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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Constant Comments

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Friday
Mar202020

The Commentariat -- March 21, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates on coronavirus developments for Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. Both are free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

~~~ "We Have Very Good Liquids." From the Times' updates: "The White House signaled Saturday that American companies were increasing efforts to restock hospitals with crucial supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, but it again stopped short of more assertive steps that some state and local leaders have been demanding.... On Saturday, [Trump] said that he had not used the Defense Production Act because companies were stepping up voluntarily, citing Hanes and General Motors, which will make masks.... Other companies the administration announced coordination with include Honeywell and 3M. Mr. Trump also said Pernod Ricard USA had repurposed production facilities in four states to manufacture hand sanitizer, with the first delivery expected on Tuesday. The president suggested that masks don't always need to be thrown away, but can be sanitized, saying, 'We have very good liquids for doing this.'... Under increasing pressure to detail exactly when he learned that the spread of coronavirus would be a problem, Mr. Trump claimed that he first knew about the virus around the time he ordered border closures in late January." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If he knew about it on January 31 (and in fact, he began receiving briefings weeks earlier -- see Shane Harris's WashPo report, linked below), why was Trump saying "as recently as Feb. 27: 'It's going to disappear. One day -- it's like a miracle -- it will disappear.'"

~~~ From the WashPo's live updates: "Anthony S. Fauci ... was asked at the daily White House coronavirus news briefing about an hours-earlier tweet by Trump that claimed the FDA was working on a combination of an anti-malaria drug and an antibiotic that could treat the infection. 'I'm not totally sure what the president was referring to,' Fauci said, but said he believes Trump was referring to one anecdotal study that showed that combination could be effective.... Trump was no longer present when he said that.... 'I feel like, as the expression goes, what do we have to lose?,' Trump said [earlier in the briefing].... 'Because, you know, I feel very I feel very good about it. Tony would feel, you know, like he' like samples done in a certain way. And I understand that many doctors agree with it. We don't have much time.'... Vice President Pence addressed the news that a member of his staff had tested positive for the coronavirus and said because of that he and his wife, Karen, would be tested later in the day." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump either has a financial interest in these drugs or he is controlled -- that is, "controlled," not "advised" -- by people who do. ~~~

~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Anthony Fauci as "a national treasure." ~~~

~~~ BUT Kevin Drum of Mother Jones disputes the notion that Anthony Fauci is our "truthteller-in-chief." Mrs. McC: Drum's caution is worth heeding.

Jessica Williams of the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: "On March 10, Natasha Ott, 39, felt the beginnings of a cold coming on. She had a slight fever. Crescent Care, her employer, had only a handful of tests for the new strain of coronavirus on hand.... When her symptoms didn't shake, she did take the test on Monday. By Thursday, she felt 'something in her lungs,' she told longtime partner Josh Anderson.... On Friday, Anderson found Ott dead in her kitchen. Her test results have still not come back.... Anderson ... said the dearth of tests shows how ill-equipped New Orleans is to handle a pandemic that has already claimed 16 lives and infected nearly 600 people across the state."

Carolyn Johnson & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Health officials in New York, California and other hard-hit parts of the country are restricting coronavirus testing to health care workers and people who are hospitalized, saying the battle to contain the virus is lost and the country is moving into a new phase of the pandemic response. As cases spike sharply in those places, they are hunkering down for an onslaught, and directing scarce resources where they are needed most to save people's lives. Instead of encouraging broad testing of the public, they're focused on conserving masks, ventilators, intensive care beds -- and on getting still-limited tests to health care workers and the most vulnerable. The shift is further evidence that rising levels of infection and illness have begun to overwhelm the health care system." Access to this story is free. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You could believe these health officials or you could believe Trump, who told a reporter yesterday, 'I'm not hearing that.'" ~~~

~~~ Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "U.S. hospitals are warning that they are so strapped for cash that without some financial relief, they will be unable to meet their payrolls in a matter of weeks and some could be forced to close just as coronavirus cases are surging. The American Hospital Association and three hospital chief executives spanning the country said in a conference call Saturday that a federal directive this week to cancel elective procedures -- to conserve scarce resources for patients with covid19 -- is halting the type of services that produce the most revenue. And their ability to buy critically needed supplies -- from protective gear to more hospital beds -- is being stymied by the fact that private vendors are requiring hospitals to pay cash upon delivery, which they say they lack the money to do. The American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association are jointly urging Congress to provide hospitals and health systems $100 billion in emergency aid. The Federation of American Hospitals, the trade group for for-profit hospitals, issued a call Friday night for at least $225 billion in aid."

Marianne Levine, et al., of Politico: "Senate negotiators and the White House on Saturday are scrambling to reach an accord on a stimulus package that's likely to exceed $1 trillion, staring down an aggressive timeline to deliver relief amid the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak.... Senate Republicans ... deliver[ed] their latest bid to Democrats on the biggest remaining sticking point: Unemployment insurance. The two sides huddled separately as Republicans and White House officials await the next steps from Democrats, who are seeking longer-term benefits for furloughed workers, rather than direct payments as GOP leaders have pushed. 'I had a very good conversation with [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin and we are making good progress on many of the issues Democrats care about,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Saturday."

Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post Has Had Enough: "More and more each day, President Trump is using his daily briefings as a substitute for the campaign rallies that have been forced into extinction by the spread of the novel coronavirus. These White House sessions -- ostensibly meant to give the public critical and truthful information about this frightening crisis --; are in fact working against that end." Sullivan reprises some of Trump's most blatant lies & propaganda lines.

Rachel Maddow Has Had Enough. Joseph Wulfsohn of Fox "News": "MSNBC host Rachel Maddow urged television networks not to air White House updates on the coronavirus outbreak, claiming 'misinformation' from President Trump will 'cost lives.' 'I know we ought to be getting used to this kind of thing by now, but I'm not,' Maddow began Friday night. 'President Trump today, again, just flat-out wrong in public about this malaria drug that has gotten stuck in his mind, quite some distance from the facts.'" Mrs. McC: Other than describing Maddow as a person "best known for promoting the Russia collusion narrative that tied the Trump 2016 campaign to the Kremlin," Wulfsohn mostly gets the story right. See also PD Pepe's commentary in today's thread.

~~~~~~~~~

Julie Bosman & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "America plunged into a deeper state of disruption and paralysis on Friday as New York and Illinois announced a broad series of measures aimed at keeping tens of millions of residents cloistered in their homes, following similar actions by California and a patchwork of restrictions from coast to coast.... Forty-five states have closed all their schools and the other five have closed at least some of them.... New York State has become the center of the outbreak, as its confirmed coronavirus cases have jumped to more than 7,000 and health officials have flagged with urgency a looming shortage of hospital beds and equipment...."

Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this before.... Nobody in their wildest dreams would think we need tens of thousands of ventilators. -- Donald Trump, press briefing Thursday

The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. Stock Market starting to look very good to me! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet February 24, after receiving many daily briefings warning of an impending pandemic

China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet January 24, after receiving briefings that China was lying about the number of people who will ill or had died ~~~

~~~ ** A Rough Draft of History. Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting.... Intelligence agencies 'have been warning on this since January,' said a U.S. official who had access to intelligence reporting that was disseminated to members of Congress and their staffs as well as to officials in the Trump administration.... 'Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were -- they just couldn't get him to do anything about it,' this official said. 'The system was blinking red.'... At a White House briefing Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said officials had been alerted to the initial reports of the virus ... on Jan. 3. The warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies increased in volume toward the end of January and into early February.... The surge in warnings coincided with a move by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to sell dozens of stocks worth between $628,033 and $1.72 million.... Inside the White House, Trump's advisers struggled to get him to take the virus seriously.... But Trump resisted and continued to assure Americans that the coronavirus would never run rampant as it had in other countries." The Hill has a summary report here. ~~~

When the President of the United States refuses to read his intelligence reports, unfortunately lots and lots of people die. That is reality. This is not a reality tv show. And, to all those who have enabled him and placated him, you have blood on your hands. -- Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in a tweet

** Frank Rich of New York: "The president ... continues to lie to Americans daily about the most basic imperatives of a public-health catastrophe, and presides over an administration staffed with incompetent, third-tier bootlickers and grifters. And I am not just talking about Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, and Wilbur Ross. There are now three college seniors serving in White House positions, thanks to a new purge of ostensibly disloyal staffers being conducted by Trump's former body man, the 29-year-old John McEntee, recently installed as director of the Presidential Personnel Office.... If America rises to the occasion, it will be despite [Trump], not because of him. We're at the point where even if Trump were to start telling the truth, no one except the most mad-dog MAGA-ites would believe him.... Trump's nonstop lies -- and those of toadies like Pence -- are not just intended to cover up the many failures to prepare for the looming apocalypse ('I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic'), or to blame those failures on China and Obama, or to luxuriate in unearned self-congratulation ('I'd rate it a 10'). What the lies are doing now is throwing gasoline on the gathering fire."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "‪An official working for Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office announced Friday. 'This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus,' Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, said in a statement. 'Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual. Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Dozens of employees who work across the nation's federal agencies have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, adding to the surging count of well over 10,000 confirmed cases in the United States. Experts expect the number of cases to continue rising as more tests are made available -- and the federal government's millions of employees are just as exposed as the American public at large. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands, of other government employees have quarantined themselves either out of precaution or because they are exhibiting symptoms of the disease. But if the Trump administration has a unified policy on how it is handling the grim march of the virus within its own ranks, it isn't sharing it.... The result is a confusing jumble of messages that has angered federal workers and those who represent them. There are no clear directions for reporting disclosures of coronavirus throughout the federal government, leaving each individual agency to determine how to share information about known cases -- who gets to know, how soon they should be informed and how often they require updates."

** David Lynch & Heather Long of the Washington Post: "The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than was expected just days ago as extraordinary measures designed to curb the coronavirus keep 84 million Americans penned in their homes and cause the near-total shutdown of most businesses. In a single 24-hour period, governors of three of the largest states -- California, New York and Illinois -- ordered residents to stay home except to buy food and medicine, while the governor of Pennsylvania ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. Across the globe, health officials are struggling to cope with the growing number of patients, with the World Health Organization noting that while it required three months to reach 100,000 cases, it took only 12 days to hit another 100,000. The resulting economic meltdown, which is sending several million workers streaming into the unemployment line, is outpacing the federal government's efforts to respond." ~~~

~~~ Heather Long & Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post (March 19): "U.S. workers are getting laid off at an unprecedented pace as the coronavirus outbreak shuts down much of the economy, and the government safety net to help the newly jobless appears ill-equipped to handle the surge in the unemployed. More than a million workers are expected to lose their jobs by the end of March, economists say, a dramatic turnaround from February, when the unemployment rate was near a record low. Ball State University economist Michael Hicks predicts this month could be the worst for layoffs in U.S. history.... On Monday, there were so many people trying to file for unemployment insurance in New York, Oregon and elsewhere that the websites crashed, workers say.... So far, the wave of coronavirus-related layoffs has disproportionately hit service workers in typically lower-paying jobs. Many lack adequate savings...." And many out-of-work people don't qualify for unemployment benefits.

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senators are racing the clock as they try to clinch a deal on a massive stimulus package to address fallout from the coronavirus outbreak rattling the nation. The Senate is holding a rare weekend session starting at noon on Saturday for lawmakers to attempt to hammer out an agreement on a bill that is expected to cost at least $1 trillion." ~~~

~~~ ** Paul Van de Water of the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities: "The Senate Republican proposal for a third bill to address the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis is woefully inadequate to meet the extraordinary challenges now facing the nation. Its centerpiece -- direct cash payments to households -- would miss the lowest-income households entirely and give millions of low- and moderate-income households much less than those who are better off. And the proposal ignores the dire need to expand health coverage, help those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet, avert a rise in evictions and homelessness, and close the large state budget shortfalls that will soon emerge."

Fred Imbert & Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "Stocks attempted to rally on Friday, but failed, concluding one of the most volatile weeks on Wall Street ever as investors grapple with mounting fears over the coronavirus' economic blow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 913.21 points lower, or more than 4%, at 19,173.98 after rallying more than 400 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 slid 4.3% to 2,304.92. The Nasdaq Composite closed 3.8% lower at 6,879.52 after jumping more than 2%. The Dow dropped more than 17% for the week, its biggest one-week fall since October 2008, when it slid 18.2%. The S&P 500 lost more than 13% week to date after dropping another 11.5% last week. The Nasdaq fell 12.6%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had their worst weekly performances since the financial crisis in 2008. The 30-stock Dow is now 35.2% below its all-time high level from February, while the S&P 500 is 32.1% below its high." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ From Friday's New York Times coronavirus updates: "Friday's drop [in market values] meant that the Dow Jones industrial average closed below where it stood on the day before Mr. Trump was inaugurated, erasing the so-called 'Trump bump' that the president has cited as evidence of the success of his presidency. The S&P 500 isn't far from that mark as well....

"New York's governor told the state's residents to stay indoors and ordered nonessential businesses to keep workers home. The Federal Reserve moved to backstop some municipal money market funds, and the U.S. is extending the tax filing deadline to July 15.

Donald Trump held another press briefing, where everybody huddled together behind the podium. He & that dick Mike Pompeo both referred to the "Chinese virus." "During the hourlong briefing, Mr. Trump grew increasingly confrontational with reporters who asked him to detail his message to Americans who were shaken by their lives being upended and scared at the spread of the virus. 'It is a bad signal that you are putting out to the American people,' he admonished a reporter from NBC who asked what the president would say to frightened citizens. 'You want to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism. Let's see if it works. I happen to feel good about it....'... Mr. Trump signaled Friday that the federal government was mobilizing industry to provide urgently needed resources to help halt the spread of the virus, but he did not specify what steps he had taken.... Deborah Birx, who is leading the administration's coronavirus response, detailed a 'concerning trend' from Italy: the mortality rate in males is twice as high as females in every age group affected by the virus." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Jonathan Chait lists what he rates the five "Scariest Moments From Trump's Coronavirus Briefing Today." No. 5: "Trump is unaware that people can't get tests. For weeks, coronavirus tests have been so difficult to come by that even patients with severe symptoms and proved contact with contagious people have been unable to get them. Stories about the testing failure are ubiquitous. Trump replied, 'I'm not hearing that.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Three things. (1) "I'm not hearing that" is a version of Trump's well-worn response to questions he doesn't want to answer: "I haven't heard that" is the usual form. (2) It's virtually impossible that "I'm not hearing that" is true. It's been a top headline in every major newspaper & a top subject of newscasts. He has had a couple of conference calls with governors & claims to have spoken to them individually many times over the past week. They told him their states were desperate for supplies, space for beds & staff. (3) "I'm not hearing that" should have been the moment mike pence passed a note to an aide to gather the Cabinet for the purpose of invoking the 25th Amendment. ~~~

~~~ Real-Time Fact-Checking. "The Answer Is No." Anthony Fauci responds to Trump's claim, made again Friday -- after having been corrected Thursday -- that an anti-malaria drug is "very effective" at mitigating Covid-19 symptoms: ~~~

~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "It was the journalistic equivalent of a layup, an opportunity for President Trump to utter a sound bite to soothe an anxious nation's fears and concerns amid a pandemic. Instead, Trump turned an exchange at a news conference into something very different -- a jarring attack on the news media in general and the reporter who asked the question in particular. NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander started the exchange by asking Trump whether he 'may be giving Americas a false sense of hope' by touting drug therapies that health-care experts have said are unproved as treatments for the coronavirus. 'No, I don't think so,' Trump replied. 'It may work, it may not work.... I feel good about. That's all it is, it's a feeling.' Alexander shifted gears by citing the growing toll of the illness and asking Trump, 'What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now and are scared?' Rather than offering reassurance, Trump went after Alexander and his employer. I'd say that you're a terrible reporter, that's what I'd say,' he said.... 'I think it's a very nasty question, and I think it's a very bad signal that you're putting out to the American people,' he said, pointing accusatorily at Alexander. 'The American people are looking for answers, and they're looking for hope. And you're doing sensationalism. And the same with NBC and Concast -- I don't call it Comcast, I call it Concast.' He went on for several more moments in this vein, his voice rising steadily before concluding, 'You should be ashamed of yourself.'" ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post has a full rundown & analysis of the exchange between Peter Alexander and Donald Trump, with a Tony Fauci cameo: "... the exchange epitomized just how out of tune Trump is with actual developments and his top health officials." In a tweet, Alexander has a shorter version: "I offered both Pres Trump and VP Pence an opportunity to reassure Americans. Simple question: 'What do you say to Americans who are scared?' Trump, to me: 'I say, you're a terrible reporter.' Pence, an hour later: 'Don't be afraid. Be vigilant'." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Trump Finds More Americans Whose Health He Can Endanger. Katie Thomas & Denise Grady of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's boosterish attitude toward the drugs has deepened worries among doctors and patients with lupus and other diseases who rely on the drugs, because the idea that the old malaria drugs could work against the coronavirus has circulated widely in recent weeks and fueled shortages that have already left people rushing to fill their prescriptions. 'Rheumatologists are furious about the hype going on over this drug,' said Dr. Michael Lockshin, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. 'There is a run on it and we're getting calls every few minutes, literally, from patients who are trying to stay on the drug and finding it in short supply.' Th moment of discord between Mr. Trump and [Dr. Anthony Fauci,] one of the nation's most trusted authorities on the coronavirus was a clash between opinion and fact." Mrs. McC: It's likely Trump heard these rumors from one of his "advisors"; so, you know, fuck science. I'm the President* & Article II says I don't have to speak responsibly or truthfully. ~~~

~~~ ** Jennifer Senior of the New York Times: "It is ... time to call the president's news conferences for what they are: propaganda.... We're witnessing the falsification of history in real time.... If the public wants factual news briefings, they need to tune in to those who are giving them: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, whose addresses appear with English subtitles on Deutsche Welle. They should start following the many civic-minded epidemiologists and virologists and contagion experts on Twitter, like Harvard's Marc Lipsitch and Yale's Nicholas Christakis, whose threads have been invaluable primers in a time of awful confusion." ~~~

~~~ Robert Mackey of the Intercept (March 19): "Deprived of rallies, Donald Trump has turned the daily White House briefings on the novel coronavirus pandemic sharply political in recent days, seizing the podium from health experts to air grievances, make false promises about drug treatments, and rile up his base." ~~~

~~~ Andy Kroll of Rolling Stone: " Instead of the Trump campaign rally, it is the president's daily press briefing about the pandemic that poses a unique threat to reliable information and public trust in the middle of a global and fast-spreading crisis.... It's time to stop carrying his coronavirus briefings live. Cover them, edit out the bad information, and give the American people only the essential information (such as Dr. Fauci's warnings and updates) that they need to deal with the crisis. To continue to air them in real-time, unedited, is to actively confuse and mislead the American public." ~~~

~~~ In Case You Think That's a Bad Call.... Eli Yokley of Morning Consult: "Perceptions of ... Donald Trump's handling of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic jumped this week as his administration, Congress and state and local officials took more dramatic steps to contain the contagion presently spreading across the nation. A Morning Consult poll conducted Tuesday through Friday found 53 percent of voters approve of Trump's handling of the spread of coronavirus, compared with 39 percent who disapprove. Taken together, it marks an increase of 10 percentage points in net approval of his coronavirus response since polling conducted March 13-16."

Erik Ortiz of NBC News: "A longtime employee of NBC News died Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said in an email to staff members. Larry Edgeworth, 61, who worked in an equipment room at NBC News' 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York, also suffered from other health issues, according to his wife, Crystal.... Edgeworth previously spent 25 years at NBC News working as an audio technician, during which he was well-known to many network correspondents with whom he traveled around the world." Mrs. McC: NBC News' Katy Tur gave an on-air eulogy for Edgeworth, who she said often worked as her soundman. I'm guessing he worked with Peter Alexander, too. (Also linked yesterday.)

** Taylor Telford & Thomas Heath of the Washington Post (from the live market updates for Friday): "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that the administration has moved the IRS deadline for filing taxes from April 15 to July 15 due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus. The new deadline will give millions of taxpayers more time to fill out their tax forms as coronavirus upends daily life across the country. Mnuchin made the announcement on twitter, citing President Trump's directive." Mrs. McC: This is a big deal for Mrs. Procrastinator here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Dareh Gregorian of NBC News on Sen. Richard Burr's amazing financial dealings. (Related stories linked yesterday.) "Disclosure records reviewed by NBC News show that three other senators sold major holdings around the same time, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and James Inhofe, R-Okla. Asked about the stock sales Friday..., Donald Trump singled out Feinstein, a Democrat, and then said he knew all the senators involved and 'I find them to be honorable people.' Feinstein and her husband shed up to $6 million worth of stock in Allogene Therapeutics, a biotech company, between the end of January and Feb. 18, disclosure records show. A Feinstein spokesman told NBC News on Friday that she 'did not sell any stock. The transactions you're referencing were made by her spouse. All of Senator Feinstein's assets are in a blind trust, as they have been since she came to the Senate. She has no involvement in any of her husband's financial decisions.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Kiss of death: Donald Trump calls you an honorable person. ~~~

~~~ David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "Several readers have asked about the other senators who sold stock during the same period, including Dianne Feinstein (a California Democrat), James Inhofe (an Oklahoma Republican) and Ron Johnson (a Wisconsin Republican). But none of their trades look particularly suspicious. Feinstein has said that she did not attend the Jan. 24 briefing; her stock was in a blind trust, which means she didn't make the decision to sell; and the transaction lost her money, because the trust was selling shares of a biotechnology stock, the value of which has since risen. Inhofe's transactions were part of a systematic selling of stocks that he started after he became chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Johnson sold stock in his family's plastic business, as part of a process that has been occurring for months; his sale also occurred well after stock market began falling." Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ Update. Melanie Zanona of Politico: "Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) on Friday asked the Senate Ethics Committee to review stock sales he made weeks before the markets began to tank in response to the coronavirus pandemic --; a move designed to limit the fallout from an intensifying political crisis. Burr, who chairs the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, defended the sales, saying he 'relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks' and disputed the notion he used information that he was privy to during classified briefings on the novel coronavirus.... Burr, who is retiring at the end of 2022, has faced calls to resign from across the ideological spectrum.... The Ethics Committee ... is notoriously slow and rarely takes punitive action against its peers, but with the Capitol focused on battling coronavirus..., the probe could move at even more of a snail's pace.... Burr has acknowledged making at least one financial decision based on what he's heard from federal officials: he said in 2009 that he encouraged his wife to withdraw cash from the ATM after hearing from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson amid the 2008 financial crisis." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you still think it's a good idea to let the Senate Ethics Committee handle Burr's insider trading transgressions, you might want to read Akhilleus's commentary at the top of today's thread.

Abigail Abrams of Time: "Danni Askini started feeling chest pain, shortness of breath and a migraine all at once on a Saturday in late February.... Askini was given a final test on the seventh day of her illness, and once doctors helped manage her flu and pneumonia symptoms, they again sent her home to recover. She waited another three days for a lab to process her test, and at last she had a diagnosis: COVID-19. A few days later, Askini got the bills for her testing and treatment: $34,927.43.... Public health experts predict that tens of thousands and possibly millions of people across the United States will likely need to be hospitalized for COVID-19 in the foreseeable future.And Congress has yet to address the problem. On March 18, it passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which covers testing costs..., but it doesn't do anything to address the cost of treatment." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Kansas City Star Editors: "The chairman of the Riley County Commissioners [Republican Marvin Rodriguez] suggested this week that the global coronavirus pandemic is not a problem locally because unlike in Italy, there are not a lot of Chinese people living in central Kansas, according to two other officials who attended the meeting Wednesday night.... But, does he understand why it's dangerous to Asian Americans to talk like that, and that there has been an increase in reported attacks? 'Well, they say it came out of China,' he answered, 'and I'm not putting it past the Chinese government in communist China.... Normally, this kind of thing spreads slowly,' he answered, so 'I put two and two together. I've been around a long time, girl.'" --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Craft distilleries, hearing the call of duty to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, are adding a new product to their lineup of gins, whiskeys and rums: hand sanitizer. Many are reporting extraordinary demand for the product, which has been hard, if not impossible, to find on store shelves. Yet many distilleries are giving away hand sanitizer for free, despite losing sales of their traditional spirits because of the closing of restaurants, bars and their own tasting rooms. Litchfield Distillery in Litchfield, Conn. said it had been inundated by hundreds of calls from people clamoring for a few of the roughly 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer it produced this week using the same alcohol it typically uses to make gin, bourbon and vodka.... Jack Baker, an owner of the distillery..., said on Thursday night ... the calls had come from health care workers, police departments, soup kitchens and homeless shelters." Thanks to unwashed for the link.

Helpful Hint??? Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Toilet paper is disappearing from store shelves as panicked shoppers stock up due to the coronavirus outbreak. But actor& Troy Evans, who plays Detective Barrel Johnson on 'Bosch' and has appeared on 'Veep' and 'ER,' says he can wipe out the problem. Evans, who served in Vietnam, posted a Facebook video that shared a trick he learned while in the service, one that can help people clean up after doing their business with just a single square of precious TP. Fair warning: This is an absolute last resort[.]" Mrs. McC: Uh, thanks to unwashed for the link. BTW, if you haven't seen "Bosch," it's a pretty good police procedural available on Amazon Prime, tho I can't stand the title character, played by Titus Welliver who keeps posing for profile shots as if he thinks he should be the emperor on a Roman coin.

AND the Locusts Are Coming. Kaamil Ahmed of the Guardian: "The locust crisis that has now reached 10 countries could carry on to endanger millions more people, forecasters have said. Climate change created unprecedented conditions for the locusts to breed in the usually barren desert of the Arabian gulf, according to experts, and the insects were then able to spread through Yemen, where civil war has devastated the ability to control locust populations."

Presidential Race

Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael R. Bloomberg is abandoning plans to form a new super PAC for the presidential race and pay his field organizers through November, instead opting to give $18 million to the Democratic National Committee for the party's battleground states program.... The Bloomberg memo said new D.N.C. staffing would be 'drawing in part from our own incredibly experienced and talented organizing staff.'" Mrs. McC: I hope so, because we know for sure the DNC doesn't know WTF it's doing. ~~~

     ~~~ An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Kenny Rogers, a prolific singer who played a major role in expanding the audience for country music in the 1970s and '80s, died on Friday at his home in Sandy Springs, Ga. He was 81." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Chet Huntley & David Brinkley played "Ruby" at the end of an NBC News evening broadcast in 1969. The implied statement probably helped erode middle-America's support for the Vietnam War.
Thursday
Mar192020

The Commentariat -- March 20, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "‪An official working for Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office announced Friday. 'This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus,' Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller,said in a statement. 'Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual. Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines.'"

Fred Imbert & Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "Stocks attempted to rally on Friday, but failed, concluding one of the most volatile weeks on Wall Street ever as investors grapple with mounting fears over the coronavirus' economic blow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 913.21 points lower, or more than 4%, at 19,173.98 after rallying more than 400 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 slid 4.3% to 2,304.92. The Nasdaq Composite closed 3.8% lower at 6,879.52 after jumping more than 2%. The Dow dropped more than 17% for the week, its biggest one-week fall since October 2008, when it slid 18.2%. The S&P 500 lost more than 13% week to date after dropping another 11.5% last week. The Nasdaq fell 12.6%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had their worst weekly performances since the financial crisis in 2008. The 30-stock Dow is now 35.2% below its all-time high level from February, while the S&P 500 is 32.1% below its high." ~~~

~~~ From Friday's New York Times coronavirus updates: "Friday's drop [in market values] meant that the Dow Jones industrial average closed below where it stood on the day before Mr. Trump was inaugurated, erasing the so-called 'Trump bump' that the president has cited as evidence of the success of his presidency. The S&P 500 isn't far from that mark as well....

"New York's governor told the state's residents to stay indoors and ordered nonessential businesses to keep workers home. The Federal Reserve moved to backstop some municipal money market funds, and the U.S. is extending the tax filing deadline to July 15."

Donald Trump held another press briefing, where everybody huddled together behind the podium. He & that dick Mike Pompeo both referred to the "Chinese virus." "During the hourlong briefing, Mr. Trump grew increasingly confrontational with reporters who asked him to detail his message to Americans who were shaken by their lives being upended and scared at the spread of the virus. 'It is a bad signal that you are putting out to the American people,' he admonished a reporter from NBC who asked what the president would say to frightened citizens. 'You want to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism. Let's see if it works. I happen to feel good about it....'... Mr. Trump signaled Friday that the federal government was mobilizing industry to provide urgently needed resources to help halt the spread of the virus, but he did not specify what steps he had taken.... Deborah Birx, who is leading the administration's coronavirus response, detailed a 'concerning trend' from Italy: the mortality rate in males is twice as high as females in every age group affected by the virus."

~~~ Real-Time Fact-Checking. "The Answer Is No." Anthony Fauci responds to Trump's claim, made again Friday -- after having been corrected Thursday -- that an anti-malaria drug is "very effective" at mitigating Covid-19 symptoms: ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post has a full rundown & analysis of the exchange between the NBC reporter -- Peter Alexander -- and Donald Trump, with a Tony Fauci cameo: "... the exchange epitomized just how out of tune Trump is with actual developments and his top health officials." In a tweet, Alexander has a shorter version: "I offered both Pres Trump and VP Pence an opportunity to reassure Americans. Simple question: 'What do you say to Americans who are scared?' Trump, to me: 'I say, you're a terrible reporter.' Pence, an hour later: 'Don't be afraid. Be vigilant'." ~~~

~~~ Erik Ortiz of NBC News: "A longtime employee of NBC News died Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said in an email to staff members. Larry Edgeworth, 61, who worked in an equipment room at NBC News' 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York, also suffered from other health issues, according to his wife, Crystal.... Edgeworth previously spent 25 years at NBC News working as an audio technician, during which he was well-known to many network correspondents with whom he traveled around the world." Mrs. McC: NBC News' Katy Tur gave an on-air eulogy for Edgeworth, who she said often worked as her soundman. I'm guessing he worked with Peter Alexander, too.

Abigail Abrams of Time: "Danni Askini started feeling chest pain, shortness of breath and a migraine all at once on a Saturday in late February.... Askini was given a final test on the seventh day of her illness, and once doctors helped manage her flu and pneumonia symptoms, they again sent her home to recover. She waited another three days for a lab to process her test, and at last she had a diagnosis: COVID-19. A few days later, Askini got the bills for her testing and treatment: $34,927.43.... Public health experts predict that tens of thousands and possibly millions of people across the United States will likely need to be hospitalized for COVID-19 in the foreseeable future.And Congress has yet to address the problem. On March 18, it passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which covers testing costs going forward, but it doesn't do anything to address the cost of treatment." --s

Kansas. The Kansas City Star: "The chairman of the Riley County Commissioners [Republican Marvin Rodriguez] suggested this week that the global coronavirus pandemic is not a problem locally because unlike in Italy, there are not a lot of Chinese people living in central Kansas, according to two other officials who attended the meeting Wednesday night.... But, does he understand why it's dangerous to Asian Americans to talk like that, and that there has been an increase in reported attacks? 'Well, they say it came out of China,' he answered, 'and I'm not putting it past the Chinese government in communist China.... Normally, this kind of thing spreads slowly,' he answered, so 'I put two and two together. I've been around a long time, girl.'" --s

Dareh Gregorian of NBC News on Sen. Richard Burr's amazing financial dealings. (Related stories linked below.) "Disclosure records reviewed by NBC News show that three other senators sold major holdings around the same time, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and James Inhofe, R-Okla. Asked about the stock sales Friday..., Donald Trump singled out Feinstein, a Democrat, and then said he knew all the senators involved and 'I find them to be honorable people.' Feinstein and her husband shed up to $6 million worth of stock in Allogene Therapeutics, a biotech company, between the end of January and Feb. 18, disclosure records show. A Feinstein spokesman told NBC News on Friday that she 'did not sell any stock. The transactions you're referencing were made by her spouse. All of Senator Feinstein's assets are in a blind trust, as they have been since she came to the Senate. She has no involvement in any of her husband's financial decisions.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Kiss of death: Donald Trump calls you an honorable person.

** Taylor Telford & Thomas Heath of the Washington Post (from the live market updates): "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that the administration has moved the IRS deadline for filing taxes from April 15 to July 15 due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus. The new deadline will give millions of taxpayers more time to fill out their tax forms as coronavirus upends daily life across the country. Mnuchin made the announcement on twitter, citing President Trump's directive." Mrs. McC: This is a big deal for Mrs. Procrastinator here.

Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael R. Bloomberg is abandoning plans to form a new super PAC for the presidential race and pay his field organizers through November, instead opting to give $18 million to the Democratic National Committee for the party's battleground states program.... The Bloomberg memo said new D.N.C. staffing would be 'drawing in part from our own incredibly experienced and talented organizing staff.'" Mrs. McC: I hope so, because we know for sure the DNC doesn't know WTF it's doing. ~~~

     ~~~ An AP story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Donald Trump Has Turned the U.S. into a Shithole Country. (Sorry about the language; it's Donald Trump's language.)

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments for today are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. Access to both is free.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments for Thursday are here. "The State Department recommended on Thursday that American citizens abroad either return home or stay in place as the new coronavirus pandemic grows. The department raised its global travel advisory to level four, the top-tier warning, usually reserved for nations with war zones or beset by serious disruptions....

"Italy passed a grim milestone on Thursday: Deaths linked to the virus there had soared to 3,405, exceeding the toll in China, where the virus first broke out.... Italy is increasingly turning to its military for help. Cemeteries in the northern city of Bergamo are so overwhelmed that troops were called in to transport bodies elsewhere to be cremated." As Chris Hayes of MSNBC pointed out, the epicenter of the outbreak is in Northern Italy, the richest part of the country, & a region that has a higher hospital-bed-per-capita ratio than the U.S....

"The Trump administration is asking state labor officials to delay releasing the precise number of unemployment claims they are fielding, an indication of how uneasy policymakers are about further roiling a stock market already plunging in response to the coronavirus outbreak. In an email sent Wednesday, the Labor Department instructed state officials to only 'provide information using generalities to describe claims levels (very high, large increase)' until the department releases the total number of national claims next Thursday. The email ... noted that the reports were monitored closely by financial markets and should therefore remain embargoed." ~~~

~~~ Quoctrung Bui & Justin Wolfers of the New York Times: "Numbers released on Thursday by the Labor Department -- as well as a preliminary analysis of even more recent data -- provide the first hard confirmation that the new coronavirus is bringing the United States economy to a shuddering halt. The government reported that the number of initial unemployment claims rose to 281,000 last week, a sharp rise from 211,000 the previous week. This rise in initial claims of 70,000 is larger than any week-to-week movement that occurred during (or since) the 2008 financial crisis. But even these numbers understate the economy's free fall, as they reflect the state of the economy last week. Based on preliminary news reports this week from 15 states, it's already clear that initial claims will skyrocket next week, most likely to levels never seen before."

Paul Campos in LG&$: "The first cases of COVID-19 were officially identified in the USA and the Republic of Korea on the same day (January 20th...). In the ROK, the epidemic appears to be ending, at least for the present. In the USA, it's just getting started. The primary explanation for these catastrophically different outcomes is that the government of the ROK immediately mobilized to stop the virus, while Donald Trump spent weeks -- the most critical possible weeks -- claiming that concern about the virus was a Democrat hoax." ~~~

     ~~~ Grady McGregor of Fortune: "South Korea has the highest rate of coronavirus testing in the world.... In late February and early March, South Korea reported the highest number of confirmed cases outside China, but in recent weeks the number of new cases has steadily declined, in part, because authorities have a grasp of who has the disease and who doesn't." ~~~

~~~ New York Times Editors: "A string of failures at the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have led to intractable delays in making diagnostic tests for coronavirus widely available in the United States.... Every region that has managed to get a coronavirus outbreak under control has succeeded thanks to a combination of social distancing and aggressive efforts to test as many people as possible.... Epidemiological testing -- where the contacts of infected people are identified, tested in turn and isolated as needed -- is the only way to fully break the chains of transmission, says Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros, head of the W.H.O.... American officials have not absorbed that lesson.... The federal government's mind-boggling failure has bred an apathy that's as virulent as any microbe." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: IOW, "sheltering in place" without being tested makes some kind of sense only if you live alone.

Nobody in their wildest dreams would think we need tens of thousands of ventilators. -- Donald Trump, press briefing Thursday

Uh, nobody but CDC scientists, who predicted the ventilator shortage in 2015. 2015. Those CDC researchers are wild dreamers, aren't they? Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this before. -- Donald Trump, press briefing Thursday ~~~

~~~ Actually, Your Own DHHS Knew. David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: A simulation of a respiratory virus by the Department of Health & Human Services in 2019 produced "sobering results -- contained in a draft report dated October 2019 that has not previously been reported -- drove home just how underfunded, underprepared and uncoordinated the federal government would be for a life-or-death battle with a virus for which no treatment existed.... Many of the potentially deadly consequences of a failure to address the shortcomings are now playing out in all-too-real fashion across the country. And it was hardly the first warning for the nation's leaders. Three times over the past four years the U.S. government, across two administrations, had grappled in depth with what a pandemic would look like, identifying likely shortcomings and in some cases recommending specific action." Thanks to Patrick for the link. ~~~

(~~~ AND Sen. Richard Burr Knew, Too. NPR, ProPublica & Mother Jones stories linked below.) ~~~

(~~~ In fact, Quite a Few Senators Knew. Related stories linked below.) ~~~

~~~ Ignorant, Surly President Gives Another Briefing. Washington Post liveblog: President Trump incorrectly said in a Thursday news briefing that chloroquine, a malaria drug, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to fight the novel coronavirus and that there were plans to 'make that drug available almost immediately.' But after Trump spoke, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn clarified that chloroquine would first need to be tested for use on the virus.... Trump had called the drug a possible 'game changer.'" (Also linked yesterday.) As Anthony Fauci said on CNN Thursday night, there is only anecdotal evidence that chloroquine works to reduce flu symptoms. Mrs. McC: Trump's performance was a great example of snake-oil-salesmanship, though. ~~~

     ~~~ Ladies & Gentlemen, Fix Bandanas! Mrs. McCrabbie: Yesterday I first addressed the lagtime between the moment Trump signed the Defense Procurement Act & hospitals actually got supplies because of it. Well, it's worse than I thought:

     ~~~ Matt Perez of Forbes: "President Trump faced questions Thursday around his reticence to use the Defense Production Act to compel companies to produce healthcare items to combat the coronavirus, a day after he said he'd be invoking its powers. Trump faced criticism early Thursday from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who in a statement called on the president to use the Defense Production Act to address supply shortages, saying, 'There is not a day to lose.' Addressing his reluctance, Trump said the federal government is 'not a shipping clerk' and that 'governor's are supposed to be doing it,' later saying, 'Nobody's heard the number of masks ordered.'... When asked about gloves, respirators and other equipment outside surgical masks that are being requested by state governments, he said, 'For years they bought them and now they're coming to the federal government.'

"Asked about the production of n95 masks -- and reports that a shortage has led some healthcare workers to use bandannas -- Vice President Mike Pence said a stockpile of 35 million masks produced by 3M were now available to use after a legislation change Wednesday night, which apparently addressed a liability issue that companies could face, according to Trump.... 300 million. That's how many masks could be needed for healthcare workers versus the current stockpile of 30 million, as testified to Congress by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at the end of February." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Meagan Vazquez of CNN: According to the order Trump signed, he would use the Defense Procurement Act "to obtain 'health and medical resources needed to respond to the spread of COVID-19, including personal protective equipment and ventilators.'" BUT THEN, "The President stressed later Wednesday that he would only use the powers granted under the Defense Production Act 'in a worst case scenario.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ As former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on MSNBC, after Trump made the announcement of the order, "he probably heard from some of his friends in industry" who urged him to walk it back. ~~~

~~~ Note to Generalissimo Donaldo: "We Are at War with No Ammo." Andrew Jacobs, et al., of the New York Times: "With coronavirus cases soaring, doctors, nurses and other front-line medical workers across the United States are confronting a dire shortage of masks, surgical gowns and eye gear to protect them from the virus.... [At his press briefing Thursday,] the president ... said there were no immediate plans to address medical equipment shortages by activating the Defense Production Act.... 'We hope we are not going to need it,' he said. The president's optimistic statements contrasted starkly with the situation on the ground, particularly in Washington and New York, the states with the largest number of coronavirus cases. Earlier this week, administrators informed doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan that they were down to one-week's supply of respirator masks.... Rebecca Bartles ... [of] the Providence St. Joseph hospital chain based in Washington, said it was only a matter of days before some of the system's 51 hospitals and 800 clinics run out of personal protective equipment -- a situation that imperils the nation's ability to respond to a pandemic still in its early stages. 'We're on mile one of a marathon,' she said, adding, 'what does mile 25 look like?'... 'We are at war with no ammo,' said a surgeon in Fresno, Calif...." ~~~

~~~ When Your Doctor Looks Like a Wild West Bandit. Carolyn Johnson, et al., of the Washington Post: "As the federal government scrambles to rapidly boost the nation's capacity to test for the novel coronavirus, cutting red tape and leaning on the speed and technology of the private sector, new delays are developing because of a shortage of raw materials and vital items: chemical solutions, swabs and even face masks for health-care workers. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted to address the mask shortage by recommending the use of bandannas, if necessary. 'In settings where face masks are not available, [health-care providers] might use homemade masks (e.g., bandana, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort,' the CDC said, referring to the disease caused by the virus. 'Caution should be exercised when considering this option.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Thanks to Akhilleus & Hattie. (See yesterday's Comments.)I view it as a, in a sense, a wartime President. We had the best economy we've ever had. And then, one day, you have to close it down in order to defeat this enemy. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Brian Bennett & Tessa Berenson of Time: "Trump's rhetorical shift to saying the country is at war reflects a strategy to blunt criticism and push blame onto a foreign power. By positioning the virus as an enemy, Trump can go on the attack at a moment when he's on the defensive about the sluggish government response to the virus so far. And by assigning blame to a foreign menace, Trump is attempting to justify why the tanking economy isn't his fault after spending much of his presidency crowing about and tying his own reelection bid to a booming economy.... 'He realized if he's painted in 2020 as a recession President who had a Herbert Hoover-like impulse to not act, then he was due to not be re-elected,' says Douglas Brinkley, an expert in U.S. political history at Rice University.... Instead, Brinkley says, 'he's trying to be FDR' -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the President who led the nation out of the Great Depression and through World War II."

Close-up of Trump's notes for his Thursday presser. Photo by the Washington Post. NOT Photoshopped.~~~ Trump Finds Prepared Remarks Too Racist-Neutral. Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump took direct aim at China on Thursday for allowing the spread of the coronavirus.... The president dug in on his use of the term 'Chinese virus' to describe the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan, China, late last year and did not rule out directing economic retaliation toward Beijing.... Asked whether he is considering 'repercussions for China' or a realignment of the supply system in which some American manufacturers rely on Chinese labor or raw materials, Trump suggested he was open to the idea. 'I don't want to comment on that right now,' Trump said.... A Washington Post photographer captured an image of a printed copy of Trump's remarks that had the word 'corona,' a medical term for a family of viruses, crossed out and the word 'Chinese' put in its place with a black marker.... After appearing sobered by the scale of the crisis earlier in the week, Trump on Thursday bitterly attacked reporters and news organizations he said had failed to accurately report his accomplishments in confronting the virus." Emphasis added.

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "It can become tedious to dwell on the fact that the president is a dangerous and ignorant narcissist who has utterly failed as an executive, leaving state governments on their own to confront a generational cataclysm. But no one should ever forget it. Soon even if the pandemic is still raging, there will be an election, and the public will be asked to render a verdict on Trump's leadership. Being clear that people are suffering and dying needlessly because the president can't do his job isn't looking backward. It's the only way to move forward."

Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "... the country's leading public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appears to be on the sidelines, with its messages increasingly disrupted or overtaken by the White House.... The CDC, which has come under fire because of protracted delays in the rollout of agency-developed test kits, has not conducted its own telephone briefings for reporters in more than a week. Recent CDC recommendations on school closures and mass gatherings were overtaken by different guidelines issued by the coronavirus task force, creating confusion, experts and officials said."

Aaron Davis & Erin Cox of the Washington Post: "... after interviewing ... by phone [a coronavirus patient who had attended CPAC alongside Donald Trump and other top officials, Maryland] state health officials there announced March 7 that they would monitor only a handful of people, including the [man]'s immediate family members, for signs of the infection. Officials warned no CPAC attendees that they were particularly at risk, according to statements and interviews.... The handling of the potential exposure at CPAC, where Trump's then-chief of staff played down the threat of the virus, is a powerful example of the lack of urgency and poor coordination among agencies that has characterized the early U.S. response. The approach stands in stark contrast to aggressive actions taken by some countries that slowed the spread of the virus in its early days. In Singapore, for instance, public health officials not only interviewed the sick but also obtained patients' travel itineraries and used security camera footage to track their movements to help identify every person possible with whom they had incidental contact." After the man's CPAC contacts became public knowledge, "officials said public health workers had begun to locate and notify conference attendees.... In truth, no such effort was undertaken.... Political operatives who organized the conference undertook the responsibility themselves...."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "This summer's Group of Seven (G-7) summit has been scrapped due to concerns over the coronavirus, the White House confirmed Thursday. World leaders will instead convene via videoconference. The annual summit was scheduled to take place from June 10-12 at the Camp David retreat.... The White House announced in October that the summit would be held at the Trump Organization's Doral property in Florida, triggering swift backlash from lawmakers and ethics experts who decried it as a conflict of interest given the president has not put his family company in a blind trust. President Trump gave into pressure a few days later, announcing that the summit would no longer take place at Doral."

Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) released a massive economic stimulus bill Thursday to fight the coronavirus's fallout, even as opposition emerged from some key Republicans to one of the central elements of the plan -- direct cash payments to many Americans.... The legislation would provide checks of $1,200 per adult for many families, as well as $500 for every child in those families. The size of the checks would diminish for those earning more than $75,000 and phase out completely for those earning more than $99,000. The poorest families, those with no federal income tax liability, would see smaller benefits, though the minimum would be set at $600.... About 22 million people earning under $40,000 a year would see no benefit under the GOP plan.... Democrats were working on their own proposals, which shun corporate loan programs being included by Republicans -- such as $50 billion for airlines -- suggesting that there will be difficulty in reaching bipartisan agreement." The Hill's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Well, I won't get a nickel under Mitch's plan, but I won't say whether that because I make too much money or too little. But I will say that it makes zero sense to discriminate against people who earn less than $40K/year since these are the very people who would put the money right back into the economy. ~~~

~~~ Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday defended the Senate Republicans coming up with a proposed $1 trillion economic stimulus plan to battle the coronavirus without any input from Democrats, saying bipartisan negotiations were skipped in favor of speed.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a joint statement, declared the proposal -- as written -- a nonstarter." ~~~

~~~ Caitlin Emma & Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: "The $1 trillion proposal Senate Republicans unveiled Thursday night represents one of the most dramatic bailouts in American history, picking winners and losers.... Airlines, financial markets, small businesses and hospitals would all get a boost under the nearly 250-page bill.... The bill would provide the battered [airline] industry with $58 billion in loans and loan guarantees, plus a holiday from paying fuel tax.... Those loans would come with some strings, including limits on compensation for executives. But Democrats had sought additional restrictions, like rules against stock buybacks.... A pot of $300 billion would be devoted to pumping cash to small businesses in the form of 'loans' employers wouldn't have to pay back as long as they maintain their payrolls during the emergency."

Tim Mak of NPR: "The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned a small group of well-connected constituents three weeks ago to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the coronavirus, according to a secret recording obtained by NPR. The remarks from U.S. Sen. Richard Burr were more stark than any he had delivered in more public forums. On Feb. 27, when the United States had 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19, President Trump was tamping down fears and suggesting that the virus could be seasonal. 'It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear,' the president said then.... On that same day, Burr attended a luncheon held at a social club called the Capitol Hill Club. And he delivered a much more alarming message. 'There's one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history,' he said, according to a secret recording of the remarks obtained by NPR. 'It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic.'... One public health expert told NPR that early warnings about a coming health crisis and its effects could have made a difference just a few weeks ago." ~~~

No matter the outbreak or threat, Congress and the federal government have been vigilant in identifying gaps in its readiness efforts and improving its response capabilities. -- Richard Burr, in a February 7 Fox "News" opinion piece, co-authored by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

     ~~~ BUT Burr Had 1.72 Million Reasons to Keep Mum. Robert Faturechi & Derek Willis of ProPublica: "Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 33 separate transactions. As the head of the intelligence committee, Burr, a North Carolina Republican, has access to the government's most highly classified information about threats to America's security. His committee was receiving daily coronavirus briefings around this time, according to a Reuters story. A week after Burr's sales, the stock market began a sharp decline and has lost about 30% since.... Burr was one of just three senators who in 2012 opposed the bill that explicitly barred lawmakers and their staff from using nonpublic information for trades and required regular disclosure of those trades." ~~~

~~~ Russ Choma of Mother Jones: "Craig Holman, a government ethics expert for watchdog group Public Citizen, says that Burr's trades may have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012. 'This has every appearance of insider trading and an egregious violation of the STOCK Act by Sen. Burr,' Holman says. Holman adds that the information that Burr was sharing with the constituents in the late February meeting included information that was not publicly available." ~~~

~~~ From the Daily Beast story linked immediately below: "Burr lashed out at National Public Radio on Thursday over its report revealing those private comments in a series of tweets that did not mention his stock trades."

~~~ Lachlan Markay, et al., of the Daily Beast: "The Senate's newest member sold off seven figures' worth of stock holdings in the days and weeks after a private, all-senators meeting on the novel coronavirus that subsequently hammered U.S. equities. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee, hosted a private, all-senators briefing from administration officials, including the CDC director and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on the coronavirus.... It was the first of 29 stock transactions that Loeffler and her husband made through mid-February, all but two of which were sales.... Late Thursday night," Loeffler tweeted, '... Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband's knowledge or involvement. 'As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, I was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020 -- three weeks after they were made.'... In the weeks after her spate of stock trades, Loeffler sought to downplay the public health and financial threats posed by the coronavirus.... The 15 stocks that Loeffler reported selling have lost more than a third of their value, on average, since she reported offloading them.... When Loeffler assumed office she immediately became the wealthiest member of Congress. The Atlanta businesswoman, whose husband is the chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, is worth an estimated $500 million." ~~~

~~~ Tia Mitchell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Georgia's two U.S. senators bought and sold stocks during the same time they were receiving briefings on the coronavirus outbreak, leading to questions about whether they used inside information to guide their financial dealings. U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler both were wealthy before they arrived on Capitol Hill, but there is new scrutiny surrounding financial decisions they and other members have made during the coronavirus pandemic.... Perdue in nearly 100 transactions bought and sold in equal amounts, although exact figures cannot be determined.... A spokeswoman for Perdue said that ... he ... uses third-party money managers.... Perdue's sales fall anywhere between $148,050 to $995,000 and his purchases are in the range of $141,043 to $890,000.... Both senators have praised ... Donald Trump' handling of the coronavirus pandemic even as Democrats accused the White House of being slow to act and downplaying, at least initially, the severity of its spread. On Jan. 24, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee -- Loeffler is a member -- and the Foreign Relations Committee -- Perdue is a member -- held a briefing on coronavirus that was open to the entire Senate." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Based on the AJC story, it would appear Perdue's trading was less virus-strategic than Burr's or Loeffler's. ~~~

~~~ Bob Brigham of RawStory: "The GOP Senate Caucus faced a massive scandal on Thursday after multiple GOP senators revealed in public filings that they had sold large stock holdings after private briefings on the coronavirus scandal. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) have all be implicated in the scandal. Now conservative Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe has also been caught up, after reporting he sold in late February." --s ~~~

~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Following the president's lead, Republican lawmakers, activists and officials have adopted the president's language about the virus while avoiding any discussion of his response to the outbreak. Senator John Cornyn of Texas told reporters that 'China is to blame because' of 'the culture where people eat bats and snakes and dogs and things like that.' Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader of the House, called the disease 'Chinese coronavirus.' And on Twitter, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa wondered what all the commotion was about: 'I don't understand why China gets upset bc we refer to the virus that originated there the "Chinese virus" Spain never got upset when we referred to the Spanish flu in 1918&1919,' he wrote, in his typically hurried style.... The public needs to know that the Republican Party is culpable for the present crisis, just as it was culpable for the Great Recession, even if it did not originate either. It needs to know that in the face of a deadly pandemic, some Republican lawmakers appear to have looked to profit rather than to prepare. It needs to understand that the deadly incompetence of Republican governance is a feature, not a bug." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Yo, Chuck, there's a high probability that the "Spanish flu" did not originate in Spain. Indeed, there's some evidence the first cases cropped up in Kansas & U.S. military troops carried it to Europe.

Igor Derysch of Salon: "The Trump administration has used the public health crisis to impose new restrictions at the Southern border. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico announced Monday that 'all U.S. consulates in Mexico will suspend routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services starting March 18, 2020, and until further notice.'... The restrictions come as stores across the U.S. have been stripped bare by individuals stockpiling food as states and cities urge residents to stay inside as much as possible. The latest move could devastate farms that grow fruits and vegetables and rely on seasonal guest workers for their operations.... Dave Puglia, the president of the Western Growers Association, told Reuters that the restrictions will inevitably result in less food in the U.S. supply.... Puglia predicted that the supply of broccoli, cauliflower, celery, leafy greens, melons and radishes would be the hardest hit." --s

Fred Imbert & Thomas Franck of CNBC (@ ca. 10:20 am ET): "Stocks closed higher Thursday, erasing steep losses from earlier in the day as strong gains in big-tech shares led to a sharp turnaround. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 188.27 points, or nearly 1% to 20,087.19. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% at 2,409.39 while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 2.3% surge to 7,150.58. Shares of Netflix and Facebook rose 5.3% and 4.2%, respectively. Amazon gained 2.8%. Earlier in the session, the Dow was down 721 points, or more than 3%. The S&P 500 briefly fell more than 3% as well." This is an update of a story linked earlier in the day. (Also linked yesterday.)

Faith Karimi & Sarah Moon of CNN: "The nation's most populous state is ordering its nearly 40 million residents to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's order marks the first statewide mandatory restrictions issued in the United States to help combat the outbreak.... The order will not be enforced by law enforcement, he added.... It goes into effect Thursday at midnight and includes exemptions for essential services such as public safety and medical care.... Under the order, essential services such as gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores and delivery restaurants will remain open. So will banks, local government offices that provide services and law enforcement agencies."

Jeremy White of Politico: "More than half of California's population could contract coronavirus in the next eight weeks if the state isn't effective in curbing its spread, Gov. Gavin Newsom predicted Thursday in a letter to ... Donald Trump. That 56 percent rate of infection means that roughly 22.4 million Californians would come down with the virus. But a spokesperson for Newsom clarified that dramatic figure does not account for the types of aggressive 'mitigation efforts' that jurisdictions around California have adopted."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Hoax Porridge in the Pot Nine Days Old. J.M. Reiger of the Washington Post: “Sean Hannity denied calling coronavirus a hoax nine days after he called coronavirus a hoax. On Wednesday, Fox host Sean Hannity pushed back on criticism of his early coronavirus coverage. 'This program has always taken the coronavirus seriously and we’ve never called the virus a hoax,' Hannity said [Wednesday] night. But nine days earlier, Hannity did just that. 'They're scaring the living hell out of people and I see it again as like, "Oh, let's bludgeon Trump with this new hoax."'"


Forty Years of Service, No Gold Watch. Ellen Nakashima
of the Washington Post: "The acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center was removed Wednesday in what insiders fear is a purge by the Trump administration of career professionals at an organization set up after 9/11 to protect the nation from further attacks, according to two former U.S. officials. Russell E. Travers, a highly regarded intelligence professional with more than 40 years of government service, told colleagues he was fired by acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell.... Travers, who took up the acting position last August, had been resistant to pressure to make personnel cuts at the center.... Also removed at the NCTC was Travers's acting deputy, Peter W. Hall, who is returning to the National Security Agency, the former officials said. The surprise move came hours after President Trump announced his intent to nominate Pentagon Special Operations and counterterrorism official Christopher Miller to head the center."

Presidential Race

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced Thursday that she would end her presidential campaign, formally winnowing the 2020 Democratic field to a two-man race between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders." She endorsed Biden.

Christina Wilkie of CNBC: "In just over a month, three pillars underpinning [Trump's] argument for reelection have all collapsed: The strong economy Trump planned to run on; the ['socialist'] Sanders campaign Trump had planned to run against; and the 'us vs. them' approach to Washington and the federal government, on which Trump has built his political brand. On Wednesday, the Dow fell below the level it closed at on Jan. 19, 2017, the day before Trump took office promising to 'make America wealthy again.'... Meanwhile..., Democratic primary voters ... are poised to nominate an experienced moderate, Biden, to run against Trump in the fall.... By spearheading a massive handout of federal money through big government programs, Trump undermines one of the central tenets of Trumpism: his belief that the federal government is a corrupt, bloated and broken institution, at that the 'unelected bureaucrats' who fill its ranks are not to be trusted."

Anthony Adragna of Politico: "Nikki Haley has resigned from Boeing's board of directors over the company's pursuit of federal assistance in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the company disclosed Thursday.... 'I cannot support a move to lean on the federal government for a stimulus or bailout that prioritizes our company over others and relies on taxpayers to guarantee our financial position,' Haley wrote in a resignation letter included in the filing." Mrs. McC: You might wonder why I placed the link to this news item about Madam Ambassador Ambitious under "Presidential Race." There is a reason.

Wednesday
Mar182020

The Commentariat -- March 19, 2020

Washington Post: "Spring ... sweeps in overnight late Thursday, marking the earliest start to spring in a century.... Most years, the spring equinox falls between March 20 and 22. But for those in the United States, not this year. In fact, space.com reports that the March 19 equinox is earlier than any in the past 124 years.... The vernal equinox isn't a day; it's a precise moment that strikes at 11:49 p.m. eastern Thursday night. In that instant, the sun's most direct rays will cross the equator from the southern hemisphere into the northern hemisphere." Mrs. McCrabbie: Here in New England, large flakes of snow are falling softly but relentlessly, forming a thick blanket upon the visible world of a person sheltering in place.

~~~~~~~~~~

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Nobody in their wildest dreams would think we need tens of thousands of ventilators. -- Donald Trump, press briefing Thursday

Uh, nobody but CDC scientists, who predicted the ventilator shortage in 2015. 2015. Those CDC researchers are wild dreamers, aren't they? Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~

Ignorant, Surly Prez* Gives Another Briefing. Washington Post liveblog: President Trump incorrectly said in a Thursday news briefing that chloroquine, a malaria drug, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to fight the novel coronavirus and that there were plans to 'make that drug available almost immediately.' But after Trump spoke, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn clarified that chloroquine would first need to be tested for use on the virus.... Trump had called the drug a possible 'game changer.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Ladies & Gentlemen, Fix Bandanas! Mrs. McCrabbie: Yesterday I first addressed the lagtime between the moment Trump signed the Defense Procurement Act & hospitals actually got supplies because of it. Well, it's worse than I thought:

     ~~~ Matt Perez of Forbes: "President Trump faced questions Thursday around his reticence to use the Defense Production Act to compel companies to produce healthcare items to combat the coronavirus, a day after he said he'd be invoking its powers. Trump faced criticism early Thursday from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who in a statement called on the president to use the Defense Production Act to address supply shortages, saying, 'There is not a day to lose.' Addressing his reluctance, Trump said the federal government is 'not a shipping clerk' and that 'governor's are supposed to be doing it,' later saying, 'Nobody's heard the number of masks ordered.'... When asked about gloves, respirators and other equipment outside surgical masks that are being requested by state governments, he said, 'For years they bought them and now they're coming to the federal government.'

"Asked about the production of n95 masks -- and reports that a shortage has led some healthcare workers to use bandannas -- Vice President Mike Pence said a stockpile of 35 million masks produced by 3M were now available to use after a legislation change Wednesday night, which apparently addressed a liability issue that companies could face, according to Trump.... 300 million. That's how many masks could be needed for healthcare workers versus the current stockpile of 30 million, as testified to Congress by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at the end of February." ~~~

     ~~~ Meagan Vazquez of CNN: According to the order Trump signed, he would use the Defense Procurement Act "to obtain 'health and medical resources needed to respond to the spread of COVID-19, including personal protective equipment and ventilators.'" BUT THEN, "The President stressed later Wednesday that he would only use the powers granted under the Defense Production Act 'in a worst case scenario.'"

When Your Doctor Looks Like a Wild West Bandit. Carolyn Johnson, et al., of the Washington Post: "As the federal government scrambles to rapidly boost the nation's capacity to test for the novel coronavirus, cutting red tape and leaning on the speed and technology of the private sector, new delays are developing because of a shortage of raw materials and vital items: chemical solutions, swabs and even face masks for health-care workers. This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted to address the mask shortage by recommending the use of bandannas, if necessary. 'In settings where face masks are not available, [health-care providers] might use homemade masks (e.g., bandana, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort,' the CDC said, referring to the disease caused by the virus. 'Caution should be exercised when considering this option.'"

Fred Imbert & Thomas Franck of CNBC (@ ca. 10:20 am ET): "Stocks rose on Thursday, erasing steep losses from earlier in the day as sharp gains in big-tech shares led to a sharp turnaround. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100 points, or about 0.4%, after falling as much as 721 points. The S&P 500 traded 0.6% higher. It was down more than 3% at the start of the session. The Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 2%."

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments today are here. Access is free to nonsubscribers. Highlights: "China reported its first day with no new locally transmitted coronavirus infections, three months after the first case was detected.... But China is not out of danger. Experts have said that it will need to see at least 14 consecutive days without new infections for the outbreak to be considered over. It remains to be seen whether the virus will re-emerge once daily life restarts and travel restrictions are lifted.... In California, more than nine million people have been told not to leave their homes.... In Spain, violations of isolation orders are enforced with fines. Russia is using facial-recognition technology to track down and fine people who violate mandatory quarantines.... New York City officials, already grappling with one of the largest outbreaks in the country, expressed growing alarm that the coronavirus is spreading quickly in tightly knit Hasidic Jewish communities in Brooklyn...." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates, also free, are here. "The virus continued to spread globally, with Italy announcing a record number of deaths on Wednesday and Spain reporting a similarly alarming death-toll spike on Thursday.... As confirmed cases [worldwide] topped 200,000, Australia and New Zealand closed their borders to everyone except citizens and residents."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate passed the House's coronavirus aid package on Wednesday, sending it to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. Senators voted 90-8 on the bill that passed the House in a middle-of-the-night Saturday vote but needed dozens of pages of corrections and changes, which cleared the chamber on Monday. The measure, which the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates will cost $104 billion, is the second package that Congress has passed amid growing concerns about the widespread coronavirus outbreak.... Senators are already working on 'phase three,' with Senate Republicans wanting to pass that next week. The bill approved Wednesday bolsters unemployment insurance and guarantees free diagnostic testing for the coronavirus. It also provides up to 10 days of paid sick leave for some workers. It caps that at companies with 500 employees and would allow for those with fewer than 50 to apply for a waiver." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Charles Pierce of Esquire: "Presented without comment: the eight senators who voted against the coronavirus relief package on Wednesday. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Jim Inhofe (R-OK); James Lankford (R-OK); Mike Lee (R-UT); Rand Paul (R-KY); Ben Sasse (R-NE); Tim Scott (R-SC), and Ron Johnson (R-WI)." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday signed into law a multibillion-dollar emergency aid package aimed at helping Americans impacted by the coronavirus." ~~~

~~~ Melanie Zanona & Marianne Levine of Politico: "Republicans suddenly find a bailout they can back.... Such a massive rescue package would seem to mean an agonizing vote for the GOP -- the last major bailout in 2008 helped launch the conservative tea party movement and many senior lawmakers still boast about their opposition to it. But Republicans say the coronavirus is an entirely different animal: the hospitality and airline industries didn't cause the global pandemic.... Republicans are mostly brushing aside long-held cost concerns in order to salvage the economy -- and perhaps Trump's reelection, as well as their own." (Also linked yesterday.)

Only in Trump's Dystopia. Asraf Khalil of the AP:"The Agriculture Department said Wednesday that it would appeal a judge's ruling that it would be 'arbitrary and capricious' to move forward during a global health crisis with food stamp changes that could force hundreds of thousands from the program. Federal Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling late last week, stopped a set of changes that would have taken effect on April 1. On Wednesday, an Agriculture Department spokesperson responded to an Associated Press query with a terse email saying only that 'USDA disagrees with the court's reasoning and will appeal its decision.'... Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000."

Fred Imbert & Yun Li of CNBC: "Stocks tumbled on Wednesday, reaching a new coronavirus crisis low as investors worried about the economic damage from the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,338.46 points, or 6.3% to 19,898.92, marking its first close below 20,000 since February 2017. The Dow was down more than 2,300 points at the lows of the session. The S&P 500 dropped 5.2% to 2,398.10 and closed nearly 30% below a record set last month. The Nasdaq Composite slid 4.7% to 6,989.84. Virtually no market was safe from the selling wave, with crude prices having their third-worst decline on record. Stocks came off their lows in the final minutes of trading after the Senate obtained the votes to pass a coronavirus relief plan to expand paid leave.... Trading was briefly suspended after a 'circuit breaker' was tripped up." ~~~

~~~ Dippity-Doo-Dah. Victoria Guida of Politico: "The stock market's latest plunge on Wednesday did more than wipe out billions of dollars in investor equity. It also nearly obliterated ... Donald Trump's favorite measure of his economic success. The Dow Jones Industrial Average's decline below 20,000 almost completely erased all of the iconic index's previous gains since Trump's inauguration, jeopardizing a key talking point for his reelection campaign." ~~~

~~~ BUT. Thomas Franck of CNBC: "Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes jumped Wednesday evening after the European Central Bank joined the Federal Reserve in announcing a massive stimulus plan to help combat the impact the coronavirus. As of 8:29 p.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 347 points higher, implying an opening jump of 450.08 points." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live market updates are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Yun Li of CNBC: "The New York Stock Exchange said Wednesday it will temporarily close its historic trading floor and move fully to electronic trading after two people tested positive for coronavirus infection at screenings it had set up this week. All-electronic trading will begin on March 23 at the open, the exchange said. The facilities to be closed are the NYSE equities trading floor and NYSE American Options trading floor in New York, and NYSE Arca Options trading floor in San Francisco."

Jessie Hellmann of the Hill: "President Trump announced Wednesday he will invoke the Defense Production Act, which would allow the administration to force American industry to ramp up production of medical supplies that are in short supply in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Hospitals and states have pleaded with the administration for more supplies to protect doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the pandemic.... Democrats in Congress, hearing about shortages of supplies from hospitals in their states and districts, have urged Trump to invoke the DPA to direct the domestic production of necessary medical equipment. 'This would ensure we have the materials we need at the ready, rather than wait for disruptions in the global supply chain to subside,' 57 House Democrats wrote in a letter to Trump last week." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ For Want of a Swab.... Katie Thomas of the New York Times: "Just as the nation's ability to test for coronavirus is expanding, hospitals and clinics say another obstacle is looming: shortages of testing swabs and protective gear for health care workers.... The main manufacturer of the swabs, Copan, is an Italian company whose manufacturing plant is in Northern Italy, a region that has itself been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak. It says it has ramped up manufacturing to deal with the extraordinary demand for an otherwise unassuming product...." Mrs. McC: That's right: people may die because hospitals can't get what amounts to a glorified (albeit specialized) Q-tip. I suspect this would not have been a problem if John Bolton had not disbanded the pandemic team & if Trump had given the team the authority to prepare; figuring out what hospitals would need to combat the virus & making sure the hospitals had those supplies sound like jobs that group would do. ~~~

     ~~~ Marcus Weisgerber of Defense One: "The U.S. Air Force quietly flew 500,000 swabs for COVID-19 testing kits from Italy to Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday.... Gen. Dave Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, confirmed that military cargo planes were moving coronavirus testing kits, but did not give specific details during a Wednesday briefing at the Pentagon." Mrs. McC: Tennessee is not a state that has a high rate of coronavirus cases, but it does have a Republican governor & senators, and seven of its nine House members are Republicans. ~~~

~~~ Matt Novak of Gizmodo: "Hospital workers in Washington state have started to make their own face masks from supplies they've purchased at craft stores, according to a new report from Seattle's KOMO TV station. The DIY face masks are just the latest example of health workers around the world getting creative as they struggle with shortages of vital medical supplies during the covid-19 pandemic. Staff at Providence St. Joseph Health hospital volunteered and spent much of Tuesday constructing personal protective equipment (PPE), like face shields and surgical masks, from supplies bought at craft stores in the Seattle area." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: CNN interviewed a Georgia (U.S.) hospital administrator this morning who said his hospital also was sewing its own masks. In the meantime, he has been able to source masks from a Mexican company who said they had a stock of a million masks & will sell them for $7 each, masks the hospitals normally pays 58 cents apiece for. He said the hospital would probably buy some of the $7 masks. Also, apparently hospitals are finally getting their test kits, but it appears they aren't getting the results back. The administrator said his hospital had received only a few results & have a backlog of 400 tests which a lab has not analyzed yet. He says his hospital is now performing about 100 tests a day, so the backlog is only going to grow. ~~~

     ~~~ As for making the Defense Production Act operational, I'm not sure how quickly this can be done, much less how quickly & wisely it will be done. There is a lag time between (1) the moment Trump signs a piece of paper & holds it up to the cameras, and (2) the moment the first hospital gets the first ventilator manufactured by the first company ordered to ramp up production. Update. So following an answer -- and not a happy one -- to my question about the lag time:

     ~~~ ** Sarah Kliff, et al., of the New York Times: "... There are not nearly enough lifesaving ventilator machines to go around, and there is no way to solve the problem before the disease reaches full throttle.... American and European manufacturers say they can't speed up production enough to meet soaring demand, at least not anytime soon.... Some European governments are deploying wartime-mobilization tactics to get factories churning out more ventilators -- and to stop domestic companies from exporting them. The United States, by contrast, has been slow to develop a national strategy for accelerating the production of ventilators. That appears to reflect in part the federal government's sluggish reaction to the coronavirus, with President Trump and others initially playing down the threat. This week, Mr. Trump urged governors to find ways to procure new ventilators. 'Try getting it yourselves,' he said."

~~~ Jonathan Chait: "A reporter asked Trump [Tuesday] if he had [invoked the Defense Production Act]. Here was his reply: 'Well, we're able to do that if we have to. Right now, we haven't had to, but it's certainly ready. If I want it, we can do it very quickly. We've studied it very closely over two weeks ago, actually. We'll make that decision pretty quickly if we need it. We hope we don't need it. It's a big step.'... They are days away from having potentially thousands of Americans dying, and Trump still hasn't decided if he's ready to take the step to ramp up the machines that will be needed to keep them alive.... We might have clung to the wan hope that his abdication was merely a surface display of incompetence, and that below his level, the government was still functioning. The evidence before us suggests the government actually followed his lead, following the complacent signals he sent -- or, at least, has simply floundered for lack of any direction from the top. The closer you look at the inner workings of Trump's coronavirus response, the worse it gets." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I suspect quite a few government decision-makers are exhausted from having to ping-pong between the real world -- where emergency actions have been indicated for weeks & months -- and Trump Delusion World. These people, both career & political appointees, have been tasked with doing diametrically opposed actions, and many just gave up, while others decided it was in their short-term best interest to follow the Dear Leader.

** Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "American adults of all ages -- not just those in their 70s, 80s and 90s -- are being seriously sickened by the coronavirus, according to a report on nearly 2,500 cases in the United States.... Of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized, 38 percent were notably younger -- between 20 and 54. And nearly half of the 121 patients who were admitted to intensive care units were adults under 65, the C.D.C. reported.... The youngest age group, people 19 and under, accounted for less than 1 percent of the hospitalizations, and none of the I.C.U. admissions or deaths."

Megan Twohey, et al., of the New York Times: "... with testing still in short supply in areas of the country, leaving health care workers and many sick people unable to get diagnoses, some prominent personalities have obtained tests without exhibiting symptoms or having known contact with someone who has the virus, as required by some testing guidelines.... Celebrities of all kinds appear to have had a far easier time getting diagnoses." ~~~

~~~ The Phat Philosopher on the "Story of Life." Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday said he did not agree that professional athletes and wealthy individuals should get preferential access to coronavirus testing, but blamed an 'obsolete system' for the slow rollout of widespread testing. Multiple NBA teams have been tested for the virus after a few players were diagnosed with the virus, raising questions about how they were able to access the tests so quickly.... Asked if wealthier individuals should be getting faster access to tests, Trump said he did not think so. 'No, I wouldn't say so, but perhaps that's been the story of life,' he said."

I would like to begin by announcing some important developments in our war against the Chinese virus. -- Donald Trump, beginning today's press briefing with a bellicose, racist remark (more on Trump's remarks at the linked ABC News page)

I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the 'borders' from China - against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet this morning, insulting the Chinese people, everyone aware of Trump's previous remarks, the mainstream media & the truth

It just gets worse. Trump is pressed about a White House official reportedly using the term 'Kung-flu' and if language like 'Chinese virus' puts Asian Americans at risk. 'No, not at all,' he says. 'I think they probably would agree with it a 100%. It comes from China.' -- MJ Lee of CNN, in a tweet ~~~

~~~ Kurt Bardella in an NBC News opinion piece: "CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang tweeted Tuesday that 'this morning a White House official referred to the #Coronavirus as the "Kung-Flu" to my face. Makes me wonder what they're calling it behind my back.'... On Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, Trump took to Twitter to sound off about COVID-19. But rather than refer to it by its scientific name, he instead insisted on labeling it the 'Chinese Virus.'" (Also linked yesterday.) See also Hattie's comment at the end of yesterday's thread.

The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments on Wednesday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here. The pages are free to nonsubscribers. Some highlights from the Times:

The White House is asking Congress to allocate $500 billion for two separate waves of direct payments to American taxpayers in the coming weeks and another $300 billion to help small businesses continue to meet payroll, according to a Treasury Department proposal circulating on Capitol Hill and among lobbyists. The outline, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, calls for a total of $1 trillion in spending for those programs, which would also include $50 billion for secured loans for the airline industry, and another $150 billion for secured loans or loan guarantees for other parts of the economy hard hit by the unfolding financial crisis.... But the details remained far from complete.

Mr. Trump announced on Wednesday that [by mutual consent] the border with Canada was being closed to all but essential traffic.... The move on Wednesday would allow trade to continue, but would restrict flights and border crossings for things like vacations.

Michael Wines of the New York Times: "Only days into the start of the 2020 census, the Census Bureau said Wednesday that it is suspending its field operations for two weeks while it searches for ways to protect its workers from exposure to the coronavirus. The immediate impact of the suspension, beyond a delay in a scheduled count of the nation's homeless and a break in training census-takers, was not clear.... The first and biggest part of the head count -- persuading residents to fill out census forms online, by mail or over the telephone -- appears to be going well. While the first census invitations reached homes only last week, some 11 million households have completed forms online and hundreds of thousands more have responded by mail and phone." An AP story is here.

Lies, Damned Lies & Fake Statistics. The Stupidest Senator Has Some Uplifting Thoughts. Jonathan Chait: "'Right now, all people are hearing about are the deaths,' Republican Senator Ron Johnson told the New York Times last week. 'I'm sure the deaths are horrific, but the flip side of this is the vast majority of people who get coronavirus do survive.'... In a follow-up interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Johnson attempted to clarify his thinking, and managed to express it in an even more callous and stupid way: 'I'm not denying what a nasty disease COVID-19 can be, and how it's obviously devastating to somewhere between 1 and 3.4 percent of the population,' he said. 'But that means 97 to 99 percent will get through this and develop immunities and will be able to move beyond this. But we don't shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways. It's a risk we accept so we can move about....'... Around 37,000 people die every year in car crashes, which is certainly a lot. But losing 1 to 3.4 percent of people who get the coronavirus would mean millions of deaths." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Assuming a population of about 330 million & a worst-case estimate of 3.4 percent deaths, that means Covid-19 would kill 11,220,000 Americans. But thanks, Ron, for your cheery POV & for voting against coronavirus aid.

Spring Break in the Time of Coronavirus: Pretty Much the Same. If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I'm not gonna let it stop me from partying. -- Brady Sluder, a spring breaker & nitwit nihilist from Ohio ~~~

~~~ Florida: The Great American Petri Dish. Patricia Mazzei, et al., of the New York Times: "A disease that is deadly to the elderly and easily spread by the young has left Florida especially vulnerable. Yet faced with the prospect of dealing a shattering blow to an $86 billion tourism industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis has moved more slowly than some other states to contain a pandemic that is spreading with alarming speed. Whole swaths of the state have yet to begin robust testing, according to State Department of Health data. And even as some of the beaches still swarmed with college revelers, the state refused to close them.... Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, was at first reluctant to mandate mass cancellations of public events or restrictions on movement. But on Tuesday, after photos on social media showed crowds of tanned young people sunning shoulder-to-shoulder on the beaches, the governor shut down bars and nightclubs for a month and ordered restaurants to cut their seating capacity by half. He refused to close beaches, though groups will have to be no larger than 10." A CBS News story is here.

Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced Wednesday he tested positive for the coronavirus after developing symptoms on Saturday. McAdams, 45, is the second lawmaker to test positive for COVID-19. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), 58, announced his diagnosis shortly before the Utah Democrat."

Tom Krisher of the AP: "Concerns about the spreading coronavirus forced most of North America's auto plants to close, at least temporarily. Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota said they would shut down all factories in the region, citing concerns for employees who work in close quarters building automobiles. Nissan will close U.S. factories. Hyundai shut down its Alabama plant after a worker tested positive for the virus. Detroit's three automakers said their closures would begin this week, while Honda and Toyota will start next week. Nissan will close U.S. plants starting Friday. Closings will run from a few days to over two weeks, but most automakers said they'll have to evaluate the spread of the virus before reopening.... Detroit's three automakers alone will idle about 150,000 workers. They likely will receive supplemental pay in addition to state unemployment benefits. The two checks combined will about equal what the workers normally make."


S.V. Date
of the Huffington Post: "Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the state's top legal officer, contracted with ... Donald Trump's Miami golf resort to host a crime prevention conference, despite the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against his accepting money from a state. The conference, set for late May, has been indefinitely postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic before any payments 'were made or due,' said Lauren Cassedy, a spokesperson in Moody's office. Cassedy, though, would not explain why Moody, a Republican who was elected to the statewide job in 2018 after receiving Trump's endorsement, chose to award the contract to Trump's resort in the first place. Under its terms, some $70,000 of Florida taxpayer money likely would have gone to Trump National Doral. Nonprofit groups, local governments and others attending the event that had been set for late May likely would have spent an additional $600,000.... The U.S. Constitution states in Article II: 'The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Don't worry. Trump is arranging to give himself a generous bailout for the illegal business he lost when Moody cancelled.

Oh, AND Happy Birthday, Kimberly. Ken Vogel, et al., of the New York Times: "It was a lavish birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle. The setting was Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Fla. The guest list included dozens of Trump family members and friends. But when it came to picking up the tab, hands went out to other attendees. Among them were at least four whose families are financial supporters of the president's re-election campaign, for which Ms. Guilfoyle helps lead the fund-raising. They ended up pitching in tens of thousands of dollars, passed along to Mar-a-Lago, to help pay for what two people familiar with the planning said was a $50,000 celebration of Ms. Guilfoyle's 51st birthday.... At least one attendee [at the March 7 party] -- a Brazilian government official who stopped by the party briefly -- has tested positive for the [corona]virus, while another -- Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida -- self-quarantined, though he later announced he had tested negative for the virus." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is continuing its shake-up of the intelligence community with a potentially disruptive change of leadership at the National Counterterrorism Center, the agency that coordinates government efforts to guard the homeland. The White House announced its plan to nominate as NCTC director Christopher Miller, a former Army Special Forces officer who had overseen counterterrorism efforts in the Trump White House before moving to a similar position at the Pentagon. Miller gets solid marks from former colleagues, but the move has increased fears within the intelligence community that the administration has embarked on a politically motivated campaign against career professionals. The move came hours after I reported that Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, had begun a 'review' of the NCTC and was weighing staff cuts there and in other parts of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.... Miller, if confirmed, would take over from Russell Travers..., a widely respected career intelligence officer, was told that he could remain as Miller's deputy...."

Presidential Race

Sean Sullivan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Bernie Sanders signaled Wednesday that he was open to ending his presidential run after another round of landslide losses to Joe Biden, and new signs emerged of communication between the two camps as some Democrats hoped for a swift end to a bruising primary. Sanders campaign officials said the senator from Vermont planned to leave Washington and return home, where he and his wife, Jane, would talk to supporters and determine the future of his presidential run. The campaign also suspended its Facebook ads and, uncharacteristically, made no request for donations in an email to backers updating them on the situation.... The two campaigns 'have been in regular contact at a senior level' since last week to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the campaigns, [Biden deputy campaign manager Kate] Bedingfield said in a statement to The Washington Post, 'as well as to discuss both Vice President Biden's and Senator Sanders' ideas on policy responses to the virus.'" ~~~

~~~ Sydney Ember, et al., of the New York Times: "Faiz Shakir, [Bernie] Sanders's campaign manager, said the Vermont senator was considering his options after he was soundly beaten in Florida, Illinois and Arizona on Tuesday by Joseph R. Biden Jr., but also suggested a decision on how to proceed was not imminent. 'The next primary contest is at least three weeks away,' Mr. Shakir said in a statement. 'Senator Sanders is going to be having conversations with supporters to assess his campaign. In the immediate term, however, he is focused on the government response to the coronavirus outbreak and ensuring that we take care of working people and the most vulnerable.'... It is possible Mr. Sanders could stay in the race to collect delegates in order to accumulate leverage and bolster progressive power in party reform -- while running what effectively amounts to an inactive campaign as he focuses on his legislative agenda around the coronavirus." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "More than 80 career national security professionals have [broken with a tradition of neutrality and] signed an open letter of support for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, saying that President Trump 'has created an existential danger to the United States.' Most of the signatories, who include career diplomats, intelligence officers and defense policymakers, have served both Republican and Democratic administrations. They noted that their policy views cover a spectrum and as officials they 'have often been in opposition, sometimes bitterly, with each other.'But in a letter published online Wednesday, they expressed a shared belief that Trump's approach to leadership has undermined the country's role in the world."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "A day after President Trump officially racked up enough delegates to become the presumptive 2020 Republican nominee for president, former Gov. William F. Weld of Massachusetts, his last Republican challenger, ended his campaign."