vox--2020-04-28--Jair Bolsonaro undermined Brazil’s coronavirus response. Now there’s a political crisis.

On April 19 , the city of Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , completed construction of a 500-bed field hospital for coronavirus patients at the Riocentro convention center .
It ’ s one of several such hospitals being built in Rio de Janeiro to deal with the growing outbreak there .
The state has more than 6,700 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 670 deaths as of April 28 .
That same day , on April 19 , Brazil ’ s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro joined a protest outside army headquarters in Brasilia , the country ’ s capital .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ demanded an end to lockdown measures state governors in the country have put in place — and which Bolsonaro opposes .
“ I am here because I believe in you , ” Bolsonaro shouted to the tightly packed protesters .
“ You are here because you believe in Brazil .
We don ’ t want to negotiate anything ; what we want is action for Brazil.
” During his speech to supporters , Bolsonaro , his face uncovered , coughed .
This split-screen moment highlights the strange situation in Brazil , where state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battle a deadly pandemic that is threatening to overwhelm the country ’ s health care system while the elected leader of the country downplays the severity of the virus and fights against their efforts at every turn .
Bolsonaro has referred to the coronavirus as the “ little flu ” and scoffed at social distancing measures intended to slow the spread of the virus , proclaiming in late March that “ we ’ ll all die one day.
” He ’ s called on citizens to go back to work , directly contradicting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recommendations of his public health experts .
Bolsonaro ’ s reckless response to the coronavirus undercut the country ’ s ability to manage it and drew outrage , especially from the opposition , for his mishandling of the outbreak .
And now Brazil is at the edge of a political crisis , as Bolsonaro is now facing an investigation into possible corruption .
This scandal threatens to plunge the country deeper into turmoil in the middle of a pandemic .
“ Any political crisis in Brasilia weakens the government ’ s response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states respond , ” Oliver Stuenkel , a professor of international relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paolo , told me .
Brazil is the largest country in Latin America , with more than 200 million people .
It also currently has the continent ’ s worst outbreak .
The health ministry has recorded more than 68,000 cases and approximately 5,000 deaths as of April 28 .
But the real toll is almost certainly higher .
Brazil , as elsewhere , lacks large-scale testing .
Brazilian researchers have estimated that the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of coronavirus cases .
Late last week , Brazil saw some of its largest increases in cases and deaths from the coronavirus , but the pandemic has not yet reached its peak .
“ This could be very catastrophic for Brazil , ” Karin Nielsen , professor of clinical pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at UCLA , told me , “ and it ’ s already on top of an ongoing crisis , and shortages of medical supplies and medical equipment.
” Brazil has universal public health care , but people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health care system .
Experts told me that the public health system has faced a number of cuts in recent years , brought on by Brazil ’ s recession in 2015 and the austerity measures that followed .
The system was already overburdened before the coronavirus came along , and now the pandemic is putting even more pressure on those public hospitals , with the number of ICU beds running short in major cities .
“ The problem is that in the last years , especially after conservative federal governments were in power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the system , deepening structural and historical problems and increasing regional inequalities , ” José Ricardo Ayres , professor of preventative medicine at the medical school at the University of São Paulo , told me in an email .
Ayres said that insufficient and badly distributed intensive-care services are a huge challenge , and compounding this are shortages in basic equipment , like personal protective gear .
This problem is not unique to Brazil , but it risks depleting the front-line health care workers , straining the hospital system even more .
Hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the northeastern state of Ceará , are almost at capacity , as the virus has spread to every single neighborhood in the city .
In Manaus , the capital city of Amazonas , in northwestern Brazil , the city ’ s daily death rate has risen from 30 to more than 100 , though the recorded Covid-19 death toll as of April 23 was just 287 , NPR reported .
Cemeteries are digging mass graves as bodies pile up .
Mayor Virgílio Neto said Manaus was “ no longer in a state of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State governors and mayors across Brazil have implemented stay-at-home orders and shuttered businesses to try to “ flatten the curve ” and prevent the country ’ s health care system from collapsing .
São Paulo ’ s Governor João Doria shut down Brazil ’ s most populous state on March 24 and has since extended the lockdown , most recently until at least May 10 .
Rio de Janeiro ’ s Gov .
Wilson Witzel called for a state of emergency in mid-March , shutting businesses and emptying Rio ’ s famous beaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 earlier in April ) has continued to extend the orders until at least April 30 .
Bolsonaro has fought these restrictions ( more on that in a minute ) , but even without his meddling , these stay-at-home orders are not always easily enforced across Brazil .
Some of the first-known coronavirus cases recorded in Brazil came from wealthier people traveling abroad , but once the virus seeded in the country , it spread rapidly — including to Brazil ’ s favelas , the crowded , low-income communities on the outskirts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communities is a challenge .
People live in very small spaces , often packed tightly with other family members .
Homes are stacked one on top of the other .
Many of these communities also lack access to clean water and adequate sanitation , making even simple preventative techniques like hand-washing difficult .
How easily Brazilians can social distance , experts told me , is fractured along class lines .
Many middle- or upper-class families can stay in their apartments and work from home .
But about 40 percent of Brazil ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , participates in the informal sector of the economy , which often means people depend on a daily wage to eat and survive .
Reports suggest that the local gangs that control territory in major city favelas are also trying to enforce quarantine measures and distribute supplies , organized crime filling in for where Bolsonaro ’ s government is failing .
Brazil ’ s government has taken measures , including approving a monthly stipend of 600 reals ( a little more than $ 100 ) for three months for the unemployed and those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ But it is still insufficient to effectively reduce their vulnerable social situation and susceptibility to Covid-19 , ” Ayres said in his email .
“ The higher mortality rates in poorer neighborhoods in São Paulo city is a testimony of it.
” Brazil ’ s indigenous communities are also in peril , especially in remote areas far from adequate health facilities .
And though some of these groups are removed from population centers , they are at greater risk of coming into contact with the disease through miners and loggers , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something that has increased during Bolsonaro ’ s tenure , as the president has expressed little regard for vulnerable indigenous communities and their protected lands .
“ Coronavirus could wipe us out , ” Ianucula Kaiabi , an indigenous leader in Brazil ’ s Xingu national park , told the Guardian at the end of March .
About 6,000 people and 16 tribes live in that area of the southern Amazon , and indigenous leaders were trying to seal off roads .
Brazil was always going to have these challenges in the face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even greater when the country ’ s leader is sending mixed messages about the reality on the ground .
In early March , as the coronavirus was taking hold around the world , Bolsonaro traveled to the United States to meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida .
At the time , both leaders had been questioning the seriousness of the virus , but the Mar-a-Lago meeting turned out to be something of a virus hot spot .
Bolsonaro ’ s top aide tested positive for the virus , as did other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bolsonaro ’ s son Eduardo told Fox News his father had tested positive but later claimed he didn ’ t say that .
Then Bolsonaro released an official statement saying he ’ d tested negative and accused the media of spreading fake news .
After his brush with the virus , Bolsonaro , at first , seemed a little contrite : He held a Facebook Live event where he wore a face mask .
He also said that the World Health Organization had acted “ responsibly ” when it declared the coronavirus a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his supporters .
Bolsonaro soon returned to downplaying the severity of the coronavirus threat , calling it a “ little flu ” and a “ measly cold.
” He questioned the official statistics ( which are likely an undercount ) , saying governors were manipulating the numbers for political ends .
And he dismissed much of the fear , and the human toll , surrounding the virus .
He suggested that vulnerable people — older people and those with underlying conditions — could stay home , but that everyone else needed to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives .
“ We have to face this virus , but face it like a man , dammit , not a boy , ” Bolsonaro said in late March .
“ We have to face it with reality .
That ’ s life .
We ’ re all going to die someday.
” Bolsonaro also flouts social distancing guidelines : He does not wear a mask when in public and still shakes hands with supporters — who , in gathering to greet the president , are often squeezed together .
His cavalier approach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ direct confrontation with state governors and other local leaders , some of whom used to count themselves among his allies .
In March , after Bolsonaro called for an end to lockdowns , governors in 25 of 27 states kept them in place .
At least two of those governors — Witzel , the Rio governor , and Doria of São Paulo — had previously aligned themselves with Bolsonaro .
Witzel won an upset election , campaigning with one of Bolsonaro ’ s sons .
Doria campaigned in 2018 by calling himself “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since said he isn ’ t a bolsonarista .
Now , though , public safety seems to be trumping political fealty .
“ We ’ re fighting against the coronavirus and against the ‘ Bolsonaro-virus , ’ ” Doria said in an interview with the Associated Press published on April 16 .
“ It ’ s as if you had two parallel kinds of politics , ” Flávia Biroli , a political science professor at the Universidade de Brasília , told me .
“ The governors follow their path , and Bolsonaro keeps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” It ’ s not just governors who have found themselves at odds with the president .
In late March , Bolsonaro launched # BrazilCannotStop , a national campaign encouraging Brazilians to get back to work and normal life — that is , before a federal judge banned the campaign because it undermined state governors ’ authorities to impose quarantine measures .
And in mid-April — as the country ’ s outbreak was getting increasingly dire — Bolsonaro fired his health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta .
Mandetta had publicly contradicted Bolsonaro , advocating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state governors .
It was a difficult path to navigate , given his boss was saying the opposite .
Ultimately , Mandetta had enough after Bolsonaro greeted a crowd of supporters outside a hospital , removing his mask and signing autographs .
“ Brazilians don ’ t know whether they should listen to their health minister or to their president , ” Mandetta told a Brazilian news program shortly after that incident .
Mandetta was out of a job before the week was up .
Many Brazilians and political leaders denounced Mandetta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lockdown , banging pots and pans from windows and calling for Bolsonaro ’ s ouster .
Polls suggest the majority of Brazilians support the social distancing measures and disapprove of Bolsonaro ’ s handling of the pandemic .
And Brazil ’ s Supreme Court has backed up the power of state governments to implement stay-at-home measures , meaning Bolsonaro can complain , but he can ’ t overrule them .
“ Bolsonaro wants to be the president of reopening , ” Stuenkel told me .
But Bolsonaro ’ s actions are still potentially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ base of support , who tend to fully buy into Bolsonaro ’ s rhetoric and who are distrustful of the mainstream media .
As Bolsonaro agitates against these lockdown measures , so do they .
Bolsonaro supporters are protesting the lockdowns and decrying the dire health warnings as “ fake news.
” In São Paulo , Bolsonaro supporters blocked access to hospitals .
The president ’ s attitude is “ already propagating like wildfire , ” UCLA ’ s Nielsen said , “ and it will just be disastrous.
” Bolsonaro ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the federal government .
A competent Bolsonaro administration would be backing up the states with resources , coordinating the response to make sure supplies get where they ’ re needed , and helping to acquire gear and other equipment from abroad .
The absence of a unified strategy to fight the pandemic has led to a patchwork of measures across Brazil , with some states easing lockdowns while hospital systems in Brazil ’ s major cities buckle under the surge of coronavirus patients .
“ We should be making the lockdowns better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re going the opposite way , ” Yago Bertacchini , a 26-year-old lawyer in Maringá , a city in Paraná state in southern Brazil , told me .
Bolsonaro may believe it ’ s “ better to bet on the economy ” “ Bolsonaro seems to be betting that he has very few tools to solve the health crisis , ” said Matthew Taylor , an associate professor of international studies at American University , “ and so he ’ s better to bet on the economy.
” In other words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy is strategic .
Most experts and people in Brazil I spoke to see it as a way to both deflect from the coronavirus crisis and give himself a solid talking point when the economy does collapse .
“ I think he wants to be able to say , at the next election , ‘ Those governors stopped you from working ; it would have been a lot better if I had been able to prevail , ’ ” Anthony Pereira , professor of Brazilian studies at King ’ s College in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s impending economic crisis seems undeniable .
The country ’ s economy is still struggling from a recession in 2015 and 2016 , and its economic outlook was not exactly rosy even before the pandemic hit .
Brazil ’ s widening deficit could limit its ability to use stimulus to tackle the economic fallout , and the country also faces higher borrowing costs .
The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Brazil could see negative growth greater than 5 percent in 2020 .
Bolsonaro may be acting cynically , but the fallout from shuttering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses could be catastrophic — and it could deepen the public health crisis .
The millions in Brazil who rely on informal jobs to survive day to day don ’ t have many other options .
Even those who may want to abide by social distancing measures may not be able to ; they ’ re in a precarious position where they risk their lives either way — by working or by staying home .
“ It ’ s very hard to disentangle the economic crisis and the health crisis , ” Biroli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ I am really afraid of a near future where we have a deep economic crisis from which it ’ s going to be hard to sort out alternatives , and a deep health crisis for which the country is not prepared.
” Bolsonaro ’ s battles over the coronavirus have left him isolated — and now an explosive political crisis is making it worse The bolsonaristas , his most loyal followers , remain as devoted as ever .
They include evangelical Christians , who ardently buy into Bolsonaro ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those with a nostalgia for the country ’ s authoritarian past , such as the protesters earlier this month who wanted the military to intervene on behalf of Bolsonaro to help overrule lockdown measures .
But the bolsonaristas alone did not bring Bolsonaro to power .
He also needed buy-in from the establishment .
So he brought in technocrats and those who embraced a more traditionally right-wing agenda , like smaller government and a more free market , liberal economic ideology .
Bolsonaro needed their backing to win over moderates who were wary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals , in turn , were sometimes expected to act as moderating and disciplining forces on an unpredictable president — the “ adults in the room , ” if you will .
“ We ’ re fighting against the coronavirus and against the ‘ Bolsonaro-virus ’ ” That somewhat fragile coalition has splintered as the president has bungled the coronavirus crisis .
His battles against state governors have weakened him politically , as did his decision to fire the health minister .
He doesn ’ t have robust support in Brazil ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , backed up by Brazil ’ s mainstream press .
The louder Bolsonaro yelled about reopening the economy , the more isolated he became .
Then , on Friday , the discontent over the coronavirus boiled over , though not exactly because of the pandemic .
Bolsonaro ’ s popular Justice Minister Sérgio Moro resigned after Bolsonaro fired the chief of the federal police , Maurício Valeixo , without a clear reason .
And just like that , a political crisis threatened to overshadow both the public health and economic crises .
Moro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; he was the federal judge who presided over Brazil ’ s sprawling 2014 corruption scheme known as Operation Car Wash .
The corruption scandal involved bribes between politicians , executives at the country ’ s state-run oil company , and everyone in between .
Moro ’ s legacy has been tarnished somewhat after the Intercept published a major investigation that showed Moro had collaborated with prosecutors to help convict high-level figures , including former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva .
That undermined Moro ’ s reputation for impartiality and fairness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why Moro ’ s resignation was so explosive .
Upon his departure , Moro delivered an exit speech , and he did not hold back .
He accused Bolsonaro of trying to meddle in law enforcement , saying the president had fired Valeixo because he wanted “ a person he could be in touch with personally , whom he could call directly , from whom he could receive information , intelligence reports.
” There are plenty of good guesses about why Bolsonaro might have wanted to replace Valeixo with a police chief more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet .
Top among them are investigations into those close to Bolsonaro , including his sons .
His son Flávio , who is a state senator , has been under investigation for some time for an alleged money-laundering scheme in which he is accused of using public funds to pay nonexistent employees , including at a chocolate shop in Rio de Janeiro .
And then there ’ s Carlos , another son and politician , who is being investigated by federal police for organizing fake news attacks that smeared justices on the Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news outlet reports that federal police had homed in on Carlos as the ringleader of the group , and that police were also looking into the role of Eduardo , yet another Bolsonaro son ( and Steve Bannon associate ) , in the alleged fake news ring .
( Carlos and Eduardo have dismissed the fake news allegations as , well , false . )
Brazilian media has suggested that Bolsonaro wanted to push out Valeixo to get control of this case against his sons .
But Bolsonaro has been defiant : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day I have to submit to any of my subordinates , I cease to be president of the republic , ” the president said last week .
But Moro ’ s words carried serious weight , and Brazil ’ s attorney general referred Moro ’ s allegations to the Supreme Court .
On Monday , a Supreme Court justice authorized a 60-day investigation into whether Bolsonaro engaged in corruption or obstruction of justice in his firing of Valeixo .
So , in the middle of a deadly pandemic and a worsening economic crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investigation .
Calls for lawmakers to act against Bolsonaro are growing louder , but experts I spoke to aren ’ t sure Brazil ’ s Congress will want to take up impeachment in the middle of a pandemic .
But if the Supreme Court finds Bolsonaro acted illegally , that could force Congress ’ s hand .
Which means that , for right now , much about Brazil ’ s future is uncertain — except that people are dying every day .
As Bertachinni , the lawyer in Maringá , told me : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the worst.
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On April 19, the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, completed construction of a 500-bed field hospital for coronavirus patients at the Riocentro convention center. It’s one of several such hospitals being built in Rio de Janeiro to deal with the growing outbreak there. The state has more than 6,700 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 670 deaths as of April 28.
That same day, on April 19, Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro joined a protest outside army headquarters in Brasilia, the country’s capital. There, protesters supported military intervention and demanded an end to lockdown measures state governors in the country have put in place — and which Bolsonaro opposes.
“I am here because I believe in you,” Bolsonaro shouted to the tightly packed protesters. “You are here because you believe in Brazil. We don’t want to negotiate anything; what we want is action for Brazil.”
During his speech to supporters, Bolsonaro, his face uncovered, coughed.
This split-screen moment highlights the strange situation in Brazil, where state governors and public health officials try to battle a deadly pandemic that is threatening to overwhelm the country’s health care system while the elected leader of the country downplays the severity of the virus and fights against their efforts at every turn.
Bolsonaro has referred to the coronavirus as the “little flu” and scoffed at social distancing measures intended to slow the spread of the virus, proclaiming in late March that “we’ll all die one day.” He’s called on citizens to go back to work, directly contradicting the orders of state governors and the recommendations of his public health experts.
Bolsonaro’s reckless response to the coronavirus undercut the country’s ability to manage it and drew outrage, especially from the opposition, for his mishandling of the outbreak. And now Brazil is at the edge of a political crisis, as Bolsonaro is now facing an investigation into possible corruption. This scandal threatens to plunge the country deeper into turmoil in the middle of a pandemic.
“Any political crisis in Brasilia weakens the government’s response to this and reduces the cohesiveness of how states respond,” Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paolo, told me.
The coronavirus threatens catastrophe in Brazil
Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, with more than 200 million people. It also currently has the continent’s worst outbreak. The health ministry has recorded more than 68,000 cases and approximately 5,000 deaths as of April 28.
But the real toll is almost certainly higher. Brazil, as elsewhere, lacks large-scale testing. Brazilian researchers have estimated that the country likely has 12 times the official number of coronavirus cases. Late last week, Brazil saw some of its largest increases in cases and deaths from the coronavirus, but the pandemic has not yet reached its peak.
“This could be very catastrophic for Brazil,” Karin Nielsen, professor of clinical pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at UCLA, told me, “and it’s already on top of an ongoing crisis, and shortages of medical supplies and medical equipment.”
Brazil has universal public health care, but people with means can buy into a private health care system. Experts told me that the public health system has faced a number of cuts in recent years, brought on by Brazil’s recession in 2015 and the austerity measures that followed.
The system was already overburdened before the coronavirus came along, and now the pandemic is putting even more pressure on those public hospitals, with the number of ICU beds running short in major cities.
“The problem is that in the last years, especially after conservative federal governments were in power, there was a remarkable underfunding of the system, deepening structural and historical problems and increasing regional inequalities,” José Ricardo Ayres, professor of preventative medicine at the medical school at the University of São Paulo, told me in an email.
Ayres said that insufficient and badly distributed intensive-care services are a huge challenge, and compounding this are shortages in basic equipment, like personal protective gear. This problem is not unique to Brazil, but it risks depleting the front-line health care workers, straining the hospital system even more.
Hospitals in the city of Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará, are almost at capacity, as the virus has spread to every single neighborhood in the city. In Manaus, the capital city of Amazonas, in northwestern Brazil, the city’s daily death rate has risen from 30 to more than 100, though the recorded Covid-19 death toll as of April 23 was just 287, NPR reported.
Cemeteries are digging mass graves as bodies pile up. Mayor Virgílio Neto said Manaus was “no longer in a state of emergency but rather of absolute calamity.”
State governors and mayors across Brazil have implemented stay-at-home orders and shuttered businesses to try to “flatten the curve” and prevent the country’s health care system from collapsing.
São Paulo’s Governor João Doria shut down Brazil’s most populous state on March 24 and has since extended the lockdown, most recently until at least May 10.
Rio de Janeiro’s Gov. Wilson Witzel called for a state of emergency in mid-March, shutting businesses and emptying Rio’s famous beaches. Witzel (who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in April) has continued to extend the orders until at least April 30.
Bolsonaro has fought these restrictions (more on that in a minute), but even without his meddling, these stay-at-home orders are not always easily enforced across Brazil.
Some of the first-known coronavirus cases recorded in Brazil came from wealthier people traveling abroad, but once the virus seeded in the country, it spread rapidly — including to Brazil’s favelas, the crowded, low-income communities on the outskirts of major cities.
Controlling transmission in these communities is a challenge. People live in very small spaces, often packed tightly with other family members. Homes are stacked one on top of the other. Many of these communities also lack access to clean water and adequate sanitation, making even simple preventative techniques like hand-washing difficult.
How easily Brazilians can social distance, experts told me, is fractured along class lines. Many middle- or upper-class families can stay in their apartments and work from home. But about 40 percent of Brazil’s workforce, or approximately 38 million workers, participates in the informal sector of the economy, which often means people depend on a daily wage to eat and survive.
Reports suggest that the local gangs that control territory in major city favelas are also trying to enforce quarantine measures and distribute supplies, organized crime filling in for where Bolsonaro’s government is failing. Brazil’s government has taken measures, including approving a monthly stipend of 600 reals (a little more than $100) for three months for the unemployed and those who work in the informal economy.
“But it is still insufficient to effectively reduce their vulnerable social situation and susceptibility to Covid-19,” Ayres said in his email. “The higher mortality rates in poorer neighborhoods in São Paulo city is a testimony of it.”
Brazil’s indigenous communities are also in peril, especially in remote areas far from adequate health facilities. And though some of these groups are removed from population centers, they are at greater risk of coming into contact with the disease through miners and loggers, who are often on the land illegally — something that has increased during Bolsonaro’s tenure, as the president has expressed little regard for vulnerable indigenous communities and their protected lands.
“Coronavirus could wipe us out,” Ianucula Kaiabi, an indigenous leader in Brazil’s Xingu national park, told the Guardian at the end of March. About 6,000 people and 16 tribes live in that area of the southern Amazon, and indigenous leaders were trying to seal off roads.
Brazil was always going to have these challenges in the face of a pandemic — but they are even greater when the country’s leader is sending mixed messages about the reality on the ground.
How Bolsonaro is exacerbating Brazil’s coronavirus crisis
In early March, as the coronavirus was taking hold around the world, Bolsonaro traveled to the United States to meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. At the time, both leaders had been questioning the seriousness of the virus, but the Mar-a-Lago meeting turned out to be something of a virus hot spot.
Bolsonaro’s top aide tested positive for the virus, as did other US officials who attended the session. Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo told Fox News his father had tested positive but later claimed he didn’t say that. Then Bolsonaro released an official statement saying he’d tested negative and accused the media of spreading fake news.
After his brush with the virus, Bolsonaro, at first, seemed a little contrite: He held a Facebook Live event where he wore a face mask. He also said that the World Health Organization had acted “responsibly” when it declared the coronavirus a pandemic, and discouraged a rally of his supporters.
It didn’t last.
Bolsonaro soon returned to downplaying the severity of the coronavirus threat, calling it a “little flu” and a “measly cold.” He questioned the official statistics (which are likely an undercount), saying governors were manipulating the numbers for political ends. And he dismissed much of the fear, and the human toll, surrounding the virus.
He suggested that vulnerable people — older people and those with underlying conditions — could stay home, but that everyone else needed to go back to their jobs and their regular lives. “We have to face this virus, but face it like a man, dammit, not a boy,” Bolsonaro said in late March. “We have to face it with reality. That’s life. We’re all going to die someday.”
“Protecting jobs is essential,” he added.
Bolsonaro also flouts social distancing guidelines: He does not wear a mask when in public and still shakes hands with supporters — who, in gathering to greet the president, are often squeezed together.
His cavalier approach to the pandemic has put him in direct confrontation with state governors and other local leaders, some of whom used to count themselves among his allies.
In March, after Bolsonaro called for an end to lockdowns, governors in 25 of 27 states kept them in place.
At least two of those governors — Witzel, the Rio governor, and Doria of São Paulo — had previously aligned themselves with Bolsonaro. Witzel won an upset election, campaigning with one of Bolsonaro’s sons. Doria campaigned in 2018 by calling himself “BolsoDoria,” though he’s since said he isn’t a bolsonarista.
Now, though, public safety seems to be trumping political fealty. “We’re fighting against the coronavirus and against the ‘Bolsonaro-virus,’” Doria said in an interview with the Associated Press published on April 16.
“It’s as if you had two parallel kinds of politics,” Flávia Biroli, a political science professor at the Universidade de Brasília, told me. “The governors follow their path, and Bolsonaro keeps screaming and bringing some confusion to people.”
It’s not just governors who have found themselves at odds with the president.
In late March, Bolsonaro launched #BrazilCannotStop, a national campaign encouraging Brazilians to get back to work and normal life — that is, before a federal judge banned the campaign because it undermined state governors’ authorities to impose quarantine measures.
And in mid-April — as the country’s outbreak was getting increasingly dire — Bolsonaro fired his health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta. Mandetta had publicly contradicted Bolsonaro, advocating for social distancing measures and essentially backing the state governors.
It was a difficult path to navigate, given his boss was saying the opposite. Ultimately, Mandetta had enough after Bolsonaro greeted a crowd of supporters outside a hospital, removing his mask and signing autographs.
“Brazilians don’t know whether they should listen to their health minister or to their president,” Mandetta told a Brazilian news program shortly after that incident. Mandetta was out of a job before the week was up.
Many Brazilians and political leaders denounced Mandetta’s firing: Brazilians protested from lockdown, banging pots and pans from windows and calling for Bolsonaro’s ouster. Polls suggest the majority of Brazilians support the social distancing measures and disapprove of Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic.
And Brazil’s Supreme Court has backed up the power of state governments to implement stay-at-home measures, meaning Bolsonaro can complain, but he can’t overrule them. “Bolsonaro wants to be the president of reopening,” Stuenkel told me.
But Bolsonaro’s actions are still potentially dangerous. The president garners a fervent base of support, who tend to fully buy into Bolsonaro’s rhetoric and who are distrustful of the mainstream media. As Bolsonaro agitates against these lockdown measures, so do they. Bolsonaro supporters are protesting the lockdowns and decrying the dire health warnings as “fake news.” In São Paulo, Bolsonaro supporters blocked access to hospitals.
The president’s attitude is “already propagating like wildfire,” UCLA’s Nielsen said, “and it will just be disastrous.”
Bolsonaro’s attitude has also undermined any coherent response from the federal government. A competent Bolsonaro administration would be backing up the states with resources, coordinating the response to make sure supplies get where they’re needed, and helping to acquire gear and other equipment from abroad.
The absence of a unified strategy to fight the pandemic has led to a patchwork of measures across Brazil, with some states easing lockdowns while hospital systems in Brazil’s major cities buckle under the surge of coronavirus patients.
“We should be making the lockdowns better and more restrictive right now, but we’re going the opposite way,” Yago Bertacchini, a 26-year-old lawyer in Maringá, a city in Paraná state in southern Brazil, told me.
Bolsonaro may believe it’s “better to bet on the economy”
“Bolsonaro seems to be betting that he has very few tools to solve the health crisis,” said Matthew Taylor, an associate professor of international studies at American University, “and so he’s better to bet on the economy.”
In other words, Bolsonaro’s emphasis on protecting the economy is strategic. Most experts and people in Brazil I spoke to see it as a way to both deflect from the coronavirus crisis and give himself a solid talking point when the economy does collapse.
“I think he wants to be able to say, at the next election, ‘Those governors stopped you from working; it would have been a lot better if I had been able to prevail,’” Anthony Pereira, professor of Brazilian studies at King’s College in London, told me.
Brazil’s impending economic crisis seems undeniable. The country’s economy is still struggling from a recession in 2015 and 2016, and its economic outlook was not exactly rosy even before the pandemic hit. Brazil’s widening deficit could limit its ability to use stimulus to tackle the economic fallout, and the country also faces higher borrowing costs. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Brazil could see negative growth greater than 5 percent in 2020.
Bolsonaro may be acting cynically, but the fallout from shuttering restaurants, closing shops, and stalling businesses could be catastrophic — and it could deepen the public health crisis.
The millions in Brazil who rely on informal jobs to survive day to day don’t have many other options. Even those who may want to abide by social distancing measures may not be able to; they’re in a precarious position where they risk their lives either way — by working or by staying home.
“It’s very hard to disentangle the economic crisis and the health crisis,” Biroli, at the Universidade de Brasília, said. “I am really afraid of a near future where we have a deep economic crisis from which it’s going to be hard to sort out alternatives, and a deep health crisis for which the country is not prepared.”
Bolsonaro’s battles over the coronavirus have left him isolated — and now an explosive political crisis is making it worse
The bolsonaristas, his most loyal followers, remain as devoted as ever. They include evangelical Christians, who ardently buy into Bolsonaro’s promises to restore traditional culture, and those with a nostalgia for the country’s authoritarian past, such as the protesters earlier this month who wanted the military to intervene on behalf of Bolsonaro to help overrule lockdown measures.
But the bolsonaristas alone did not bring Bolsonaro to power. He also needed buy-in from the establishment. So he brought in technocrats and those who embraced a more traditionally right-wing agenda, like smaller government and a more free market, liberal economic ideology.
Bolsonaro needed their backing to win over moderates who were wary of his more radical rhetoric. These individuals, in turn, were sometimes expected to act as moderating and disciplining forces on an unpredictable president — the “adults in the room,” if you will.
“We’re fighting against the coronavirus and against the ‘Bolsonaro-virus’”
That somewhat fragile coalition has splintered as the president has bungled the coronavirus crisis. His battles against state governors have weakened him politically, as did his decision to fire the health minister. He doesn’t have robust support in Brazil’s congress, and impeachment chatter has percolated, backed up by Brazil’s mainstream press.
The louder Bolsonaro yelled about reopening the economy, the more isolated he became.
Then, on Friday, the discontent over the coronavirus boiled over, though not exactly because of the pandemic.
Bolsonaro’s popular Justice Minister Sérgio Moro resigned after Bolsonaro fired the chief of the federal police, Maurício Valeixo, without a clear reason. And just like that, a political crisis threatened to overshadow both the public health and economic crises.
Moro has a reputation as an anti-corruption hardliner; he was the federal judge who presided over Brazil’s sprawling 2014 corruption scheme known as Operation Car Wash. The corruption scandal involved bribes between politicians, executives at the country’s state-run oil company, and everyone in between.
Moro’s legacy has been tarnished somewhat after the Intercept published a major investigation that showed Moro had collaborated with prosecutors to help convict high-level figures, including former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. That undermined Moro’s reputation for impartiality and fairness, but not entirely.
Which is why Moro’s resignation was so explosive. Upon his departure, Moro delivered an exit speech, and he did not hold back. He accused Bolsonaro of trying to meddle in law enforcement, saying the president had fired Valeixo because he wanted “a person he could be in touch with personally, whom he could call directly, from whom he could receive information, intelligence reports.”
There are plenty of good guesses about why Bolsonaro might have wanted to replace Valeixo with a police chief more favorable to him, though nothing definitive yet. Top among them are investigations into those close to Bolsonaro, including his sons.
His son Flávio, who is a state senator, has been under investigation for some time for an alleged money-laundering scheme in which he is accused of using public funds to pay nonexistent employees, including at a chocolate shop in Rio de Janeiro.
And then there’s Carlos, another son and politician, who is being investigated by federal police for organizing fake news attacks that smeared justices on the Supreme Court. The Folha de São Paulo news outlet reports that federal police had homed in on Carlos as the ringleader of the group, and that police were also looking into the role of Eduardo, yet another Bolsonaro son (and Steve Bannon associate), in the alleged fake news ring. (Carlos and Eduardo have dismissed the fake news allegations as, well, false.)
Brazilian media has suggested that Bolsonaro wanted to push out Valeixo to get control of this case against his sons. But Bolsonaro has been defiant: “The prerogative is mine, and the day I have to submit to any of my subordinates, I cease to be president of the republic,” the president said last week.
But Moro’s words carried serious weight, and Brazil’s attorney general referred Moro’s allegations to the Supreme Court. On Monday, a Supreme Court justice authorized a 60-day investigation into whether Bolsonaro engaged in corruption or obstruction of justice in his firing of Valeixo.
So, in the middle of a deadly pandemic and a worsening economic crisis, Brazil’s president is under investigation.
Calls for lawmakers to act against Bolsonaro are growing louder, but experts I spoke to aren’t sure Brazil’s Congress will want to take up impeachment in the middle of a pandemic. But if the Supreme Court finds Bolsonaro acted illegally, that could force Congress’s hand.
Which means that, for right now, much about Brazil’s future is uncertain — except that people are dying every day. As Bertachinni, the lawyer in Maringá, told me: “We are not even close to the worst.”


vox--2020-04-28--Has Sweden found the best response to the coronavirus? Its death rate suggests it hasn’t.

You ’ d be forgiven for thinking Sweden had somehow found the secret to handling the coronavirus crisis without having to impose severe lockdowns .
Its total number of deaths , roughly 2,300 as of April 28 , seems low , and it doesn ’ t look anywhere near as chaotic as , say , New York City .
It ’ s no surprise , then , that the New York Times in a Tuesday story made the case that “ to a large extent , Sweden does seem to have been as successful in controlling the virus as most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience would seem to argue for less caution , not more , ” the story also said .
But that sentiment obfuscates some very real problems with Sweden ’ s approach — problems that become much clearer once you zoom out .
The chart below , which I made using the Our World in Data website ’ s coronavirus statistics , helps put Sweden ’ s situation in perspective .
It compares countries ’ rates of coronavirus deaths per 1 million people .
As the chart shows , Sweden is actually faring worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than the United States , which has the highest number of confirmed total cases in the world .
( It ’ s important to note that other nations — such as Spain and Italy — not included in the chart have higher death rates per million people than Sweden . )
The reason for Sweden ’ s high death rate has to do with the government ’ s policies .
Following the advice of the country ’ s chief epidemiologist , Anders Tegnell , the Swedish government chose not to impose strict lockdowns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the government felt it would hurt the economy and would only push the crisis further down the road .
“ Locking people up at home won ’ t work in the longer term .
Sooner or later , people are going to go out anyway , ” Tegnell told reporters this month .
And while experts say the vast majority of Swedes followed the government ’ s social distancing guidelines and voluntarily stayed home , those who continued to drink at bars and shop at stores likely spread the disease around .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sweden ’ s public health officials now admit : That “ more than 26 percent of the 2 million inhabitants of Stockholm will have been infected by May 1.
” That ’ s still higher than New York City ’ s infection rate , which New York state officials estimate could be around 21.2 percent based on recent antibody testing ( though these numbers are still preliminary and based on just one study ) .
Where Sweden does compare favorably to the US is the country ’ s death rate when compared to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the whole US ) .
About 12,000 reported deaths as of April 28 in a city of 8 million is surely worse than 2,300 deaths in a country of 8 million .
But there are three main reasons why the Big Apple would be worse off than the entire country of Sweden , experts say .
The first is population density : New York City has over 38,000 people per square kilometer , while Sweden has just 25 people — meaning it ’ s harder to socially distance .
Second , some hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sweden still has about 250 hospital beds unoccupied .
There are indications , though , that the hospital surge in New York City is declining .
Finally , there is significantly more international travel to New York City than there is to Sweden , which means there were more opportunities for people from countries suffering from severe outbreaks to spread the virus to the city than to the European country .
But when zooming out , it ’ s clear that Sweden as a whole is worse off than the US as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , change down the line , but any current arguments that Sweden got its outbreak response right are premature at best and dangerous at worst .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

You’d be forgiven for thinking Sweden had somehow found the secret to handling the coronavirus crisis without having to impose severe lockdowns.
Its total number of deaths, roughly 2,300 as of April 28, seems low, and it doesn’t look anywhere near as chaotic as, say, New York City. It’s no surprise, then, that the New York Times in a Tuesday story made the case that “to a large extent, Sweden does seem to have been as successful in controlling the virus as most other nations.”
“Sweden’s experience would seem to argue for less caution, not more,” the story also said.
But that sentiment obfuscates some very real problems with Sweden’s approach — problems that become much clearer once you zoom out.
The chart below, which I made using the Our World in Data website’s coronavirus statistics, helps put Sweden’s situation in perspective. It compares countries’ rates of coronavirus deaths per 1 million people.
As the chart shows, Sweden is actually faring worse than other Scandinavian nations and even worse than the United States, which has the highest number of confirmed total cases in the world. (It’s important to note that other nations — such as Spain and Italy — not included in the chart have higher death rates per million people than Sweden.)
The reason for Sweden’s high death rate has to do with the government’s policies.
Following the advice of the country’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, the Swedish government chose not to impose strict lockdowns, curfews, or major border closings because the government felt it would hurt the economy and would only push the crisis further down the road.
“Locking people up at home won’t work in the longer term. Sooner or later, people are going to go out anyway,” Tegnell told reporters this month.
And while experts say the vast majority of Swedes followed the government’s social distancing guidelines and voluntarily stayed home, those who continued to drink at bars and shop at stores likely spread the disease around.
The New York Times even noted what Sweden’s public health officials now admit: That “more than 26 percent of the 2 million inhabitants of Stockholm will have been infected by May 1.”
That’s still higher than New York City’s infection rate, which New York state officials estimate could be around 21.2 percent based on recent antibody testing (though these numbers are still preliminary and based on just one study).
Where Sweden does compare favorably to the US is the country’s death rate when compared to New York City’s (not the whole US). About 12,000 reported deaths as of April 28 in a city of 8 million is surely worse than 2,300 deaths in a country of 10 million.
But there are three main reasons why the Big Apple would be worse off than the entire country of Sweden, experts say.
The first is population density: New York City has more than 38,000 people per square kilometer, while Sweden has just 25 people — meaning it’s harder to socially distance in New York.
Second, some hospitals in New York City were overwhelmed while Sweden still has about 250 hospital beds unoccupied. There are indications, though, that the hospital surge in New York City is declining.
Finally, there is significantly more international travel to New York City than there is to Sweden, which means there were more opportunities for people from countries suffering from severe outbreaks to spread the virus to the city than to the European country.
But when zooming out, it’s clear that Sweden as a whole is worse off than the US as a whole. That could, of course, change down the line, but any current arguments that Sweden got its outbreak response right are premature at best and dangerous at worst.


vox--2020-04-28--Meat processing plants have become incubators for coronavirus. Trump reportedly wants to keep them o

Meat processing plants have become incubators for coronavirus. Trump reportedly wants to keep them open anyway.

President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to force meat processing plants to stay open , despite hundreds of employees who have tested positive for coronavirus at such facilities across the country .
Meatpacking plants across the US have been closing as their employees get sick , and their executives have warned that shortages are likely to result .
Bloomberg News reported that Trump will sign an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act ( DPA ) to avert closures of plants operated by companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. , whose chairman John Tyson warned on Sunday that the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal government will provide protective equipment to employees and issue additional guidance , according to Bloomberg .
The executive order , which would classify meat processors as “ critical infrastructure , ” was prompted by concerns that Tyson was planning to close 80 percent of its facilities , Axios reported .
It would go against calls from local officials and labor unions to close the plants , given the health risks for workers and their communities .
And some food supply experts are skeptical that the supply chain is truly breaking — even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cuts of meat they prefer .
“ The supply chain is struggling in a variety of ways , but the most vulnerable members of the supply chain in terms of livelihood and health are the farmers and the factory workers , not the consumers or grocery stores , ” Julie Niederhoff , a supply chain management professor at Syracuse University , told Vox .
“ There is enough meat to sustain the American consumer market for some time even at the currently reduced production capacity .
The decision to reopen the factories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is worrying if it is done without significant improvements to protect the workers and their communities first.
” The DPA offers the president broad powers to order domestic manufacturers to make necessary products in times of war or crisis .
For more than a month , crisis response experts and lawmakers alike have been calling on the Trump administration to use the DPA during the coronavirus pandemic to order the production of critical medical equipment including face masks , protective gloves , ventilators , respirators and coronavirus tests .
Trump has so far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of swabs needed for coronavirus testing .
Now , he ’ s poised to use it for an entirely different purpose : to keep meat production up as concerns about potential shortages mount .
Plants have had to close as workers have gotten sick Earlier this month , more than 640 workers tested positive at a processing facility in Sioux Falls , South Dakota , operated by Smithfield Foods , one of the United States ’ largest pork producers .
And on Wednesday , Tysons shut down its biggest pork processing facility in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 180 workers tested positive .
Dozens of other processing facilities , from Colorado to Pennsylvania , have similarly ceased operations across the country .
The workers in these plants are often low-income — one Smithfield employee reported making $ 17.70 an hour , though workers have been offered a $ 500 bonus if they don ’ t miss any shifts in April .
Nearly half of them are immigrants , according to the left-leaning think tank New American Economy .
Their work is physically taxing even in the best of times as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meat .
Now , it ’ s also potentially life-threatening : A 64-year-old Smithfield worker was among the reported industry deaths .
The rapid spread of coronavirus through meat processing plants is particularly concerning given that , even under normal circumstances , these kinds of facilities are highly sanitized and contained due to federal requirements for pathogen control and food safety .
Julie Anna Potts , president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute , said there is complete disinfection of the facilities every night after the last shift .
Workers have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , frocks , and boots .
Now , they ’ re also wearing masks and face shields , at least when the plants can obtain them , and they have been practicing social distancing where possible in cafeterias and places where the workers put their protective equipment on .
Tyson Foods said it has also started taking employees ’ temperatures either by hand or through infrared scanners .
But on the processing floor , they ’ re standing shoulder to shoulder .
Employees have protested the lack of safe working conditions .
Dozens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Kathleen , Georgia , staged a walkout in late March .
An anonymous employee at a Smithfield plant in Milan , Missouri , also filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that it had not provided enough protective equipment to its employees and that they were discouraged from taking sick leave .
( The company has denied the allegations . )
“ [ M ] anagers never blatantly asked me to risk my life just by showing up — until this pandemic , ” the employee wrote in an April 24 Op-Ed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just coming to work puts us at risk of exposure to a virus that ’ s killing thousands of people every single day.
” Meat producers are raising the alarm about the food supply — but experts are skeptical Executives at the nation ’ s largest meat producers have warned that the meat supply chain is on the brink of collapse .
But supply chain experts remain skeptical that consumers will see anything but spot shortages of certain meat products .
Kenneth M. Sullivan , Smithfield ’ s president and CEO , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the closure of processing facilities is “ pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply.
” And on Sunday , Tyson claimed that “ millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain ” even if the closures only last for a short period of time .
“ There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed , ” he wrote .
Their statements have concerned lawmakers , including Sens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who called for an investigation of the root causes of the disruptions to the meat supply chain on Monday .
“ During this worldwide pandemic when unprecedented numbers of families are standing in food lines , we can not afford to waste available food resources that could be utilized if only there were available options for processing and packing , ” they wrote .
But even in spite of these challenges , industry analysts say the US is still producing large amounts of meat .
Consumers might have to pay more for meat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sizes and brand names might not be available temporarily .
But they won ’ t see entirely empty refrigerators if they shop shortly after a grocery store restocks .
The developed world has gotten used to the idea of being able to walk into the grocery store and pick up anything — but that ’ s a luxury , Yossi Sheffi , a supply chain expert and the director of MIT ’ s Center for Transportation and Logistics , told Vox .
“ I don ’ t see any danger from temporary ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few plants , ” he said .
“ You may not get the cut you like or have to eat chicken instead of pork for a week or two in a few parts of the country .
Really , this is not a national disaster.
” Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to force meat processing plants to stay open, despite hundreds of employees who have tested positive for coronavirus at such facilities across the country.
Meatpacking plants across the US have been closing as their employees get sick, and their executives have warned that shortages are likely to result.
Bloomberg News reported that Trump will sign an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to avert closures of plants operated by companies such as Tyson Foods Inc., whose chairman John Tyson warned on Sunday that the “food supply chain is breaking.” The federal government will provide protective equipment to employees and issue additional guidance, according to Bloomberg.
The executive order, which would classify meat processors as “critical infrastructure,” was prompted by concerns that Tyson was planning to close 80 percent of its facilities, Axios reported.
It would go against calls from local officials and labor unions to close the plants, given the health risks for workers and their communities. And some food supply experts are skeptical that the supply chain is truly breaking — even if consumers might have more trouble finding the cuts of meat they prefer.
“The supply chain is struggling in a variety of ways, but the most vulnerable members of the supply chain in terms of livelihood and health are the farmers and the factory workers, not the consumers or grocery stores,” Julie Niederhoff, a supply chain management professor at Syracuse University, told Vox. “There is enough meat to sustain the American consumer market for some time even at the currently reduced production capacity. The decision to reopen the factories could help the farmers, but it is worrying if it is done without significant improvements to protect the workers and their communities first.”
The DPA offers the president broad powers to order domestic manufacturers to make necessary products in times of war or crisis. For more than a month, crisis response experts and lawmakers alike have been calling on the Trump administration to use the DPA during the coronavirus pandemic to order the production of critical medical equipment including face masks, protective gloves, ventilators, respirators and coronavirus tests.
Trump has so far only invoked the law to increase production of swabs needed for coronavirus testing. Now, he’s poised to use it for an entirely different purpose: to keep meat production up as concerns about potential shortages mount.
Plants have had to close as workers have gotten sick
Meat processing plants have become coronavirus hotspots.
Earlier this month, more than 640 workers tested positive at a processing facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, operated by Smithfield Foods, one of the United States’ largest pork producers. And on Wednesday, Tysons shut down its biggest pork processing facility in Waterloo, Iowa, after more than 180 workers tested positive.
Dozens of other processing facilities, from Colorado to Pennsylvania, have similarly ceased operations across the country.
The workers in these plants are often low-income — one Smithfield employee reported making $17.70 an hour, though workers have been offered a $500 bonus if they don’t miss any shifts in April. Nearly half of them are immigrants, according to the left-leaning think tank New American Economy.
Their work is physically taxing even in the best of times as they lift and slice through heavy cuts of meat. Now, it’s also potentially life-threatening: A 64-year-old Smithfield worker was among the reported industry deaths.
The rapid spread of coronavirus through meat processing plants is particularly concerning given that, even under normal circumstances, these kinds of facilities are highly sanitized and contained due to federal requirements for pathogen control and food safety. Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, said there is complete disinfection of the facilities every night after the last shift. Workers have to wear hard hats, safety goggles, frocks, and boots.
Now, they’re also wearing masks and face shields, at least when the plants can obtain them, and they have been practicing social distancing where possible in cafeterias and places where the workers put their protective equipment on. Tyson Foods said it has also started taking employees’ temperatures either by hand or through infrared scanners. But on the processing floor, they’re standing shoulder to shoulder.
Employees have protested the lack of safe working conditions. Dozens of workers at a Perdue Farms facility in Kathleen, Georgia, staged a walkout in late March. An anonymous employee at a Smithfield plant in Milan, Missouri, also filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that it had not provided enough protective equipment to its employees and that they were discouraged from taking sick leave. (The company has denied the allegations.)
“[M]anagers never blatantly asked me to risk my life just by showing up — until this pandemic,” the employee wrote in an April 24 Op-Ed in the Washington Post. “Now just coming to work puts us at risk of exposure to a virus that’s killing thousands of people every single day.”
Meat producers are raising the alarm about the food supply — but experts are skeptical
Executives at the nation’s largest meat producers have warned that the meat supply chain is on the brink of collapse. But supply chain experts remain skeptical that consumers will see anything but spot shortages of certain meat products.
Kenneth M. Sullivan, Smithfield’s president and CEO, said in a statement earlier this month that the closure of processing facilities is “pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply.” And on Sunday, Tyson claimed that “millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain” even if the closures only last for a short period of time.
“There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed,” he wrote.
Their statements have concerned lawmakers, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, who called for an investigation of the root causes of the disruptions to the meat supply chain on Monday.
“During this worldwide pandemic when unprecedented numbers of families are standing in food lines, we cannot afford to waste available food resources that could be utilized if only there were available options for processing and packing,” they wrote.
But even in spite of these challenges, industry analysts say the US is still producing large amounts of meat. Consumers might have to pay more for meat, and their preferred cuts, package sizes and brand names might not be available temporarily. But they won’t see entirely empty refrigerators if they shop shortly after a grocery store restocks.
The developed world has gotten used to the idea of being able to walk into the grocery store and pick up anything — but that’s a luxury, Yossi Sheffi, a supply chain expert and the director of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, told Vox.
“I don’t see any danger from temporary (and they are) closures of a few plants,” he said. “You may not get the cut you like or have to eat chicken instead of pork for a week or two in a few parts of the country. Really, this is not a national disaster.”


vox--2020-04-28--Trump wants to use coronavirus aid as leverage to force blue states to change immigration policies

In an authoritarian twist , President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he ’ s looking to condition coronavirus economic relief for blue states on complying with the administration ’ s immigration policy goals .
In remarks to reporters at a White House event with Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis , Trump said he ’ d be willing to give economic aid to Democratically controlled state governments , but he wants them to do something for him first — bend their sanctuary city policies to align with the administration ’ s desired policy .
Trump said he was only open to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the coronavirus pandemic .
“ I think there ’ s a big difference with a state that lost money because of Covid and a state that ’ s been run very badly for 25 years , ” he said .
He then mentioned sates with sanctuary city policies .
“ We ’ d have to talk about things like sanctuary cities , as an example .
I think sanctuary cities is something that has to be brought up where people who are criminals are protected , they are protected from prosecution , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city policies having nothing to do with the pandemic .
“ I think that has to be done .
I think it ’ s one of the problems that the states have .
I don ’ t even think they know they have a problem , but they have a big problem with the sanctuary situation.
” Later in the day , Trump reiterated his sanctuary city comments while taking questions from reporters at an East Room event to promote the success of the Payroll Protection Program .
“ If it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about [ aid ] , but we ’ d want certain things also , including sanctuary city adjustments , ” he said .
The ACLU responded to Trump ’ s comments on Twitter Tuesday , saying , “ We can not allow the Trump administration to exploit a public health crisis to further their anti-immigrant agenda.
” Federal aid for states themselves has quickly become a divisive issue on Capitol Hill .
Several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle condemned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ’ s ( R-KY ) suggestion that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should just declare bankruptcy .
Conservative lawmakers have made no bones about trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to their own political advantage .
Several conservative states , like Texas , Ohio , Mississippi , Alabama , and Tennessee , along with a few others , tried to ban abortion care while their states were under shelter-at-home orders .
The Trump administration has not been an exception .
The administration has used the economic upheaval produced by the pandemic to roll back regulations that it has long had in its crosshairs .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and eased enforcement of several EPA pollution regulations .
It ’ s also considering undoing many small business regulations .
On immigration policy , the administration announced on April 23 that it would suspend immigration to the US , though it exempted many farmworkers from the rule .
It should come as no surprise then that Trump would try to leverage coronavirus relief toward pushing states to dump sanctuary city rules .
The Trump administration has long battled against the policy , which it claims shelters undocumented immigrants from prosecution by US Immigrations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activity .
However , studies have shown that sanctuary city policies don ’ t actually result in higher-than-average crime , as explained by Vox ’ s Nicole Narea : Sanctuary policies don ’ t appear to make a city more dangerous .
While there isn ’ t a huge body of research on sanctuary policies ’ impact on crime rates , studies have found that they either slightly decrease crime rates or have no effect .
A study published in the journal Urban Affairs Review in 2017 found that cities with similar characteristics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no statistically discernible difference ” in their rates of violent crime , rape , or property crime .
Using data from the National Immigration Law Center and the FBI , researchers compared crime rates before and after cities passed sanctuary laws , finding that they had no effect on crime .
Though sanctuary city policies have nothing to do with the Covid-19 outbreak , Trump apparently views the crisis as an opportunity to force blues states to reshape their immigration policies in a manner favorable to his base .
In that way , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying to set up is reminiscent of the dealings with Ukraine that resulted in his impeachment .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

In an authoritarian twist, President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he’s looking to condition coronavirus economic relief for blue states on complying with the administration’s immigration policy goals.
In remarks to reporters at a White House event with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump said he’d be willing to give economic aid to Democratically controlled state governments, but he wants them to do something for him first — bend their sanctuary city policies to align with the administration’s desired policy.
Trump said he was only open to helping some states financially cover losses related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think there’s a big difference with a state that lost money because of Covid and a state that’s been run very badly for 25 years,” he said.
He then mentioned sates with sanctuary city policies.
“We’d have to talk about things like sanctuary cities, as an example. I think sanctuary cities is something that has to be brought up where people who are criminals are protected, they are protected from prosecution,” he told reporters, despite sanctuary city policies having nothing to do with the pandemic. “I think that has to be done. I think it’s one of the problems that the states have. I don’t even think they know they have a problem, but they have a big problem with the sanctuary situation.”
Later in the day, Trump reiterated his sanctuary city comments while taking questions from reporters at an East Room event to promote the success of the Payroll Protection Program. “If it’s Covid-related, I guess we can talk about [aid], but we’d want certain things also, including sanctuary city adjustments,” he said.
Trump says he wants blue states to give him "sanctuary-city adjustments" in exchange for federal financial relief pic.twitter.com/wY2edZifPQ — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 28, 2020
The ACLU responded to Trump’s comments on Twitter Tuesday, saying, “We cannot allow the Trump administration to exploit a public health crisis to further their anti-immigrant agenda.”
Federal aid for states themselves has quickly become a divisive issue on Capitol Hill. Several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle condemned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) suggestion that states with massive Covid-19 related budget shortfalls should just declare bankruptcy.
The Trump administration’s ongoing war against sanctuary cities
Conservative lawmakers have made no bones about trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to their own political advantage. Several conservative states, like Texas, Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, along with a few others, tried to ban abortion care while their states were under shelter-at-home orders.
The Trump administration has not been an exception. The administration has used the economic upheaval produced by the pandemic to roll back regulations that it has long had in its crosshairs. It rolled back Obama-era automobile fuel economy requirements and eased enforcement of several EPA pollution regulations. It’s also considering undoing many small business regulations.
On immigration policy, the administration announced on April 23 that it would suspend immigration to the US, though it exempted many farmworkers from the rule.
It should come as no surprise then that Trump would try to leverage coronavirus relief toward pushing states to dump sanctuary city rules. The Trump administration has long battled against the policy, which it claims shelters undocumented immigrants from prosecution by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and creates more criminal activity.
However, studies have shown that sanctuary city policies don’t actually result in higher-than-average crime, as explained by Vox’s Nicole Narea:
Sanctuary policies don’t appear to make a city more dangerous. While there isn’t a huge body of research on sanctuary policies’ impact on crime rates, studies have found that they either slightly decrease crime rates or have no effect. A study published in the journal Urban Affairs Review in 2017 found that cities with similar characteristics but for their sanctuary policies had “no statistically discernible difference” in their rates of violent crime, rape, or property crime. Using data from the National Immigration Law Center and the FBI, researchers compared crime rates before and after cities passed sanctuary laws, finding that they had no effect on crime.
Though sanctuary city policies have nothing to do with the Covid-19 outbreak, Trump apparently views the crisis as an opportunity to force blues states to reshape their immigration policies in a manner favorable to his base. In that way, the quid pro quo he’s trying to set up is reminiscent of the dealings with Ukraine that resulted in his impeachment.


vox--2020-04-28--Phone data shows Americans are moving around more, despite social distancing orders

More than a month since the first pandemic stay-at-home orders in the United States , people are getting antsy .
The median distance Americans travel each day began to tick up in the past couple of weeks , well before a handful of states have officially begun to reopen their businesses and public spaces and others started talking about reopening .
The stay-at-home orders meant to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus brought many economies grinding to a halt , and these reopening efforts represent an attempt to put people back to work .
However , they could also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as health experts warn that there ’ s not nearly enough testing to know whether or not it ’ s safe to reopen businesses .
These warnings haven ’ t stopped some people from increasingly leaving home in the past couple of weeks , potentially in defiance of those stay-at-home orders .
According to aggregated anonymized data from geospatial analytics company Orbital Insight , the median distance people traveled hit a low point on April 12 , which was Easter Sunday , of about a half a mile .
However , that distance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sunday , April 19 .
To come up with median distance , Orbital Insight used anonymized cellphone location data for 12 million devices , specifically creating a radius from the various locations people visit each day .
The company reports its units of distance as degrees of latitude or longitude , which are displayed on the y-axis of the graph above .
That Easter Sunday low follows several weeks of declining median distance traveled , as cities and states across the country enacted shelter-in-place orders beginning in March .
For context , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 and 3.5 miles each day ( or .03 to 0.5 degrees of distance in latitude or longitude per day ) .
You can see the increase in the past couple of weeks on a county level in the map below .
More yellow and orange on the map means a higher daily distance traveled and , therefore , presumably less social distancing .
The image on the left side of the slider shows the week beginning April 10 while the map to the right shows the week of April 17 .
Data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unacast , follows a similar trend , with average mobility as well as proximity to others increasing after Easter .
Unacast data also shows that foot traffic in retail stores is also starting to pick back up as stores in a number of states reopen .
Traveling farther or being nearer to people , of course , does not necessarily mean that people are violating social distance orders or going places they ’ re not supposed to go .
In Florida and in more rural states , for example , where more people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible to more safely socially distance than in , say , parts of New York .
But it does mean it ’ s less likely they are staying home .
The increased movement is also not happening in a vacuum .
Death rates in many states began declining in mid-April , though social distancing likely contributed to those declines .
Around the same time , governors started discussing plans to ease restrictions .
President Trump , famously , hoped church pews could be packed by Easter .
The data also suggests the increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dates , suggesting that the promise of reopening was enough to get people moving again .
The relaxation is different for each locality , and some businesses were allowed to open before others .
Tennessee and Georgia allowed many businesses to open April 27 , for example , while South Carolina began incrementally opening public spaces a week before .
With the possibility of reopening seeming more real , it ’ s also possible people simply got restless or felt more comfortable venturing out after safely sheltering .
The nicer spring weather certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of the house .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

More than a month since the first pandemic stay-at-home orders in the United States, people are getting antsy.
The median distance Americans travel each day began to tick up in the past couple of weeks, well before a handful of states have officially begun to reopen their businesses and public spaces and others started talking about reopening. The stay-at-home orders meant to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus brought many economies grinding to a halt, and these reopening efforts represent an attempt to put people back to work. However, they could also cause a resurgence of coronavirus cases, as health experts warn that there’s not nearly enough testing to know whether or not it’s safe to reopen businesses.
These warnings haven’t stopped some people from increasingly leaving home in the past couple of weeks, potentially in defiance of those stay-at-home orders.
According to aggregated anonymized data from geospatial analytics company Orbital Insight, the median distance people traveled hit a low point on April 12, which was Easter Sunday, of about a half a mile. However, that distance nearly doubled to a mile the following Sunday, April 19. To come up with median distance, Orbital Insight used anonymized cellphone location data for 12 million devices, specifically creating a radius from the various locations people visit each day. The company reports its units of distance as degrees of latitude or longitude, which are displayed on the y-axis of the graph above.
That Easter Sunday low follows several weeks of declining median distance traveled, as cities and states across the country enacted shelter-in-place orders beginning in March. For context, in February, people typically traveled between about 2 and 3.5 miles each day (or .03 to 0.05 degrees of distance in latitude or longitude per day).
You can see the increase in the past couple of weeks on a county level in the map below. More yellow and orange on the map means a higher daily distance traveled and, therefore, presumably less social distancing. The image on the left side of the slider shows the week beginning April 10 while the map to the right shows the week of April 17.
Data from a second location-data tracking company, Unacast, follows a similar trend, with average mobility as well as proximity to others increasing after Easter. Unacast data also shows that foot traffic in retail stores is also starting to pick back up as stores in a number of states reopen.
Traveling farther or being nearer to people, of course, does not necessarily mean that people are violating social distance orders or going places they’re not supposed to go. In Florida and in more rural states, for example, where more people travel by car, it’s possible to more safely socially distance than in, say, parts of New York. But it does mean it’s less likely they are staying home.
The increased movement is also not happening in a vacuum. Death rates in many states began declining in mid-April, though social distancing likely contributed to those declines. Around the same time, governors started discussing plans to ease restrictions. President Trump, famously, hoped church pews could be packed by Easter.
The data also suggests the increase in movement began happening before official reopening dates, suggesting that the promise of reopening was enough to get people moving again. The relaxation is different for each locality, and some businesses were allowed to open before others. Tennessee and Georgia allowed many businesses to open April 27, for example, while South Carolina began incrementally opening public spaces a week before.
With the possibility of reopening seeming more real, it’s also possible people simply got restless or felt more comfortable venturing out after safely sheltering. The nicer spring weather certainly encouraged more than a few to get out of the house.


vox--2020-04-28--Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic without a mask, violating his own government’s guidance

Vice President Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester , Minnesota , on Tuesday — and notably did so without wearing a mask .
In a since-deleted tweet , the Mayo Clinic said it informed Pence of its policy requiring visitors to wears masks before his visit .
Pence , however , didn ’ t follow it .
In choosing not to wear a mask , Pence not only ignored the Mayo ’ s policy , he ignored the recommendations of his own government , which has advised Americans to wear face coverings in public to slow the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Pence ’ s visit shows everyone in Pence ’ s entourage wearing a mask , with him being the notable exception .
As the footage circulated on Twitter , the Mayo ’ s verified Twitter account tweeted that Pence was warned about the policy but nevertheless persisted .
That tweet , however , was deleted a short time later .
Later Tuesday , the Mayo ’ s Twitter account posted a tweet blandly expressing gratefulness for Pence ’ s visit .
CNBC reports that a Mayo spokesperson reiterated the since-deleted tweet by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy with the VP ’ s office , ” but did not respond to a question about why the tweet was scrubbed .
Pence ’ s office didn ’ t immediately respond to an email from Vox seeking comment .
The Mayo Clinic ’ s website indicates that , as of April 13 , all patients and visitors were required to wear masks .
“ Patients and visitors are asked to bring their own face covering or mask to wear .
If a patient or visitor does not have a mask , Mayo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that “ Pence ignored the clinic ’ s request that all visitors don face masks to prevent transmission , including [ Minnesota ] Gov .
Tim Walz and others on the tour.
” Pence and President Donald Trump appear to be on the same page when it comes to masks .
Notably , when Trump announced the administration ’ s mask guidance during a news conference on April 3 , he said he wouldn ’ t follow it .
“ I just don ’ t want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a recommendation , ” Trump said at the time .
“ Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk , the great Resolute Desk , I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents , dictators , kings , queens , I don ’ t know , I don ’ t see it for myself.
” White House aides recently told the New York Times that Pence doesn ’ t feel like he has to wear a mask in public because he is regularly tested for the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a variety of reasons , including that coronavirus tests are occasionally inaccurate and Pence could contract ( and spread ) the virus between tests .
By refusing to wear one at the Mayo Clinic , he could have unwittingly spread the virus to patients and workers there ; and should he have become infected with the virus , he could be a source of community spread at the White House .
Trump and Pence ’ s aversion to masks stands in contrast to other world leaders ranging from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chancellor Sebastian Kurz , all of whom have been photographed wearing masks in public .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Vice President Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on Tuesday — and notably did so without wearing a mask.
In a since-deleted tweet, the Mayo Clinic said it informed Pence of its policy requiring visitors to wears masks before his visit. Pence, however, didn’t follow it.
In choosing not to wear a mask, Pence not only ignored the Mayo’s policy, he ignored the recommendations of his own government, which has advised Americans to wear face coverings in public to slow the spread of Covid-19.
A press pool video of Pence’s visit shows everyone in Pence’s entourage wearing a mask, with him being the notable exception.
As the footage circulated on Twitter, the Mayo’s verified Twitter account tweeted that Pence was warned about the policy but nevertheless persisted. That tweet, however, was deleted a short time later.
In response to questions about why Pence wasn’t wearing a mask, the Mayo Clinic tweeted this earlier. Then they deleted it. So that’s normal. pic.twitter.com/7peNxMxx7t — shauna (@goldengateblond) April 28, 2020
Later Tuesday, the Mayo’s Twitter account posted a tweet blandly expressing gratefulness for Pence’s visit.
We are grateful that @VP and @GovTimWalz visited Mayo Clinic today to hear about our work fighting the #COVID19 pandemic. We look forward to continued collaboration to develop essential testing and treatment for our patients and communities. — Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinic) April 28, 2020
CNBC reports that a Mayo spokesperson reiterated the since-deleted tweet by saying the clinic “shared the masking policy with the VP’s office,” but did not respond to a question about why the tweet was scrubbed. Pence’s office didn’t immediately respond to an email from Vox seeking comment.
The Mayo Clinic’s website indicates that, as of April 13, all patients and visitors were required to wear masks.
“Patients and visitors are asked to bring their own face covering or mask to wear. If a patient or visitor does not have a mask, Mayo Clinic will provide one,” it says.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that “Pence ignored the clinic’s request that all visitors don face masks to prevent transmission, including [Minnesota] Gov. Tim Walz and others on the tour.”
Pence and President Donald Trump appear to be on the same page when it comes to masks. Notably, when Trump announced the administration’s mask guidance during a news conference on April 3, he said he wouldn’t follow it.
“I just don’t want to wear one myself, it’s a recommendation,” Trump said at the time. “Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, I don’t see it for myself.”
REPORTER: Why are you opposed to wearing a mask?
TRUMP: "I just don't want to wear one myself ... I'm feeling good. I just don't want to be doing-- somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk. The great Resolute Desk ... I don't see it for myself." pic.twitter.com/7dWmQQY3Aw — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 3, 2020
White House aides recently told the New York Times that Pence doesn’t feel like he has to wear a mask in public because he is regularly tested for the coronavirus. But that argument is flawed for a variety of reasons, including that coronavirus tests are occasionally inaccurate and Pence could contract (and spread) the virus between tests. By refusing to wear one at the Mayo Clinic, he could have unwittingly spread the virus to patients and workers there; and should he have become infected with the virus, he could be a source of community spread at the White House.
Trump and Pence’s aversion to masks stands in contrast to other world leaders ranging from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to French President Emmanuel Macron to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, all of whom have been photographed wearing masks in public.


vox--2020-04-28--Hillary Clinton has officially endorsed Joe Biden for president

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has officially endorsed Joe Biden for president .
Clinton made the announcement Tuesday during a virtual town hall with the former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee about the impact of Covid-19 on women .
“ I am thrilled to be part of your campaign , to not only endorse you but to help highlight a lot of these issues that are at stake in this presidential election , ” she said .
Clinton is the latest Democratic leader to vocalize her support for Biden in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month .
It marks the first time she ’ s explicitly backed a candidate in the 2020 election cycle , though she previously criticized Sanders during interviews that touched on their rivalry during the 2016 Democratic primary .
Clinton ’ s endorsement follows those of Sen. Elizabeth Warren , Sanders , and former President Barack Obama , underscoring just how much the Democratic Party is coalescing behind Biden .
In her remarks , Clinton emphasized Biden ’ s longstanding experience in government , noting he ’ s the leader who ’ d be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crises like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic .
“ Think of what it would mean if we had a real president , not just someone who plays one on TV , ” Clinton said .
“ Joe Biden has been preparing for this moment his entire life.
” Clinton and Biden previously competed for the presidency in 2008 and ultimately worked alongside each other during the Obama administration , when Clinton served as secretary of state .
Biden has criticized Clinton ’ s 2016 campaign and her approach to battleground states ; he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sway this constituency .
Since Sanders has suspended his candidacy , the Biden campaign has swiftly shifted its focus toward the general election , with much of the attention centered on who he ’ ll pick as a running mate .
As Vox ’ s Ella Nilsen reported , more than 10 names have been floated so far , and a wing of the party is pressing Biden to consider an African American woman for the role .
Biden ’ s team is still in the process of weighing the strengths of different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with progressive voters and voters of color , according to Politico .
Biden is also fielding increasing pressure with regard to former Senate staffer Tara Reade ’ s allegation of sexual assault , which his campaign has denied .
“ Women have a right to tell their story , and reporters have an obligation to rigorously vet those claims , ” Biden ’ s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield previously said in a statement .
“ We encourage them to do so , because these accusations are false.
” The broader scrutiny on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only expected to increase as the general election grows closer .
The endorsements he ’ s received so far , including Clinton ’ s , show that the Democratic Party is increasingly united in its support for him .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has officially endorsed Joe Biden for president.
Clinton made the announcement Tuesday during a virtual town hall with the former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee about the impact of Covid-19 on women. “I am thrilled to be part of your campaign, to not only endorse you but to help highlight a lot of these issues that are at stake in this presidential election,” she said.
COVID-19 is affecting the entire nation, but the impact doesn’t look the same for everyone. I'm hosting a town hall on how COVID-19 is impacting women — and I'll be joined by special guest Hillary Clinton. Tune in now to watch: https://t.co/sQBaHGHgRQ — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 28, 2020
Clinton is the latest Democratic leader to vocalize her support for Biden in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s decision to suspend his campaign earlier this month. It marks the first time she’s explicitly backed a candidate in the 2020 election cycle, though she previously criticized Sanders during interviews that touched on their rivalry during the 2016 Democratic primary.
Clinton’s endorsement follows those of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sanders, and former President Barack Obama, underscoring just how much the Democratic Party is coalescing behind Biden.
In her remarks, Clinton emphasized Biden’s longstanding experience in government, noting he’s the leader who’d be most effective at helping the US navigate crises like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “Think of what it would mean if we had a real president, not just someone who plays one on TV,” Clinton said. “Joe Biden has been preparing for this moment his entire life.”
Clinton and Biden previously competed for the presidency in 2008 and ultimately worked alongside each other during the Obama administration, when Clinton served as secretary of state. Biden has criticized Clinton’s 2016 campaign and her approach to battleground states; he’s since argued that he could better sway this constituency.
Since Sanders has suspended his candidacy, the Biden campaign has swiftly shifted its focus toward the general election, with much of the attention centered on who he’ll pick as a running mate.
As Vox’s Ella Nilsen reported, more than 10 names have been floated so far, and a wing of the party is pressing Biden to consider an African American woman for the role. Biden’s team is still in the process of weighing the strengths of different nominees, and their ability to connect with progressive voters and voters of color, according to Politico.
Biden is also fielding increasing pressure with regard to former Senate staffer Tara Reade’s allegation of sexual assault, which his campaign has denied. “Women have a right to tell their story, and reporters have an obligation to rigorously vet those claims,” Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield previously said in a statement. “We encourage them to do so, because these accusations are false.”
The broader scrutiny on Biden and his vice presidential pick are only expected to increase as the general election grows closer. The endorsements he’s received so far, including Clinton’s, show that the Democratic Party is increasingly united in its support for him.