Fwd: Trump takes on science, the press, and facts in coronavirus fight
From the start of the coronavirus crisis, the Trump Administration ignored scientific data under the foolish assumption that American lives could be traded for a strong economy. Now, on the day that the U.S. casualty count will reach an incredibly tragic 23,000 people, allies of the president are calling for scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci to be fired. As the country grapples with the critical questions of when and how to safely return to some semblance of normalcy, we must heed the advice of medical and scientific professionals above all. Any restart must be informed by the latest clinical observations about the virus and accompanied by widespread testing. To suggest eliminating these voices of reason and experience now is dangerous and irresponsible.
—Evan McMullin
1. Trump vs Fauci
The seams of the relationship between President Trump and infectious disease expert and White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci are unraveling quickly. Yesterday, Fauci appeared on CNN and said that social distancing measures received "a lot of pushback" early on, and that if we "had a process that was ongoing, and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives." The president responded by retweeting a post calling for Fauci to be fired, launching a conservative firestorm against the doctor.
— Trump could have seen what was coming. Plenty of figures inside the government did— from top White House advisers to experts in the Cabinet departments and intelligence agencies. A trove of emails released over the weekend demonstrated that as Trump repeatedly played down the seriousness of the virus, these professionals identified the threat, sounded alarms, and made clear the need for aggressive action. —The New York Times
— U.S. sailor lost to COVID-19. A sailor who tested positive for the coronavirus on the USS Theodore Roosevelt has died, the Navy announced today. Nearly 3,000 U.S. service members have tested positive for coronavirus; two service members have died.
— Religious rights. The Department of Justice says it will take action this week against states and municipalities regarding social distancing regulations as they apply to religious institutions. DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Attorney General Bill Barr is monitoring the situation. "While social distancing policies are appropriate during this emergency, they must be applied evenhandedly (and) not single out religious orgs," she said.
— China controls the narrative. In yet another attempt to hide its failures on managing the initial outbreak of the coronavirus, the Chinese government has issued a new policy that all academic papers on the virus will be subject to "extra vetting" before being submitted for publication. Studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials. —CNN
More: African nationals 'mistreated, evicted' in China over coronavirus (Al Jazeera)
2. Goitein & Boyle: Trump's hidden emergency powers
"Even in the most dire of emergencies, the president of the United States should not be able to operate free from constitutional checks and balances. The coronavirus crisis should serve as a wake-up call. Presidential emergency action documents have managed to escape democratic oversight for nearly 70 years. Congress should move quickly to remedy that omission and assert its authority to review these documents, before we all learn just how far this administration believes the president's powers reach." —The New York Times
Ed. Note: Elizabeth Goitein and Andrew Boyle work at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
3. No pandemic ceasefire in war on the press
The president hasn't let a dangerous pandemic get in the way of steadily blasting one of his favorite targets—the media. But now, his criticism has become more formalized than simply a tweet. Last week, an official White House statement accused Voice of America, a U.S. government agency, of amplifying Beijing's propaganda, saying, "VOA too often speaks for America's adversaries—not its citizens."
— "Unlike China, VOA has stuck to verifiable facts, including publishing numerous articles in Mandarin, English, and other languages that outed China's initial secrecy keeping information of the initial outbreak from the world," VOA Director Amanda Bennett responded. "VOA has thoroughly debunked much of the information coming from the Chinese government and government-controlled media." —NPR
— Trump's re-election campaign filed a defamation lawsuit today against a Wisconsin television station for running an ad produced by liberal super PAC Priorities USA that alleges the president called the coronavirus a "hoax."
— The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and legal fees from the NBC affiliate for having "perpetrated a fraud on the public by recklessly broadcasting [Priorities USA's] defamatory and false advertisement." —The Hill
More: Fox News host responds to Trump criticism, defends Chris Wallace: 'Enough with the 3rd grade name-calling' (Newsweek)
4. Gilsinan: Can we trust Doctor WHO?
"The U.S. was also slow to recognize the seriousness of this new coronavirus, which caught the entire country unprepared. President Donald Trump has blamed the catastrophe on any number of different actors, most recently singling out the WHO. 'They missed the call,' Trump said about the body at a briefing this week. 'They could have called it months earlier.' Trump may well be looking to deflect blame for his own missed calls, but inherent structural problems at the WHO do make the organization vulnerable to misinformation and political influence, especially at a moment when China has invested considerable resources cultivating influence in international organizations whose value the Trump Administration has questioned." —The Atlantic
More: Public health professionals plead with Trump not to defund WHO (Politico)
5. States adapt to pandemic changes
The national Republican and Democratic parties, which are still planning for in-person conventions this summer, albeit a bit later than expected, should take a cue from their state affiliates. A number of Democratic and Republican state parties are using or seeking digital platforms to host virtual conventions at the state and district level in the run-up to the national events, with a mix of secure electronic voting and video or phone conferences. —The Wall Street Journal
— Virginia. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced yesterday that he signed a series of new voting measures into law, including establishing Election Day as a holiday, removing the state's photo ID requirement, and expanding early voting to 45 days before an election without a stated reason. —CNN
— Maryland. Maryland's June 2 primary will be conducted largely by mail, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Friday, although in-person voting centers will be offered on a limited basis. Hogan already had rescheduled the election, originally slated for April, for June due to the coronavirus outbreak. —The Baltimore Sun
— Alaska. Former Vice President Joe Biden won Alaska's Democratic primary on Saturday night. The primary was conducted entirely by mail because of the coronavirus outbreak. —The New York Times
More: GOP pushes voting by mail—with restrictions—while Trump attacks it as 'corrupt' (The Washington Post)
6. Wiseman: US and UK begin to diverge
"For the past four years, the story goes, Britain and America have been on remarkably similar political journeys. The twin revolutions of the Brexit referendum and the rise of Donald Trump played out in a dizzying succession of bitter, acrimonious clashes, less between right and left than between populist nationalists and elite globalists. ... Whereas the pandemic has underscored the depths of America’s polarization and partisanship in the age of Trump, with an indiscriminate outside threat failing to yield much political unity, the virus has proved the sturdiness of the most trusted institutions in Britain, where distinctions between Leave and Remain, left and right, have faded as the health crisis has deepened." —Politico
Ed. Note: Oliver Wiseman is the U.S. editor of the British monthly magazine Critic.
More: Boris Johnson leaves hospital, saying 'things could have gone either way' (CNN)
7. Amid COVID-19, disinfo continues to flow
The coronavirus pandemic is a gold mine for state actors seeking to spread disinformation and sow confusion. As people across the world look for accurate information on the virus, some countries are taking the opportunity to spread disinfo and propaganda to hurt their foes and burnish their own image.
— Russia. Russian state media is focusing on medical aid sent by Russia to Italy, the U.S., and elsewhere. Despite one Italian newspaper saying that 80% of Russian medical supplies were "useless," Russia continues to portray itself as a "benevolent hegemon," willing and able to help the West, while the West only seeks to sanction and hurt Russia.
— China. Hypersensitive to how it is viewed internationally, China's disinformation efforts are centered on the origins of the virus. Unable to take responsibility for its own failings in containing the virus, which originated in China and has killed more than 100,000 people worldwide, China outrageously alleged that the virus was created by the U.S. military. When that story did not stick, China switched to arguing that the virus may have been started in Italy.
— Iran. Like Russia and China, Iran continues to suffer greatly from the spread of the coronavirus. To help distract from the country's plight, Iranian state media is pushing conspiracy theories alleging that the U.S. created the virus specifically to hurt Iran. —The Washington Post
More: Coronavirus upends Putin's political agenda in Russia (ABC News)
8. Lee: Will the oil price truce last?
"This is the second time in less than five years that Saudi Arabia's attempt to pursue a pump-at-will policy has collapsed. After just one month, this one has lasted an even shorter time than the previous effort, brought to an end by the OPEC+ deal with Russia and other countries toward the end of 2016. But these are quite clearly extraordinary times, with an unprecedented demand collapse. Don't be surprised if the war over market share between the Saudis, the Russians, and the Americans resumes once the lockdowns ease and people want oil again. This is a temporary truce rather than lasting peace between the three biggest producers." —Bloomberg
More: OPEC, Russia approve biggest-ever oil cut to support prices amid coronavirus pandemic (Reuters)
9. Good news and bad news for Mnuchin
The good news for Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin came on Friday, when an inspector general's investigation determined that he didn't violate department procedures in his handling of a congressional request for President Trump's tax returns. However, the report does not settle the question of whether Mnuchin's refusal to turn over the returns was legal.
— House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal requested the probe last year, after Mnuchin turned down his demand for six years' worth of Trump's personal tax returns and for some of his business returns.
— The investigators made no conclusion about whether the decision to withhold the information was legally sound, with Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sally Luttrell writing that the question was beyond the scope of the investigation.
— Mnuchin maintains that Neal needs a legitimate legislative reason to obtain the returns and doesn't have one. The issue is now before a federal judge. —Politico
More: Footnotes in watchdog report indicate FBI knew of risk of Russian disinformation in Steele dossier (CBS News)
10. An American Story: Five-year-old creates PSAs
To save lives and slow the spread of the coronavirus, many people, including celebrities, politicians, and athletes are speaking out, urging everyone to behave responsibly and to stay home. To help spread this message, Nova Knight, a five-year-old from Fairbanks, Ak., is creating informational videos on what people should do to stop the spread.
— "Stay home. I'm sorry if you can't go to your play dates. Don't go anywhere. And wash your hands. I'm serious. If you have to go to the store or your job, stay six feet apart, and cover your mouth," said Nova in her video.
— Her video drew quite a bit of attention, including praise from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "What a great reminder! Thanks for sharing this video... I hope everyone listens to her advice and remembers to wash their hands and stay home. Because she's right—that's how we'll all stay safe," Trudeau said in response.
— Nova is determined to continue the fight against the coronavirus and intends on making more videos. Her most recent videos address the issues of proper handwashing and how to stop the spread of germs through social distancing. Great job, Nova! —ABC News
Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to editor@topline.com. Thank you!
Tell the White House press corps to only ask questions of Vice President Pence, Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, and others up on the podium. As soon as the president is done talking at the daily briefing, I suggest all questions be posed to the vice president and the experts. —Ken G., Colorado
Trump says it is up to the states what they do as far as how they fight the coronavirus. He can't tell them what to shut down, etc. States' rights, basically. Or rather, you are on your own, so he has no responsibility, maybe? Anyway, then why does he have any say in how and when the states "open up for business" and what they should do on the "other side" so to speak? Just wondering. —Bill T., Arizona
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