The Donald Trump administration is refusing to let the members of its coronavirus task force like Dr Deborah Birx and Dr Anthony Fauci testify before the House of Representatives, prompting speaker Nancy Pelosi to speculate that the White House “might be afraid of the truth”.
Dr Fauci, who be allowed to speak to the friendlier Republican-led Senate, has meanwhile broken ranks with Trump and secretary of state Mike Pompeo to dismiss their anti-China conspiracy theorising about Covid-19 as a “circular argument”.
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has meanwhile told the president to “take a rest” following an “extraordinarily cruel” tweet he directed at the presenter on Monday digging up a past tragedy and effectively insinuating he was guilty of murder.
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Trump dismisses government coronavirus report predicting sharp rise in coronavirus cases
Donald Trump said he might wear a protective mask later Tuesday when he tours a plant in Arizona that has been producing the anti-coronavirus face gear, adding a government report predicting thousands more coronavirus deaths than projected previously is based on "no mitigation."
"I think it's a mask facility. If it's a mask facility, I will," he said of the Honeywell factory he will fly to on Air Force One.
And about that Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report that sees the number of Covid-19 deaths per day doubling by 1 June, the president said he is not concerned about states reopening their economies too quickly "because that assumes no mitigation. We're doing mitigation."
John T Bennett with the full story:
Donald Trump said he might wear a protective mask later Tuesday when he tours a plant in Arizona that has been producing the anti-coronavirus face gear, adding a government report predicting thousands more coronavirus deaths than projected previously is based on "no mitigation."
"I think it's a mask facility. If it's a mask facility, I will," he said of the Honeywell factory he will fly to on Air Force One.
And about that Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report that sees the number of Covid-19 deaths per day doubling by 1 June, the president said he is not concerned about states reopening their economies too quickly "because that assumes no mitigation. We're doing mitigation."
John T Bennett with the full story:
Trump dismisses coronavirus report despite model used by White House predicting sharp rise in US cases
President heads to Arizona for first trip since early March to tour a mask production facility
Pelosi attacks Trump's briefings after he barred coronavirus task force from speaking to the House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is speculating that the Trump administration "might be afraid of truth" after the White House barred members of its Coronavirus Task Force from testifying before the House this month.
The task force includes Vice President Mike Pence, infectious disease experts Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and others.
"The fact is that we need to allocate resources for this. In order to do that, any appropriations bill must begin in the House, and we have to have the information to act upon," Ms Pelosi said in an interview with CNN on Monday.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is speculating that the Trump administration "might be afraid of truth" after the White House barred members of its Coronavirus Task Force from testifying before the House this month.
The task force includes Vice President Mike Pence, infectious disease experts Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and others.
"The fact is that we need to allocate resources for this. In order to do that, any appropriations bill must begin in the House, and we have to have the information to act upon," Ms Pelosi said in an interview with CNN on Monday.
Griffin Connolly reports:
Pelosi rips Trump's wild briefings as he bars coronavirus task force from testifying before House
'We have to have the information to act upon,' House speaker says, arguing for access to hearings with Fauci, Birx and others
New York politicians attack the president for lack of federal funding
New York City Mayor has heightened attacks on President Donald Trump on Tuesday in regards to Washington DC's current discussions on if the next stimulus package should go towards the states.
New York City Mayor has heightened attacks on President Donald Trump on Tuesday in regards to Washington DC's current discussions on if the next stimulus package should go towards the states.
"@realDonaldTrump told the @NYPost he doesn't think his home state and hometown need bailouts. This is the same president who just weeks ago bailed out the airlines to the tune of $58 billion," the mayor wrote in a tweet, addressing a story published in the New York Post.
"The President of the United States, a former New Yorker who seems to enjoy stabbing his hometown in the back, talking about no bailout for New York. What kind of human being sees the suffering here and decides the people in New York City don't deserve help?" Mr de Blasio added. "We only ask that people in Washington show a little respect for the people of our city, who've borne the brunt of this crisis and have lived in the epicenter of a national dilemma. Anyone with a heart and soul would show respect and appreciation for the people of New York City."
"The President of the United States, a former New Yorker who seems to enjoy stabbing his hometown in the back, talking about no bailout for New York. What kind of human being sees the suffering here and decides the people in New York City don't deserve help?" Mr de Blasio added. "We only ask that people in Washington show a little respect for the people of our city, who've borne the brunt of this crisis and have lived in the epicenter of a national dilemma. Anyone with a heart and soul would show respect and appreciation for the people of New York City."
When speaking to the New York Post, the president claimed "blue-state bailouts" were unfair to Republican states. This was in reference to the fact that states like New York, California, and New Jersey - which tend to vote Democrat - were hit harder by the coronavirus.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also attacked the federal government and members of Congress for their lack of interest in a assisting states with more funding.
“If you starve the states, how do you expect the states to be able to fund this entire reopening plan?” Mr Cuomo said on Tuesday in reference to the president's comments.
"What the government does will literally determine how many people live or die,” he added.
Although New York has been hit the hardest and tends to swing blue, Mr Cuomo reminded the president that coronavirus was impacting everyone. Some states, though, were fairing better because of federal funding they've been provided, the governor claimed.
"It's not a blue-state issue. Every state has coronavirus cases. This is not any mismanagement by the states,. If anything, the mismanagement has been on behalf of the federal government, and that's where the mismanagement have gone back decades," he said.
This partisan battle is expected to only heighten as the Senate reconvenes to discuss the next stimulus package.
"It's not a blue-state issue. Every state has coronavirus cases. This is not any mismanagement by the states,. If anything, the mismanagement has been on behalf of the federal government, and that's where the mismanagement have gone back decades," he said.
This partisan battle is expected to only heighten as the Senate reconvenes to discuss the next stimulus package.
Trump pushes for state governors to focus on infrastructure while closed
The president has offered his "advice" for state governors while they're under stay-at-home orders, even though he's implored certain states to reopen.
"Governors should let roads and highway construction begin before heavy traffic starts, which will be soon. Some Governors never stopped, which proved to be very smart. They built and fixed roads during long no traffic periods. Also, saved big dollars!" He tweeted on Tuesday.
Most states have struggled with their budgets amid the coronavirus pandemic, with governors like New York's Andrew Cuomo begging the federal government to provide more funding in the next stimulus package. Where states would find money for more infrastructure packages, like the president suggests, during the pandemic was not explained by Mr Trump.
The president has offered his "advice" for state governors while they're under stay-at-home orders, even though he's implored certain states to reopen.
"Governors should let roads and highway construction begin before heavy traffic starts, which will be soon. Some Governors never stopped, which proved to be very smart. They built and fixed roads during long no traffic periods. Also, saved big dollars!" He tweeted on Tuesday.
Most states have struggled with their budgets amid the coronavirus pandemic, with governors like New York's Andrew Cuomo begging the federal government to provide more funding in the next stimulus package. Where states would find money for more infrastructure packages, like the president suggests, during the pandemic was not explained by Mr Trump.
Chefs left unemployed by coronavirus are now working for billionaires, report says
Some of New York City's top chefs are leaving the industry to work for billionaires after losing their jobs because of coronavirus, according to a report by The New York Post.
Top chefs left unemployed as a result of the pandemic from restaurants such as Jean-Georges, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, Per Se and Gramercy Tavern, have started being poached to work for wealthy families amidst the shutdown, sources told the newspaper.
"I received a call out of the blue asking if we wanted to hire a top chef who had worked for Jean-George's," a billionaire real estate developer told The Post.
Louise Hall reports:
Some of New York City's top chefs are leaving the industry to work for billionaires after losing their jobs because of coronavirus, according to a report by The New York Post.
Top chefs left unemployed as a result of the pandemic from restaurants such as Jean-Georges, Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, Per Se and Gramercy Tavern, have started being poached to work for wealthy families amidst the shutdown, sources told the newspaper.
"I received a call out of the blue asking if we wanted to hire a top chef who had worked for Jean-George's," a billionaire real estate developer told The Post.
Louise Hall reports:
Chefs left unemployed by pandemic now working for billionaires, report says
'At this point in my career, it’s a good choice economically and professionally'
CNN sends Trump campaign cease-and-desist letter over ‘false, misleading and deceptive’ coronavirus advert
Lawyers for the network's parent company WarnerMedia have served the Trump campaign with a cease-and-desist letter for manipulating the cable news network's coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in a new ad, saying the campaign ad distorts the meaning of what an anchor and his guest said.
But the clip is edited in a way that misrepresents how the exchange actually went down on 30 March on Mr Blitzer's primetime show The Situation Room.
Griffin Connolly has the full story.
Lawyers for the network's parent company WarnerMedia have served the Trump campaign with a cease-and-desist letter for manipulating the cable news network's coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in a new ad, saying the campaign ad distorts the meaning of what an anchor and his guest said.
The ad - which cost the campaign in the "mid-seven figures" to air on cable and broadcast channels and is titled "American Comeback" - joins the canon of misleading videos and edited footage that have marked the Trump campaign and presidency.
The promo is "false, misleading and deceptive" in its use of CNN footage from 30 March, the WarnerMedia lawyers wrote in their letter.
In the ad, which includes pulled and edited news clips, CNN's anchor Wolf Blitzer asks the network's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, "Is it accurate that if these steps had not been put in place there could have been 2m people dead here in the United States?"
"Yes," Gupta replies, as the video cuts back and forth between the CNN footage and b-roll of cancelled flights from China, an allusion to the president's restrictions imposed in February on travel from the country where Covid-19 first appeared in humans.
But the clip is edited in a way that misrepresents how the exchange actually went down on 30 March on Mr Blitzer's primetime show The Situation Room.
Griffin Connolly has the full story.
President says Fauci can testify before Senate but not House of Representatives because it's 'a set up'
Trump has been speaking to the press on the White House lawn just now before he sets out for Joint Base Andrews and then Phoenix, not missing a chance to bash the "bunch of Trump haters" in the House - whose Appropriations Committee he will not allow Fauci to speak to - and champion the reopening of states, dismissing out of hand fears that doing so could inflame the virus.
He says he'll wear a mask at the Honeywell facility if it is a mask facility but that he does not know if it is (it is).
Trump has been speaking to the press on the White House lawn just now before he sets out for Joint Base Andrews and then Phoenix, not missing a chance to bash the "bunch of Trump haters" in the House - whose Appropriations Committee he will not allow Fauci to speak to - and champion the reopening of states, dismissing out of hand fears that doing so could inflame the virus.
He says he'll wear a mask at the Honeywell facility if it is a mask facility but that he does not know if it is (it is).
'It’s a great time for people to explore America', says Steve Mnuchin
Is it Steve? The CDC begs to disagree.
Oliver O'Connell has more on the treasury secretary's extraordinarily irresponsible pronouncement.
Democratic senator returns to Capitol Hill wearing pink wig to protest reopening
Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona wore the $12.99 bob as the Senate reconvened yesterday as a means of stating her opposition to ending quarantine measures prematurely a risking a second wave of Covid-19 infections for the sake of personal vanity, the wig standing in for the haircut she is delaying in the name of responsible citizenship during the pandemic.
Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona wore the $12.99 bob as the Senate reconvened yesterday as a means of stating her opposition to ending quarantine measures prematurely a risking a second wave of Covid-19 infections for the sake of personal vanity, the wig standing in for the haircut she is delaying in the name of responsible citizenship during the pandemic.
Dr Fauci dismisses Trump's suggestions pandemic was created in Chinese lab
The task force's top infectious diseases man continues to go his own way, defying Trump and Mike Pompeo on China by dismissing their blame game as a "circular argument".
He has also laughed off calls for his dismissal from the more feverish end of the right-wing spectrum, saying it's all just "part of the game".
Chris Riotta has more on the quiet man who finds himself a national hero at 78.
Children in New York hospitalised over conditions possibly linked to coronavirus
The Big Apple’s health department has warned a multi-system inflammatory syndrome possibly linked to coronavirus has been identified in 15 children in the city’s hospitals.
Several of the patients, aged two to 15 years old, tested positive for Covid-19 or had positive antibody tests. They were hospitalised between 17 April to 1 May.
It was noted that the condition was characterised by similar features as those seen in toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease.
Kate Ng has this report.
The Big Apple’s health department has warned a multi-system inflammatory syndrome possibly linked to coronavirus has been identified in 15 children in the city’s hospitals.
Several of the patients, aged two to 15 years old, tested positive for Covid-19 or had positive antibody tests. They were hospitalised between 17 April to 1 May.
It was noted that the condition was characterised by similar features as those seen in toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease.
Kate Ng has this report.
Trump issues fresh note of blithe optimism ahead of not-particularly-necessary Arizona jaunt
If you were getting your news solely from Trump's tweets (God forbid), you'd think the coronavirus pandemic was done and dusted and everything was back to business as usual.
It very much isn't.
If you were getting your news solely from Trump's tweets (God forbid), you'd think the coronavirus pandemic was done and dusted and everything was back to business as usual.
It very much isn't.
Before he jets out to Arizona, he's treating his followers to the customary sudge dump of partisan retweets, of which this from Fox's Jesse Watters is especially dumb.
Ohio Republican refuses to wear face mask because faces are the 'likeness of God'
State representative Nino Vitale has taken to Facebook to raise his objections to Ohio governor Mike DeWine's call for people to wear face masks throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is not the entire world,” Vitale wrote on Monday morning. “This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles.”
“One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”
As you can see, Vitale's record on advising his constituents on coronavirus is not what it might be...
State representative Nino Vitale has taken to Facebook to raise his objections to Ohio governor Mike DeWine's call for people to wear face masks throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is not the entire world,” Vitale wrote on Monday morning. “This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles.”
“One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask.”
As you can see, Vitale's record on advising his constituents on coronavirus is not what it might be...
NRA cuts staff and cuts pay amid coronavirus pandemic
The once-powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) has cancelled its annual convention and laid off dozens of employees amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a memo to staff last week, CEO Wayne LaPierre announced that there would be a 20 per cent cut in salary for employees and added that some higher earners “voluntarily” took the pay cut.
Presidential historian derides Trump's 'incredible' claim to be treated worse than Lincoln
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals, has weighted in on Trump's ludicrous complaint that he is "treated worse" than Abraham Lincoln.
“It’s an incredible statement when you think about it,” Goodwin told John Berman on CNN, shaking her head in disbelief. “You can’t compare the time, either. Yes, it’s true the country is split now in a partisan way. Yes, it’s true that we have a divided media.
“But we were talking about a civil war with Abraham Lincoln, 600,000 people dying, a North and a South that had entirely different interpretations of what was going on. Let us never think that we’re going back to such a period of time.”
Goodwin said that Lincoln too was pilloried by the press in his time but "he would hardly complain".
“How much better if you can just use the understanding of free press is part of what we are,” she said, advising the president to listen to George W Bush on keeping things non-partisan right now, rather than lashing out left, right and centre with grievances.
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals, has weighted in on Trump's ludicrous complaint that he is "treated worse" than Abraham Lincoln.
“It’s an incredible statement when you think about it,” Goodwin told John Berman on CNN, shaking her head in disbelief. “You can’t compare the time, either. Yes, it’s true the country is split now in a partisan way. Yes, it’s true that we have a divided media.
“But we were talking about a civil war with Abraham Lincoln, 600,000 people dying, a North and a South that had entirely different interpretations of what was going on. Let us never think that we’re going back to such a period of time.”
Goodwin said that Lincoln too was pilloried by the press in his time but "he would hardly complain".
“How much better if you can just use the understanding of free press is part of what we are,” she said, advising the president to listen to George W Bush on keeping things non-partisan right now, rather than lashing out left, right and centre with grievances.
Trump’s systematic removal of inspectors general is ‘deadly dangerous’, says Adam Schiff
The California Democrat and House Intelligence Committee head who led the impeachment effort has been speaking to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell and again calling out the president's behaviour after he sacked another oversight watchdog: Christi Grimm, principal deputy inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The California Democrat and House Intelligence Committee head who led the impeachment effort has been speaking to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell and again calling out the president's behaviour after he sacked another oversight watchdog: Christi Grimm, principal deputy inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Gavin Newsom says California will begin easing coronavirus closures this week
California's governor has announced that certain regions of his state will be allowed to move to “phase two” of a reopening protocol this week, provided they meet various conditions in their efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
In a televised statement, Newsom told citizens that based on “the data”, certain businesses will be allowed to resume trading on Friday if they can adapt and make modifications. Elaborating in a tweet, he gave the all-clear to clothing stores, florists, bookstores and sporting goods stores, provided they allow for curbside pick-up.
He also said that other businesses such as eateries may yet start reopening once local officials can certify that their regions have met strict criteria.
Andrew Naughtie has this report on one of the hardest-hit states.
California's governor has announced that certain regions of his state will be allowed to move to “phase two” of a reopening protocol this week, provided they meet various conditions in their efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
In a televised statement, Newsom told citizens that based on “the data”, certain businesses will be allowed to resume trading on Friday if they can adapt and make modifications. Elaborating in a tweet, he gave the all-clear to clothing stores, florists, bookstores and sporting goods stores, provided they allow for curbside pick-up.
He also said that other businesses such as eateries may yet start reopening once local officials can certify that their regions have met strict criteria.
Andrew Naughtie has this report on one of the hardest-hit states.
White House 'could pull US military and intelligence operations out of UK' as part of Huawei review
As part of the Trump administration's moves against China, which it blames for the coronavirus, the White House is said to be reviewing whether spy planes, intelligence officials and other US assets stationed in Britain are at risk and need to be pulled out after Chinese telecom giant Huawei was engaged to help build the country's 5G network.
According to The Daily Telegraph, a group of highly-sophisticated reconnaissance spy planes, the RC-135s, are thought to be among the most vulnerable US assets based on this side of the pond.
The Trump administration’s review is reportedly underway but not yet public and could hold major ramifications for the “special relationship” between the two countries.
Justin Vallejo has the story.
Trump jetting out for Arizona in first official visit in weeks
For much of the last two months, the president has rarely left the grounds of the White House as he's attempted to stage manage the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and sought to minimise his own exposure to the disease.
But that changes today, when Trump is scheduled to travel to Arizona to visit a Honeywell facility that makes N95 masks in what the president suggests will mark the return to more regular travel.
The trip also means a small army of advisers, logistical experts and security staff - a coterie of hundreds that includes personnel from the White House, Defense Department, Secret Service and more - will resume regularly hitting the road again and taking a measure of risk to assist Trump.
In addition to Tuesday's trip to Honeywell, Trump says he will travel soon to Ohio, to New York in June for the US Military Academy graduation, and to South Dakota in July for a holiday fireworks display at Mount Rushmore. Trump says he's also eager to get back on the campaign trail, though he acknowledged during his Fox News forum on Sunday that it might not be able to hold his signature big-stadium rallies until the final months before the 3 November election.
"I've been at the White House now for many months, and I'd like to get out, as much as I love this... Most beautiful house in the world," Trump said in announcing his travel plans.
At a moment when public health officials have asked Americans to postpone nonessential travel to help stem the coronavirus, Trump is looking to rev the engines of Air Force One as he tries to prod a shell-shocked American electorate - reeling from the death and economic destruction wrought by the virus - to edge back to normal life.
But White House officials are also taking precautions to try to prevent Trump and vice president Mike Pence from exposure to the virus. Honeywell workers who meet Trump on Tuesday - just like anyone else who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president - will be first required to take a rapid point-of-care test to determine if they're carrying the virus.
"When preparing for and carrying out any travel, the White House's operational teams work together to ensure plans to incorporate current CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure are followed to the greatest extent possible," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
But Matt Bennett, who served as vice president Al Gore's trip director, said he worries that Trump is putting his staff, military personnel and local and state officials at unnecessary risk.
"I think there is a value of seeing our leaders out in the country and escaping the White House," said Bennett, executive vice president at the centre-left think tank Third Way. "But it has to be balanced against the cost. The cost here could be the health and safety of a lot of people."
James McCann, a Purdue University political scientist who has studied presidential travel, said that Trump early in his term travelled significantly less frequently on official presidential business compared to his four predecessors. But now that a big campaign rally is not possible, Trump is searching for a way to assert himself. "Trump is itching to get into campaign mode," McCann said.
Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, told reporters the vice president, who last week traveled to Indiana and Minnesota, has been debriefing the White House Military Office after each trip to discuss planning and protocols.
Typically, White House advance staff fly commercial airlines when traveling to scout a location before a presidential or vice presidential visit. But Short said staffers are now taking military aircraft. Ahead of Pence's trip to an Indiana plant where ventilators are being manufactured, advance staffers were not allowed to leave the military base where Air Force Two landed, Short said.
The Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting the president and his family, wouldn't get into the details of how it's altering operations but said it's following CDC guidance.
"Since the beginning of this pandemic, the Secret Service has been working with all of our public safety partners and the White House Medical Unit to ensure the safety and security of both our protected persons and our employees," said Justine Whelan, a spokeswoman for the agency.
In addition to the White House advance staff, which is tasked with plotting out the smallest details of the president's visit, the Secret Service sends its own advance team that maps out security for the visit. Officials from the White House communications office advance team are dispatched to set security telephone access for the president should he need it.
The president flies on Air Force One, military-operated aircraft, on all trips, regardless of whether it is White House business, political or personal travel. The Defense Department also airlifts equipment such as armored limousines and occasionally helicopters for the president's travel.
The Military Working Dog Program and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Program are dispatched to support protection of the president. Typically, about a dozen members of the news media travel with the president on Air Force One at their organisation's expense.
The president usually travels with a representative from the press office, the chief of staff's office and the National Security Council, as well as a personal assistant. Other aides, like his economic advisers, a Cabinet secretary or lawmakers, also may join depending on the nature of the visit.
Johanna Maska, who served as the White House director of press advance during the Obama administration, said it's important for administration officials to remember that everyone who travels or assists in the president's travel - from the closest aides to the volunteer van drivers who drive lower-rung aides from the airport - have families.
"There is a whole orbit around those people," Maska said. "I certainly hope that they are making the right decisions here."
AP
For much of the last two months, the president has rarely left the grounds of the White House as he's attempted to stage manage the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and sought to minimise his own exposure to the disease.
But that changes today, when Trump is scheduled to travel to Arizona to visit a Honeywell facility that makes N95 masks in what the president suggests will mark the return to more regular travel.
The trip also means a small army of advisers, logistical experts and security staff - a coterie of hundreds that includes personnel from the White House, Defense Department, Secret Service and more - will resume regularly hitting the road again and taking a measure of risk to assist Trump.
In addition to Tuesday's trip to Honeywell, Trump says he will travel soon to Ohio, to New York in June for the US Military Academy graduation, and to South Dakota in July for a holiday fireworks display at Mount Rushmore. Trump says he's also eager to get back on the campaign trail, though he acknowledged during his Fox News forum on Sunday that it might not be able to hold his signature big-stadium rallies until the final months before the 3 November election.
"I've been at the White House now for many months, and I'd like to get out, as much as I love this... Most beautiful house in the world," Trump said in announcing his travel plans.
At a moment when public health officials have asked Americans to postpone nonessential travel to help stem the coronavirus, Trump is looking to rev the engines of Air Force One as he tries to prod a shell-shocked American electorate - reeling from the death and economic destruction wrought by the virus - to edge back to normal life.
But White House officials are also taking precautions to try to prevent Trump and vice president Mike Pence from exposure to the virus. Honeywell workers who meet Trump on Tuesday - just like anyone else who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president - will be first required to take a rapid point-of-care test to determine if they're carrying the virus.
"When preparing for and carrying out any travel, the White House's operational teams work together to ensure plans to incorporate current CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure are followed to the greatest extent possible," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
But Matt Bennett, who served as vice president Al Gore's trip director, said he worries that Trump is putting his staff, military personnel and local and state officials at unnecessary risk.
"I think there is a value of seeing our leaders out in the country and escaping the White House," said Bennett, executive vice president at the centre-left think tank Third Way. "But it has to be balanced against the cost. The cost here could be the health and safety of a lot of people."
James McCann, a Purdue University political scientist who has studied presidential travel, said that Trump early in his term travelled significantly less frequently on official presidential business compared to his four predecessors. But now that a big campaign rally is not possible, Trump is searching for a way to assert himself. "Trump is itching to get into campaign mode," McCann said.
Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, told reporters the vice president, who last week traveled to Indiana and Minnesota, has been debriefing the White House Military Office after each trip to discuss planning and protocols.
Typically, White House advance staff fly commercial airlines when traveling to scout a location before a presidential or vice presidential visit. But Short said staffers are now taking military aircraft. Ahead of Pence's trip to an Indiana plant where ventilators are being manufactured, advance staffers were not allowed to leave the military base where Air Force Two landed, Short said.
The Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting the president and his family, wouldn't get into the details of how it's altering operations but said it's following CDC guidance.
"Since the beginning of this pandemic, the Secret Service has been working with all of our public safety partners and the White House Medical Unit to ensure the safety and security of both our protected persons and our employees," said Justine Whelan, a spokeswoman for the agency.
In addition to the White House advance staff, which is tasked with plotting out the smallest details of the president's visit, the Secret Service sends its own advance team that maps out security for the visit. Officials from the White House communications office advance team are dispatched to set security telephone access for the president should he need it.
The president flies on Air Force One, military-operated aircraft, on all trips, regardless of whether it is White House business, political or personal travel. The Defense Department also airlifts equipment such as armored limousines and occasionally helicopters for the president's travel.
The Military Working Dog Program and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Program are dispatched to support protection of the president. Typically, about a dozen members of the news media travel with the president on Air Force One at their organisation's expense.
The president usually travels with a representative from the press office, the chief of staff's office and the National Security Council, as well as a personal assistant. Other aides, like his economic advisers, a Cabinet secretary or lawmakers, also may join depending on the nature of the visit.
Johanna Maska, who served as the White House director of press advance during the Obama administration, said it's important for administration officials to remember that everyone who travels or assists in the president's travel - from the closest aides to the volunteer van drivers who drive lower-rung aides from the airport - have families.
"There is a whole orbit around those people," Maska said. "I certainly hope that they are making the right decisions here."
AP
Trump's campaign team shares Star Wars video of president decapitating news networks
The president's re-election team is under fire for sharing another video of Trump doing violence to the news networks he spends entire days railing against as "hostile".
In honour of May the 4th (Star Wars Day, if you're that way inclined), Trump is depicted as wrinkly, swamp-dwelling Jedi guru Yoda taking his lightsabre to storm troopers marked up as CNN and MSNBC.
This follows on from a deeply unpresidential wrestling clip he once shared and, more recently, a doctored clip from the idiotic Matthew Vaughn spy caper Kingsman, in which Trump replaced Colin Firth in a gory church massacre scene.
Here's Greg Evans with more for Indy100.
The president's re-election team is under fire for sharing another video of Trump doing violence to the news networks he spends entire days railing against as "hostile".
In honour of May the 4th (Star Wars Day, if you're that way inclined), Trump is depicted as wrinkly, swamp-dwelling Jedi guru Yoda taking his lightsabre to storm troopers marked up as CNN and MSNBC.
This follows on from a deeply unpresidential wrestling clip he once shared and, more recently, a doctored clip from the idiotic Matthew Vaughn spy caper Kingsman, in which Trump replaced Colin Firth in a gory church massacre scene.
Here's Greg Evans with more for Indy100.
