Tag: Donald Trump

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Trump Promotes Anti-Malaria Drug Not Approved As Treatment For Coronavirus

Donald Trump continues to push the idea that anti-malaria drug chloroquine has been approved as treatment for COVID-19. It has not. Via Mediaite:

At a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing Friday, Fox News reporter John Roberts asked Fauci about the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, which is being tested as a treatment for COVID-19 but has not been approved for that use, despite Trump’s claim to the contrary yesterday.

“It was explained yesterday there has been some promise with hydroxychloroquine, this potential therapy for people who are infected with coronavirus,” Roberts said, then asked, “Is there any evidence to suggest that as with malaria it might be used as a prophylaxis against COVID-19?”

“The answer is no, and the evidence that you’re talking about, John, is anecdotal evidence,” Dr. Fauci replied, adding “So as the commissioner of FDA and the president mentioned yesterday, we’re trying to strike a balance between making something with a potential of an effect to the American people, available, at the same time that we do it under the auspices of a protocol that would give us information to determine if it’s truly safe and truly effective.”

Trump tweeted about the drug again this morning:

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Gallup: Trump Approval Rating Drops Amid Mixed Coronavirus Messaging

Donald Trump (image public domain/White House)
Gallup Polling reports Donald Trump’s approval rating, which had risen in the aftermath of his impeachment acquittal, has dipped 5 points to 44 percent as he and his administration have sent conflicting messages about the severity of the COVID-19 threat.

The latest reading is from Gallup’s March 2-13 poll, which was conducted as the novel coronavirus spread throughout the U.S., eventually leading to international travel restrictions, the cancellation of major U.S. events and widespread school closures.

The magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. quickly evolved over the poll’s field period, and Americans’ (particularly Democrats’ and independents’) concern about it increased sharply. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded historic declines in the past two weeks.

Graphic showing Donald Trump's approval rating dropping to 44 percent approval.
(graphic via Gallup)
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Trump ‘Considering A Full Pardon’ For Michael Flynn

Michael Flynn (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
In a surprise to no one, Donald Trump said on Sunday he is “considering a full pardon” for his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Flynn admitted he lied to the FBI in December 2017 about his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the United States, in the weeks before Trump took office. NBC News reports the Justice Department reversed its original position in January and recommended that Flynn be sentenced to up to six months in prison. Attorneys for Flynn then filed papers to withdraw his guilty plea claiming federal prosecutors violated his rights and tricked him into pleading guilty. Referencing an unspecified report that the Justice Department had “lost” records pertaining to Flynn, Trump tweeted, “I am strongly considering a Full Pardon!”

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Trump Awaits Results After Testing For Coronavirus

ABC News reports: Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has taken a COVID-19 test and is awaiting the results. Trump, who said on Friday he’d “most likely get tested,” said he’s unsure when his results will come back. His temperature was taken, and he said it was “totally normal.” On Friday, Trump said he’d “most likely” get tested after reports that multiple officials from Brazil who attended a dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday tested positive for the virus. In related news, Vice President Mike Pence announced today the U.S. travel ban currently in place for parts of Europe has been extended to the UK and Ireland. A ban on some travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days was announced earlier this week by Trump. The original restrictions affected the area known as the Schengen zone and is made up of 26 countries including Italy, Spain, France, and Germany.

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News Round-Up: March 13, 2020

Matt Moran in ‘Stranger Hearts’ now streaming on Dekkoo
Some news items you might have missed: • Dekkoo: Matt Moran (above) stars as Billy, a smooth-talking media mogul by day/leather bar aficionado by night, who finds his life turned upside down when he’s faced with an unexpected health crisis in the new drama Stranger Hearts now streaming on the gay-centric platform. Read my review of the series here. • Axios: Louisiana is the first state to delay its primary in response to the novel coronavirus. The contest has been moved from April 4 to June 20. Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio have announced their March 17 primaries will go on as scheduled. • KIT212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s weekly round-up of gay rags in the U.S. and abroad including Connor Jessup covering Attitude Magazine (below). • The Hill: Democratic Senate candidate Mark Kelly (D) has a 12-point lead over Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) in the Arizona Senate race, according to a Univision poll released Friday. Kelly garnered 48 percent support versus McSally’s 36 percent. • Snopes: At today’s press conference regarding the coronavirus, PBS Newshour’s Yamiche Alcindor asked Donald Trump about closing the National Security Council’s pandemics team in 2018. That group would have been on the ready to coordinate responses to any possible pandemics. Today, Trump denied knowing anything about the team’s dismissal.

• Buzzfeed News: Donald Trump’s announcement that the US will suspend all travel from Europe to the US for 30 days sent Americans traveling in Europe into hysteria trying to get home when he failed to mention the ban wouldn’t affect U.S. citizens. • Washington Post: Donald Trump tried to blame the current coronavirus threat on former President Barack Obama. Folks weren’t having it.

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Report: The Need To Flatter Trump Impeded Coronavirus Response

(image via public domain)
Politico reporter Dan Diamond told NPR’s Terry Gross during an episode of “Fresh Air” that infighting at the Department of Health and Human Services and the need to flatter Donald Trump impeded the response to the coronavirus. Via NPR:

In the case of [Health and Human Services Secretary] Alex Azar, he did go to the president in January. He did push past resistance from the president’s political aides to warn the president the new coronavirus could be a major problem. There were aides around Trump – Kellyanne Conway had some skepticism at times that this was something that needed to be a presidential priority.

But at the same time, Secretary Azar has not always given the president the worst-case scenario of what could happen. My understanding is he did not push to do aggressive additional testing in recent weeks, and that’s partly because more testing might have led to more cases being discovered of coronavirus outbreak, and the president had made clear – the lower the numbers on coronavirus, the better for the president, the better for his potential reelection this fall.

You can listen to the chat via NPR below. Diamond’s remarks referenced above happen around the 29:20 mark.

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Trump Met With Brazilian Official Now Diagnosed With Coronavirus

(image via Instagram/FabioWajngarten)
The Washington Post is reporting a Brazilian official who attended meetings with Donald Trump and Mike Pence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday has tested positive for coronavirus. Fabio Wajngarten, a spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for covid-19, Brazilian officials said. Wajngarten posted a photo to his Instagram account where he is standing directly on Trump’s left side.

Bolsonaro has reportedly canceled his official agenda on Thursday and remains at the presidential palace. He is under medical observation, according to two people close to him who requested anonymity because the information isn’t public. Trump said he “isn’t concerned” about the development, according to a White House pool report.

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Report: Trump Waits For Son-In-Law Jared Kushner To ‘Finish Research’ Before Declaring Emergency

Donald Trump (image via White House/Public Domain)
Politico reports that Donald Trump is wary of announcing an all-out emergency regarding the coronavirus threat because he’s afraid of escalating fears ramping up even further.

Trump’s concern at this point is that going further could hamper his narrative that the coronavirus is similar to the seasonal flu, said the three people familiar with the discussions. The administration is also negotiating with Congress over a stimulus package designed to cushion the coronavirus-hampered economy. But that calculation could change in the coming weeks.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is pushing for the designation but Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump tapped to lead the administration’s coronavirus response, doesn’t want Trump to act until Congress passes a stimulus package, according to two of the people.

There’s no deadline for a decision, but one of the people familiar with the talks said the task force will not give Trump its final verdict until Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, finishes his research and comes to a conclusion himself.

So, Jared is now an expert on the coronavirus…? Or is he doing a cost-benefit analysis trying to figure out an acceptable number of Americans who can die in the pandemic? The White House cancelled the coronavirus task force briefing today, as well as Trump’s scheduled dinner with the Pences at the Naval Observatory. The White House has announced Trump will address the nation tonight at 9 pm ET regarding economic and health steps to mitigate the ongoing crisis.

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Dow Jones Enters Bear Market Territory After 11 Year Run

The 11-year Dow Jones bull market that began on March 9, 2009, under President Obama has ended under Donald Trump as the stock market has now declined 20% from recent record highs. We’re now officially in bear market territory. From NBC News:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down more than 1,400 points on Wednesday, crossing firmly into bear market territory, or a 20 percent decline from a 52-week high. The losses came as the World Health Organization labeled the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

The S&P 500 and the Dow are currently down more than 14 percent from the record highs they hit just last month, making this the fastest drawdown from peak to decline.

Wednesday’s massive sell-off is a response to the lack of concerted policy action from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has been criticized for its mixed messaging about the best ways to address and contain the virus.

In related news, the World Health Organization on Wednesday characterized the coronavirus as a pandemic for the first time. Currently, there are more than 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States. Experts say that number that is expected to rise as testing becomes more widely available.

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Dow Drops 2,014 Points – Biggest Plunge Since 2008

(graphic via NY Times)
The Dow closed down more than 2,000 points today marking the worst point decline ever, and the worst percentage decline since December 2008. So. Much. Winning. From the Washington Post:

The stock markets suffered stunning declines Monday — with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 2014 points — as the threat of a coronavirus-fueled oil war and ongoing panic about the spreading disease grew and triggered a rare forced halt to trading early in the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average cratered 7.8 percent to close at 23,851. The S&P 500, a broader measure of stocks, shed 7.6 percent by the close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 7.3 percent.

The New York Stock Exchange tripped the so-called “circuit breaker” at a time of relentless volatility for global markets, which have been battered for weeks as the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold. The forced 15-minute break initially appeared to have a stabilizing effect, but selling resumed before the end of the regular trading.

The oil industry had a terrible day as ten oil producers were the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 thanks, in part, to the ongoing price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Oil prices fell 30 percent marking the biggest slide since 1991. By the way, remember: there’s a tweet for everything: Donald Trump, who has taken ALL the credit for the stock market’s performance for the past three years, was predictably defensive on Twitter. Live by the market, die by the market.