Live reporting on the coronavirus in the US continues in Saturday’s blog:
Summary
That’s all for our live coverage today, thanks for following along. Here are some key links and events from the day:
- Trump declared churches, mosques and synagogues “essential services” and threatened to override governors who refuse to reopen them this weekend – a power he does not possess.
- Joe Biden was criticized for saying African American voters were not actually black if they were still deciding between him and Trump. “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” said Biden, who later apologized.
- The lawyer representing Tara Reade, who has accused Biden of sexual assault, said he was dropping her as a client although he continued to believe in the truth of her allegations.
- Health officials in south-eastern Wisconsin have warned Amazon that if they don’t fully cooperate with state testing and tracing efforts, its Kenosha campus located 40 miles south of Milwaukee could be shut down.
- Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug Donald Trump is taking to prevent Covid-19, has increased deaths in patients treated with it in hospitals around the world, a study has shown.
- The Trump administration sent a letter to the mayor of Los Angeles saying the federal government is concerned that the city’s “arbitrary and heavy-handed approach” to shelter-in-place regulations could be “unlawful”.
- White House coronavirus task force resource coordinator Deborah Birx said she was concerned about persistent high numbers of cases in some cities that have had lasting restrictions on residents, namely Washington DC, Chicago and LA.
- In California, the governor said he was approving plans for 45 of 58 counties to move further into phases of reopening.
Updated
Trump has also just called the editor of the New York Times “one of the dumbest men” in journalism, and as CNN’s fact checker has noted, this is the third time in the last month he has called a prominent black journalist “dumb”.
The president has called three prominent black journalists dumb in the last month alone. pic.twitter.com/XXUTeRL6XS
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 22, 2020
He has also been particularly aggressive in his attacks on women in the White House press corps during the pandemic:
The president is spending Friday evening attacking his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions:
3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began. Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That’s why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville), the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda! https://t.co/pCi7jftce2 https://t.co/sAn1VbxNwc
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 22, 2020
Sessions is in a race to win back his old Senate seat after falling out of favor with the president. After failing to win a knockout blow last year, he now faces a run-off in July against the former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. Despite Sessions continuing to embrace Trumpism on the trail, his old boss has continued the attacks.
A helpful fact check of Trump’s tweet tonight:
What Jeff Sessions actually did: met with senior DOJ officials, evaluated the rules of ethics and recusal, and concluded that since he was involved in Trump's 2016 campaign, he should not be involved in an investigation into that campaign. https://t.co/DGcZtMTHSB https://t.co/WFXnAlpyIy
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) May 22, 2020
And our past coverage of his Senate campaign:
Updated
The Guardian’s Mario Koran reports today on the devastating impacts on California’s Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander communities:
The coronavirus is tearing through Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander communities in California, fanning longstanding health disparities and killing community members at a higher rate than any other racial group in the state.
Data from California’s department of public health reveals that Pacific Islanders have contracted coronavirus at nearly twice the state’s overall rate. As of 17 May, they have died from the virus at a rate 2.6 times higher than the state population – the highest death rate of any racial or ethnic group.
The pattern extends beyond California. Oregon, Utah, Washington and Arkansas – where many Marshallese work in meatpacking plants – have all seen similar trends.
Public health experts have often said the group’s relatively small size can skew the numbers, making percentages appear outsized. But to community members and advocates, that argument obfuscates a long history of overlooked needs and health disparities.
The Guardian’s Vivian Ho reports on San Francisco’s first sanctioned tent encampment for homeless individuals:
The Safe Sleeping Village is one of San Francisco’s new officially sanctioned homeless encampments, a rare initiative announced by Mayor London Breed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Occupants of the 70 tents spaced out in socially distanced, painted squares in the shadow of City Hall have access to steady meals, electricity to charge their phones, toilets, fresh water, hand-washing stations, healthcare – and those much-desired showers.
But for many, the project comes as too little, too late.
Breed launched the plan earlier this month as a solution to a homelessness crisis compounded by an outbreak. With shelters no longer taking in new guests during the pandemic and forced to reduce capacity by 76% to adhere by social distancing guidelines, the number of tents throughout the city had leapt by at least 71%.
In the historically underserved Tenderloin neighborhood, a low-income community in the heart of the city experiencing the brunt of the crisis, tents have increased by 258%.
The Trump administration has sent a letter to the mayor of Los Angeles saying the federal government is concerned that the city’s “arbitrary and heavy-handed approach” to shelter-in-place regulations could be “unlawful”.
The warning letter to LA’s mayor, Eric Garcetti, came from Eric S Dreiband, the assistant attorney general for the civil rights division of the US justice department, the LA Times reported. Dreiband wrote:
Reports of your recent public statements indicate that you suggested the possibility of long-term lockdown of the residents in the city and county of Los Angeles, regardless of the legal justification for such restrictions. Any such approach may be both arbitrary and unlawful.”
California had one of the earliest lockdowns in the US and has continued to take relatively cautious steps toward reopening. LA and the surrounding region remain the state’s primary hotspot for Covid-19 cases, and the DoJ letter came the same day that the White House coronavirus task force resource coordinator Deborah Birx said she was concerned about persistent high numbers of cases in LA, Washington DC and Chicago.
Earlier this month, LA officials moved to make “minor adjustments” to lockdown rules, allowing some brick-and-mortar business to start curbside pickup, including music stores, bookshops, florists and clothing stores. In LA, residents must wear face coverings when they leave their homes and will be near other people.
This first phase of reopening, LA officials said, is the beginning of “a slow and gradual change to a new reality” for Angelenos.
We need you to keep taking these actions to remain healthy and safe, and protect those around us.
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) May 22, 2020
1. Stay home as much as possible.
2. Continue practicing physical distancing.
3. Wash your hands often for 20 seconds.
4. Wear a face covering when you go out and are around others.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately comment on the DoJ letter, the Times reported. More on the Covid crisis in LA:
Updated
Following questions today about Trump’s lack of an annual physical exam, despite the fact that he’s taking hydroxychloroquine (an anti-malaria drug linked to heart irregularities), here’s a look back at November 2019 when Trump had an unscheduled visit to the hospital:
At the time, he denied he had a heart attack. As we noted in November, there were unanswered questions about his health and the hospital trip:
Trump is the oldest president ever sworn into office for the first time. Speculation over his health intensified as he stayed out of the public eye for two days following his trip to Walter Reed, a short journey for which he used a motorcade including an ambulance rather than the Marine One helicopter as usual.
More reading here:
Tara Reade said she is looking for a new attorney.
Following the announcement this morning that the attorney Douglas H Wigdor was no longer representing Joe Biden’s accuser, two weeks after he had taken her on as a client. Reade, through a spokesperson, told a BuzzFeed News reporter that she was “currently seeking counsel with PR support”:
Tara Reade referred my question about her lawyer’s departure to her (new to me at least) PR consultant, Maria Villena, who told me Reade is looking for new counsel pic.twitter.com/WPIa4VVPFO
— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) May 22, 2020
In his earlier statement, Wigdor said his decision to no longer represent her was “by no means a reflection on whether then-Senator Biden sexually assaulted Ms Reade”.
From our global coronavirus blog:
The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has treated 1,300 coronavirus patients with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which a study has tied to an increased risk of death.
The Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who received the information from the VA in response to questions he submitted on the issue, said he was “deeply troubled” by the data.
Trump has urged use of hydroxychloroquine against the virus and recently said he has been taking it himself, despite evidence that the treatment could be harmful.
A study published on Friday in the medical journal Lancet tied the drug to an increased risk of death in hospitalised patients with Covid-19.
The US is planning a large testing effort involving more than 100,000 volunteers and the most promising vaccine candidates in hopes of producing a safe and effective one by the end of 2020, according to a new report in Reuters.
The scientists involved say they aim to take only months to complete a process that is typically completed in a 10-year time frame. Leading vaccine makers will be sharing data and other resources. Vaccine candidates that prove to be safe in initial studies will be tested in larger trials, and that process will begin in July, Reuters said.
Exclusive: The U.S. is planning a massive coronavirus vaccine testing effort involving more than 100,00 volunteers and half a dozen or so of the most promising vaccine candidates https://t.co/vtlBNpsQup https://t.co/vtlBNpsQup
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 22, 2020
“If you don’t see a safety problem, you just keep going,” said Dr Larry Corey, with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, who is helping design the trials.
Here’s the Guardian’s science editor on the long road ahead in the search for an effective vaccine:
Updated
Hello – Sam Levin in Los Angeles here, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day as we head into the long weekend.
Trump still hasn’t completed his annual physical six months after he started it, and the White House is declining to explain why, according to an NBC News report. Some are raising questions about the lack of a physical after the president has continued to assert that he is taking the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as protection against coronavirus despite federal regulators warning of potentially serious, even fatal, dangers.
The White House declined to explain why President Trump hasn’t completed an annual physical yet, despite questions this week over his use of a potentially dangerous drug after being exposed to an aide with coronavirus. Latest with @GeoffRBennett https://t.co/lUDyc2N2RE
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) May 22, 2020
In early March, when Trump was asked about his physical, he suggested he would complete it in the next three months, telling reporters, “I’m so busy, I can’t do it.”
A study out today showed that hydroxychloroquine has increased deaths in patients treated with it in hospitals around the world. More from the Guardian’s health editor:
Updated
Newsom details California reopening process
A report from our west coast office, on California governor Gavin Newsom’s reopening plans in light of Donald Trump’s demand to open houses of worship:
California has been approaching plans to reopen the state gingerly, but pressure is mounting as business owners, faith leaders and some county officials call on the governor to accelerate.
On Friday, speaking from a veteran’s home in Napa county, one that operated through a deadly influenza epidemic a century ago, Gavin Newsom said California was moving quickly but with diligence. By day’s end, he said, he expects to have approved plans for 45 of 58 counties to move further into phases of reopening.
Many sectors, including manufacturing, retail and restaurants have already reopened to various degrees. Soon, every sector will be given the green light, provided it can make good on safety protocols the new reality demands.
Churches and houses of worship are sure to remain a point of tension. Newsom said he and his team have been working with faith leaders to craft plans to welcome back parishioners, depending on church size and other factors.
But with California just days away from releasing that guidance, Trump muddied the water, deeming houses of worship “essential” and threatening to “override” governors who don’t approve.
This week, more than 1,200 pastors in California said they would resume in-person services this month in defiance of Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Even as case rates statewide appear to have stabilized, hospitals in Imperial county, in southern California, are stretching resources to cope with a surge in cases.
Last week, Newsom said, the county was using more than 70% of its ventilators. Plans are in motion to dispatch a 125-bed field hospital to help alleviate pressure, Newsom said.
Newsom appeared unmoved by a legal challenge to the state’s plan to move forward with mail-in ballots for the November election.
“We’re on firm legal ground. Vote by mail is not novel in the state of California, nor was it in the recent special election” said Newsom.
“Public health is a nonpartisan issue”.
Updated
Joe Biden has apologised for his comment earlier today that if African Americans “have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black”. At the same time, Donald Trump is seeking to press home Republican attacks on the matter.
“I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy,” Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said on a call with the US Black Chambers, an African-American business group. “I shouldn’t have been so cavalier.”
The president, meanwhile, retweeted Senator Tim Scott’s view that Biden’s comments “are the most arrogant and condescending thing I’ve heard in a very long time” and commended an African American Fox News host, Harris Faulkner, as “A GREAT AMERICAN”.
Faulkner said Biden’s comment was “more than just a little offensive, it is short sighted, it is a blind spot for this former vice-president. He should’ve got up immediately on whatever venue, microphone he had.”
She then read a statement from Black Voices for Trump. The statement was authored by Katrina Pierson, a Trump spokeswoman who spoke to reporters with Senator Scott earlier and according to the New York Times “grew defensive in response to questions about Mr Trump’s own history of racist remarks”.
The Times added:
I know the president and I know his heart and I know his intent,’ she said, accusing the news media of taking Mr Trump ‘out of context’.
At the White House earlier, Donald Trump cited “liquor stores and abortion clinics” as services some governors have deemed essential and allowed to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not right,” the president said, announcing his decision to “call houses of worship essential” and call upon governors to allow such places “to open right now”.
Trump does not like liquor. He is a teetotaler, and vocally so, and claims never to have taken a drink.
Trump does not like abortion, vocally so since he declared his run for the presidential nomination of a party committed to achieving its end.
Back in 2016, however, he wasn’t very vocal when a New York Times columnist asked if any woman he had been involved with had ever had an abortion.
“Such an interesting question,” Trump told Maureen Dowd. “So what’s your next question?”
There’s also the perennial question of just how religious Trump is, and what support for him says about evangelical Christians in particular. Here’s John S Gardner’s review of a recent attempt to make the Christian case for Trump:
Yahoo News and YouGov are out with a startling poll, which among its findings says 44% of Republicans believe Microsoft founder Bill Gates “is plotting to use a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign as a pretext to implant microchips in billions of people and monitor their movements”.
Gates has given $300m to fund efforts to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 100,000 people in the US and nearly 336,000 worldwide. Earlier this month he participated in a global summit which the Trump administration skipped.
The idea that Gates is pushing vaccine efforts out of some sinister, world-dominating motive is actually a conspiracy theory too outlandish even for the Trump administration and Fox News, which have not pushed it. (Trump supporters Diamond and Silk did go there in April, on their own live stream, after their last Fox Nation show.)
To some Americans, that doesn’t seem to matter. Among those who say their primary source of news is Fox News, the new poll says, the figure for believing the Gates conspiracy theory is 50%.
The Yahoo/YouGov poll found widespread concern about the spread of misinformation amid the coronavirus pandemic. A majority of Democrats blamed the Trump administration while Republicans blamed the mainstream media.
The tendency to believe and spread conspiracy theories is “more widespread on the right”, Yahoo reported, “although liberals also believe some false narratives (including that Covid-19 deaths have already surged in states that were quick to reopen)”.
Joe Biden has apologized for his comments earlier on Friday.
JUST IN: In a call with Black business leaders, @JoeBiden apologizes for his AM comments to @cthagod: "
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) May 22, 2020
“I should not have been so cavalier. I've never, never, ever taken the African American community for granted." (more)
Christian leaders in several states were already making plans to open to congregants on the week of Pentecost, May 31, despite restrictions in those states, and evidence of heightened risks of spreading Covid-19
They, and others, are likely to be emboldened President Trump’s remarks on Friday about opening “essential” houses of worship. The Associated Press reports:
The president suggested on Thursday that friction over the issue was more common in states run by Democrats because “churches are not being treated with respect” by many of their governors.
One of those Democrats, California governor Gavin Newsom, was warned this week by Trump’s Justice Department that the state’s phased-in plan to restart economic activity puts an “unfair burden” on worship by not permitting churches to open earlier in the process.
More than 1,200 California pastors are planning to restart worship on May 31 despite Newsom’s stay-at-home orders, which he has said would likely allow for religious gatherings within weeks.
In Florida, Rodney Howard-Browne - arrested in March for holding a large in-person service at his church, charges that were later dropped - is preparing to reopen with an outdoor service on Pentecost.
Catholic and Lutheran churches in Minnesota, meanwhile, have notified that state’s Democratic governor that they plan to resume Mass this week in advance of the holiday, in defiance of his order.
And an evangelical pastor who’s been a key Trump backer, Jack Graham, plans to reopen his Texas megachurch on Pentecost weekend.
But while Pentecost promises to escalate the number of churches seeking to reopen, many other houses of worship are still expecting to wait until June or beyond to resume in-person services with restrictions aimed at protecting public health.
Outbreak of coronavirus from church service
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bought up a case just this week about the risks of holding religious services in person.
The CDC published an example in a weekly report, which centers around an Arkansas church where the pastor and his wife had Covid-19.
According to the report, the local ABC station said, the couple attended church-related events from March 6 through March 8, developing symptoms of illness just a few days following the events. ABC further reported that:
In total, 92 people attended the church events leading to 35 people later being confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. Three of the attendees at these events died. The investigation states those who tested positive ranged from under 18 years of age to over 65 with the majority being between 19 to 64-years-old.
In addition, another 26 people were confirmed to have contracted coronavirus among members in the community who had contact with those who attended church events. Following reports members of the church were experiencing symptoms, the pastor closed the church indefinitely.
Trouble continues for Joe Biden over his remarks to radio host Charlamagne tha God this morning.
The Democratic presumptive nominee said that “if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black”.
Michigan Republican and candidate for Senate John James has put out a furious tweet.
Vice President @JoeBiden ‘s latest quote is both pathetic & hurtful. Challenging millions on their blackness is condescending. The GOP was started to oppose slavery. I have the right to think and vote for myself along with all other Americans, including black Americans. pic.twitter.com/RRURX1eMbY
— John James (@JohnJamesMI) May 22, 2020
Here’s the clip.
The FBI said on Friday that the agency’s director Christopher Wray had ordered an internal review into possible misconduct in the investigation of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn.
This follows the Justice Department’s controversial decision earlier this month to move to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Judge Emmet Sullivan, however, has put a hold on attorney general William Barr’s attempt to drop the case against Flynn, and appointed a retired judge, John Gleeson, to argue against the motion to dismiss.
The FBI review announced on Friday will examine whether any employees engaged in misconduct during the course of the investigation and evaluate whether any improvements need to be made, the bureau said.
The move to drop the case was condemned by almost 2,000 former justice department figures.
Returning to White House coronavirus task force resource coordinator Deborah Birx’s lengthy presentation for a moment.
She mentioned that people shouldn’t go to religious services if they are experiencing symptoms of coronavirus.
But she and all the other experts have said repeatedly that people can be asymptomatic while still having coronavirus and be shedding the virus, potentially infecting people, for days without realizing it.
"That's up to the governors"
In follow-up Q & A with White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, she was asked several times by different reporters what authority the president has to “override the governors” and she skirted round it in various ways but ended up admitting that where it comes to lifting restrictions on houses of worship opening for services “that’s up to the governors”.
Some churches are defying governors’ orders not to hold in-person services, and this was asked about.
McEnany said Trump “wants to see all these churches open.”
Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles have worrying coronavirus levels
White House coronavirus task force resource coordinator Deborah Birx is giving a detailed presentation in the press briefing room.
She said she is concerned about persistent high numbers of cases in some cities that have had lasting restrictions on residents, namely Washington, DC, Chicago and LA.
Birx just warned people to wear masks and observe social distancing over the holiday weekend.
“Play tennis with masks on,” she said. “Play golf with marked balls.”
She told Americans to keep distance and think “that’s your space and you need to protect it.”
She then says: “I know you can do it,” as if we’re all elementary school children. But most folks can probably attest to having seen people acting frighteningly irresponsibly out in public, or just without thinking.
Whether it’s the mask around the mouth but not nose, or walking around the store with a mask under the chin, like a useless little head hammock, etc, etc, and that’s even without all the people getting into violent incidents over social distancing, mask wearing and all that. So. Drs Birx and Fauci wish you a safe Memorial Day weekend.
Speculating here that the president will hit the links.
Updated
Here’s one of the other points Donald Trump just made in his exceedingly short address to the press.
“Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics essential, but have left out churches ... it’s not right. So I am correcting this injustice and am calling houses of worship essential,” the president said.
Updated
Donald Trump says “America needs more prayer, not less.”
The president just demanded places of worship reopen for in-person services and he talked about guidelines being issued for “communities of faith”.
He wants them open “for this weekend”. Called upon governors to life quarantine restrictions relating to religious gathering places.
“If they do not do it I will override the governors,” he said.
He then turned on his heel and left the White House press briefing room without taking any questions.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany then brought up Deborah Birx, response coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, to the podium for an expert briefing.
President demands houses of worship reopen
Press briefing with Donald Trump begins.
The president said: “Churches and mosques are places that provide essential services …I call upon governors to open houses of worship right now … these are places that hold our society together. People are demanding to go to church, to synagogue, to the mosque.”
Updated
Meanwhile, someone jumped the fence at the White House.
BREAKING: A man jumped a White House barrier on Pennsylvania Ave just in front of the White House entrance a short time ago. @SecretService officers were quick to react. Shot this video on my iPhone. @CBSNews video. pic.twitter.com/FyhrxTQtm8
— Fin Gomez (@finnygo) May 22, 2020
We still await the surprise press conference with the president that the White House said would begin at 1pm ET.
Donald Trump may want to talk about new guidelines for opening churches in the US for in-person services, which he brought up yesterday during his visit to Michigan.
He will no doubt be asked about the latest, large study of hydroxychloroquine, which he has been taking as a prophylactic against Covid-19 after at least two staffers at the White House tested positive for the disease. This despite his own federal regulators strongly advising against and speaking about the dangers for non-Covid use.
A new study published in the Lancet showed it has increased deaths in patients treated with it for Covid-19 in hospitals around the world.
The major study of the way hydroxychloroquine and its older version, chloroquine, have been used on six continents – without clinical trials – reveals a sobering picture.
Scientists said the results meant the drug should no longer be given to Covid-19 patients except in proper research settings.
Yesterday World Health Organization said hydroxychloroquine should not be taken for coronavirus outside of clinical trials.
Donald Trump is about to hold a briefing at the White House.
This was not originally scheduled. So we’ll see what the president has to say. Coronavirus deaths just passed the 95,000 mark in the US.
Today so far
Joanna Walters will be taking over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Dr Anthony Fauci urged Americans to take precautions when celebrating Memorial Day this weekend. “Go out, wear a mask. Stay six feet away from anyone you see,” Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said last night.
- Trump said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would soon release guidance on reopening churches. The CDC and the White House have reportedly clashed over the issue, with administration officials pushing to reopen churches with no restrictions despite concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
- Joe Biden was criticized for saying African American voters were not actually black if they were still deciding between him and Trump. “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black” Biden said in an interview with “The Breakfast Club.” The comment was criticized as “racist essentialism.”
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Senator Tim Scott slammed Joe Biden’s comment about black voters as “arrogant” and “condescending” in an interview with Fox Business.
Joe Biden’s comments are the most arrogant and condescending thing I’ve heard in a very long time. I am offended, but not surprised. pic.twitter.com/aXiVF6oAwc
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) May 22, 2020
Biden said in an interview released earlier today, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
Scott, the only African American Republican in the Senate, said in response, “Who in the heck does he think he is? That is the most arrogant, outrageous comment I’ve heard in a very long time, and I take offense to that.”
The South Carolina senator noted that 1.3 million African Americans voted for Trump in 2016, and he said the president had reversed some of the damage of the 1994 crime bill, which Biden helped write.
Similar to his other recent speeches, Trump’s remarks at the White House, which were meant to focus on honoring American veterans, turned overtly political as the president lashed out against Democrats.
Trump criticized Joe Biden for calling his response to coronavirus “xenophobic” and said Nancy Pelosi was “dancing in the streets of Chinatown” as coronavirus started to spread across the country.
“These are sick people,” the president said before returning to the intended topic of his speech.
"These people are sick. Anyway ... " -- Trump's Memorial Day speech has now devolved into lies about Nancy Pelosi pic.twitter.com/K0ET6wBfQx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 22, 2020
The event ended with a surreal scene at the White House, with motorcyclists driving their bikes around the South Lawn while Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” played over speakers.
Riding on the White House grounds. pic.twitter.com/doJypcp3Pw
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) May 22, 2020
The scene made the Memorial Day event feel more like a Trump campaign rally, and some commentators were quick to say the display was inappropriate as the country’s coronavirus death toll approaches 100,000.
Trump says CDC to soon release guidance on reopening churches
Trump said he expected the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to soon release guidance on reopening churches and other places of worship.
Speaking during a White House event honoring American veterans, the president said the agency unveil a “strong recommendation” on reopening churches. “We’re going to make that essential,” Trump said.
The CDC and the White House have reportedly clashed over guidance to reopen churches, with Trump administration officials resisting any limitations on places of worship.
The CDC published a report earlier this week showing that an Arkansas church had been connected to dozens of coronavirus cases and three coronavirus deaths, raising concerns about relaxing restrictions on places of worship.
Updated
Days after CNN raised questions about Tara Reade’s educational background, a spokesperson for Antioch University confirmed to the New York Times that she had not received a degree from the school.
Defense lawyers in California are now reviewing cases in which Reade, who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, served as an expert witness on domestic violence, claiming she misrepesented her educational credentials in major cases.
The Times has more on that:
Then known as Alexandra McCabe, Ms. Reade testified as a government witness in Monterey County courts for nearly a decade, describing herself as an expert in the dynamics of domestic violence who had counseled hundreds of victims.
But lawyers who had faced off against her in court began raising questions about the legitimacy of her testimony, and the verdicts that followed, after news reports this week that Antioch University had disputed her claim of receiving a bachelor’s degree from its Seattle campus.
The public defender’s office in Monterey County has begun scrutinizing cases involving Ms. Reade and compiling a list of clients who may have been affected by her testimony, according to Jeremy Dzubay, an assistant public defender in the office.
Roland Soltesz, a criminal defense lawyer, says he believes Ms. Reade’s testimony made a significant difference in the outcome of the 2018 trial of his client Victoria Ramirez. Both Ms. Ramirez and her co-defendant, Jennifer Vasquez, received life sentences for attempted murder, arson and armed robbery.
The lawyer representing Tara Reade, who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, has dropped her as a client.
“Our decision, made on May 20, is by no means a reflection on whether then-Senator Biden sexually assaulted Ms. Reade,” Douglas H. Wigdor said in a statement.
“On that point, our view — which is the same view held by the majority of Americans, according to a Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll — has not changed.” Biden has denied the accusation.
Wigdor said his decision was made on Wednesday, a day after CNN published a story raising questions about Reade’s background and her past statements.
Defense lawyers in California said yesterday that they were reviewing criminal cases in which Reade has served as an expert witness on domestic violence, out of concern that she had misrepresented her educational credentials in court.
House intelligence committe chairman Adam Schiff’s request to declassify transcripts between Michael Flynn and the former Russian ambassador to the US comes as the justice department has moved to drop its criminal case against Flynn.
The former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017, but Trump and his allies have complained Flynn was unfairly targeted by the bureau.
The justice department moved to drop the case earlier this month, sparking criticism that the president was politicizing the department. The federal judge overseeing the case is currently trying to determine how to move forward, considering Flynn was set to be sentenced.
Schiff’s request also comes a day after Republican congressman John Ratcliffe was confirmed as the next director of national intelligence in a party-line Senate vote.
Schiff asks outgoing DNI to declassify Flynn transcipts
House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff is asking the ourgoing director of national intelligence, Ric Grenell, to declassify transcripts of calls between former national security adviser Michael Flynn and the former Russian ambassador to the US.
It’s clear the Administration is selectively declassifying information for purely political purposes, an abuse of the classification system.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 22, 2020
We need to ensure a transparent and complete public record free of political manipulation.
It’s time to declassify any Flynn transcripts: pic.twitter.com/Uhfl166Fyh
Schiff is also asking Grenell to share reports related to his decision to release a list of Obama administration officials who requested to have Flynn unmasked in intelligence reports about his contact with Russian officials.
The California Democrat said Grenell’s decision to release the names was a “transparent political act” used to “insinuate wrongdoing by officials who acted appropriately in requesting the identity of masked US persons.”
Updated
Meanwhile, the president is once again complaining about his coverage on Fox News and expressing a fondness for the late Roger Ailes, the network’s late former CEO who was pushed out over allegations of sexual harassment.
Why doesn’t @FoxNews put up the CNBC POLL or the (believe it or not!) @CNN Poll? Hope Roger A is looking down and watching what has happened to this once beautiful creation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 22, 2020
“Hope Roger A is looking down and watching what has happened to this once beautiful creation!” the president tweeted.
Trump similarly tweeted earlier this week that he missed Ailes and was “looking for a new outlet” after Fox News host Neil Cavuto expressed alarm about the president taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus despite FDA warnings about using the drug outside a hospital setting.
A new study shows that 96,000 coronavirus patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine saw a higher death rate and were at a higher risk of developing heart complications.
Black Voices for Trump, an advisory board to the president’s reelection campaign, released a statement condemning Joe Biden’s comments this morning.
“Biden has a history of racial condescension and today he once again proved what a growing number of Black Americans and I have always known: Joe Biden does not deserve our votes,” said senior campaign adviser Katrina Pierson.
Biden has previously been criticized for some of his comments on race, such as when he reminisced about the former “civility” of the Senate by recalling his work with two senators who opposed racial integration.
Joe Biden was immediately criticized for saying, “‘If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
Republican senator Tim Scott, who is black, noted the number of African Americans who voted for Trump in 2016 and said Democrats were taking the black community for granted.
1.3 million black Americans already voted for Trump in 2016. This morning, Joe Biden told every single one of us we “ain’t black.” I’d say I’m surprised, but it’s sadly par for the course for Democrats to take the black community for granted and brow beat those that don’t agree.
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) May 22, 2020
Other Twitter users said Biden should be reminded that race does not determine political identity.
Absolute ignorance here from Joe Biden... my blackness doesn't have anything to do with my ideology. What a fool. https://t.co/qwr46bYb30
— ConservativeBlackMan 🇯🇲🇺🇸 (@NevilleD35) May 22, 2020
A senior adviser to the Trump campaign compared the moment to Hillary Clinton describing some of her Republican rival’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables” in 2016.
This is @JoeBiden version of calling Blacks who support Trump “deplorables”. https://t.co/fxZXk5FVbA
— Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) May 22, 2020
Biden: '‘If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black’
Joe Biden has made a comment that he will almost certainly have to walk back, a situation the presumptive Democratic nominee finds himself in fairly often.
The former vice president did an interview with Charlamagne tha God, a co-host of the radio show “The Breakfast Club.” Charlamagne had pressed Biden on a number of issues, including the legalization of marijuana and his choice of running mate.
After a campaign aide interjected to say Biden had to wrap it up, Charlamagne said, “Listen, you’ve got to come see us when you come to New York, VP Biden. It’s a long way until November. We’ve got more questions.”
“You’ve got more questions?” Biden replied. “Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
“It don’t have nothing to do with Trump,” Charlamagne protested. “It has to do with the fact -- I want something for my community.”
“Take a look at my record, man!” Biden said, before claiming his decades-long record as a senator and vice president was “second to none.”
Biden’s comments immediately attracted a lot of criticism on social media, and the Trump campaign jumped to capitalize on the gaffe.
This is disgusting.
— Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 & get the APP (@TrumpWarRoom) May 22, 2020
Joe Biden: "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't Black." pic.twitter.com/UvYZTjcPqZ
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This is Joan Greve, taking over for Jo Walters.
Another study has emerged indicating hydroxychloroquine is not an effective coronavirus treatment, which will surely complicate Trump’s efforts to promote the anti-malaria drug.
According to the study published in the medical journal the Lancet, 96,000 coronavirus patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine saw a significantly higher death rate and were more likely to experience heart complications.
“It’s one thing not to have benefit, but this shows distinct harm,” cardiologist Eric Topol told the Washington Post. “If there was ever hope for this drug, this is the death of it.”
Trump has touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential “game changer,” and he announced this week that he has been using the drug to prevent coronavirus, sparking widespread alarm about the US president taking an untested drug. He has said he will finish taking the drug in the next couple of days.
The Guardian’s Amy Walker reports:
Pictures of Donald Trump wearing a face mask while on a visit in Michigan have emerged.
In a video published by Sky News, the US president can be seen wearing a navy blue mask.
The images emerged after a state attorney general called Trump a “petulant child” because he allegedly refused to wear the covering during a tour of a plant belonging to the Ford car company.
President Trump wears a mask during his tour of the Ford Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where ventilators, masks and other medical supplies are being manufactured. https://t.co/UCqBVUEuBZ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 22, 2020
📷 Anonymous pic.twitter.com/eiIFVNPVIh
Surrounded by Ford executives who were wearing masks, Trump told reporters he had put one on earlier in the visit.
“I had one on before. I wore one in the back area. I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,” he said.
Experts urge caution as millions head out for first holiday weekend of summer season
Good morning, US live blog readers, welcome to another vigorous day of politics and coronavirus news, with all the up-to-the-minute developments covered here. Here’s is what’s foremost today so far:
- America’s top public health expert Anthony Fauci, the head of the White House coronavirus task force, urges caution as millions head out of doors for the Memorial Day weekend, the first weekend that signals the start of the summer holiday season. All 50 states have reopened for business in some fashion – some much more restricted than others – and the public is heading to the beaches, bars and bowling alleys. There is potential for chaos and risk of infection. Fauci said last night: “Go out, wear a mask. Stay six feet away from anyone you see.” Not everyone will be taking that advice and some local leaders are not echoing that message. Donald Trump last night ordered flags to fly at half staff on federal buildings and national monuments over the weekend, to mark the deaths from coronavirus and to honor America’s military dead.
- Donald Trump hit out last night at the attorney general of Michigan, Dana Nessel, after she severely criticized his refusal to don a mask for the cameras at the Ford factory he visited in the state yesterday, as an example to others and to comply with Michigan law, even if he, as he said, had tested negative for coronavirus that morning. She called him a “petulant child”, he called her a “wacky do nothing”, so that’s all useful stuff. Pictures did emerge, as the president predicted they would, of him wearing a mask behind the scenes before he stepped in front of the assembled media and told them he didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.
- Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer had asked the president to lower the flags to mark the grim milestone of 100,000 US deaths from coronavirus, which will be reached any day now. Trump chose his own way of doing it. The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US has now surpassed 1.57m and the death toll has surpassed 94,000.
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The US has called on the World Health Organization (WHO) today to begin work immediately on investigating the source of the coronavirus, as well as its own handling of the response to the pandemic.
Brett Giroir, US Assistant Secretary for Health, told the WHO’s executive board in a written statement: “There is no time to waste to begin on the reforms needed to ensure such a pandemic never happens again.”
An independent, comprehensive review of the WHO-led global response – as agreed in a resolution adopted by the WHO’s annual ministerial assembly on Tuesday – should seek “complete and transparent understanding of the source, timeline of events, and decision-making process for the WHO’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic”, he said.
- White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has scheduled a press briefing at 2pm ET.
