As the number of US coronavirus cases climbs above 1 million and the nation's death toll surpasses deaths from the Vietnam War, Donald Trump claims the country is "very close" to testing 5 million people daily, as he continues to pressure states and local governments to begin "reopening" as the economy flounders.
The president also suggested during a briefing on Tuesday that states with financial deficits could be forced to give undocumented people in custody over to federal immigration authorities if they want financial relief in the wake of the public health crisis.
He said: "We're not looking to recover 25 years of bad management and to give them the money they lost. That's unfair to other states. If it's Covid-related I guess we can talk about it, but we'd want certain things also, including sanctuary city adjustments. We have too many people in sanctuary cities."
His administration has frequently retaliated against states with "sanctuary" policies that limit cooperation with federal enforcement agencies like ICE. In a reversal just days before the outbreak, the Justice Department was given permission in US District Court to withhold funding from New York and seven other states over their policies.
The president has also denied responsibility for Americans ingesting disinfectants after Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had received calls asking about it as a weapon against coronavirus in the wake of the president suggesting it could be an effective remedy during a briefing last week.
His claims follow a turbulent few days at the White House after he suggested Americans could inject disinfectant as a potential cure, with aides reportedly pitching an end to the daily coronavirus briefing format to prevent the president from damaging his re-election chances. He also said he the briefings were no longer worth it, though he has held two press conferences since making that statement on Twitter.
Meanwhile the president has deleted several tweets attacking the media over coverage of the federal response to the crisis after they were met with criticism and mockery, with CNN anchor Jake Tapper describing his posting of a disturbing deepfake video of Joe Biden as “indecent and obscene”.
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Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in the US and the Donald Trump administration's response to it.
Trump denies responsibility for people ingesting disinfectants
Donald Trump has denied responsibility for Americans ingesting disinfectants after Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had received calls asking about it as a weapon against coronavirus in the wake of the president suggesting it could be an effective remedy during a briefing last week.
The president said he could not imagine where the public got the idea from when asked about it last night by reporter Brian Karem, a brazen response even for him.
As you will no doubt recall, Trump tasked Dr Deborah Birx, the coronavirus task force's co-ordinator, with investigating the impact consuming toxic materials might have on the virus during Thursday’s White House press briefing before claiming the following day he was raising the matter “sarcastically” to test the reaction of reporters he believes to be biased against him.
Here's John T Bennett's report.
Donald Trump has denied responsibility for Americans ingesting disinfectants after Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had received calls asking about it as a weapon against coronavirus in the wake of the president suggesting it could be an effective remedy during a briefing last week.
The president said he could not imagine where the public got the idea from when asked about it last night by reporter Brian Karem, a brazen response even for him.
As you will no doubt recall, Trump tasked Dr Deborah Birx, the coronavirus task force's co-ordinator, with investigating the impact consuming toxic materials might have on the virus during Thursday’s White House press briefing before claiming the following day he was raising the matter “sarcastically” to test the reaction of reporters he believes to be biased against him.
Here's John T Bennett's report.
President deletes angry anti-media tweets as use of Joe Biden deepfake attacked as 'indecent and obscene'
Trump has meanwhile deleted several angry, misspelled tweets attacking the media over its negative coverage of the federal response to the crisis after they were met with criticism and mockery, with CNN anchor Jake Tapper describing his posting of a deepfake video of Joe Biden as “indecent and obscene”.
Clearly frustrated with being cooped up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and not able to hit the links, the president spent his weekend pushing conspiracy theories (see that John Cardillo retweet below) and taking bad press VERY personally.
If you're going to suggest people poison themselves with Toilet Duck though, you really ought to expect some blowback.
Here's the video in question (check out that user name, currently live on the president's Twitter page)...
...and here's Tapper and Dana Bash chewing over the weekend's controversies.
Trump has meanwhile deleted several angry, misspelled tweets attacking the media over its negative coverage of the federal response to the crisis after they were met with criticism and mockery, with CNN anchor Jake Tapper describing his posting of a deepfake video of Joe Biden as “indecent and obscene”.
Clearly frustrated with being cooped up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and not able to hit the links, the president spent his weekend pushing conspiracy theories (see that John Cardillo retweet below) and taking bad press VERY personally.
If you're going to suggest people poison themselves with Toilet Duck though, you really ought to expect some blowback.
Here's the video in question (check out that user name, currently live on the president's Twitter page)...
...and here's Tapper and Dana Bash chewing over the weekend's controversies.
John T Bennett has this on "hambergers" and "Noble Prizes".
Trump announces new coronavirus testing plan as states begin to reopen
In his latest White House press conference on Covid-19 - which went ahead last night despite his gripes, as we've already seen - the president announced a new plan to roll out national testing for the virus as several key states commenced their gradual reopening from lockdown.
"Testing is not going to be a problem," he said in the Rose Garden.
He also came out with a few classic Trumpisms during the session, saying that state governors are "as thrilled as they can be" with the supply of testing kits and ventilators "considering the fact that there has been so much unnecessary death in this country".
Yikes, you said it Don. Good thing those 55,000 aren't on you eh?
After blaming China for the outbreak, he added the important caveat "Nobody is blaming anyone here" before lying that "Nancy Pelosi was dancing in the streets of Chinatown" in February when she promoted the San Francisco district in her constituency after it was hit by a wave of right-wing Sinophobia.
He also got sandbagged with an absolute zinger of a question from Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine: "If a president loses more Americans in six weeks than died in the Vietnam War, does he deserve to be re-elected?"
"I think we've done a great job. I will say this, one person is too many."
The president continues to rely on a pandemic forecast that predicted 1.5m to 2.2m deaths in the US in a worst-case scenario, without efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus through social distancing.
Here's our report.
In his latest White House press conference on Covid-19 - which went ahead last night despite his gripes, as we've already seen - the president announced a new plan to roll out national testing for the virus as several key states commenced their gradual reopening from lockdown.
"Testing is not going to be a problem," he said in the Rose Garden.
He also came out with a few classic Trumpisms during the session, saying that state governors are "as thrilled as they can be" with the supply of testing kits and ventilators "considering the fact that there has been so much unnecessary death in this country".
Yikes, you said it Don. Good thing those 55,000 aren't on you eh?
After blaming China for the outbreak, he added the important caveat "Nobody is blaming anyone here" before lying that "Nancy Pelosi was dancing in the streets of Chinatown" in February when she promoted the San Francisco district in her constituency after it was hit by a wave of right-wing Sinophobia.
He also got sandbagged with an absolute zinger of a question from Olivia Nuzzi of New York magazine: "If a president loses more Americans in six weeks than died in the Vietnam War, does he deserve to be re-elected?"
Trump conceded that the nation has lost a lot of people but added: "If you look at what original projections were - 2.2m - we're probably heading to 60,000-70,000. It's far too many. One person is too many for this. And I think we've made a lot of really good decisions. The big decision was closing the border or doing the ban, people coming in from China.
"I think we've done a great job. I will say this, one person is too many."
The president continues to rely on a pandemic forecast that predicted 1.5m to 2.2m deaths in the US in a worst-case scenario, without efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus through social distancing.
Here's our report.
President accused of exploiting coronavirus for political gain via stimulus cheques
Richard Hall has this on accusations Trump has exploited the mailing out of $1,200 (£958) stimulus cheques to 70m hard-up Americans households by turning it into an opportunity for electioneering and self-promotion.
Does rather sound like something he would do, doesn't it?
President urging state governors to reopen schools as 'young people seem to be doing well'
Trump also said yesterday that states should "seriously consider" reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall.
Trump also said yesterday that states should "seriously consider" reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall.
Trump made the comments on Monday in a call with state governors discussing how to reopen their economies, among other topics. No one on the call responded to the suggestion, according to The Associated Press, which obtained a recording of it.
Trump made the comments as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked to finalise guidelines for reopening the economy. For schools, that included putting students' desks six feet apart, serving meals in the classroom instead of the cafeteria and closing playgrounds.
Reopening schools is considered key to getting the economy moving again. Without a safe place for their kids, many parents would have difficulty returning to work.
Reopening schools is considered key to getting the economy moving again. Without a safe place for their kids, many parents would have difficulty returning to work.
But some education officials say opening schools quickly would bring major risk and little reward, especially since the end of the school year is approaching.
Jared Kushner says hardline border policies vindicated by pandemic
The president's son-in-law has claimed the coronavirus pandemic has “vindicated” Trump‘s "zero tolerance" border policies.
The senior adviser and nepotism beneficiary, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told Fox News’s The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton that political opponents would have a difficult time now attacking the president’s perspective on border security.
“I think the campaign platform that President Trump ran on in 2016 – which was basically ‘you have to secure your borders and you have to control your own manufacturing as a national security issue’ - I think those have been totally vindicated positions from the virus and I doubt it will be easy for people to argue against them in the future,” Kushner said.
Danielle Zoellner has this report.
The president's son-in-law has claimed the coronavirus pandemic has “vindicated” Trump‘s "zero tolerance" border policies.
The senior adviser and nepotism beneficiary, who is also a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told Fox News’s The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton that political opponents would have a difficult time now attacking the president’s perspective on border security.
“I think the campaign platform that President Trump ran on in 2016 – which was basically ‘you have to secure your borders and you have to control your own manufacturing as a national security issue’ - I think those have been totally vindicated positions from the virus and I doubt it will be easy for people to argue against them in the future,” Kushner said.
Danielle Zoellner has this report.
Bill Barr tells prosecutors to be 'on the lookout' for pandemic restrictions that violate Constitution
Trump's attorney general has written to US attorneys to warn them to keep an eagle eye out for the imposition of "excessive" lockdown measures, a gesture that finds him seemingly siding with the right-wing "Operation Gridlock" protesters who have broken quarantine rules across the country to take to the streets and protest for their right to return to work, whatever the risk of spreading Covid-19.
Trump's attorney general has written to US attorneys to warn them to keep an eagle eye out for the imposition of "excessive" lockdown measures, a gesture that finds him seemingly siding with the right-wing "Operation Gridlock" protesters who have broken quarantine rules across the country to take to the streets and protest for their right to return to work, whatever the risk of spreading Covid-19.
Speaking of which, I wonder what those zany characters have been up to in recent days...
Oh.
'Shock jock' Howard Stern backs Joe Biden
The Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting has picked up more key endorsements in recent days, notably House speaker Nancy Pelosi and progressive Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
But, while those might have been expected, provocative radio personality Howard Stern - who once made a specialty of wheedling "locker room talk" out of Trump - is arguably the greater coup.
Richard Hall has more on this one.
The Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting has picked up more key endorsements in recent days, notably House speaker Nancy Pelosi and progressive Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
But, while those might have been expected, provocative radio personality Howard Stern - who once made a specialty of wheedling "locker room talk" out of Trump - is arguably the greater coup.
Richard Hall has more on this one.
Biden leads Trump by 10 points in new poll with six months until US election
In more good news for Diamond Joe, he's surging ahead in the polls - if the new Suffolk University/USA Today survey is anything to go by.
Andrew Naughtie has this one.
In more good news for Diamond Joe, he's surging ahead in the polls - if the new Suffolk University/USA Today survey is anything to go by.
Andrew Naughtie has this one.
Andrew Cuomo hits back at Trump over gripe about taxpayers having to bail out blue states
The New York governor was not at all happy about this Trump tweet over the weekend...
Cuomo responded to the dig at his Illinois counterpart JB Pritzker during his latest press briefing yesterday.
"If you want to go to who’s getting bailed out and who paid what, nobody would be bailing out New York state,” he said, calling his state the “number one giver”, also listing New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut as generous donors.
“Nobody puts more into the pot than the state of New York,” he added, before reeling off a list of "taker states" that included Kentucky, which is appropriate as it was local senator Mitch McConnell who started this debate last week when he suggested struggling states should apply for bankruptcy rather than appeal for bailouts from central government.
Governor Cuomo said he found the Senate majority leader's comments "repugnant" and continued: "This is not the time to be talking about dollars and cents among members of a community who are trying to be mutually supportive and help each other. This is not the time to be saying, ‘Well, you put in a dollar more than I did,’ or ‘I put in $5 more than you did.’”
The New York governor was not at all happy about this Trump tweet over the weekend...
Cuomo responded to the dig at his Illinois counterpart JB Pritzker during his latest press briefing yesterday.
"If you want to go to who’s getting bailed out and who paid what, nobody would be bailing out New York state,” he said, calling his state the “number one giver”, also listing New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut as generous donors.
“Nobody puts more into the pot than the state of New York,” he added, before reeling off a list of "taker states" that included Kentucky, which is appropriate as it was local senator Mitch McConnell who started this debate last week when he suggested struggling states should apply for bankruptcy rather than appeal for bailouts from central government.
Governor Cuomo said he found the Senate majority leader's comments "repugnant" and continued: "This is not the time to be talking about dollars and cents among members of a community who are trying to be mutually supportive and help each other. This is not the time to be saying, ‘Well, you put in a dollar more than I did,’ or ‘I put in $5 more than you did.’”
'She was dancing in the streets in Chinatown'
Gino Spocchia has this debunking of Trump's latest outrageous lie about House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He's confusing her with Motown legend Martha Reeves isn't he?
A banger in any event.
Gino Spocchia has this debunking of Trump's latest outrageous lie about House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He's confusing her with Motown legend Martha Reeves isn't he?
A banger in any event.
Al Gore on Trump: ‘An irresponsible, incompetent, and disgraceful performance’
The former vice president and climate activist was interviewed by MSNBC's Chris Hayes last night and did not mince his words when offering an assessment of the president's perfomance throughout the coronavirus.
“He has engaged in a kind of magical thinking. He’s pushed dangerous and potentially deadly snake oil-type remedies. He’s lashed out at people who have been asking legitimate questions and who have pleaded with him to try to mobilise the federal government’s resources.”
He was just getting started there.
Also offering a stinging critique of Trump yesterday was the same network's anchor Nicolle Wallace, who said "there is no thought process, there is no strategy" behind his handling of White House briefing on the crisis.
Here's Andrew Naughtie on Gore.
The former vice president and climate activist was interviewed by MSNBC's Chris Hayes last night and did not mince his words when offering an assessment of the president's perfomance throughout the coronavirus.
“He has ignored repeated warnings, news reports this evening showing yet more warnings that he ignored. He ignored the science, as he has done with the climate crisis as well," Gore began.
“He has engaged in a kind of magical thinking. He’s pushed dangerous and potentially deadly snake oil-type remedies. He’s lashed out at people who have been asking legitimate questions and who have pleaded with him to try to mobilise the federal government’s resources.”
He was just getting started there.
Also offering a stinging critique of Trump yesterday was the same network's anchor Nicolle Wallace, who said "there is no thought process, there is no strategy" behind his handling of White House briefing on the crisis.
Here's Andrew Naughtie on Gore.
Disinfectant, methanol and UV rays: The dangerous coronavirus ‘remedies’ touted worldwide
For Indy Premium, Jane Dalton has been tracking down the sources of the widely irresponsible and unfounded Covid-19 quackeries touted by Trump and other right-wing doofuses, from social media all the way to the Kremlin.
For Indy Premium, Jane Dalton has been tracking down the sources of the widely irresponsible and unfounded Covid-19 quackeries touted by Trump and other right-wing doofuses, from social media all the way to the Kremlin.
President again claims US doing more testing than any other country in latest diatribe against media
Trump's Twitter output this morning has far only amounted to this latest complaint of hurt feelings and a suprising retweet for grocery news site The Counter intended to reassure the country it is not running out of meat for its "hambergers".
Trump's Twitter output this morning has far only amounted to this latest complaint of hurt feelings and a suprising retweet for grocery news site The Counter intended to reassure the country it is not running out of meat for its "hambergers".
Trump caught on camera bizarrely muttering 'I love everybody!' during coronavirus briefing
Greg Evans has this for Indy100 on a weird hot mic moment from the president.
Trump sued for denying stimulus cheques to Americans married to immigrants
The president has already faced a heap of criticism over those dang stimulus cheques after delaying their dispatch in order to have his name added to them as a vanity gesture, no matter that doing so kept families hungry.
He's now facing a lawsuit, according to CBS, after an Illinois resident identified only as "John Doe" decided to sue him over the federal government's decision to decline sending them to US citizens married to immigrants without Social Security numbers.
The Internal Revenue Service (lRS) had ruled that only married couples who both hold valid Social Security numbers were entitled to receive the $1,200 (£958) payments.
The president has already faced a heap of criticism over those dang stimulus cheques after delaying their dispatch in order to have his name added to them as a vanity gesture, no matter that doing so kept families hungry.
He's now facing a lawsuit, according to CBS, after an Illinois resident identified only as "John Doe" decided to sue him over the federal government's decision to decline sending them to US citizens married to immigrants without Social Security numbers.
The Internal Revenue Service (lRS) had ruled that only married couples who both hold valid Social Security numbers were entitled to receive the $1,200 (£958) payments.
The suit alleges that the ban violates the Constitution and is a form of discrimination "based solely on whom he chose to marry."
Meanwhile, here's the man himself applauding Texas for re-emerging from lockdown.
Let's just hope none of this is dangerously premature.
Meanwhile, here's the man himself applauding Texas for re-emerging from lockdown.
Let's just hope none of this is dangerously premature.
Trump cheers Diamond and Silk after they are dropped by Fox
This would almost be rather sweet if they hadn't been canned for pushing dangerous coronavirus conspiracy theories to further their own brand.
This would almost be rather sweet if they hadn't been canned for pushing dangerous coronavirus conspiracy theories to further their own brand.
Trump slashes coronavirus research group funding and promotes conspiracy theory it sent money to Wuhan lab
The administration has slashed funding for a New York-based research group studying how various coronavirus strains spread from bats to people after it became linked to unfounded conspiracy theories seemingly supported by the president.
EcoHealth Alliance has received over $3.7m (£2.9m) in funding throughout the last five years to study the possibility of coronavirus transmissions between rodents and humans, research it said was “critical to preventing pandemics” in a statement.
Trump said “we will end that grant very quickly” at a White House press briefing earlier this month in response to a question from a Newsmax reporter, who inaccurately suggested that the entire $3.7m had actually been directed to a lab in Wuhan, China.
That lab is at the heart of unfounded allegations not supported by US intelligence agencies or leading health officials, which claim without evidence the Covid-19 outbreak began after somehow escaping the facility during a project. Some rumours claim the outbreak was the result of a mistake, while others say it was done on purpose; many scientists do not support either of those theories.
Instead, analysts have said the conspiracy theories are likely in part the result of a severe lack of transparency from China in the initial months of the pandemic. US agencies have launched probes to determine whether the lab was, in fact, conducting a coronavirus study and how that may have possibly impacted the ongoing pandemic, though officials have noted investigations remain inconclusive
Chris Riotta has more details.
New York City mayor confronted after breaking stay-at-home rules
Bill de Blasio caused a commotion on Saturday after he was spotted walking with his wife (11 miles from their home) in Brookyln's overcrowded Prospect Park, setting a very bad example for the local residents he expects to follow his own social distancing guidelines.
Gino Spocchia has the story.
