The White House has pushed back on a Trump administration projection from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that would see the daily death toll increase to 3,000 per day by 1 June.
The latest projection, first obtained by The New York Times, was confirmed as authentic, but the White House has denied the veracity of the report despite the CDC's role in its drafting.
White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere claimed the report has not been vetted by the coronavirus task force and is "not reflective of any of the modelling done by the task force or data that the task force has analysed".
But an influential model that has been previously cited by the White House now predicts as many as 134,000 deaths by 4 August, nearly doubling a previous forecast. In its most recent modelling on 4 May, University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation attributed the spike to states beginning to relax quarantine measures and stay-at-home orders.
Donald Trump has amended his death toll prediction multiple times in recent weeks, from 50,000 to 70,000 than to "hopefully" under 100,000 deaths by August.
The president has started his Monday explosively on Twitter, attacking MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and suggesting that the host of Morning Joe be investigated for murder over a conspiracy theory dating back to his tenure as a congressman in 2001.
Mr Scarborough fired back, calling his message "extraordinarily cruel" and suggesting that vice president Mike Pence step in to "run things for a couple of weeks" during the pandemic.
The president also congratulated himself on the “great reviews” his administration had received for its response to the coronavirus.
Speaking during a virtual town hall with Fox News in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on Sunday night, the president trailed the possibility of a vaccine being developed “by the end of the year” and complained that he is “treated worse” than Honest Abe, who was, of course, assassinated in the aftermath of the Civil War.
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President pledges coronavirus vaccine and revises death toll projection
Donald Trump has pledged that a vaccine to tackle the coronavirus will be available to the US public “by the end of the year” and pushed for the reopening of the states from lockdown despite revising his projection for the country’s death toll to as high as 100,000.
Speaking during a virtual town hall with Fox News in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, the president also said that his government was putting its "full power and might" behind remdesivir, a drug that has shown early promise as a treatment for the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
In response to a question from a Nebraska man who has recovered from Covid-19, Trump said: "We think we are going to have a vaccine by the end of this year."
Donald Trump has pledged that a vaccine to tackle the coronavirus will be available to the US public “by the end of the year” and pushed for the reopening of the states from lockdown despite revising his projection for the country’s death toll to as high as 100,000.
Speaking during a virtual town hall with Fox News in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, the president also said that his government was putting its "full power and might" behind remdesivir, a drug that has shown early promise as a treatment for the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
In response to a question from a Nebraska man who has recovered from Covid-19, Trump said: "We think we are going to have a vaccine by the end of this year."
US health experts have repeatedly said a vaccine is probably a year to 18 months away, though the White House coronavirus task force's Dr Anthony Fauci said late last month that a vaccine could conceivably be in wide distribution as early as January.
During Monday's town hall, Trump also increased his projection for the total US death total to between 80,000 and 100,000 - up by more than 20,000 fatalities from what he had suggested just a few weeks ago.
The disease has sickened more than 1.1m people in the United States and killed more than 67,000.
"We're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people. That's a horrible thing," said the president, who, as recently as Friday had said he hoped fewer than 100,000 Americans would die and earlier in the week had talked about 60,000 to 70,000 deaths.
He countered that warning with an equally urgent address on the need to kickstart the economy, declaring "we have to reopen our country... We have to get it back open safely but as quickly as possible."
"It is all working out," he added in a more upbeat note. "It is horrible to go through, but it is working out."
Here's Tom Embury-Dennis's report.
Trump claims he is 'treated worse' than Abraham Lincoln
The president's Fox Q&A with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum was otherwise spent blaming the Obama administration for his government's slow response to the crisis and pushing responsibility for decisionmaking onto state governors.
Perhaps the highlight though came in the shape of a question from elementary school guidance counselor Carolyn Perkins, a supporter, who nevertheless asked about his use of "bullying" language in office.
Trump naturally used that as s springboard to lay into the "hostile press" he faces - and searched for a historical precedent to illustrate just how unfair life is for him.
“The closest would be that gentleman right up there,” he said, gesturing up at the Lincoln Memorial. “They always said Lincoln, nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse.”
Honest Abe was, of course, assassinated in the aftermath of the civil war in 1865 - and the inappropriateness of the comparison was not lost on the pundits.
Trump was clearly impressed by his monumental backdrop and also commented during the session: "We never had a more beautiful set than this."
The president's Fox Q&A with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum was otherwise spent blaming the Obama administration for his government's slow response to the crisis and pushing responsibility for decisionmaking onto state governors.
Perhaps the highlight though came in the shape of a question from elementary school guidance counselor Carolyn Perkins, a supporter, who nevertheless asked about his use of "bullying" language in office.
Trump naturally used that as s springboard to lay into the "hostile press" he faces - and searched for a historical precedent to illustrate just how unfair life is for him.
“The closest would be that gentleman right up there,” he said, gesturing up at the Lincoln Memorial. “They always said Lincoln, nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse.”
Honest Abe was, of course, assassinated in the aftermath of the civil war in 1865 - and the inappropriateness of the comparison was not lost on the pundits.
Trump was clearly impressed by his monumental backdrop and also commented during the session: "We never had a more beautiful set than this."
President spends weekend raging on Twitter from Camp David
Trump spent the rest of his weekend at Camp David in Maryland, conferring with other world leaders by video call and tweeting about Democratic rival Joe Biden, 43rd president George W Bush, disgraced general Michael Flynn and the virus itself, which he adopted Old Testament phraseology to brand “a great and powerful Plague”.
In amongst the rambling array of topics - from cheering ear-eating boxer Mike Tyson to bragging about one of his golf resorts winning an award to lashing out at the media and "RIGGED ELECTIONS - the attack on President Bush was among the most astonishing, revealing a long-festerig grudge over the Texan's perceived failure to come to his defence during the impeachment hearings.
Here's Oliver O'Connell's report.
Trump spent the rest of his weekend at Camp David in Maryland, conferring with other world leaders by video call and tweeting about Democratic rival Joe Biden, 43rd president George W Bush, disgraced general Michael Flynn and the virus itself, which he adopted Old Testament phraseology to brand “a great and powerful Plague”.
In amongst the rambling array of topics - from cheering ear-eating boxer Mike Tyson to bragging about one of his golf resorts winning an award to lashing out at the media and "RIGGED ELECTIONS - the attack on President Bush was among the most astonishing, revealing a long-festerig grudge over the Texan's perceived failure to come to his defence during the impeachment hearings.
Here's Oliver O'Connell's report.
Trump insists January intel indicated virus was 'non-threatening'
Another of the president's tweets on Sunday saw him pushing back on reporting by ABC News that suggested he was briefed about the coronavirus as early as last November.
Griffin Connolly has this report on his denial.
Another of the president's tweets on Sunday saw him pushing back on reporting by ABC News that suggested he was briefed about the coronavirus as early as last November.
Griffin Connolly has this report on his denial.
Dr Birx says Michigan anti-shutdown protests ‘devastatingly worrisome’
The leader of the White House task force tackling coronavirus was interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday yesterday and expressed her disquiet about the armed protests seen in Lansing, Michigan, and elsewhere against the strict shutdown measures, describing the social distancing violations (and gleaming assault rifles) of the activists as "devastatingly worrisome".
Trump has expressed sympathy for their cause and, in spite of her words, did not hesitate to heap praise on the hundreds of Florida "boaters" taking to the waters near Mar-a-Lago yesterday to express their support for him, regardless of the example it set.
The leader of the White House task force tackling coronavirus was interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday yesterday and expressed her disquiet about the armed protests seen in Lansing, Michigan, and elsewhere against the strict shutdown measures, describing the social distancing violations (and gleaming assault rifles) of the activists as "devastatingly worrisome".
Trump has expressed sympathy for their cause and, in spite of her words, did not hesitate to heap praise on the hundreds of Florida "boaters" taking to the waters near Mar-a-Lago yesterday to express their support for him, regardless of the example it set.
Gretchen Whitmer slams protesters and defends Joe Biden against sexual assault allegation
Also from the Sunday shows, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared on CNN's State of the Union to denounce the protesters and tell Jake Tapper: “Some of the outrageousness of what happened at our Capitol depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country... The behaviour you've seen in all of the clips is not representative of who we are in Michigan.”
She was referring to some of the men who took part brandishing swastikas and Confederate flags, details that did not stop Trump referring to them as "very good people" as he pursues re-election at any cost, even if that means openly courting neo-Nazi votes.
“The fact of the matter is we are in the global pandemic," Governor Whitmer told Tapper. "This is not something we negotiate ourselves out of and is a political matter. This is a public health crisis that has taken the lives of almost 70,000 Americans.”
“Whether you agree with me or not, I'm working to protect your life if you live in the state of Michigan.”
Also from the Sunday shows, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer appeared on CNN's State of the Union to denounce the protesters and tell Jake Tapper: “Some of the outrageousness of what happened at our Capitol depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country... The behaviour you've seen in all of the clips is not representative of who we are in Michigan.”
She was referring to some of the men who took part brandishing swastikas and Confederate flags, details that did not stop Trump referring to them as "very good people" as he pursues re-election at any cost, even if that means openly courting neo-Nazi votes.
“The fact of the matter is we are in the global pandemic," Governor Whitmer told Tapper. "This is not something we negotiate ourselves out of and is a political matter. This is a public health crisis that has taken the lives of almost 70,000 Americans.”
“Whether you agree with me or not, I'm working to protect your life if you live in the state of Michigan.”
She also defended Joe Biden against the Tara Reade sexual assault allegation that has recently resurfaced.
“I know Joe Biden, and I’ve watched his defence and there’s not a pattern that goes into this,” the governor said. “I think for these reasons, I’m very comfortable that Joe Biden is who he says he is.”
Whitmer is said to be one of the "more than a dozen" women Team Biden has on its shortlist to be his 2020 running mate.
Chris Riotta has this report.
Trump begins week by raging at 'Psycho' Joe Scarborough and digging up murder conspiracy theory
It's not even 7am in DC yet but the president is already awake and raging at his media enemies.
He's now seemingly accusing the poor old Morning Joe host of murder (!), reviving an ancient conspiracy theory relating to the accidental death of an aide in his office in 2001 when he was a serving congressman.
For my money though, the real story here is this Turkish gentleman's baffling reply featuring Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a lion, a spring meadow and a red rose beaded with morning dew.
It's not even 7am in DC yet but the president is already awake and raging at his media enemies.
He's now seemingly accusing the poor old Morning Joe host of murder (!), reviving an ancient conspiracy theory relating to the accidental death of an aide in his office in 2001 when he was a serving congressman.
For my money though, the real story here is this Turkish gentleman's baffling reply featuring Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a lion, a spring meadow and a red rose beaded with morning dew.
Andrew Naughtie has this on the president's latest tweet, coming a day after Press Freedom Day, which he did not choose to acknowledge yesterday.
Mike Pompeo says there is ‘enormous evidence’ Covid-19 originated in Chinese lab
Trump's secretary of state turned up the heat on Beijing on Sunday by declaring there is "enormous evidence" that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a lab in the city of Wuhan and that the Chinese government has attempted to cover up the severity of the initial outbreak.
The US intelligence community announced last week that it has been investigating whether such claims are true about the origins of the virus.
While officials do not believe the virus was man-made or genetically modified, according to a statement last week from the office of the acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, Pompeo said in an interview with ABC on Sunday that "there is significant evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan" and suggested that it was in fact artificially-engineered.
"Look, the best experts so far seem to think it was man-made. I have no reason to disbelieve that at this point," he said, without citing any specific evidence to support his contention.
Here's more from Griffin Connolly.
Elizabeth Warren most popular Joe Biden running mate choice, poll finds
Speaking of possible sidekicks for the Democratic nominee as we were earlier, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren would be the most popular choice, according to a new survey by CBS News.
Speaking of possible sidekicks for the Democratic nominee as we were earlier, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren would be the most popular choice, according to a new survey by CBS News.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents to the poll agreed Warren should be in contention as possible vice president, followed by California senator and fellow 2020 candidate Kamala Harris on 59 per cent, with Stacey Abrams and Amy Klobuchar next on 50 per cent and 49 respectively and Tammy Duckworth on 30 per cent.
The aforementioned Gretchen Whitmer and Obama's ex-national security adviser Susan Rice were neck-and-neck on 29 per cent.
Warren was also respondents' most common first choice, securing 36 per cent of the total, with Harris on 19 per cent, Abrams on 14 per cent and Klobuchar on 13 per cent.
The aforementioned Gretchen Whitmer and Obama's ex-national security adviser Susan Rice were neck-and-neck on 29 per cent.
Warren was also respondents' most common first choice, securing 36 per cent of the total, with Harris on 19 per cent, Abrams on 14 per cent and Klobuchar on 13 per cent.
Mike Pence admits he should have worn mask during Mayo Clinic visit
The vice president had to offer a mea culpa during yesterday's Fox town hall at the Lincoln Memorial and conceded he ought to have followed his own advice and worn a mask at a top medical facility battling coronavirus, rather than refuse and then have his wife lie about it on TV.
He now says he will wear one in future. How about this one sir?
The vice president had to offer a mea culpa during yesterday's Fox town hall at the Lincoln Memorial and conceded he ought to have followed his own advice and worn a mask at a top medical facility battling coronavirus, rather than refuse and then have his wife lie about it on TV.
He now says he will wear one in future. How about this one sir?
Gino Spocchia has this report.
Trump aide tried to use disease to close borders before coronavirus outbreak
Oh Stephen Miller, will you ever stop being utterly evil?
Oh Stephen Miller, will you ever stop being utterly evil?
US may need more help from Congress to fight pandemic, says top economic adviser
Congress and the White House may need to strike another deal soon to help small businesses keep people on their payrolls, National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow told Tapper on CNN on Sunday.
The federal government has already passed five bills totalling more than $2.7trn (£2.2trn) in response to the coronavirus pandemic since early March. That's roughly 13 per cent of the country's GDP.
It's safe to say the interview was not altogether a success...
Here's Griffin Connolly's report.
Congress and the White House may need to strike another deal soon to help small businesses keep people on their payrolls, National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow told Tapper on CNN on Sunday.
“There may well be additional legislation. There's kind of a pause period right now,” Kudlow commented, echoing congressional Republicans' wait-and-see approach to more legislation, saying negotiators should revisit the idea of another bill in "a couple of weeks".
The federal government has already passed five bills totalling more than $2.7trn (£2.2trn) in response to the coronavirus pandemic since early March. That's roughly 13 per cent of the country's GDP.
It's safe to say the interview was not altogether a success...
Here's Griffin Connolly's report.
'How to make sure Trump or anyone like him never returns to power'
For Indy Voices, Borzou Daragahi has the prescription for the right-wing populism that so ails the United States.
Justin Amash denies presidential run could split vote and hand victory to Trump
The Michigan congressman, an independent after quitting the Republican Party in opposition to its near-total adherence to the president, has contested the idea that his late entry into the presidential race risks splitting the anti-Trump vote away from Biden and handing victory to the incumbent.
Trump on Citizen Kane: 'Rosebud works!'
The president is currently bragging on Twitter that he is getting "great reviews" for the federal government's efforts to stop people dying...
...which is the same old shameless self-congratulation he always engages in and not especially interesting, so, how about we turn to a review of his own?
We know Trump is oddly partial to classic cinema - he prefers Gone With the Wind and Sunset Boulevard to Parasite, for one thing - and here he is in a resurfaced clip discussing Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane, often cited as the greatest Hollywood movie of all time.
Speaking in Las Vegas in 2008, the Apprentice host-turned-president seems to relate to unhappy media tycoon Charles Foster Kane and his alienation from his wife Susan, advising the character to "Get yourself a different woman!"
The president is currently bragging on Twitter that he is getting "great reviews" for the federal government's efforts to stop people dying...
...which is the same old shameless self-congratulation he always engages in and not especially interesting, so, how about we turn to a review of his own?
We know Trump is oddly partial to classic cinema - he prefers Gone With the Wind and Sunset Boulevard to Parasite, for one thing - and here he is in a resurfaced clip discussing Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane, often cited as the greatest Hollywood movie of all time.
Speaking in Las Vegas in 2008, the Apprentice host-turned-president seems to relate to unhappy media tycoon Charles Foster Kane and his alienation from his wife Susan, advising the character to "Get yourself a different woman!"
900 Missouri residents who ‘snitched’ on lockdown rule-breakers fear retaliation after details leaked online
Here's Gino Spocchia with a rare non-Trump quarantine shocker.
Trump says California 'sooo lucky' he is president and building Mexico border wall
The president here continuing to defy George W Bush's call to keep politics out of the federal coronavirus response as he uses the deaths of thousands to promote his white elephant wall, which remains as hopelessly far from completion as ever.
He's also been crowing about stacking the benches with conservative judges in his quest for praise from his base.
Here's Gino Spocchia with the latest.
The president here continuing to defy George W Bush's call to keep politics out of the federal coronavirus response as he uses the deaths of thousands to promote his white elephant wall, which remains as hopelessly far from completion as ever.
He's also been crowing about stacking the benches with conservative judges in his quest for praise from his base.
Here's Gino Spocchia with the latest.
Maryland resists pressure to reopen quickly as death toll rises
The state's governor Larry Hogan pushed back against pressure to lift his stay-home orders on Sunday, saying that he respects the rights of demonstrators who gathered over the weekend to protest the restrictions, but that it is too soon to safely reopen the state.
Governor Hogan noted the crowds of people gathered at the National Mall in Washington and in other public spaces to enjoy the weekend’s weather as a cause for concern – an example of why he is reluctant to immediately lift measures designed to contain the novel coronavirus, which causes the deadly disease Covid-19.
“You see this happening around the country as states try to open in a safe way,” Hogan said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. “Unfortunately, the pressure is to do it in a not-safe way, and that’s something that we’re very concerned about and one of the reasons we’re being cautious, and trying to do things in a slow, safe and effective manner.”
Senators returning to Capitol Hill today
The Senate will gavel in today as the coronavirus rages, returning to an uncertain agenda and deepening national debate over how best to confront the deadly pandemic and its economic devastation.
With the House staying away due to the health risks and the 100 senators convening for the first time since March, the conflicted Congress reflects an uneasy nation. The Washington area remains a virus hot-spot under stay-home rules.
Tops on the Senate agenda is not necessarily the next virus aid package, despite a nationwide jobless rate that's approaching Great Depression-level heights and pleas from the governors for more money.
"There's kind of a pause period right now," said Larry Kudlow on CNN yesterday. "Let's see how it's doing as we gradually reopen the economy."
Senate Republicans are trying to set the terms of debate, frustrated that House speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to fill up earlier aid bills with Democratic priorities. They're reluctant to unleash federal funds beyond the nearly $3trn (£2.4trn) Congress already approved in virus relief.
"We are going to need more help," Larry Hogan of Maryland, the chairman of the National Governors Association, said on CNN.
Instead, Senate Republicans are counting on the country's reopening to kick-start the economy as their best hope to limit a new round of big spending on virus aid. The Covid-19 crisis has all but closed Congress since late March, a longer absence than during the 1918 Spanish Flu or the 2001 terror attacks.
The Senate will gavel in today as the coronavirus rages, returning to an uncertain agenda and deepening national debate over how best to confront the deadly pandemic and its economic devastation.
With the House staying away due to the health risks and the 100 senators convening for the first time since March, the conflicted Congress reflects an uneasy nation. The Washington area remains a virus hot-spot under stay-home rules.
Tops on the Senate agenda is not necessarily the next virus aid package, despite a nationwide jobless rate that's approaching Great Depression-level heights and pleas from the governors for more money.
"There's kind of a pause period right now," said Larry Kudlow on CNN yesterday. "Let's see how it's doing as we gradually reopen the economy."
Senate Republicans are trying to set the terms of debate, frustrated that House speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to fill up earlier aid bills with Democratic priorities. They're reluctant to unleash federal funds beyond the nearly $3trn (£2.4trn) Congress already approved in virus relief.
"We are going to need more help," Larry Hogan of Maryland, the chairman of the National Governors Association, said on CNN.
Instead, Senate Republicans are counting on the country's reopening to kick-start the economy as their best hope to limit a new round of big spending on virus aid. The Covid-19 crisis has all but closed Congress since late March, a longer absence than during the 1918 Spanish Flu or the 2001 terror attacks.
In making a snap decision to return, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate cannot "sit on the sidelines." He compared the senators to the essential work force of grocery clerks, truck drivers and others keeping Americans fed during the crisis.
Yet re-opening part of Capitol Hill poses health risks not just for the lawmakers but the cooks, cleaners, police officers and other workers who keep the lights on at the Capitol complex.
Capitol Hill erupted late last week after the attending physician informed top GOP officials the health office did not have the means to perform instant virus tests on returning lawmakers or staff.
Over the weekend, Trump himself offered Congress access to the instant virus test system used to screen visitors to the White House. But in an extraordinary rebuff, McConnell and Pelosi said in a rare joint statement Saturday that they would "respectfully decline" the offer and instead direct resources to the front lines "where they can do the most good."
This was his response just now:
Senators will instead return to a partially reopened Capitol Hill with new guidelines, including the recommendation that senators wear masks - blue face coverings will be available for free - keep their distance and leave most staff at home. Hand sanitiser is back in stock. But public access will be limited, including at public hearings. The Capitol itself remains closed to visitors and tours.
Democrats complain the risks of reopening the Capitol complex is not worth the noticeably light agenda, which is focused on confirming Trump's judicial and executive nominees rather than the virus pandemic.
With more than 65,000 US deaths due to the virus and 30m Americans suddenly unemployed, Democratic senators say the focus needs to be singular - to ease this crisis and prevent a second wave of infections.
"If we're going to go back, let's do something about Covid," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.
McConnell has loaded up the agenda with hearings for Trump's nominees, including Justin Walker, a conservative, McConnell-backed pick to be a federal judge on the US Courts of Appeal in the District of Columbia Circuit, which is seen as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.
A nomination hearing also is scheduled for John Ratcliffe, the Texas Republican congressman who is Trump's choice to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Several committees will meet to debate issues related to the virus outbreak, including the nominee for a new oversight commission. The Health Committee will hold a session on potential cures and the Commerce Committee a hearing on the airline industry.
For all that's changed during the pandemic, some traditions remain in Congress.
Republican senators still plan to sit down for their regular luncheons, though the physician's social distancing guidance limits them to three to a table. It was after one of their lunches in March that several senators went into self-quarantine because of their exposure to fellow GOP senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who tested positive.
Democrats, who will meet for lunch over conference call, are assessing whether to appear in person for the committee hearings or dial in remotely. The physician's office sent guidelines late on Friday encouraging Senate offices to minimise staff presence and reschedule any visitors who are visibly ill with "shaking chills" or "vomiting."
But for Republicans, operating the Senate even in a diminished capacity aligns with Trump's effort to return to a sense of normalcy, despite the ongoing health risks.
AP
