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So that was an awful press conference. What Trump should have said is this:
“It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of when this will happen and how many people in this country will become infected,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s principal deputy director told reporters Tuesday of the disease’s spread in the U.S.
Fortunately, according to Schuchat, there’s “literally a playbook” on how to respond to such a health risk, at the federal and local levels.
Instead he whined, blamed Democrats for the market crash, advocated Just In Time virology staffing, and appeared far more interested in himself than the country. And worse, he ignored and contradicted his health experts. And now he’s turning it into a full blown crisis by trying to muzzle the public health people. Even the markets get that this is a disaster. You can’t hide that.
More of what Trump should have said: Since spread is more likely than not, you need to know that containment is to slow but not stop spread. Appearance of virus is not failure, it's a call to action. With the time containment gives us, we need to beef up our medical and first responder capabilities and use the time. Know also that MOST public health is administered at state and local level. Look to them for guidance and advice. They'll point you back to @CDCemergency more times than not, and that's okay - they are the experts we should be listening to and not the politicians.
Here’s where you can download a .pdf guide for preparation. Just cross off flu with a Sharpie and write coronavirus.
Also, stop shaking hands. Seriously. practice now. And wash your hands.
Sandro Galea/WBUR:
Donald Trump Finally Addressed Coronavirus. It Did Not Make Me Feel Better
The president’s remarks were not at all aligned with earlier statements of CDC officials, including Dr. Nancy Messonnier, head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, who said of the disease’s spread, "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen — and how many people in this country will have severe illness.”
Granted, it is not easy for a non-health expert to take rapid-fire questions from reporters, nor can it be easy for the president to balance multiple competing voices within any complex administration. Yet, Donald Trump’s words appeared to downplay concerns about COVID-19 at a moment when we need clarity of communication, and well-defined commitment to public health above all else. Moments like this call for officials to respond accurately, sharing the urgency of the situation without causing undue alarm. The president’s ambivalence about expert opinion, seeming to downplay COVID-19, does the health of Americans no service at all.
Oh, but there’s more:
National Journal:
Coronavirus outbreak sparks drug-supply-chain concerns
The disease outbreak in China has increased worries around potential drug shortages, but experts say FDA has only a few options to address the problem.
As it is, it’s impossible to know the precise actions the agency is taking because many aspects of the drug-supply chain are considered proprietary secrets, said Erin Fox, a drug-shortage expert and senior director of Drug Information and Support Services at the University of Utah.
“Almost every aspect of the manufacturing process, from the site of the factory, even the name of the factory, the name of the company … the pharma companies believe that’s all a proprietary secret,” Fox said. “That’s fine when everything is working well and the system is fine, but it makes it really difficult to even investigate potential gaps in the supply chain.”
CNN:
Coronavirus could cost Trump the election, Goldman Sachs warns
The potential political fallout from the
coronavirus adds yet more uncertainty for investors trying to assess the impact of the fast-moving epidemic.
"If the coronavirus epidemic materially affects US economic growth it may increase the likelihood of Democratic victory in the 2020 election," Goldman Sachs analysts led by Ben Snider wrote in a report published Wednesday night.
That could be a negative for stocks because investors have been hoping for a continuation of the low-tax, light-regulation approach of the Trump administration. And Trump of course has been laser-focused on boosting stock price
Greg Sargent/WaPo:
Trump just pushed one of his worst conspiracy theories yet
President Trump is now fully embracing the conspiracy theory that his assorted enemies are deliberately hyping the coronavirus threat, all to damage him politically. At his Wednesday news conference, Trump agreed with Rush Limbaugh’s suggestion that Trump’s foes are “weaponizing” the outbreak against him.
There is something deeply dangerous about this idea that might escape initial scrutiny. So let’s be clear: This cannot be described with the usual head-in-the-sand media euphemisms. This isn’t just spin. It isn’t just crazy Trump being crazy Trump. It isn’t just Trump flooding the zone with chaos.
Instead, it poses a direct threat to the notion of accountability in government. This is thrown into sharp relief by coronavirus, at a time when it’s particularly urgent that the government operate neutrally, with the branches interacting in good faith.
At Trump’s presser, a reporter cited Limbaugh and noted that he and other Trump supporters have spread the idea that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be “exaggerating the threat of coronavirus” to “weaponize” it and “hurt you politically.”
“I think they are,” Trump replied. “And I’d like it to stop.” He then cited the Democratic opposition in Congress, in particular Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Alexander Heffner/USA Today:
Trump's terrible coronavirus response hands 2020 Democrats a chance to show they can lead
The coronavirus crisis shows we need a Health Care New Deal that invests in medical innovation and removes the profit imperative from our system.
The Trump administration’s response to the new coronavirus pandemic has been woefully inadequate. A travel suspension is not being promptly applied to the new hot spots of the virus. A much delayed funding request that is considered by experts ludicrously insufficient, less than half of the Ebola emergency funding despite being a global threat.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has promised “radical transparency,” yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not explained its restricted diagnostic definition, minimal testing capacity and refusal to approve testing for local hospital and municipalities.
The question arises — is this incompetence or something worse? Lies and cover-up artistry are right from President Donald Trump’s disinformation playbook. Harvard physician Michael Mina, who is eager to launch tests of patients, told me about the CDC delays: “It’s very strange (and) difficult to understand the lack of public discourse on the problems. I am starting to wonder if it is willful ignorance. I don’t particularly think so and hope not, but the reasonable explanations are dwindling.”
In non-coronavirus news…
Center for Politics:
The Sanders Tax
How our Electoral College ratings might change if he becomes the presumptive nominee
These ratings reflect a general election in which neither side is clearly favored over the other.
But as Bernie Sanders has ascended to the top of the Democratic pack, and as party elites are starting to sound the alarm about Sanders’ general election prospects, we’re considering how we might change our ratings if Sanders became the presumptive nominee.
The Vermont senator’s campaign of course argues that he would expand the Democratic electorate, as Sanders’ pollster told the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent. Meanwhile, there are reasons to think that the Sanders path is built on a goal, expanding youth participation, that has historically been very difficult to achieve, as David Broockman and Joshua Kalla argued in Vox. Additionally, Sanders does not seem to have as much appeal to white voters with a four-year college degree as some other Democrats.
WI polling! Sounds like a swing state.
As for SC tomorrow: