus outbreak in the United States.
In an interview on Fox News later Tuesday afternoon, Trump said, Easter "is a very special day for me," and that it would be "great to have all of the churches full."
"So, I think Easter Sunday, and you will have packed churches all over our country. I think it would be a beautiful time and it's just about the timeline that I think is right," he later added. He said he isn't "sure" that would be the official deadline.
By his Tuesday night White House press briefing, Trump had begun to hedge the Easter deadline, saying his administration would "look at it, we'll only do it if it's good and maybe we do sections of the country, we do large sections of the country," and that he's talking with the medical advisers.
"I just thought it was a beautiful time," he said when asked who suggested the date. "It's a beautiful time, a beautiful timeline."
In public statements and tweets in the past few days, Trump has made clear he is growing more concerned about the economic fallout of the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, as many Americans retreat to their homes and both small and large businesses fire workers en masse following a sharp drop in demand. A growing discourse on the right has floated sacrificing the lives of those most at risk of the virus — the elderly and those with underlying conditions — in exchange for focusing on an economic revival.
It is unclear what Trump could actually do to “open” the country — shelter-in-place orders come from governors, not the federal government. And how the economy would even restart if financial centers like New York City are still dealing with an unprecedented medical crisis is uncertain. But his words send an important signal to people looking for guidance as they maneuver a fast-moving pandemic, and it’s advice that medical professionals are not remotely sanctioning.
Trump received almost immediate pushback to his Easter deadline from members of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force, who took part in the Fox News town hall alongside him in the Rose Garden. Adams, the surgeon general, said: “We will assess at the end of the 14 days and we’ll figure out the most appropriate thing to do.” He praised Trump for listening to his medical and scientific advisers. “Based on my experience, the president will make the appropriate decision based on all the data,” he said.
Birx urged Americans to continue following the White House guidelines designed to slow the spread of the virus, which were released on March 16 and provided for 15 days of action. “Every American needs to continue the president’s guidelines for these next six days or seven days. We have to have them following those guidelines,” she said, as Adams nodded along. Trump then broke in to say that his thinking had changed once it appeared that the mortality rate of COVID-19 was lower than the worst case estimates. (There is no way to know the true mortality rate since testing has been so limited in the United States.)
“Excuse me just one second,” Trump said. “You can’t compare this to 1918 where close to 100 million people died,” he said, referring to the 1918 flu pandemic. “If you got it, you had a 50/50 chance, or very close, of dying. I think we’re substantially under 1%, because the people that get better are not reporting,” he said. “When they came into my office, don’t forget — they said 3%, 4%, 5% — there’s a very big difference. No – we have to put our country back to work.”
After following the guidance of medical professionals for the first few weeks of the crisis, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated. “They came in, experts, and said we’re gonna have to close the country. I said, 'Are you serious about this?' We are going to take this country that is fully employed, and you’re telling me we have to close it? And people are gonna go out of business and they’re gonna go bankrupt and they’re not gonna have jobs?
“I gave it two weeks,” he said.
Trump tried to allay concerns that he was turning sour on Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has become a public face of reassurance during the crisis and was absent from both the town hall and Monday’s White House press briefing. “We get along very well,” Trump said in response to a question from Fox News host Bill Hemmer, who then asked, “Your relationship is good?” “I think it’s been very good. You would have heard about it if it wasn’t.” He called both Fauci and Birx “extraordinary.”
But Trump has never navigated a crisis of this length or depth in his three years as president. And he is known to bore easily, while also turning on advisers who don’t tell him what he wants to hear, or who grab too much of the spotlight. Fauci, and Birx, have tried to approach those issues diplomatically, but have also seemed to find it increasingly difficult to hide their momentary frustrations with the president during briefings, and Fauci recently gave a forthright interview in which he described working with Trump.
Fauci, who spoke at the Tuesday night White House briefing, said the Easter timeline is "really very flexible," and that he had just talked with Trump about the timeline in the Oval Office prior to the briefing.
Birx and Adams made clear in Tuesday’s town hall that they were not ready to endorse Trump’s Easter deadline. Nor was Pence, who said governors had brought down various orders to enforce social distancing. “We defer to that, we respect that,” he said. “We want to open the country as soon as we can. The more people that put into practice the president’s coronavirus guidelines, the sooner we’ll be able to open up.”
Trump stuck to his guns.”I think it’s possible — why isn’t it?” he asked, referring to the Easter deadline. He doubled down on his theory that the number of people who would die by suicide in a recession or depression would outnumber those who could die of the virus.
“We need to get our country back to work,’ he said. “If we delay this thing out, you’re gonna lose more people than you’re losing with the situation as we know it.”
More than 50,000 people are known to have contracted the coronavirus in the United States, and more than 600 are known to have died.


buzzfeed--2020-03-24--Donald Trump Is Trying To Figure Out How Many Americans He Needs To Sacrifice To Keep The Economy Go

Donald Trump Is Trying To Figure Out How Many Americans He Needs To Sacrifice To Keep The Economy Going

“ The whole concept of death is terrible , ” said the president .
“ But there ’ s a tremendous difference between one percent and four or five.
” At Monday night ’ s White House press briefing on COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus , President Donald Trump announced he was seriously considering ending nationwide mitigation efforts and reopening American businesses .
`` We 're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem , '' Trump said , echoing the slogan he wrote in an all-caps tweet Sunday night .
The president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would go back to normal but estimated it could be `` a lot sooner than three or four months . ''
“ The whole concept of death is terrible , ” the president said .
“ But there ’ s a tremendous difference between one percent and four or five.
” And during a Fox News town hall on Tuesday , Trump said he would love to have the country reopen on Easter , April 12 .
The decision on whether the country turns back on will be made at the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currently eight days into .
Joining the president , a growing chorus of American television pundits , business leaders , tech investors , cryptocurrency enthusiasts , and right-wing influencers have decided to convince the American people that possibly dying from the coronavirus is a small price to pay for economic health .
No clearer was this utilitarian calculus articulated than by Texas Republican Lt. Gov .
Dan Patrick on Fox News ’ Tucker Carlson Tonight on Monday night following Trump ’ s White House briefing .
Patrick suggested that Americans over 70 would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the country 's economy .
“ Those of us who are 70-plus , we ’ ll take care of ourselves .
But don ’ t sacrifice the country , ” Patrick said .
“ No one reached out to me and said , 'As a senior citizen , are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that America loves for its children and grandchildren ? '
And if that is the exchange , I 'm all in.
” Patrick wasn ’ t the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show to come out in favor of Trump ’ s Lord of the Flies coronavirus plan .
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told Carlson ’ s audience that the collapse of the economy was more dangerous than COVID-19 , which has infected 396,249 people worldwide as of Tuesday and killed 17,252 .
As Patrick and Kennedy spoke , the United States faced its deadliest day since the beginning of the outbreak , with more than 100 deaths in one 24-hour period .
“ Look , for a small segment of our population , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kill you .
For a small segment .
But you know what else can kill you ?
Poverty .
Hunger .
Losing the entire economy , ” Kennedy said during the same episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight .
“ And we have to stop thinking about the next election and try to think a little more about the next generation and what we ’ re going to leave to them , which is going to be the little end of nothing if we let this economy collapse.
” On Tuesday morning , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t let the cure be worse than the problem , ” the president tweeted to pressure Congress and assure his followers that senior citizens would be protected — although he did not explain how .
“ Our people want to return to work .
They will practice Social Distancing and all else , and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly , ” the president tweeted .
“ We can do two things together .
THE CURE CAN NOT BE WORSE ( by far ) THAN THE PROBLEM !
Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back strong !
” The president also retweeted conservative commentator Ann Coulter , who promoted a Haaretz article titled “ 'Trump Is Right About the Coronavirus .
The WHO Is Wrong , ' Says Israeli Expert.
” In her tweet , Coulter downplayed the mortality rate of COVID-19 .
The wave of economy-first , public safety–second messaging isn ’ t just happening on the president ’ s Twitter feed and his favorite news channel .
Right-wing influencers and the new class of coronavirus influencers — typically men who work in the tech or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posts to play amateur epidemiologists — have , too , fallen in line with the president .
“ This is a hard tweet to write : The best plan to protect vulnerable elderly is to gather all above 70+ years , except for those with essential skills like doctors and military and some elected officials , and create safe zones in military bases to protect them from Covid-19 , ” tech investor Shervin Pishevar tweeted , and then deleted , on Monday .
Pishevar is best known for denying he engaged in sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because , as another person at the party put it , he `` had a pony 's leash in one hand and a drink in the other . ''
“ If given the choice between dying and plunging the country I love into a Great Depression , I ’ d happily die , ” right-wing radio host and Federalist contributor Jesse Kelly tweeted .
The Federalist , a right-wing news site , and its writers have been especially vocal about ending mitigation measures for the sake of the economy .
The site has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depression would be worse than stopping the coronavirus .
“ It seems harsh to ask whether the nation might be better off letting a few hundred thousand people die , ” Jonathan Ashbach argued on Tuesday .
“ Yet honestly facing reality is not callous , and refusing even to consider whether the present response constitutes an even greater evil than the one it intends to mitigate would be cowardly.
” As one viral tweet put it , “ So we 're doing The Trolley Problem but the most important thing is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true that many Americans do not face a lethal risk from the coronavirus , it is also true that many do .
Former labor secretary Robert Reich , in a tweet , railed against the push for Americans to return to work while COVID-19 is still raging .
Following Trump 's Fox News town hall Tuesday , the hashtag # NotDyingForWallStreet started trending on Twitter .
`` 24 years ago , I gladly volunteered to give my life for this country if necessary to defend the Constitution , '' one user wrote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m going to be chosen as a human sacrifice by a man who spits on the Constitution daily to satisfy the god of American greed . ''
Vincent Racaniello , a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University and host of the podcast This Week in Virology , told BuzzFeed News it was n't clear to him if the trolley could be saved .
“ If this wave gets enough motion behind it and the president tells everyone to go back to work , many states probably wo n't do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So we 'll have a fragmented country .
... Then we 'll have a massive wave of deaths.
” Several governors are already charting another path .
`` When people are dying and people do n't feel safe , the economy is not going to come back .
We have to # FlattenTheCurve so that when the wave comes , it 's not as big as it would have been and we are prepared for it , '' Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine tweeted Tuesday .
During New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor pushed back against Trump ’ s plan : “ No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life — because no American is going to say how much a life is worth .
Job one has to be to save lives . ''
“ We ’ re not going to accept a premise that human life is disposable , ” Cuomo said .
`` And we ’ re not going to put a dollar figure on human life .
The first order of business is to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ costs . ''

At Monday night’s White House press briefing on COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump announced he was seriously considering ending nationwide mitigation efforts and reopening American businesses.
"We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem," Trump said, echoing the slogan he wrote in an all-caps tweet Sunday night. The president told reporters he was unsure when life would go back to normal but estimated it could be "a lot sooner than three or four months."
“The whole concept of death is terrible,” the president said. “But there’s a tremendous difference between one percent and four or five.”
And during a Fox News town hall on Tuesday, Trump said he would love to have the country reopen on Easter, April 12. The decision on whether the country turns back on will be made at the end of a 15-day period that we’re currently eight days into.
Joining the president, a growing chorus of American television pundits, business leaders, tech investors, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and right-wing influencers have decided to convince the American people that possibly dying from the coronavirus is a small price to pay for economic health.


buzzfeed--2020-03-24--Trump’s Biggest Supporters Have Decided It’s Time To End Coronavirus Mitigation, No Matter Who Dies

`` WE CAN NOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.
” The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
On Sunday , Turning Point USA ’ s Charlie Kirk appeared on Fox News and offered an idea to the channel ’ s 3.5 million-member audience : Reopen states with lower infection rates while leaving more heavily infected areas in quarantine .
“ So what I ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focus and more national unity about assisting those areas , and also relieving some of the quarantine and allowing the American entrepreneur to be liberated , ” Kirk said .
There ’ s clearly an appetite for this kind of thinking , some Americans appear to be ignoring social distancing warnings .
A Staten Island couple held a wedding on Sunday , shrugging off a New York state ban on “ nonessential ’ ’ public gatherings .
Countries have closed their borders and gone into lockdown , the global economy has ground to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surged in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
But it ’ s been just 12 days since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic , barely a month since the disease caused its first death on American soil .
Most governments are using May 1 as a tentative date when the world can start back up again .
The reality of another month inside , at least , is beginning to sink in for people .
Online , a certain desperation is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corners of the American right wing , people have begun asking an unsettling question : “ What if mitigation doesn ’ t work ?
” And there are three threads that are slowly converging , like a meme , to congeal into a dangerous answer — reopen the economy , no matter who might die as a result .
First , some right-wing media , business leaders , tech entrepreneurs , and prominent conspiracists are becoming bolder about wanting to “ move on ” and go back to work .
Second , conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become infected for a preordained reason — like the idea they could be part of a global pedophile ring .
And third , governments around the world , including the United States , are experimenting with ways to track people who are infected using surveillance technology .
The pandemic ’ s most immediate impact is that it has effectively closed down the physical world , forcing the majority of the earth ’ s population to rely almost wholly on the digital one .
And at the center of this new realm is Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dissected second by second .
A new class of coronavirus influencers has risen up , incentivized by Twitter ’ s need for constant content and its lack of fact-checking , peer review , or nuance .
While there 's plenty of verified information available , it 's often shifting and subject to update and can at times create the substrate of confusion and anxiety on which rumors thrive .
So when bogus coronavirus theories bubble up , they are embraced by some as fact — shady Bill Gates laboratories , Chinese bioweapons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hair dryer into your mouth to cure yourself .
Which means , right now , with enough retweets even the silliest of these ideas can become someone 's vision of reality .
One of the first business leaders to publicly advocate for this was MicroStrategy cofounder Michael J. Saylor last Monday .
Saylor emailed a 3,000-word note to employees , with the subject line “ My Thoughts , ” which was viewed by the Guardian , railed against social distancing and instead suggested that it would make more sense to “ quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compromised people who no longer need to work or get educated.
” “ It is soul-stealing and debilitating to embrace the notion of social distancing & economic hibernation , ” Saylor wrote .
“ In the absolutely worse case , the overall life expectancy worldwide would click down by a few weeks.
” “ Americans need to know the date when this will end , ” Fox News host Laura Ingraham tweeted last week .
“ The uncertainty for businesses , parents and kids is just not sustainable.
” Tom Fitton , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Watch , also publicly called on the Trump administration last week to “ reopen '' America .
Over the weekend , Fox News hosts latched on to a Medium post .
This time Laura Ingraham , Bret Baier , and Brit Hume all shared a viral and now-deleted Medium post titled “ Evidence over hysteria—COVID-19 , ” by a Silicon Valley technologist Aaron Ginn .
The post has since been republished on ZeroHedge .
The anchors praised the piece and imploring their followers to read it .
Hume called it “ smart analysis.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Hilton dedicated an entire segment to “ flattening the curve , not the economy.
” Hilton raged against the economic shutdown in the wake of COVID-19 .
“ Dr .
Fauci [ director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ] says he 's fine with overreacting , ” Hilton said .
“ Well , that 's easy for him to say .
He 'll still have a job at the end of this , whatever happens.
” On Monday , John Cardillo , a reporter for the conservative publisher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus outbreak had “ peaked.
” “ Anecdotally anyway , there ’ s a rumbling among doctors that this has peaked , ” Cardillo wrote .
“ Democrats need America to have European social problems to push European socialism here .
But we won ’ t , this wo n't do to us what it did to them , and that drives Dems and the MSM insane.
” And the right-wing news site Washington Examiner on Monday published an editorial arguing the same thing , titled “ We Need a Plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University and host of the podcast This Week in Virology , told BuzzFeed News that there isn ’ t even enough testing being done to know who is actually infected , which would make any plan to keep infection hot spots locked down completely infeasible .
“ If you just lock down who have clinical symptoms , ” he said , “ it 's not going to do a damn thing.
” Racaniello said he understands the desire to not completely obliterate the economy , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the process .
A recent study from Imperial College London estimated mitigation efforts would need to continue for at least 18 months to prevent millions of deaths .
New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo is already talking about a possible nine months of mitigation ahead of us .
Relaxed social distancing in Hong Kong is believed to have caused a second spike in cases this week .
“ For god ’ s sake , do people really not have any patience in this country , ” he said .
“ It was finite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here.
” It ’ s worth noting , though , that this sort of survival-of-the-fittest response is similar to how some members of the pro-Trump QAnon movement are reacting to the outbreak .
Q followers , who believe that Trump is waging a secret war against the deep state , have been largely divided about how COVID-19 fits into their sprawling , nonsensical conspiracy theory .
At first , they theorized the virus was a bioweapon created by Bill Gates .
Then , following some remarks from Rush Limbaugh , a sizable contingent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus was actually a deep state hoax meant to discredit Trump .
But in the past week , a new consensus has emerged .
QAnon followers have created “ the list , ” a document that tracks celebrities who have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 .
They theorize that famous actors like Idris Elba and Tom Hanks testing positive for the coronavirus is proof that the virus specifically targets members of the supposed global criminal conspiracy against Trump .
In a text post that is circulating in huge numbers across Facebook groups , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two weeks ago by Q follower Maryam Henein , the coronavirus outbreak and its aftermath will allow Trump and his allies to arrest all the members of a massive liberal elite pedophile cabal made up of CEOs , celebrities , and liberal politicians .
QAnon efforts to track those who are infected in some ways mirror the paranoia felt across the country right now about who gets sick and why .
You can see it in Nextdoor posts theorizing that the coronavirus has spread because people aren ’ t vegan or aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil .
There ’ s a desire to make sense of this chaotic pandemic , and social media helps to satisfy it .
This dovetails with early government efforts to track the spread of the infection .
Countries like Israel , Italy , and Austria are working with telecommunications networks to use anonymized location data to track people in infection hot spots and monitor whether citizens are breaking stay-in-place orders .
Hong Kong has deployed electronic bracelets for those who test positive for the virus .
India is experimenting with stamping people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t wash off .
Last week , US companies like Facebook or Google began discussing how to track infection hot spots using anonymized location data .
There is growing despondency that we don ’ t have an immediate solution to the global pandemic , and many on Twitter , both from Silicon Valley or the American right wing , bizarrely think they ’ ve come up with solutions worthy of discussion .

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.
On Sunday, Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk appeared on Fox News and offered an idea to the channel’s 3.5 million-member audience: Reopen states with lower infection rates while leaving more heavily infected areas in quarantine.
“So what I’d like to see is an even heavier focus and more national unity about assisting those areas, and also relieving some of the quarantine and allowing the American entrepreneur to be liberated,” Kirk said.
There’s clearly an appetite for this kind of thinking, some Americans appear to be ignoring social distancing warnings. A Staten Island couple held a wedding on Sunday, shrugging off a New York state ban on “nonessential’’ public gatherings.
Countries have closed their borders and gone into lockdown, the global economy has ground to a halt, and internet traffic has surged in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
But it’s been just 12 days since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, barely a month since the disease caused its first death on American soil. Most governments are using May 1 as a tentative date when the world can start back up again. The reality of another month inside, at least, is beginning to sink in for people.


buzzfeed--2020-03-25--Trump Says Democrats And The Media Want To Keep Businesses Closed To Hurt His Reelection, Not Protec

Trump Says Democrats And The Media Want To Keep Businesses Closed To Hurt His Reelection, Not Protect From The Coronavirus

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus .
To help keep this news free , become a member and sign up for our newsletter , Outbreak Today .
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump again used his daily White House briefing on the coronavirus to rail against the press and Democrats , arguing Wednesday that they oppose his idea to potentially reopen businesses within weeks because they want the economy to fail and hurt his re-election prospects .
In recent days , Trump has said he wants business in large parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , defying public health experts who say people need to continue isolating and social distancing for several months .
When reporter Paula Reid of CBS News asked Wednesday if the president 's Easter timeline was linked to his political interests , Trump lashed out .
“ The media would like to see me do poorly in the election , ” he said .
“ I think there are certain people who would like it not to open so quickly .
There are certain people who would like [ the economy ] to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as far as defeating me at the polls .
I do n't know if that 's so , but I think there are people in your profession that would like that to happen .
I think it 's very clear.
” He continued , telling Reid , “ I think it 's very clear that there are people in your profession that write fake news .
You do .
She does .
There are people in your profession that write fake news .
They would love to see me for whatever reason because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job .
Nobody 's done the job that we 've done .
And it 's lucky that you have this group here right here for this problem or you would n't even have a country left .
Okay ?
”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump again used his daily White House briefing on the coronavirus to rail against the press and Democrats, arguing Wednesday that they oppose his idea to potentially reopen businesses within weeks because they want the economy to fail and hurt his reelection prospects.
In recent days, Trump has said he wants businesses in large parts of the country to reopen by Easter, defying public health experts who say people need to continue isolating and social distancing for several months.
When CBS News reporter Paula Reid asked Wednesday if the president's Easter timeline was linked to his political interests, Trump lashed out.
“The media would like to see me do poorly in the election,” he said. “I think there are certain people who would like it not to open so quickly. There are certain people who would like [the economy] to do poorly because that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls. I don't know if that's so, but I think there are people in your profession that would like that to happen. I think it's very clear.”
He continued, telling Reid, “I think it's very clear that there are people in your profession that write fake news. You do. She does. There are people in your profession that write fake news. They would love to see me, for whatever reason — because we've done one hell of a job. Nobody's done the job that we've done. And it's lucky that you have this group here right here for this problem, or you wouldn't even have a country left. Okay?”
The president made a similar argument on Twitter earlier on Wednesday.


buzzfeed--2020-03-25--QAnon Followers And Right-Wing Influencers Are Falsely Accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci Of Being A Deep St

QAnon Followers And Right-Wing Influencers Are Falsely Accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci Of Being A Deep State Plant

The fringe debates whether the coronavirus is the real deep state plot — or the federal government 's response to it .
Right-wing influencers and QAnon supporters are waging an information war against Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and top-ranking member of the White House 's Coronavirus Task Force .
They are falsely claiming that Fauci is working with Hillary Clinton and the deep state to cause an economic collapse and discredit President Donald Trump .
Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory , a labyrinthine belief system that posits that President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a global criminal organization , have spent much of the COVID-19 outbreak struggling to fit the disease into their narratives .
At first , they theorized the virus was a bioweapon created by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates .
Then , following remarks last month from radio host Rush Limbaugh , a sizable contingent suggested that the virus was actually a deep state hoax meant to damage Trump politically .
In recent days , their baseless speculations have settled on Fauci .
QAnon-supporting radio host Bill Mitchell has been the biggest promoter of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mitchell has been spinning a conspiracy theory that Fauci is a “ Democrat plant '' and nicknamed him “ Dr .
# FearPorn.
” Mitchell ’ s first tweets about Fauci date back to March 3 , when Fauci first suggested the closure of schools and businesses .
“ Sorry President Trump , but replace this crackpot , ” Mitchell tweeted .
Several minutes later , Mitchell tweeted about Fauci again , “ Have you ever seen the market drop 1000 points AFTER a 50 basis point Fed cut ?
That 's # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mitchell ’ s ire against Fauci has seemed to grow over time , as he insists the doctor is spreading fear about the outbreak to hurt the US economy .
On March 8 , Mitchell tweeted a link to a Fox News article about Fauci , writing , “ AM I WRONG THINKING THIS FAUCI GUY IS A BIG DEMOCRAT SPREADING FEAR PORN ?
” A week later , Mitchell shared a 2009 NIH interview with Fauci providing an update about the then-outbreak of H1N1 influenza .
Mitchell insisted Fauci ’ s apparently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was conducted during the Obama administration — was proof that the doctor was now sowing fear about the coronavirus to discredit Trump .
“ You 'll notice none of the over-the-top hyperbole - none of the panic inducing rhetoric .
Watch for yourselves , ” Mitchell tweeted .
On the evening of March 20 , Mitchell tweeted about Fauci 36 times in 30 minutes .
Mitchell was enraged at Fauci going on CNN and publicly disagreeing with Trump ’ s suggestion that the CDC should allow the use of the anti-malaria drug chloroquine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his wife needed critical care after they both took a drug containing chloroquine phosphate meant for aquariums after hearing the president speak about the drug .
Mitchell ’ s tweetstorm against Fauci was intense .
He repeatedly accused Fauci of being a Democrat plant , reshared the 2009 H1N1 interview , ran Twitter polls asking his followers if they thought Fauci was a Democrat , accused him of destroying the economy , and demanded Trump fire him .
Mitchell finished his tweetstorm by digging through WikiLeaks ’ collection of leaked emails and found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 .
“ Is Fauci a Hillary plant ?
Think about this .
Trump makes a hopeful statement on # hydrochloroquine and Fauci immediately runs to # CNN , Trump 's most hated # FakeNews outlet to contradict him ?
That is EXACTLY what a Hillary plant would do , ” he tweeted .
It created a swarm .
Mitchell ’ s discovery was written up by pro-Trump blog the Gateway Pundit , which linked to his tweet and another containing a screenshot of a different Fauci email to Clinton .
The next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published a piece titled “ Anthony Fauci , the NIH 's face of the coronavirus , is a Deep-State Hillary Clinton–loving stooge.
” American Thinker also picked up the 2009 H1N1 interview .
“ It seems some viral infection pandemics are more equal than others .
At least when it comes to burning a vibrant Trump economy to the ground , ” the article read .
( The piece was shared Sunday by Fox News host Laura Ingraham . )
The same press conference during which Fauci sparred with Trump over chloroquine ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put his hand over his face , seemingly in embarrassment , as the president joked that the State Department was `` the deep state Department . ''
( Fauci later claimed he had a lozenge stuck in his throat . )
The Fauci facepalm was seized on by Shiva Ayyadurai , a GOP Senate candidate in Massachusetts who questionably claimed to have invented email and was briefly romantically connected to actor Fran Drescher .
On March 20 , Ayyadurai tweeted , “ Time to expose ‘ Deep State ’ Emperor Fauci & his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imposing ‘ one-size-fits-all ’ Medieval Mandated Medicine to profit his BIG PHARMA minions , [ at ] the expense of crashing our economy.
” Ayyadurai also shared Fauci ’ s email to Clinton and has made several Periscope videos accusing Fauci of being a member of the deep state .
Ayyadurai ’ s video , titled `` How To Kill Coronavirus , '' was removed from YouTube for violating community standards .
It told people to breathe in hot air from hair dryers .
On Tuesday , QAnon influencer Greg Rubini accused Fauci @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , receiving over 3,000 retweets .
The conspiracy theory has also been spreading on 4chan .
On the site ’ s /pol/ message board , anonymous users have posted dozens of huge threads about Fauci , implying he ’ s part of a global pedophile ring after surfacing a photo of him and singer Elton John , claiming Trump has secretly fired him , and accusing him of being part of a global Jewish cabal .
The campaign against Fauci is quickly becoming more mainstream — especially as Trump looks to put economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the virus .
Fauci could become a target for conservative outlets like Fox News .
Right now , the channel is still backing him , but that narrative could already be shifting .
On Sunday , Fox News host Steve Hilton sniped at Fauci for saying that he would be fine overreacting to a public health crisis .
“ Well that 's easy for him to say .
He 'll still have a job at the end of this , whatever happens , ” Hilton said .
“ Our ruling class and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over this virus .
They can afford an indefinite shutdown , working Americans ca n't , they 'll be crushed by it.
” Ingraham may have already telegraphed Fox News ’ newest narrative for Fauci in a tweet the Fox anchor posted Tuesday .
“ The left-wing media ’ s methods are so transparent , ” she wrote .
“ 1 .
Pressure Fauci to criticize @ realDonaldTrump in interviews .
2 .
Hope this leads to a blowup .
3 .
Slam Trump for not listening to doctors .
4 .
Blame @ @ @ @ @

Right-wing influencers and QAnon supporters are waging an information war against Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and top-ranking member of the White House's Coronavirus Task Force. They are falsely claiming that Fauci is working with Hillary Clinton and the deep state to cause an economic collapse and discredit President Donald Trump.
Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a labyrinthine belief system that posits that President Trump is waging a secret war against a global criminal organization, have spent much of the COVID-19 outbreak struggling to fit the disease into their narratives. At first, they theorized the virus was a bioweapon created by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Then, following remarks last month from radio host Rush Limbaugh, a sizable contingent suggested that the virus was actually a deep state hoax meant to damage Trump politically.
In recent days, their baseless speculations have settled on Fauci. QAnon-supporting radio host Bill Mitchell has been the biggest promoter of the latest theory. For weeks, Mitchell has been spinning a conspiracy theory that Fauci is a “Democrat plant" and nicknamed him “Dr. #FearPorn.” Mitchell’s first tweets about Fauci date back to March 3, when Fauci first suggested the closure of schools and businesses.
“Sorry President Trump, but replace this crackpot,” Mitchell tweeted. Several minutes later, Mitchell tweeted about Fauci again, “Have you ever seen the market drop 1000 points AFTER a 50 basis point Fed cut? That's #FearPorn. Thanks Dr. Anthony Fauci.”


buzzfeed--2020-03-26--Right-Wing Influencers Are Convinced Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Working With Hillary Clinton To Undermine

Right-Wing Influencers Are Convinced Dr. Anthony Fauci Is Working With Hillary Clinton To Undermine Donald Trump


buzzfeed--2020-04-17--Trump Ally Roger Stone Lost His Latest Attempt At Getting A New Trial

WASHINGTON — Roger Stone , the longtime Trump ally sentenced to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering , lost his latest attempt at getting a new trial on Thursday .
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected Stone 's argument that he was entitled to a new trial because of information that came out earlier this year that the jury foreperson had criticized President Donald Trump on social media .
Not only did the juror 's posts fail to prove that she harbored bias against Stone and lied about her ability to be fair when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did n't qualify as `` newly discovered '' information — Stone and his lawyers could have `` easily '' found them if they 'd tried , the judge wrote .
`` The assumption underlying the motion — that one can infer from the juror ’ s opinions about the President that she could not fairly consider the evidence against the defendant — is not supported by any facts or data and it is contrary to controlling legal precedent , '' Jackson wrote .
`` The motion is a tower of indignation , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is little of substance holding it up . ''
Stone did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday .
His lawyer Grant Smith wrote in an email to BuzzFeed News , `` We are very disappointed by the ruling . ''
Smith did not answer questions about whether Stone would appeal his conviction or otherwise try to delay the start of his prison sentence .
With Stone 's prison sentence looming , the pressure mounts on Trump to decide whether to grant Stone clemency .
Trump has publicly flirted with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ February he said he 'd make a decision `` at some point '' but wanted to first let the district court proceedings unfold .
`` I 'm not going to do anything in terms of the great powers bestowed upon a president of the United States , I want the process play out , I think that 's the best thing to do , '' Trump said on Feb. 20 .
`` Because I 'd love to see Roger exonerated and I 'd love to see it happen because I personally think he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jury found Stone guilty in November on charges of lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks , obstructing the congressional investigation , and trying to tamper with a witness .
In February , Jackson sentenced him to 40 months in prison .
Stone , the president , and other Republicans complained of bias in a case that found Stone guilty of seven felonies for trying to sabotage the Russia investigation in order to help the president .
This was Stone 's second attempt at getting a new trial .
In February , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had argued that a juror who worked for the Internal Revenue Service should n't have been allowed to serve because the IRS collaborated with the Justice Department on certain criminal prosecutions .
Stone also argued that the juror had been exposed to media coverage of his case , but the judge concluded that was minimal and not enough to remove the juror .
Jackson 's ruling means that Stone 's conviction is final .
Barring any intervention by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit — Stone has 14 days to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons once he 's given a date for his prison term to begin .
Stone has been free while his case was pending .
One small consolation for Stone is that Jackson 's order frees him of gag orders imposed by the judge that limited what he could say publicly about his case and prohibited him from posting anything on social media .
Although Stone was n't allowed to tweet or post on Instagram , in recent weeks he 'd managed to find his way back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , members of the public could get a personalized message recorded by Stone via Cameo .
Stone ’ s case had captivated the country as a proxy battle about the criminal justice system ’ s ability to issue fair punishments despite political pressure — amid claims of bias , interference , and unabashed efforts by the Trump administration to protect Stone .
Stone ’ s lawyers had asked Jackson to restart the process after she sentenced him on Feb. 20 to more than three years in prison .
Their filing echoed pro-Republican media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was tainted by a juror .
The jury foreperson , former Memphis City Schools Board president Tomeka Hart , had made social media posts critical of Trump and Stone before the trial began , Fox News said .
Stone ’ s lawyers knew that Hart unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Democrat , according to court transcripts , but didn ’ t attempt to block her from joining the jury , TPM had reported .
In an apparent reference to the Fox News piece , however , lawyers for Stone said in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ juror misconduct ” had “ deprive [ d ] him of his constitutional right to be tried by an impartial jury.
” Trump also made those arguments in tweets about the case and has not ruled out pardoning Stone .
Republicans have claimed Stone ’ s case was poisoned from the outset , culminating with calls for a retrial .
Trump has long claimed that the Russia probe , which ensnared Stone , was a hoax perpetrated by a liberal “ deep state.
” Pro-Republican media also contended that Jackson , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a “ corrupt ... hardcore leftist ” who “ deserves to be impeached.
” Trump had tried to interfere in Stone ’ s case by trying to reduce the seven-to-nine-year sentencing recommendations by federal prosecutors .
Trump said on Twitter that a lengthy prison term would be a “ very unfair situation ” and “ miscarriage of justice !
” Within a day , Trump ’ s attorney general , Bill Barr , forced political appointees at the Justice Department to take over the case and request a lighter prison term .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case .
Trump remained indignant after the sentence of 40 months was announced on Feb. 20 , telling reporters in Las Vegas , “ I ’ d love to see Roger exonerated — and I ’ d love to see it happen — because personally I think he was treated unfairly.
” As for pardoning Stone , Trump added , “ At some point , I will make a determination .
But Roger Stone and everybody has to be treated fairly .
And this has not been a fair process , OK @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members of the Republican president ’ s inner orbit who ’ ve been convicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes .
The roster includes Trump 's former campaign deputy chair Rick Gates , former national security adviser Michael Flynn , Trump ’ s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen , former campaign aide George Papadopoulos , and former campaign chair Paul Manafort .

WASHINGTON — Roger Stone, the longtime Trump ally sentenced to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering, lost his latest attempt at getting a new trial on Thursday.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected Stone's argument that he was entitled to a new trial because of information that came out earlier this year that the jury foreperson had criticized President Donald Trump on social media. Not only did the juror's posts fail to prove that she harbored bias against Stone and lied about her ability to be fair when she was vetted, but the posts didn't qualify as "newly discovered" information — Stone and his lawyers could have "easily" found them if they'd tried, the judge wrote.
"The assumption underlying the motion — that one can infer from the juror’s opinions about the President that she could not fairly consider the evidence against the defendant — is not supported by any facts or data and it is contrary to controlling legal precedent," Jackson wrote. "The motion is a tower of indignation, but at the end of the day, there is little of substance holding it up."
Stone did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. His lawyer Grant Smith wrote in an email to BuzzFeed News, "We are very disappointed by the ruling." Smith did not answer questions about whether Stone would appeal his conviction or otherwise try to delay the start of his prison sentence.
With Stone's prison sentence looming, the pressure mounts on Trump to decide whether to grant Stone clemency. Trump has publicly flirted with the idea but hasn't committed. In February he said he'd make a decision "at some point" but wanted to first let the district court proceedings unfold.
"I'm not going to do anything in terms of the great powers bestowed upon a president of the United States, I want the process play out, I think that's the best thing to do," Trump said on Feb. 20. "Because I'd love to see Roger exonerated and I'd love to see it happen because I personally think he was treated very unfairly."
A jury found Stone guilty in November on charges of lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks, obstructing the congressional investigation, and trying to tamper with a witness. In February, Jackson sentenced him to 40 months in prison.
Stone, the president, and other Republicans complained of bias in a case that found Stone guilty of seven felonies for trying to sabotage the Russia investigation in order to help the president.
This was Stone's second attempt at getting a new trial. In February, Jackson denied his first effort — Stone had argued that a juror who worked for the Internal Revenue Service shouldn't have been allowed to serve because the IRS collaborated with the Justice Department on certain criminal prosecutions. Stone also argued that the juror had been exposed to media coverage of his case, but the judge concluded that was minimal and not enough to remove the juror.
Jackson's ruling means that Stone's conviction is final. Barring any intervention by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit — Stone has 14 days to file an appeal — he'll have to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons once he's given a date for his prison term to begin. Stone has been free while his case was pending.
One small consolation for Stone is that Jackson's order frees him of gag orders imposed by the judge that limited what he could say publicly about his case and prohibited him from posting anything on social media. Although Stone wasn't allowed to tweet or post on Instagram, in recent weeks he'd managed to find his way back onto the internet — for $50, members of the public could get a personalized message recorded by Stone via Cameo.
Stone’s case had captivated the country as a proxy battle about the criminal justice system’s ability to issue fair punishments despite political pressure — amid claims of bias, interference, and unabashed efforts by the Trump administration to protect Stone.
Stone’s lawyers had asked Jackson to restart the process after she sentenced him on Feb. 20 to more than three years in prison.
Their filing echoed pro-Republican media outlets that claimed Stone’s trial was tainted by a juror. The jury foreperson, former Memphis City Schools Board president Tomeka Hart, had made social media posts critical of Trump and Stone before the trial began, Fox News said. Stone’s lawyers knew that Hart unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Democrat, according to court transcripts, but didn’t attempt to block her from joining the jury, TPM had reported.
In an apparent reference to the Fox News piece, however, lawyers for Stone said in their filing that newly revealed “evidence of juror misconduct” had “deprive[d] him of his constitutional right to be tried by an impartial jury.” Trump also made those arguments in tweets about the case and has not ruled out pardoning Stone.
Republicans have claimed Stone’s case was poisoned from the outset, culminating with calls for a retrial. Trump has long claimed that the Russia probe, which ensnared Stone, was a hoax perpetrated by a liberal “deep state.” Pro-Republican media also contended that Jackson, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama, was a “corrupt ... hardcore leftist” who “deserves to be impeached.”
Trump had tried to interfere in Stone’s case by trying to reduce the seven-to-nine-year sentencing recommendations by federal prosecutors. Trump said on Twitter that a lengthy prison term would be a “very unfair situation” and “miscarriage of justice!” Within a day, Trump’s attorney general, Bill Barr, forced political appointees at the Justice Department to take over the case and request a lighter prison term. In response, the original prosecutors quit the case.
Trump remained indignant after the sentence of 40 months was announced on Feb. 20, telling reporters in Las Vegas, “I’d love to see Roger exonerated — and I’d love to see it happen — because personally I think he was treated unfairly.”
As for pardoning Stone, Trump added, “At some point, I will make a determination. But Roger Stone and everybody has to be treated fairly. And this has not been a fair process, OK?”
Stone is among several other members of the Republican president’s inner orbit who’ve been convicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes. The roster includes Trump's former campaign deputy chair Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, and former campaign chair Paul Manafort.