Donald Trump has reacted angrily after being criticised for calling in to Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Wednesday night to contradict the World Health Organisation on the coronavirus death rate, declaring: “I think the 3.4 per cent number is really a false number. Now this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations... personally, I’d say the number is way under one per cent.”
Even the president’s key Republican ally Lindsey Graham has since encouraged him to “listen to the scientists” following his latest ill-advised pronouncement on the global crisis, which came on the same day the House of Representatives approved an $8.3bn (£6.4bn) emergency funding package to thwart the spread of the disease.
The president joined his Republican allies in condemning Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who rallied abortion rights activists at the Supreme Court on Wednesday and told Republicans and the recently appointed conservatives on the bench that they'll "pay the price" if they overturn constitutionally protected abortion protections.
"Schumer has brought great danger to the steps of the United States Supreme Court!" the president claimed on Twitter.
Meanwhile, his field of opponents seeking the Democratic presidential candidacy has slimmed with Elizabeth Warren becoming the latest casualty of the 2020 race.
She suspended her campaign following a poor showing on Super Tuesday when a resurgent Joe Biden romped to a 10-state win and the Massachusetts senator failed to win even her own state.
The president used the moment to hurl a slur at the former candidate.
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Trump says World Health Organisation wrong on coronavirus death rate
Donald Trump called in to Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Wednesday night to contradict the World Health Organisation on the coronavirus death rate, declaring: ”I think the 3.4 per cent number is really a false number. Now this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations... personally, I’d say the number is way under one per cent.”
Donald Trump called in to Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Wednesday night to contradict the World Health Organisation on the coronavirus death rate, declaring: ”I think the 3.4 per cent number is really a false number. Now this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations... personally, I’d say the number is way under one per cent.”
Trump also suggested there could be hundreds of thousands of people who would recover from the virus “just by sitting around” and that some people would be able to go to work even if they are infected, again betraying a stubborn refusal to accept the gravity of the situation or distinguish the disease from the common cold or "regular flu", as he put it.
He was also quick to accuse the Democrats of "weaponising" the disease against him for political gain, a charge also made in even more hysterical terms by his son Don Jr last weekend at CPAC and which was defended by veep Mike Pence on Sunday, the latter characterising the inflammatory argument as a call to keep politics out of the response effort.
The president was swiftly branded “reckless and dangerous” for his latest pronouncement on the global crisis.
Here's Conrad Duncan's report.
President ridiculed for claiming he hasn't touched his face 'in weeks'
Trump's Hannity comments came on the same day he claimed to have stopped touching his face as a precaution - despite myriad evidence to the contrary.
"I haven't touched my face in weeks. I miss it," he said at a briefing on the virus in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for air travel industry executives yesterday morning.
Trump's Hannity comments came on the same day he claimed to have stopped touching his face as a precaution - despite myriad evidence to the contrary.
"I haven't touched my face in weeks. I miss it," he said at a briefing on the virus in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for air travel industry executives yesterday morning.
The absurdity of this comment - which did at least indicate he's taken in one piece of advice from healthcare professionals, if nothing else - was underlined by how easy it was for Twitter pundits to find examples of him doing the precise opposite.
Here's Louis Staples with more on this for Indy100.
Trump blames Obama for his own administration's mistakes in dealing with outbreak
In that same briefing yesterday morning, Trump again used his platform to blame someone else for his inept handling of the crisis, this time settling on his predeccessor, Barack Obama.
He claimed the Obama administration “made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing, and we undid that decision a few days ago so that the testing can take place in a much more accurate and rapid fashion”.
Declining to specify what decision he was referring to, Trump added: “That was a decision we disagreed with. I don’t think we would have made it, but for some reason, it was made.”
Here's Andrew Naughtie to explain the president's rationale, so far as that's possible.
Congress approves $8.3bn emergency funding package
The House of Representatives meanwhile passed a $8.3bn (£6.4bn) bipartisan bill for emergency funding to fight the coronavirus with overwhelming support from both parties yesterday.
“This should not be about politics; this is about doing our job to protect the American people from a potential pandemic,” said Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Richard Shelby.
The Trump administration had initially only asked for $2.5bn (£1.9bn), whereas the agreed package provides $7.8bn (£6bn) for government agencies directly confronting the virus, and authorises approximately $500m (£387m) over a 10-year period to be used towards a remote healthcare programme.
Here's Oliver O'Connell's report.
The House of Representatives meanwhile passed a $8.3bn (£6.4bn) bipartisan bill for emergency funding to fight the coronavirus with overwhelming support from both parties yesterday.
The 415-2 vote was passed by the House just hours after members of both chambers struck a deal agreeing the emergency funding.
The bill must now pass the Senate before Trump can sign it. Senate leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that their goal was to get legislation done this week. It could come up for a vote as early as Thursday.
“This should not be about politics; this is about doing our job to protect the American people from a potential pandemic,” said Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Richard Shelby.
The Trump administration had initially only asked for $2.5bn (£1.9bn), whereas the agreed package provides $7.8bn (£6bn) for government agencies directly confronting the virus, and authorises approximately $500m (£387m) over a 10-year period to be used towards a remote healthcare programme.
Here's Oliver O'Connell's report.
‘Screaming at the camera isn’t going to get you anywhere’
Mike Pence gave a press conference on the coronavirus yesterday at which he again insisted the risk to Americans was "low" and walked out with questions left unanswered.
When reporter Brian Karem persisted in demanding an answer on whether citizens without medical insurance could get tested for the disease at federal expense, he was snapped at by Pence adviser Katie Waldman, who married Trump anti-immigration policy guru Stephen Miller last month, which is all you need to know about her concern for human dignity and wellbeing.
Amazingly, neither Trump's braindead pronouncements nor this incident were the most ridiculous of the day.
That honour goes to Florida congressman and MAGA frat boy Matt Gaetz, whose latest publicity stunt was to turn up to yesterday's House vote wearing a gas mask (and a pair of two-tone shoes I'd be tempted to describe as "spiffy" it we were still living in the Roaring Twenties).
Here's our report.
Mike Pence gave a press conference on the coronavirus yesterday at which he again insisted the risk to Americans was "low" and walked out with questions left unanswered.
When reporter Brian Karem persisted in demanding an answer on whether citizens without medical insurance could get tested for the disease at federal expense, he was snapped at by Pence adviser Katie Waldman, who married Trump anti-immigration policy guru Stephen Miller last month, which is all you need to know about her concern for human dignity and wellbeing.
Amazingly, neither Trump's braindead pronouncements nor this incident were the most ridiculous of the day.
That honour goes to Florida congressman and MAGA frat boy Matt Gaetz, whose latest publicity stunt was to turn up to yesterday's House vote wearing a gas mask (and a pair of two-tone shoes I'd be tempted to describe as "spiffy" it we were still living in the Roaring Twenties).
Here's our report.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren allies in talks after Joe Biden storms Super Tuesday
Following Joe Biden’s triumphant 10-state win on Super Tuesday, rival Bernie Sanders has accused him of “running with his ties to [Barack] Obama” as allies of the democratic socialist are understood to be in talks with those of Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren about joining forces should she ultimately choose to drop out of the race, according to The Washington Post.
Biden - resurgent after winning the South Carolina primary at the weekend - stormed to victory by claiming Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Bernie did win delegate-rich California plus Colorado, Utah and Vermont but the day was a major disappointment for his campaign.
Super Tuesday was also rough for Warren - who even lost her home state - and Michael Bloomberg, who won only American Samoa and dropped out to endorse Biden, a poor return on his $559m (£433m) on what proved to be a disastrous run.
Biden - resurgent after winning the South Carolina primary at the weekend - stormed to victory by claiming Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Bernie did win delegate-rich California plus Colorado, Utah and Vermont but the day was a major disappointment for his campaign.
Super Tuesday was also rough for Warren - who even lost her home state - and Michael Bloomberg, who won only American Samoa and dropped out to endorse Biden, a poor return on his $559m (£433m) on what proved to be a disastrous run.
Sanders made his criticism of the new front-runner in an interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC last night, after he was asked about Biden having the stronger appeal to African American voters.
The Vermont senator said that he’s “running against somebody who has outed his relationship with Barack Obama” throughout the entirety of his campaign, adding that Obama remains “enormously popular” with the majority of Democrats and black voters.
“It’s not that I’m not popular; Biden is running with his ties to Obama,” Sanders told Maddow. “And that's working well.”
Bernie also praised the 44th president's decision not to endorse a candidate in the primaries and said it was "too early" to consider inviting Warren to be his vice presidential running mate.
The comments come on the same day Bernie released a controversial new advert that touted Obama's own praise for him, heavily suggesting the last Democrat president had endorsed without actually saying so.
Here's Andrew Buncombe on how Bernie can turn it around from here.
Trump threatens Chuck Schumer over Supreme Court criticism
On Twitter last night, the president launched an angry attack on Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer after he told protesters outside the Supreme Court that right-wing justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh backing restrictions on abortion rights "have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price... You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."
Schumer had already been rebuked by Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts for his "dangerous" attack on the justices before the president weighed in, saying it was the New York Democrat who "must pay a severe price".
This comment from former White House ethics chief Walter Shaub sums it all up nicely.
Here's Alex Woodward's report.
On Twitter last night, the president launched an angry attack on Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer after he told protesters outside the Supreme Court that right-wing justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh backing restrictions on abortion rights "have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price... You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."
Schumer had already been rebuked by Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts for his "dangerous" attack on the justices before the president weighed in, saying it was the New York Democrat who "must pay a severe price".
This comment from former White House ethics chief Walter Shaub sums it all up nicely.
Here's Alex Woodward's report.
White House sending questionnaire to potential aides testing their loyalty to Trump
Rory Sullivan has this on the administration's latest worrying effort to smoke out any government employees who are not blindly loyal to the president.
Rory Sullivan has this on the administration's latest worrying effort to smoke out any government employees who are not blindly loyal to the president.
Trump to award Presidential Medal of Freedom to general he watches on Fox News
The president announced on Twitter last night the latest recepient of America's highest civilian honour - previously given to the crew of Apollo 13, Mother Teresa, Fred Rogers, Aretha Franklin and, er, Rush Limbaugh - will be retired four-star general Jack Keane, now known for buttering Trump up on Fox News.
Andrew Naughtie has more on this.
The president announced on Twitter last night the latest recepient of America's highest civilian honour - previously given to the crew of Apollo 13, Mother Teresa, Fred Rogers, Aretha Franklin and, er, Rush Limbaugh - will be retired four-star general Jack Keane, now known for buttering Trump up on Fox News.
Andrew Naughtie has more on this.
Obama urges public to listen to healthcare experts while Trump boasts about polling numbers
As the Democratic front-runners take turns to invoke Obama nostalgia and position themselves as the true heirs to his tenure, the former president has taken to Twitter to advise the public on how to take care of themselves during the coronavirus outbreak.
His response to the crisis - calm, clear, PRESIDENTIAL - only serves to further embarrass Trump, who continues to brag about his 2020 numbers and understate the seriousness of the crisis.
Here's Clark Mindock's report.
Fox pundit apologises after telling Republican National Committee chairwoman to 'go to hell'
All is not well at Fox News - a network Trump suggested was becoming "very politically correct" in conversation with Hannity last night - where host Bret Baier was compelled to host a group therapy session after pundit Donna Brazile told Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to "go to hell" during their Super Tuesday coverage.
“I just want to say that your tone has changed a little bit. You came in here a little bit hot and bothered, and you were spicy today," Baier said to Brazile. "And you had a little dust-up with Ronna McDaniel. Can you just explain that?”
“I must tell you the secret, I'm a forgiving kind of person," Brazile replied before thanking several veteran members of the Fox News team for speaking to her after the exchange in question.
"I want to thank Chris Wallace and Brit Hume and Juan Williams. Yes, all three men," she continued. "Juan gave me the fist bump. Chris gave me the talk. And Brit reminded me that, you know, sometimes you don't, you shouldn't call people out right."
All is not well at Fox News - a network Trump suggested was becoming "very politically correct" in conversation with Hannity last night - where host Bret Baier was compelled to host a group therapy session after pundit Donna Brazile told Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to "go to hell" during their Super Tuesday coverage.
“I just want to say that your tone has changed a little bit. You came in here a little bit hot and bothered, and you were spicy today," Baier said to Brazile. "And you had a little dust-up with Ronna McDaniel. Can you just explain that?”
“I must tell you the secret, I'm a forgiving kind of person," Brazile replied before thanking several veteran members of the Fox News team for speaking to her after the exchange in question.
"I want to thank Chris Wallace and Brit Hume and Juan Williams. Yes, all three men," she continued. "Juan gave me the fist bump. Chris gave me the talk. And Brit reminded me that, you know, sometimes you don't, you shouldn't call people out right."
Mike Pompeo among AIPAC guests who may have been exposed to coronavirus
Attendees of this week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) could potentially have been exposed to the contagion, according to the organisers, who sent out an email to guests warning that a group of attendees from New York “was potentially in contact prior to the conference with an individual who contracted coronavirus”.
Here's Andrew Naughtie with more.
Attendees of this week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) could potentially have been exposed to the contagion, according to the organisers, who sent out an email to guests warning that a group of attendees from New York “was potentially in contact prior to the conference with an individual who contracted coronavirus”.
That would include Trump's secretary of state, who presumably won't be welcome at the White House any time soon.
Here's Andrew Naughtie with more.
New delegate count shows Sanders-Biden race too close to call with 32 states still to vote
A few more bits from the aftermath of Super Tuesday now.
Here's Conrad Duncan on Bernie Sanders' inistence that he "still has a shot" last night at the being the man to take on Trump, "Joementum" be damned.
A few more bits from the aftermath of Super Tuesday now.
Here's Conrad Duncan on Bernie Sanders' inistence that he "still has a shot" last night at the being the man to take on Trump, "Joementum" be damned.
'Did Bloomberg run the worst presidential campaign ever? Probably'
Chris Stevenson offers this (brutal) post-mortem on the Bloomberg campaign for Indy Voices.
Chris Stevenson offers this (brutal) post-mortem on the Bloomberg campaign for Indy Voices.
Trump says government to begin withholding funds from sanctuary cities, bemoans media for quoting him
The president is out of bed and striking a fresh blow for basic humanitarian values by ending federal support for liberal cities that offer support to asylum seekers.
He follows that with the inevitable angry denial of something we all heard him say on Hannity last night.
Trump surely meant to write "MSNBC" here, although there does happent to be a parody account of that network called MSDNC.
The president is out of bed and striking a fresh blow for basic humanitarian values by ending federal support for liberal cities that offer support to asylum seekers.
He follows that with the inevitable angry denial of something we all heard him say on Hannity last night.
Trump surely meant to write "MSNBC" here, although there does happent to be a parody account of that network called MSDNC.
Trump picks accused torture advocate to be special envoy for key nuclear talks
The Trump administration has chosen one Marshall Billingslea to be its special envoy for nuclear talks, as the US prepares to begin negotiating fresh terms with China and its old Cold War foe Russia, according to The Guardian.
Billingslea is the current undersecretary for terrorism financing at the Treasury Department and is known as an advocate of state torture.
He was nominated to be under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights at the State Department last year before his confirmation process stalled when Democrats and human rights groups raised concern about his tenure as part of the George W Bush administration, when he oversaw the conditions under which detains were kept at Guantanamo Bay during the War on Terror.
"There has been ample evidence that Mr Billingslea encouraged the use of interrogation methods that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment while he served in the Bush administration," Daphne Eviatar, director of security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA, wrote back in September. "This makes a mockery of that important position."
“No special envoy, especially one like Marshall Billingslea who has a record of dismantling or blocking effective nuclear arms control, can hope to accomplish very much toward the goal of a wholly new multilateral nuclear arms control agreement through a one-day heads of state summit,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told The Guardian.
“But a decision by Trump and Putin to extend the New Start agreement would surely help prevent a new arms race and create more favorable conditions for more ambitious nuclear arms talks with Russia and China.”
The Trump administration has chosen one Marshall Billingslea to be its special envoy for nuclear talks, as the US prepares to begin negotiating fresh terms with China and its old Cold War foe Russia, according to The Guardian.
Billingslea is the current undersecretary for terrorism financing at the Treasury Department and is known as an advocate of state torture.
He was nominated to be under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights at the State Department last year before his confirmation process stalled when Democrats and human rights groups raised concern about his tenure as part of the George W Bush administration, when he oversaw the conditions under which detains were kept at Guantanamo Bay during the War on Terror.
"There has been ample evidence that Mr Billingslea encouraged the use of interrogation methods that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment while he served in the Bush administration," Daphne Eviatar, director of security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA, wrote back in September. "This makes a mockery of that important position."
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
The administration is currently looking to replace Obama's New Start deal with the fellow superpowers with one of his own, as his wont, and Russian president Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit to address the matter, most likely when the UN general assembly next convenes in September.“No special envoy, especially one like Marshall Billingslea who has a record of dismantling or blocking effective nuclear arms control, can hope to accomplish very much toward the goal of a wholly new multilateral nuclear arms control agreement through a one-day heads of state summit,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told The Guardian.
“But a decision by Trump and Putin to extend the New Start agreement would surely help prevent a new arms race and create more favorable conditions for more ambitious nuclear arms talks with Russia and China.”
Latinos and young people key to Bernie Sanders success in California, data shows
Securing a coalition of Latinos, young people and liberal voters up and down the state was crucial to Bernie Sanders winning California on Super Tuesday, the records show. With 415 pledged delegates, the state was by far the biggest prize up for grabs earlier this week and Sanders had been banking on a significant win there.
Securing a coalition of Latinos, young people and liberal voters up and down the state was crucial to Bernie Sanders winning California on Super Tuesday, the records show. With 415 pledged delegates, the state was by far the biggest prize up for grabs earlier this week and Sanders had been banking on a significant win there.
With millions of ballots left to count, it is impossible to know how the delegates will be allocated, and it may not be clear for several days or even weeks. Roughly two-thirds of California delegates are distributed based on congressional districts, with candidates needing at least 15 per cent of the vote to win any delegates.
But with Sanders receiving more than 70 per cent of Latino voters under the age of 30, and about half of Latino voters overall, according to exit polls, his lead over the other candidates looked decisive.
Here's a more comprehensive breakdown of the demographics.
Tulsi Gabbard’s ‘free speech’ lawsuit against Google dismissed
Gabbard, a congressional representative from Hawaii, is still a candidate for the Democratic nomination but has failed to garner any significant support in the early votes or national polls. She did, however, win her first delegate on Tuesday from American Samoa.
A federal judge has dismissed a $50m (£38.6m) lawsuit filed by Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard that accused Google of infringing on her free speech when it briefly suspended her advertising account last year.
The judge, Stephen Wilson of the US District Court for the Central District of California, granted Google’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Wednesday because the Gabbard campaign had failed to prove that the First Amendment clause that prohibits the government from curbing free speech applied to Google as a private company.
The Gabbard campaign’s lawsuit failed to establish “how Google’s regulation of its own platform is in any way equivalent to a governmental regulation of an election”, Wilson wrote in his order.
Gabbard, a congressional representative from Hawaii, is still a candidate for the Democratic nomination but has failed to garner any significant support in the early votes or national polls. She did, however, win her first delegate on Tuesday from American Samoa.
Elizabeth Warren drops out of presidential race
Despite some superb debate performances, the well-liked Massachusetts senator is ending her campaign.
We'll always have that Bloomberg disembowelling.
Here's our breaking story.
Despite some superb debate performances, the well-liked Massachusetts senator is ending her campaign.
We'll always have that Bloomberg disembowelling.
Here's our breaking story.
