Over the weekend, a new report by The New York Times offered further confirmation that Donald Trump was warned of the potential severity of the growing COVID-19 pandemic in clear terms—in January. Trump was aware at the time of a Jan. 29 memo by trade adviser Peter Navarro that explicitly warned that a half million U.S. deaths were possible if no action was taken. Trump was personally warned by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar just one day later; Trump dismissed his warnings as "alarmist."
It would not be until mid-March, when the virus had not only reached America but grown into an uncontrolled nationwide pandemic, crashing the stock markets, causing deaths, and resulting in the precise medical supply shortages government officials had warned of, that either advisers or his television set were apparently able to drill the severity of the crisis into Trump's head.
In today's pandemic news:
• One month after a Rose Garden announcement of a partnership between the Trump White House and a host of corporations to establish COVID-19 testing locations nationwide, the effort appears to have now collapsed. Total number of testing locations made available nationwide: Eight.
• A CNN appearance by federal pandemic expert Dr. Anthony Fauci again caused turmoil within Trump supporter circles after Fauci acknowledged that taking action earlier in the United States "could have saved lives." Trump himself retweeted a tweet hashtagged "#FireFauci," causing the White House to scramble to (emptily) assert that Fauci "remains a trusted adviser" to Trump.
• Asked on MSNBC to confirm that the White House knew the severity of the emerging pandemic in January, Dr. Fauci responded "You bet."
• Though the Trump administration was responsible for none of the state-by-state, stay-at-home orders enacted to slow the spread of the pandemic, Trump today asserted that he himself had the authority to make the "decision" to "open up" those states again. This is, at least according to our current rule of law, false.
• Governors on both coasts instead announced their states will be joining together to make regional determinations on when and how to ease social distancing measures.
• The next planned deflection of blame by Trump's team for the collapse of the federal coronavirus response: An orchestrated move to blame the World Health Organization.
• The Washington Post reported that the White House explicitly told lawmakers Trump would reject pandemic relief legislation if it included funds for the U.S. Postal Service. (The USPS is the most popular agency in the federal government.)
• Only days after forcing Wisconsin voters to vote in person during the pandemic rather than allowing a temporary postponement of state elections, the Supreme Court announced that they will be holding oral arguments via teleconferencing during the upcoming session due to the pandemic's dangers.
• Democrats are continuing to hold firm in their demands that the next pandemic relief bill include emergency aid to states, hospitals, and the unemployed.
• Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro was mulched into a fine paste by a 60 Minutes segment in which he challenged the program to "show me" that past administrations had warned that a global pandemic could be coming. The program politely obliged. (Navarro's remains have been mixed into the Rose Garden topsoil, which may result in some future instances of light haunting.)
• The drive for increased vote-by-mail options for state and national elections now includes support from former first lady Michelle Obama. Republicans, however, continue voter suppression efforts.
• Nobody should be surprised by COVID-19's disproportionate impact on the nation's black communities. Meanwhile, the Surgeon General's awkward attempts to reassure black and Latino Americans fell flat.
• The world's largest pork producer was forced to close its Sioux Falls, South Dakota plant "indefinitely" due to a COVID-19 outbreak among its workers. The plant provides 5% of the nation's pork production.
• Immigrants detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center were finally offered face masks to help protect them—if they agreed to sign a document releasing the government contractor responsible for the site from liability. That requirement was dropped after fury and a threatened hunger strike from detainees.
• Approval of the Trump-led federal response to the pandemic has dropped 11 points among independent voters in the past two weeks.
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients have been risking their lives as healthcare workers and in other essential roles during the pandemic. The Trump administration, however, has targeted them from the beginning of his administration.
• Horrible Reagan-era monsterperson Bill Bennett resurfaced to assist Fox News in its continued minimization of the pandemic, declaring that "we are gonna have fewer fatalities from this than from the flu." Bennett is known for writing books on morality and virtuousness, and for losing millions as a high-stakes casino gambler.
