L-R Jared Kushner, Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House)
Countries that have successfully contained their outbreaks have empowered scientists to lead the response. But when Jared Kushner set out in March to solve the diagnostic-testing crisis, his efforts began not with public health experts but with bankers and billionaires. They saw themselves as the “A-team of people who get shit done,” as one participant proclaimed in a March Politico article.
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The effort of the White House team was “apolitical,” said the participant, and undertaken “with the nation’s best interests in mind.”
But the effort ran headlong into shifting sentiment at the White House. Trusting his vaunted political instincts, President Trump had been downplaying concerns about the virus and spreading misinformation about it—efforts that were soon amplified by Republican elected officials and right-wing media figures.
Worried about the stock market and his reelection prospects, Trump also feared that more testing would only lead to higher case counts and more bad publicity. Meanwhile, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, was reportedly sharing models with senior staff that optimistically—and erroneously, it would turn out—predicted the virus would soon fade away.
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Most troubling of all, perhaps, was a sentiment the expert said a member of Kushner’s team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically. “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy,” said the expert.
Vanity Fair also reports Kushner’s team allegedly purchased 3.5 million Covid-19 tests from an Abu Dhabi–based artificial intelligence company without using normal procurement procedures. Despite the $52 million price tag, the tests were never utilized after being found “contaminated and unusable.”
Additionally, the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims 
At this writing, 
Biden also leads on questions of traits needed to be an effective president like compassion (Biden 56% – Trump 36%), intelligence (Biden 51% – Trump 41%), and judgement (Biden 52% – Trump 40%). Even on the issue of ‘mental soundness,’ which the Trump campaign has tried to characterize Biden as being mentally deficient, the public sees Biden as more in control of his mental faculties than Trump (47% – 43% respectively). That said, with the 2016 presidential election still fresh in our minds, voters know anything can happen. When asked if Trump will be reelected the results were a tie – 45% each side with 10% answering ‘Unsure.’ 
It’s worth noting, however, that tie is bad news for Trump. Back in February, the Fox News poll found 56% believed Trump would score a second term while only 43% were non-believers. I’m not a ‘national poll’ fan, but since this data comes from Fox News, I will note when asked if the election were held today, 49% said they would cast their ballot for Joe Biden while only 41% would vote Trump. Even with the 3% margin of error that is not good news for the Donald. 
