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Trump and his allies have financial ties to companies that manufacture untested drug he’s touting for COVID-19
President Donald Trump’s fixation with hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria and lupus, as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus has left many medical experts, including members of his own administration, frustrated.
The drug comes with severe side effects ranging from nausea and hair loss to blindness and cardiac arrest; the hoarding of the drug to test it in COVID-19 patients has resulted in autoimmune patients being denied it, and the evidence that it even helps COVID-19 patients in the first place is anecdotal at best.
But according to The New York Times, all of that may be secondary — because some people in the president’s orbit stand to profit if hydroxychloroquine is approved to treat coronavirus.
The president himself, (according to Peter Baker, Katie Rogers, David Enrich, and Maggie Haberman) has a financial interest in Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug under the brand Plaquenil.
“Some associates of Mr. Trump’s have financial interests in the issue. Sanofi’s largest shareholders include Fisher Asset Management, the mutual fund company run by Ken Fisher, a major donor to Republicans, including Mr. Trump,” said the report.
“Another investor in both Sanofi and Mylan, another pharmaceutical firm, is Invesco, the fund previously run by Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary.
As of last year, Mr. Trump reported that his three family trusts each had investments in a Dodge & Cox mutual fund, whose largest holding was in Sanofi.”
Trump and his allies have financial ties to companies that manufacture untested drug he’s touting for COVID-19
President Donald Trump’s fixation with hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria and lupus, as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus has left many medical experts, including members of his own administration, frustrated.
The drug comes with severe side effects ranging from nausea and hair loss to blindness and cardiac arrest; the hoarding of the drug to test it in COVID-19 patients has resulted in autoimmune patients being denied it, and the evidence that it even helps COVID-19 patients in the first place is anecdotal at best.
But according to The New York Times, all of that may be secondary — because some people in the president’s orbit stand to profit if hydroxychloroquine is approved to treat coronavirus.
The president himself, (according to Peter Baker, Katie Rogers, David Enrich, and Maggie Haberman) has a financial interest in Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug under the brand Plaquenil.
“Some associates of Mr. Trump’s have financial interests in the issue. Sanofi’s largest shareholders include Fisher Asset Management, the mutual fund company run by Ken Fisher, a major donor to Republicans, including Mr. Trump,” said the report.
“Another investor in both Sanofi and Mylan, another pharmaceutical firm, is Invesco, the fund previously run by Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary.
As of last year, Mr. Trump reported that his three family trusts each had investments in a Dodge & Cox mutual fund, whose largest holding was in Sanofi.”
Fisher has not commented on the story.
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Coronavirus: Trump unveils plan to re-open states in phases 29 minutes ago
As Covid-19 continues to spread across the US, President Donald Trump has given governors guidance on re-opening state economies in the coming months.
The guidance offers criteria such as a two-week decline in "covid-like" cases as well as instating a robust testing programme.
Mr Trump promised governors they would be handling the process themselves, with help from the federal government.
The US has 654,301 confirmed cases and 32,186 deaths due to the virus.
Mr Trump has suggested some states could re-open this month.
In his daily briefing on Thursday, President Trump declared "the next front in our war - opening up America again".
"America wants to be open and Americans want to be open," he said. "A national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution."
He said that a prolonged lockdown risked inflicting a serious toll on public health. He warned of a "sharp rise" in drug abuse, alcohol abuse, heart disease, and other "physical and mental" problems.
Mr Trump told reporters that healthy citizens would be able to return to work "as conditions allow". He said Americans would continue to be called upon to maintain social distancing measures and to stay home if they are unwell.
He said that re-opening the US economy would be done "one careful step at a time" but he called on state governors to move "very, very quickly, depending on what they want to do".
The administration's 18-page guidance document details three phases to reopen state economies, with each phase lasting, at minimum, 14 days.
Some regions could begin returning to normal after a month-long evaluation period, at the earliest, according to a copy of the document.
In places where there are more infections or where rates begin to rise, it could take longer.
During Thursday's call, Mr Trump told governors: "You're going to call your own shots."
"You're going to be running it, we're going to be helping you," he added.
"We'll be standing right alongside of you and we're going to get our country open and get it working and our people want to get working."
In recent days, the president has argued with state governors about the timing of easing restrictions and reopening businesses. He has now conceded that his powers are limited to issuing guidelines.
On Wednesday, White House coronavirus task force leader Vice-President Mike Pence said 24% of the counties in the US have had no reported coronavirus cases. He added that half of the states have fewer than 2,500 cases.
The co-ordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, Dr Deborah Birx, told Thursday's briefing that as states worked through the three phases, they could allow for more and more employees to return to work in increments.
Phase three would be the "new normal" and would still include suggestions that vulnerable people should avoid crowded spaces.
Other people could begin meeting in public, but should still adhere to physical distancing, she added.
Dr Birx suggested that gyms, for instance, could open "if they adhere to strict social distancing guidelines".
The Trump administration had previously pencilled in 1 May as a possible date to reopen the nation, and on Wednesday Mr Trump said some states may be able to reopen earlier than that.
However, some health experts and state governors have cautioned against reopening the economy too soon.
On Tuesday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, told AP news 1 May was "a bit overly optimistic" for many areas of the country, as a strong testing and tracing system would be needed before social distancing measures were lifted.
What have US governors said?
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that his state would remain under stay-at-home orders until 15 May.
Officials in the state, which is the epicentre of the outbreak in the US, say the situation is showing signs of stabilising this week, though there are still hundreds of deaths daily.
The governors of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky have announced they will work together to reopen the region.
"We recognise that our economies are all reliant on each other, and we must work together to safely reopen them so hardworking people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet," they said in a statement on Thursday.
There was no timeline offered, but the governors said they planned to phase in sectors of the economy.
In Michigan, which has seen over 1,700 deaths due to the virus, there has been push back against Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stringent lockdown measures.
On Wednesday, residents took to the streets after the governor announced the stay-at-home order would be extended.
What are other countries doing?
Germany is easing restrictions, shops may open as early as next week Austria has reopened thousands of shops France has extended its lockdown to 11 May Italy is allowing limited number of shops to re-open in less-affected regions India has extended its lockdown until 3 May The UK has extended lockdown for at least three more weeks Denmark has said it intends to ease its lockdown faster than originally planned Spain has allowed some businesses to return to work Poland will begin lifting restrictions this weekend
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Subject: Re: Trump / Pence / Covid-19. Mon May 04, 2020 1:03 am
Coronavirus: Trump warns US death toll could hit 100,000 1 hour ago | BBC
US President Donald Trump has warned that as many as 100,000 people could die of coronavirus in the US.
Speaking at a two-hour virtual "town hall", Mr Trump also denied that his administration had acted too slowly.
More than 67,000 people have already died with Covid-19 in the US.
But Mr Trump expressed optimism about the development of a vaccine, saying one would be ready by the end of this year - although public health experts believe it will take 12 to 18 months.
"I think we're going to have a vaccine by the end of the year," he told Fox News. "The doctors would say, well you shouldn't say that. I'll say what I think... I think we'll a vaccine sooner rather than later."
Among the experts to disagree with this optimistic estimate are Dr Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, and England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty.
Dr Fauci has previously said a vaccine will take up to 18 months to develop, while Professor Whitty said last month that the chances of having an effective vaccine or other treatment within the next year were "incredibly small".
The town hall - or community meeting featuring viewers' questions - was intended to relaunch his presidential campaign in lieu of rallies.
President Trump also rejected claims that his administration had failed to act quickly enough at the start of the outbreak, saying: "We did the right thing."
Instead, he again accused China for failing to stop the virus spreading: "I think they made a horrible mistake, and they didn't want to admit it. We wanted to go in. They didn't want us there."
Mr Trump also laid some of the blame at the door of US intelligence officials, accusing them of failing to raise concerns about the outbreak until 23 January.
However, US broadcasters CNN and ABC report that the president's intelligence briefings mentioned the coronavirus as early as 3 January.
Subject: COVID19 DEATHS IN VIDEO/ watch.. Tue May 26, 2020 6:51 pm
Alabama Crimson Tide Stadium... ----- 101,821 seats.. 100,000 COVID-19 Deaths, U.S. Is Still 'Early In This Outbreak' See the covid19 deaths viewing the people/number.
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Subject: “This Is So Unfair to Me”: Trump Whines About His COVID-19 Victimhood as Campaign Flails. Thu May 28, 2020 3:12 am
MAY 27, 2020
“This Is So Unfair to Me”: Trump Whines About His COVID-19 Victimhood as Campaign Flails.
Raging at campaign manager Brad Parscale and Joe Scarborough, Trump attempts a campaign reset. But “Trump can’t pivot to a different strategy,” says an adviser. Because he’s the problem.
As he headed into Memorial Day weekend, Donald Trump complained that he was COVID-19’s biggest victim. “He was just in a fucking rage,” said a person who spoke with Trump late last week. “He was saying, ‘This is so unfair to me! Everything was going great. We were cruising to reelection!” Even as the death toll neared 100,000 and unemployment ranks swelled to over 38 million, Trump couldn’t see the pandemic as anything other than something that had happened to him. “The problem is he has no empathy,” the adviser said. Trump complained that he should have been warned about the virus sooner. “The intelligence community let me down!” he said.
Trump’s outburst reflected his growing frustration that, at this stage of the race, he is losing to Joe Biden. According to a Republican briefed on the campaign’s internal polls, Trump is trailing Biden by double digits among women over 50 in six swing states. “Trump knows the numbers are bad. It’s why he’s thrashing about,” the Republican said.
Even those closest to Trump have been privately worried the election is slipping away. According to a source, Melania Trump warned the president during their trip to India in February to take the virus response seriously. “He totally blew her off,” the source said. Melania later told people that Trump “only hears what he wants to hear and surrounds himself with yes-people and family,” the source added.
The first lady’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
But with formerly solid-red Georgia in play, Trump has conceded to reality and is shaking up his campaign. This morning the campaign promoted former White House political director Bill Stepien to deputy campaign manager and named Stephanie Alexander, the Midwest political director, to the post of campaign chief of staff. The moves are being seen by many in Trumpworld as a demotion for Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, who has been at odds with Trump for weeks over his spending and the president’s deteriorating poll numbers. “Trump has been screaming at Brad, ‘How many fucking times do I have to tell you I don’t like this! Are you fucking stupid?’” said a Republican who’s overheard the conversations. (“Your source is wrong,” a campaign spokesperson said in an email. “The President never said that about Brad.”) “Once you get on the wrong side of the mountain with Trump, it’s hard to get back,” said a Trump friend.
About Stepien’s promotion, the campaign spokesperson said, “This is a solidification of Brad’s leadership.”
Stepien, a close ally of Jared Kushner, is viewed by Trump advisers as a competent tactician who can help the campaign appeal to alienated suburban voters. “This is a sign the campaign realized they needed to bring in the big boys,” said a former West Wing official.
The problem for Stepien, though, is that no amount of messaging or get-out-the-vote efforts can shade the reality that Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic has plunged the country into a once-in-a-century economic crisis. It’s a point Stepien tacitly made when I interviewed him before the 2018 midterms. “Bottom line is Americans want security. They want to feel safe in the realm of national security, and they want to feel economically secure,” Stepien said at the time.
But the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a Trump-campaign reset is the candidate. “Trump is doing it to himself by tweeting idiotic conspiracy theories about Joe Scarborough. Women are tired of this shit,” said another former West Wing official. An outside adviser agreed. “Trump can’t pivot to a different strategy,” the adviser told me. “He only knows one strategy—which is attack. It worked in 2016. But now it’s not what people are looking for.” The adviser told me that Trump’s New York friends are planning an intervention to get him to stop tweeting about the Morning Joe cohost.
And when he’s not feeling helpless or aggrieved, Trump continues to cling to magical thinking. “He lives in his own fucking world,” the outside adviser said. Trump recently told a friend that the Moderna vaccine is going to be ready in months.
At this point many Republicans I spoke to said the only hope for Trump is that Biden implodes. As one prominent Republican put it: “Right now the only person who can change the dynamic is Joe Biden.”
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair.
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Subject: Re: Trump / Pence / Covid-19. Thu May 28, 2020 5:03 am
ummm that ^^^ is actually about trump, his deeds not about covid19 news .. but- I do see your need to move it it shows trumps failures..
you get upset easily BWAA!!
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Subject: Re: Trump / Pence / Covid-19. Thu May 28, 2020 5:11 am
Temple wrote:
ummm that ^^^ is actually about trump, his deeds not about covid19 news .. but- I do see your need to move it it shows trumps failures..
you get upset easily BWAA!!
He could have deleted it.
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Subject: Global Public Health Experts Pitty America; ‘Heartbreaking Fri Jun 19, 2020 5:24 pm
6-19-2020
‘Heartbreaking,’ say global experts, alarmed at signs US has ‘given up’ fight to stop COVID-19
“I can’t imagine what it must be like having to go to work knowing it”s unsafe,” said one expert in New Zealand. “It’s hard to see how this ends.”
Global public health experts are looking on in “alarm and disbelief” as the U.S. economy reopens even as Covid-19 case numbers continue to rise in a number of states, with President Donald Trump signaling he has no intention of calling for more economic shutdowns regardless of the outcome.
As The Washington Post reported Friday, newspapers across Europe have recently published articles and editorials expressing shock at the Trump administration’s approach to the pandemic.
“U.S. Increasingly Accepts Rising Covid-19 Numbers,” read a headline this week in the Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
“I’m becoming convinced that Covid is not far from taking on the characteristics of gun violence. The U.S. will endure much higher, persistent negative effects from something that other countries have solved; we’ll normalize it and convince ourselves nothing can be done.” —Michael Rozier, St. Louis University
While images of Americans crowding onto beaches and other public places may have given the international community the impression that the public have grown impatient with social distancing, a survey by the Associated Press last month showed 83% of Americans were concerned lifting lockdown orders too quickly would lead to more coronavirus infections.
But as the country’s overall case numbers have risen in recent days, with 10 states this week reporting their highest seven-day average since the pandemic started, Trump and other leaders are pushing Americans to return to work and their normal routines.
“We won’t be closing the country again. We won’t have to do that,” the president said Wednesday.
Infectious disease specialists around the world—some of whom used U.S. scientists’ research to guide their own governments’ strategies in confronting the pandemic, pushing them to prepare for long-term lockdowns necessitating robust economic relief packages—are struggling to understand the logic of reopening the country as case numbers grow, the Post reported.
“It really does feel like the U.S. has given up,” Siouxsie Wiles, a specialist at University of Auckland in New Zealand, told the Post.
Devi Sridhar @devisridhar As a global public health expert, I don’t accept that US & UK poor responses were due to capacity. Poorer countries did much better. It’s down to absent leadership, incompetence & a deliberate decision to treat COVID-19 like flu for weeks in Feb & March & just ‘let it go’.
Wiles expressed horror at the pressure many Americans have felt for weeks to keep reporting to work, regardless of their own risk factors for infection or of case numbers in their communities. Several states last month announced that they would end unemployment benefits for workers who didn’t return to their jobs after their industries began reopening, and Ohio’s government urged companies to report employees who didn’t return.
“I can’t imagine what it must be like having to go to work knowing it”s unsafe,” Wiles said. “It’s hard to see how this ends. There are just going to be more and more people infected, and more and more deaths. It’s heartbreaking.”
Michael Rozier, a public health and ethics professor at St. Louis University, said the U.S. response to Covid-19 is rapidly beginning to resemble its approach to facing gun violence.
Michael Rozier @RozierSJ Sadly, I'm becoming convinced that #COVID is not far from taking on the characteristics of #gunviolence. US will endure much higher, persistent negative effects from something that other countries have solved; we'll normalize it and convince ourselves nothing can be done.
“The U.S. will endure much higher, persistent negative effects from something that other countries have solved; we’ll normalize it and convince ourselves nothing can be done,” Rozier tweeted.
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Subject: Re: Trump / Pence / Covid-19. Sat Jun 20, 2020 3:59 pm
On Saturday, NBC News reporter Geoff Bennett reported that six advance staffers who spent the past few weeks in Tulsa, Oklahoma helping to organize President Donald Trump’s campaign rally have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the campaign, “quarantine procedures were immediately implemented” and “no COVID-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today’s rally.”
(((((too late.. it's spread- wait for it but- we'll most likely not hear about lol for fuck a covid19 powderkeg!)))
U.S. Reports 30,000 New Coronavirus Cases In One Day, Highest Jump Since May 1
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Subject: Re: Trump / Pence / Covid-19. Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:39 am
6-22-2020
COVID-19 will rage “like a forest fire” in a U.S. that has no clear plan to deal with it and has regressed to a dismissive, “pre-pandemic” attitude, a top infectious disease expert said Sunday.
America’s leadership is unfocused, Dr. Michael Osterholm said” unlike other parts of the world that remain vigilant against the pandemic.
The spread of COVID-19 is “like a forest fire,” warned Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“I don’t think that this is going to slow down. I think that wherever there is wood to burn, this fire is going to burn. And right now we have a lot of susceptible people,” he said.
“I don’t see this slowing down through the summer or into the fall. I don’t think we’re going to see one, two and three waves. I think we’re going to just see one very, very difficult forest fire of cases.”
Other nations have “done a much better job” of stopping the spread of COVID-19, said Osterholm.
“We haven’t done that. ... We just have not really gotten the message across to the public yet that this is a very serious issue. We can’t shut down our economy, but we just can’t suddenly say we’re done with” COVID-19, he added.
A number of states are now dealing with record daily increases of COVID-19 cases because “everybody’s back to a pre-pandemic mindset,” Osterholm pointed out.
He noted the U.S. lacks a national plan that “really puts together what we’re trying to do” — leaving states to impose a patchwork of different responses.
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Coronavirus: New York imposes quarantine on nine US states BBC | 1 hour ago
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have asked people travelling from states where virus cases are rising to go into self-isolation for 14 days.
New Jersey's Phil Murphy said people in the three states had been "through hell and back" and did not want "another round" of virus infections.
Some southern and western states have been reporting record numbers of cases.
The University of Washington predicts 180,000 US deaths by October - or 146,000 if 95% of Americans wear masks.
So far, the US has recorded more than 2.3m cases of the virus and more than 121,000 deaths.
Health officials say the coming weeks will be crucial to stem the outbreaks.
On Tuesday America's top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci told lawmakers there was "a disturbing surge of infection" and "increased community spread" in many southern and western states.
He told Americans to take social distancing measures, saying: "Plan A, don't go in a crowd. Plan B, if you do, make sure you wear a mask."
Which states are subject to the quarantine?
Currently, those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Utah, the governor of New York state Andrew Cuomo told reporters.
People coming from those states - including returning New York, New Jersey and Connecticut residents - will be asked to quarantine upon arrival for 14 days.
Anyone found breaking the quarantine could face fines of $1,000 (£800) rising to $5,000 for repeated violations, Mr Cuomo said. He added that US states would be added or taken off the quarantine list depending on the number of new cases per 100,00 people or the rate of positive tests.
"This is a smart thing to do," New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy said.
"We have taken our people, the three of us from these three states, through hell and back, and the last thing we need to do right now is subject our folks to another round."
Which US states are seeing cases surge?
The overall number of infections in the US rose by a quarter last week, with 10 states reporting a rise in cases of more than 50%, according to Reuters news agency.
On Wednesday California reported a record 7,149 new confirmed cases, bringing the state's total to 190,222 cases, officials said. Governor Gavin Newsom said the state had carried out more than a million tests over the past two weeks, with about 5% coming back positive. Mr Newsom has made wearing a face mask mandatory in public.
Florida also reported a daily record of 5,508 new infections. It brings Florida's total number of confirmed infections to 109,014, with 3,281 deaths. In the absence of a state-wide mask requirement, several cities and towns have issued their own orders mandating masks in public.
Arizona on Wednesday reported 1,795 new infections, down from the record 3,600 new infections on Tuesday, when President Trump held a campaign rally in the city of Phoenix.
At the event Mr Trump - who was not wearing a mask - insisted that the coronavirus "plague" was "going away" and again referred to the virus as the "kung flu", which the White House denies is a racist term.
Arizona officials warn that over 80% of hospital beds are currently being used, and that the healthcare system may be overrun in the coming days or weeks.
Texas on Wednesday also reported a new record daily number of 5,551 confirmed cases. The state has seen increasing numbers of people admitted to hospital and a children's hospital in Houston has begun admitting adult virus patients.
Texas Children's Hospital urged the public to "take responsible actions - practice appropriate social distancing, wear a mask or face covering anytime you leave your home".
Both Arizona and Texas were among those states that removed coronavirus restrictions early. Texas has temporarily revoked alcohol licences from several businesses that were breaking social distancing rules.
On Tuesday the governor of Washington state, Jay Inslee, ordered all residents to wear face masks in public after confirmed infections rose by more than a third the previous week.
"This is about saving lives. It's about reopening our businesses. And it's about showing respect and care for one another," Mr Inslee said.
Several US states and cities have instructed residents to wear face coverings.
South Carolina, Utah, Mississippi and Louisiana have also seen a surge in caseload and some governors have said they may be forced to announce new lockdown measures.
The European Union is reportedly considering banning US citizens from entering the bloc as it considers how to reopen its external borders.
Subject: Pence Peddles Lies at Covid19 Briefing--- Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:19 pm
6-26-2020
Pence uses first coronavirus briefing in months to peddle lies
Pence used his time to lie about the Trump administration's response to the virus and distort the reality that millions of Americans find themselves in.
Here are four lies and distortions Pence produced during the briefing on Friday afternoon:
"All 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly."
That's not true.
After reopening too soon and too quickly — against the advice of public health experts — the Republican governors of Texas and Florida announced their states are once again implementing social distancing measures as coronavirus cases soar.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he is closing all bars and reducing capacity in restaurants to 50% after Texas saw 5,996 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday.
And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is banning the sale of alcohol in bars after his state reported 8,942 new cases on Friday. That single-day increase is nearly as high as those seen in New York at the peak of coronavirus infections this spring.
"We slowed the spread, we flattened the curve, we saved lives."
The coronavirus curve is by no means flattened.
Data shows that while the national curve trended slightly downward earlier in June, it never came close to flattening. And now it's once again on the rise, with the number of new cases on Thursday rising to the highest single-day increase since tracking of the virus began.
Only a handful of states truly flattened the curve, including New York and New Jersey, which had the worst outbreaks early on but now have decreased the spread of the virus thanks to the implementation of social distancing measures and policies such as mandated mask-wearing.
But a number of other states, such as Arizona, Florida, and Texas, where Republican governors reopened early and refused to mandate mask-wearing, are seeing spikes. And experts are now concerned about the availability of hospital beds.
"To one extent or another, the volume of new cases coming in is a reflection of a great success in expanding testing across the country."
This is misleading.
While testing capacity is up, it is not the only reason the number of positive tests are increasing.
In fact, public health experts look at the percentage of tests that come back positive to determine the level of concern: The higher the percentage, the more alarmed the experts are.
In Texas, the positivity rate climbed to 10.42% on Wednesday. Abbott had previously called a 10% positive rate a "warning flag."
In Florida, the positivity rate stood at 13.4% on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Pence said there's a "tendency" for people to believe "we're in a time of great losses and great hardship on the American people. The reality is we're in a much better place."
While Pence painted a rosy picture of where the United States stands with regard to the coronavirus, there are still millions of Americans facing hardship.
To date, 124,393 people have died of causes related to the coronavirus, the New York Times reports.
And nearly 21 million people are still out of work, according to unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Subject: Australian Columnist; ‘We Are Witnessing The Fall of a Great Power’ Wed Jul 22, 2020 12:06 am
Australian columnist aghast at America’s ‘rotten’ COVID-19 response: -- ‘We are witnessing the fall of a great power’
A columnist for an Australian newspaper has been watching the United States’ response to the novel coronavirus with a mix of shock and horror — and he now believes “we are witnessing the fall of a great power.”
Crispin Hull, an editor and columnist for The Canberra Times, argues in his latest column that President Donald Trump’s disastrous handling of the pandemic is symbolic of deep rot within the American political system.
“Look at the U.S. now,” he writes. “Its president is so psychiatrically disordered with narcissism that he is incapable of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in a coherent, empathetic way.
Everything he says and does is through a prism of himself. He has now turned his whole re-election campaign into one of race hate, law and order and a bizarre invention of a threat from ‘left-wing fascists.'”
However, Hull cautions Americans that merely getting rid of Trump this fall will not instantly fix what ails the nation.
“The underlying weakness in present U.S. democracy is that partisanship has become so extreme that the nation is incapable of dealing with the major issues that face it,” he writes.
“COVID-19 has illustrated that starkly, with every word and act predicated on party allegiance. Meanwhile, other problems like race, police violence, gun control, inequality, the health system, climate change and energy policy go unattended.”
Subject: Today... Pitiful; Didn't Have to Happen- Fri Jul 31, 2020 5:09 pm
This is on 100% trump; murder-
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Subject: Re: Trump / Pence / Covid-19. Sat Aug 01, 2020 1:39 am
7-31-2020
Read the books!’ Trump tells baffled reporter of ‘manuals’ that advise against testing ‘too much’ for COVID-19
President Donald Trump left a reporter baffled recently when he told him about __unspecified medical “manuals” that advise against excessive testing for the novel coronavirus. ((BWAHAAA!))) In a set of brief preview clips of an upcoming interview set to air on HBO Monday. Trump can be seen telling Axios reporter Jonathan Swan about the perils of mass testing for the disease.
“You know, there are those that say you can test too much, you do know that, ” the president told Swan, who had a look of bewilderment on his face.
“Who says that?” Swan asks.
“Well, just read the manuals,” the president replies.
“Manuals?” Swan asks. “What manuals?”
“Read the books,” Trump insists. “Read the books!”
“What books?” an increasingly incredulous Swan asks.
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