;)
The Commentariat -- April 8, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
** Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday, concluding a quest for the White House that began five years ago in relative obscurity but ultimately elevated him as a champion of the working class, a standard-bearer of American liberalism and the leader of a self-styled political revolution. Mr. Sanders's exit from the race establishes former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the presumptive nominee to challenge President Trump, and leaves the progressive movement without a prominent voice in the 2020 race.... With the public health emergency preventing both candidates from holding in-person campaign events, Mr. Sanders spent the last several weeks on the sidelines, delivering addresses via live stream and making occasional television appearances, while facing calls from fellow Democrats to exit the race and help unify the party behind Mr. Biden. Though Mr. Biden had been careful not to pressure Mr. Sanders, he had begun to move ahead as if the race were over, taking steps, for example, to begin his search for a running mate." ~~~
~~~ Holly Otterbein & David Siders of Politico: Sen. Sanders "announced his decision during an all-staff conference call Wednesday morning. The Vermont senator told his aides that this was not just a presidential campaign, but a movement, and to be proud of what they've accomplished." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Here's a statement from Joe Biden.
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A top House committee chairwoman is proposing legislation that would undo ... Donald Trump's move to sideline the federal watchdog originally tapped to oversee the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, along with Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), offered a bill Wednesday that would expand the roster of officials permitted to lead the oversight effort, ensuring that Trump's incursion on the panel would not prevent the original pick -- Pentagon watchdog Glenn Fine -- from keeping the position."
Trump Encourages Voter Suppression Because It Helps Republicans. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday directed Republicans to 'fight very hard' against efforts to expand mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.... 'Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn't work out well for Republicans.'... The president fiercely criticized mail-in voting as 'horrible' and 'corrupt' during the White House coronavirus task force's daily news conference Tuesday, but also conceded that he voted by mail in Florida's primary last month. Trump offered no legitimate explanation for the discrepancy between his position on mail-in voting and his personal voting habits, but insisted 'there's a big difference between somebody that's out of state and does a ballot, and everything's sealed, certified and everything else.' In other instances of mail-in voting, however, 'you get thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebody's living room, signing ballots all over the place,' Trump claimed.... The president's advice to vote in person contradicts his administration's social-distancing guidance...."
CDC De-Trumpifies. Aram Roston & Marisa Taylor of Reuters: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed from its website highly unusual guidance informing doctors on how to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs recommended by ... Donald Trump to treat the coronavirus. The move comes three days after Reuters reported that the CDC published key dosing information involving the two antimalarial drugs based on unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science. Reuters also reported that the original guidance was crafted by the CDC after President Trump personally pressed federal regulatory and health officials to make the malaria drugs more widely available to treat the novel coronavirus, though the drugs in question had been untested for COVID-19.... Now the CDC website ... says: 'There are no drugs or other therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19.' The updated, and shortened, guidance adds that 'Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are under investigation in clinical trials' for use on coronavirus patients."
Tom Gjelten of NPR: "In a development that could challenge the Constitution's prohibition of any law 'respecting an establishment of religion,' the federal government will soon provide money directly to U.S. churches to help them pay pastor salaries and utility bills. A key part of the $2 trillion economic relief legislation enacted last month includes about $350 billion for the Small Business Administration to extend loans to small businesses facing financial difficulties as a result of the coronavirus shutdown orders. Churches and other faith-based organizations, classified as 'businesses,' qualify for aid under the program, even if they have an exclusively religious orientation.... In introducing the new SBA program, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Pence and President Trump 'made sure' that churches would be included in the program." --s
Josh Margolin & James Meek of ABC News: "As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China's Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. Concerns about what is now known to be the novel coronavirus pandemic were detailed in a November intelligence report by the military's National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI).... 'Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event,' one of the sources said of the NCMI's report. 'It was then briefed multiple times to' the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's Joint Staff and the White House."
~~~~~~~~~~
The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "U.S. authorities on Tuesday reported 30,700 more people infected with the novel coronavirus and over 1,800 more deaths -- the highest daily death toll so far. But amid the grim data, some officials said they saw grounds for hope that the pandemic's devastation would at least not be as bad as the direst projections." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here.
William Wan & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "A leading forecasting model used by the White House to chart the coronavirus pandemic predicted Monday that the United States may need fewer hospital beds, ventilators and other equipment than previously projected and that some states may reach their peak of covid-19 deaths sooner than expected. That glimmer of potential good news came on the same day New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said his state may already be experiencing a 'flattening of the curve.' New York reported 599 new deaths Monday, on par with Sunday's count of 594 and down from 630 on Saturday. Experts and state leaders, however, continued to steel themselves for grim weeks ahead, noting that the revised model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington conflicts with many other models showing higher equipment shortages, deaths and projected peaks." Access is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marina Villeneuve, et al., of the AP: "New York state reported 731 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, its biggest jump since the start of the outbreak, dampening some of the cautious optimism officials have expressed about efforts to stop the spread of the virus. The state's death toll grew to 5,489. The alarming surge in deaths comes as new hospital admissions have dropped on average over several days, a possible harbinger of the outbreak finally leveling off. [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo [D] said the death tally is a 'lagging indicator' that reflects the loss of critically ill people hospitalized earlier. 'That's 731 people who we lost. Behind every one of those numbers is an individual. There's a family, there's a mother, there's a father, there's a sister, there's a brother. So a lot of pain again today for many New Yorkers,' Cuomo said at a briefing at the state Capitol."
The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. "President Trump lashed out on Tuesday at the World Health Organization, creating a new enemy to attack.... 'We're going to put a hold on money spent to the W.H.O.; we're going to put a very powerful hold on it and we're going to see,' Mr. Trump said, accusing the organization of having not been aggressive enough in confronting the dangers from the virus. 'They called it wrong. They call it wrong. They really they missed the call.' In effect, Mr. Trump was attempting to blame the W.H.O. for the very missteps and failures that have been leveled at him and his administration.... In fact, the W.H.O. was sounding the alarm in the earliest days of the crisis, declaring a 'public health emergency of international concern' a day before the United States secretary of health and human services announced its own public health emergency and weeks before Mr. Trump declared a national emergency because of the virus.... Mr. Trump ... accus[ed] the organization of 'not seeing' the outbreak when it started in Wuhan, China.... In fact, the W.H.O. repeatedly issued statements about the emergence of the virus in China and its movement around the world." Mrs. McC: WTF is a "very powerful hold"?
Washington Post live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday are here.
Nobody has done more testing ... If (other countries) did the kind of testing proportionally that we are doing, they'd have many more cases than us. -- Donald Trump, Monday briefing
That's flat wrong. -- AP ~~~
~~~ Keep on Lyin'. Hope Yen & Christopher Rugaber of the AP: "Defending his administration's response to the coronavirus..., Donald Trump falsely asserted that travelers at U.S. airports are being routinely tested for COVID-19, made groundless accusations against a government watchdog and wrongly claimed the Obama administration did nothing during a flu pandemic. Meanwhile, with many businesses shuttered during the outbreak, Trump claimed his daughter Ivanka created over 15 million jobs for the U.S. That's a complete illusion."
Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "If hydroxychloroquine becomes an accepted treatment, several pharmaceutical companies stand to profit, including shareholders and senior executives with connections to the president. Mr. Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine." Read on for more on the excellent "experts" upon whom Trump is relying. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Kyle Cheney & Connor O'Brien of Politico: "... Donald Trump has upended the panel of federal watchdogs overseeing his implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, tapping a replacement for the Pentagon official who was supposed to lead the effort. A panel of inspectors general had named Glenn Fine -- the acting Pentagon watchdog -- to lead the group charged with monitoring the coronavirus relief effort. But Trump Monday removed Fine from his post, instead naming an EPA inspector general to serve as the temporary Pentagon watchdog." Mrs. McC: Couldn't be any hankypanky afoot here, could there? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ From the WashPo's live updates Tuesday: "Trump cast his decision to remove Glenn Fine from his position as the Defense Department's acting inspector general as simply cleaning house of Obama-era holdover appointments, saying those officials could be biased.... [Fine's] ... removal as the Pentagon's top watchdog made him ineligible [to lead a cross-agency committee of inspectors general overseeing the coronavirus package]. 'We have a lot of IGs in from the Obama era. And as you know, it's a presidential decision...,' Trump said.... 'But when we have, you know, reports of bias and when we have different things coming in -- I don't know Fine. I don't think I ever met Fine. I heard the name. I don't know where he is -- maybe was from Clinton,' Trump added. Fine was appointed by President Bill Clinton as inspector general of the Justice Department at the end of his administration. He stayed on through President George W. Bush's term and through most of President Barack Obama's. He served as acting Pentagon inspector general for more than four years." ~~~
~~~ Charlie Savage & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump moved on Tuesday to oust the leader of a new watchdog panel charged with overseeing how his administration spends trillions of taxpayer dollars in coronavirus pandemic relief, the latest step in an abruptly unfolding White House power play against semi-independent inspectors general across the government.... The questions of accountability and loyalty within the government have been persistent themes in the past three years as Mr. Trump has repeatedly waged war with what he calls 'the deep state.'... In removing Mr. Fine from his role overseeing pandemic spending, Mr. Trump targeted a former Justice Department inspector general who earned a reputation for aggressive independence in scrutinizing the F.B.I.'s use of surveillance and other law enforcement powers in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.... A group of inspectors general led by Michael E. Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, will determine who will replace Mr. Fine as chairman of the new pandemic oversight committee.... Mr. Horowitz had praised [Mr. Fine] as 'uniquely qualified' to run oversight of 'large organizations.'... Democrats immediately condemned Mr. Fine's sudden ouster as 'corrupt,' in the words of Senator Chuck Schumer of New York...." ~~~
~~~ Jennifer McLaughlin, et al., of Yahoo! News: "Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis issued a rare public rebuke of President Trump Tuesday over his decision to fire Glenn Fine, the Pentagon inspector general charged with overseeing implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. 'Mr. Fine is a public servant in the finest tradition of honest, competent governance,' Mattis told Yahoo News in an email. 'In my years of extensive engagement with him as our Department of Defense's acting Inspector General, he proved to be a leader whose personal and managerial integrity were always of the highest order.'"
** Fair Winds! Jim Sciutto, et al., of CNN: "Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday, a day after leaked audio revealed he called the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt 'stupid' in an address to the ship's crew, according to a US official and a former senior military official. The Navy and Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Undersecretary of the Army James McPherson has been tapped to succeed Modly, a US official and a defense official tells CNN. McPherson is a retired rear admiral and was the former judge advocate general of the Navy.... Late Monday night, Modly apologized in a statement for calling Crozier 'stupid' in his earlier remarks.... Defense Secretary Mark Esper [had] ordered Modly to apologize...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
About Those Masks, Etc.
Noam Levey of the Los Angeles Times: "Although President Trump has directed states and hospitals to secure what supplies they can, the federal government is quietly seizing orders, leaving medical providers across the country in the dark about where the material is going and how they can get what they need to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Hospital and clinic officials in seven states described the seizures in interviews over the past week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not publicly reporting the acquisitions, despite the outlay of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, nor has the administration detailed how it decides which supplies to seize and where to reroute them. Officials who've had materials seized also say they've received no guidance from the government about how or if they will get access to the supplies they ordered.... Trump and other White House officials, including ... Jared Kushner, have insisted that the federal government is using a data-driven approach to procure supplies and direct them where they are most needed." Mrs. McC: Yeah, you just have to trust Don & Jared, Inc.
Mary Ellen Klas & Ben Wieder of the Miami Herald: "When Florida belatedly realized last week that its COVID-19 problem was going to cascade into a statewide crisis, the state Division of Emergency Management embarked on a frantic, frenzied attempt to buy N95 masks..., negotiating more than half a billion in purchase orders in just the past week. The biggest deal by far was a $225 million purchase order -- 30 million masks at $7.50 a piece -- agreed to March 30. It was brokered through a Miami lobbyist, Manny Reyes, son of the Miami commissioner, Manolo Reyes. In normal times the masks might cost anywhere from 58 cents to $1.25 per unit. The deal fell apart for the same reason dozens of other deals have dissolved: the state's chaotic and cutthroat procurement process clanging up against a drained national supply.... [And] Florida's late start in obtaining medical supplies may have put it at a distinct disadvantage.... Many of [the state's] purchase orders, like the deal involving Reyes, vanished into thin air.... None of the 90 million masks promised in the flurry of orders have [has!] materialized."
Marshall Allen of ProPublica: "Olga Matievskaya and her fellow intensive care nurses at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey were so desperate for gowns and masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus that they turned to the online fundraising site GoFundMe to raise money. The donations flowed in -- more than $12,000 -- and Matievskaya used some of them to buy about 500 masks, 4,000 shoe covers and 150 jumpsuits. She and her colleagues at the hospital celebrated protecting themselves and their patients from the spread of the virus. But rather than thanking the staff, hospital administrators on Saturday suspended Matievskaya for distributing 'unauthorized' protective gear."
Rebecca Ribley of WKOW Madison: "A bobblehead honoring Dr. Anthony Fauci ... has raised $100,000 for the American Hospital Association's 100 Million Mask Challenge. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Milwaukee, released the bobblehead last week. It features Fauci wearing a suit, making the 'flatten the curve' gesture[, s]ignaling to the country that it's best to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.... Overnight the bobblehead became the museum's all-time best seller.... $5 from every Dr. Fauci bobblehead sold to the American Hospital Association in support of the 100 Million Mask Challenge." Mrs. McC: Should further piss off our Narcissist-in-Chief. And I thought Trump might send Fauci to London to visit the PM. Now, it looks more like Siberia.
John Eligon, et al., of the New York Times: "The coronavirus is infecting and killing black people in the United States at disproportionately high rates, according to data released by several states and big cities, highlighting what public health researchers say are entrenched inequalities in resources, health and access to care. The statistics are preliminary and much remains unknown because most cities and states are not reporting race as they provide numbers of confirmed cases and fatalities. Initial indications from a number of places, though, are alarming enough that policymakers say they must act immediately to stem potential devastation in black communities." A Washington Post story is here; it is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~
~~~ Liz Crampton of Politico: "Most of the 42 million Americans who receive food stamps aren't allowed to use them to shop for groceries online -- and some lawmakers and state governments are rushing to change that as the newly jobless flood onto the rolls of the nutrition assistance program. Only six states allow online purchases with benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Of those, Alabama and Nebraska launched online shopping only in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic erupted." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't just food-stamp shoppers. I am a super-experienced online shopper, so I thought I'd be just the person to buy all or most of my groceries online. But even the grocery stores in my area that have pick-up shopping (and not all of them do) do so on a reservation system that is always full-up & not open to reservations at all -- even days ahead.
Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The Dow lost 26.13 points, or 0.12%, to 22,653.86. The S&P 500 fell 0.16% to 2,659.41. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33% to 7,887.26. Stocks gave up a massive rally from earlier in the day as Wall Street assessed the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak."
Jonathan Chait: "As House Democrats set to work on the next round of economic relief legislation, they face a more urgent choice than they seem to realize. If they send that bill to President Trump without measures guaranteeing voting rights during the pandemic, they are signing a death warrant for the 2020 election. A vision of the future sits before us in Wisconsin.... Trump may be able to win by following the Wisconsin Republican strategy of using the virus to suppress urban voting.... [But] once Republicans grasp that they need legislation to avert an economic catastrophe, Democrats will have leverage to force them to accept measures to protect voting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Garrett Epps of the Atlantic: "... the Supreme Court of the United States..., when social distancing and lockdowns spread across the nation, simply closed its doors, largely ceased operations, and disappeared. The Court has, as of last Friday, canceled two months' worth of oral argument and provided no word on when, or how, it will take up its calendar again.... Of course, the unseen, unheard justices are -- somewhere, somehow -- deciding cases.... Monday night, the Court unveiled a 5-4 decision saying that while the justices are staying safe at home, thousands of voters in Wisconsin must either risk infection by defying a stay-at-home order or forfeit their right to vote in important state elections.... The Court's order, as opposed to its mollifying bromides, directs that voters who have not yet received their absentee ballot will not be allowed to vote -- unless they leave their home and go to a crowded polling station, potentially contracting the virus or infecting the many older poll workers, terrified but present to do their duty."
~~~ I'm disgusted. I requested an absentee ballot almost three weeks ago and never got it. I have a father dying from lung disease, and I have to risk my life and his just to exercise my right to vote. -- Jennifer Taff, pictured above holding sign, to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer Patricia McKnight ~~~
Wisconsin. Elise Viebeck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of voters stood in lines that stretched for blocks in several Wisconsin cities Tuesday morning to cast their ballots amid fears about the spread of the coronavirus, a chaotic start to elections in the state that went forward only after a last-minute legal battle. Morning scenes at the polls across Milwaukee -- which was able to open only five polling locations, down from 180 -- underscored the near-unprecedented challenge facing election administrators one day after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers sought to suspend in-person voting in light of the covid-19 pandemic, an order that was quickly reversed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The decision was a victory for the state's GOP-controlled legislature, which had declined to postpone the election and filed a legal challenge to Evers's order, arguing it exceeded the governor's constitutional authority." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders are on the ballot in Wisconsin, but the main event is the State Supreme Court race between the conservative incumbent justice, Daniel Kelly, and a liberal challenger, Jill Karofsky. The winner will be in position to cast a deciding vote on a case before the court that seeks to purge more than 200,000 people from Wisconsin's voter rolls -- in a state where 2.6 million people voted in the last governor's race. When the matter was first before the court in January, Mr. Kelly recused himself, citing his upcoming election. He indicated he would 'rethink' his position following the April election, which comes with a 10-year term.... It is the latest example of what many in the state see as a decade-long effort by Wisconsin Republicans to dilute the voting power of the state's Democratic and African-American voters." ~~~
~~~ From the Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday: "At the daily White House coronavirus briefing, President Trump was asked who should be held responsible if Wisconsinites become ill after standing in long lines to vote. 'Look, all I did was endorse a candidate,' Trump said. 'I don't know anything about their lines. I don't know anything about their voting.' On Twitter this morning, Trump encouraged voters to go to the polls to support Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly. He claimed that until he endorsed Kelly, Democrats had not raised concerns about delaying the primary.... Trump endorsed Kelly in January. On April 3, the president tweeted his support for him. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) pushed for mail-in voting on March 27, but talk of delaying the election didn't start until a few days ago. When pressed on how standing in line to vote squared with social distancing recommendations, Trump said the Democrats in charge at the state level would have to answer that." ~~~
~~~ Natasha Korecki of Politico: "... somehow in the midst of a deadly pandemic that has led more than a dozen states to delay their elections, Wisconsin is asking its citizens to come out and vote Tuesday. This is what the complete collapse of a state's political system looks like.... The scorched earth politics that led to this moment dates back long before the polarization of the Trump era. Hundreds of millions of dollars -- much of it from outside groups -- have poured into state races since 2010, when [former Gov. Scott] Walker's [R] first election as governor kicked off years of acrimony that infected the state's political culture at every level." Mrs. McC: "Pretty much a both-siderism take. Being as generous as possible to Republicans, I'd hold confederates 98% responsible for forcing this election in the midst of a pandemic. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Yeah But. From the Washington Post's live updates Tuesday: "Dressed head-to-toe in personal protective equipment, Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) stood at a polling place in Racine County on Tuesday and assured voters that it was safe to go to the polls. Vos -- wearing protective gloves, a mask and a gown -- worked as an election inspector at the state's planned primaries, one day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers's executive order suspending in-person voting in Tuesday's elections, which launched a final scramble for election officials to prepare polling places and protect voters and workers." Includes photo of Vos geared up in PPE telling voters it's "incredibly safe" to vote. Mrs. McC: I didn't think I hoped anybody would catch the virus. I'm having a hard time with the brotherly love thing here.
Texas. John Kruzel of the Hill: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with Texas over its bid to restrict abortion access amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower court order halting the restrictions, saying the previous ruling had not adequately considered the temporary burden on abortion access in light of the measure's medical benefits.... Judges Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee, and Jennifer Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with Texas. Judge James Dennis, a Clinton appointee, dissented." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Idaho. Give Me Liberty AND Give Me Death! Mike Baker of the New York Times: "In a state with pockets of deep wariness about both big government and mainstream medicine, the sweeping restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus have run into outright rebellion in some parts of Idaho, which is facing its own worrying spike in coronavirus cases. The opposition is coming not only from people like [Aamon] Bundy, whose armed takeover of the Oregon refuge with dozens of other men and women in 2016 led to a 41-day standoff, but also from some state lawmakers and a county sheriff who are calling the governor's statewide stay-at-home order an infringement on individual liberties.... Many of the latest claims about the Constitution have come from Idaho's northern panhandle, where vaccination rates for other diseases have always been low and where wariness of government is high." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Excuse our arrogance as New Yorkers -- I speak for the mayor [de Blasio] also on this one -- we think we have the best health care system on the planet right here in New York. So, when you're saying, what happened in other countries versus what happened here, we don't even think it's going to be as bad as it was in other countries. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-Ny), March 2 ~~~
~~~ New York. David Goodman of the New York Times: "For many days after the first positive test [for the coronoavirus], as the coronavirus silently spread throughout the New York region, [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo, [Mayor Bill] de Blasio and their top aides projected an unswerving confidence that the outbreak would be readily contained.... From the start, Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo projected as much concern about panic as they did about the virus.... From the earliest days of the crisis, state and city officials were also hampered by a chaotic and often dysfunctional federal response, including significant problems with the expansion of coronavirus testing, which made it far harder to gauge the scope of the outbreak.... Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and former commissioner of the city's Health Department..., said that if the state and city had adopted widespread social-distancing measures a week or two earlier..., then the estimated death toll from the outbreak might have been reduced by 50 to 80 percent.
Missed this when safari posted it the other day. It's a short course on how dumb and dangerous a person is when s/he rejects science & common sense in favor of the personal preferences of the Dear Leader:
Kaitlan Collins & Kate Bennett of CNN: "White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is leaving the job without ever having briefed the press. CNN has learned she is returning to the East Wing as first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff as ... Donald Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows shakes up the communications team in the West Wing. Kayleigh McEnany, who served as Trump's 2020 campaign spokeswoman, will replace Grisham as White House press secretary, according to two sources familiar with the situation.Meadows is also tapping Alyssa Farah, the current spokeswoman for the Defense Department, to be the director of strategic communications, the two sources said. Ben Williamson, a Meadows staffer, will become the senior communications adviser." Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. Mrs. McC: The best thing to do during a completely mismanaged international crisis is have a major staff shakeup. This should set the sinking ship aright. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times has more. "Ms. McEnany has been a vocal defender of Mr. Trump on television, the main role the president has long believed the press secretary should play, according to current and former advisers. Her hiring is the first major personnel move by the incoming White House chief of staff, former Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Andrew Kaczynski & Nathan McDermott of CNN: "New White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus in comments made in February and March, a CNN KFile review has found. In radio and television appearances, McEnany, in her role as spokeswoman for ... Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, said the administration had the rapidly spreading coronavirus "under control" and said that because of travel restrictions enacted by the President, 'we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here.' She also said Democrats were 'actively rooting against what's in the best interest of America,' including rooting for coronavirus to take hold. She said coronavirus, like the Russia and Ukraine scandals, was being used to take down Trump."
~~~ Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast runs down some of McEnany's greatest hits like, "Trump has never lied to the American people." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Burgess Everett & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Sen. Chuck Grassley is working on a bipartisan letter addressed to ... Donald Trump demanding an explanation for the firing of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, according to aides in both parties. The Senate Finance Committee chairman is still working to secure cosponsors for the letter, a Republican aide said. The letter will focus on Atkinson's Friday firing amid a broader purge by the president of inspectors general. The letter is supported by Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine."
News Lede
Rolling Stone: "John Prine, who for five decades wrote rich, plain-spoken songs that chronicled the struggles and stories of everyday working people and changed the face of modern American roots music, died Tuesday at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was 73. The cause was complications related to COVID-19, his family confirmed to Rolling Stone."
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