Driving the day: At his CDC press conference yesterday, Trump falsely stated that, “Anybody that wants a test gets a test.”
What to Watch For: On Saturday, President Trump will hold a private dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-A-Lago. Vice President Pence is in Florida meeting with cruise industry executives. At 1:30 PM, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn will hold a press briefing in Washington, DC on the coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci will appear on Fox News Sunday and Meet the Press. Surgeon General Jerome Adams will appear on Face the Nation and State of the Union.
Coronavirus Update
-
President Trump continued to downplay the economic effects of the outbreak at stops throughout the day Friday. At the bill signing for the emergency funding bill he said, “A lot of people are staying here. They’re going to be doing their business here. They’re going to be traveling here. They’ll be going to resorts here. And, you know, we have a great place … we’re going to have Americans staying home.” At a fundraiser at Mar-A-Lago, Trump reassured donors that concerns over the virus will be over “in a couple of months” While Trump was fundraising, the first two Florida deaths from coronavirus were announced.
-
After initially cancelling the trip over fears that a staff member was infected with coronavirus, on Friday evening Trump held a press conference at the CDC. Trump said he wanted to leave hundreds of potentially-ill people aboard a cruise ship anchored off San Francisco because, “I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.” He referred to Washington Governor Jay Inslee as a “snake” and criticized Mike Pence for praising the state’s response to the outbreak. Trump defended his administration’s dismissal of the global pandemic preparedness team earlier in his term because, “this is something that you never really think can happen”
-
As questions continued to rise about the numbers and availability of tests, at his CDC press conference, Trump falsely stated that, “Anybody that wants a test gets a test…. the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect..” At the bill signing for the emergency funding bill on Friday morning, HHS Secretary Alex Azar promised that “as many as 4 million tests next week are going to be driving forward.” Azar insisted that, “There is no testing kit shortage, nor has there ever been.” At the Friday afternoon task force press briefing, Mike Pence said that 900,000 tests have been shipped out, but it will be a matter of weeks before testing is widely available.
-
In a series of media appearances on Friday, coronavirus task force member and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow said that the threat of coronavirus was “contained” and that “the private sector is going to solve this disease.” On the economic impact of the virus, Kudlow said “We think we’ll get out of this in months.” Senior White House aide Kellyanne Conway told a reporter that the virus “Is being contained. And, do you not think it’s being contained?” Trump himself declared at the bill singing, “This came unexpectedly, it came out of China, we closed it down, we stopped it.”
-
In an appearance on Fox and Friends on Friday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus.” The World Health Organization has issued guidelines asking leaders not to refer to the virus that way because it stokes confusion, racism and stigmatization.
Federal Preparedness
The Atlantic: The Strongest Evidence Yet That America Is Botching Coronavirus Testing
Axios: Trump policies could scare immigrants away from coronavirus care
CNBC: Doctor who treated first US coronavirus patient says COVID-19 has been ‘circulating unchecked’ for weeks
CNN: Cruise passengers not told about coronavirus test results prior to Pence announcement
New York Times: Nurses Battling Coronavirus Beg for Protective Gear and Better Planning
New York Times: Top Coronavirus Official for U.S. Has Fought an Epidemic Before
New York Times: With Test Kits in Short Supply, Health Officials Sound Alarms
Newsweek: ‘Broken’ Coronavirus Testing Process In U.S. Could Have Enabled Covid-19 To Spread ‘silently’ For Weeks, Experts Warn
Politico: Trump administration still struggling to ramp up coronavirus testing
Reuters: Americans divided on party lines over risk from coronavirus: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Talking Points Memo: Coronavirus Raises Prospect Of Generic Drug Shortages
Vox: An expert explains how America got stuck playing catch-up on coronavirus
Washington Post: White House is considering tax relief for airline, travel, and cruise industries hurt by coronavirus
Washington Post: Senators, union leaders criticize Trump administration’s guidance for federal workers on coronavirus
Affordability
Bloomberg: Coronavirus Hits America Where It’s Weakest With Big Health Gaps
Business Insider: 11 mind-blowing facts that show how coronavirus could create a new financial crisis for everyday Americans
Talking Points Memo: How Are You Gonna Pay For That? Crisis Leaves Rural Health Care Unprepared For COVID Outbreak
Leadership
CNN: Trump waves off economists’ prescriptions for preventing US coronavirus slowdown
CNN: Trump muddles coronavirus message as response team struggles to match ‘wishful thinking’
Bloomberg: Trump and CDC Director Insist Coronavirus Tests Are Working
Los Angeles Times: Trump’s frustration with coronavirus: He can’t make a deal with it
The Hill: Azar contradicts Pence, says there’s no coronavirus testing kit shortage
New York Post: How the White House protects Trump and his staff from coronavirus
New York Times: Pence, a Loyalist Tapped for Coronavirus Effort, Adds to Trump’s Mixed Messages
Politico: Trump signs $8.3B emergency coronavirus package
Politico: Trump calls Inslee a ‘snake’ over criticism of coronavirus rhetoric
Politico: Trump’s back-and-forth day: A rebooked CDC trip and a coronavirus false alarm
Politico: Trump officials scramble to avert economic panic over coronavirus
Talking Points Memo: Larry Kudlow Is Still Out There Spewing Happy Talk About COVID-19
Washington Post: ‘Maybe I have a natural ability’: Trump plays medical expert on coronavirus by second-guessing the professionals
Washington Post (Analysis): Trump’s bogus effort to blame Obama for sluggish coronavirus testing
Economic Impacts
Bloomberg: The U.S. May Already Be in a Recession
CNBC: EBay bans sales of all face masks and hand sanitizers to combat coronavirus price gouging
NBC: In Facebook groups, coronavirus misinformation thrives despite broader crackdown
New York Times: Why a Coronavirus Recession Could Be Extra Painful: Its Suddenness
New York Times: Workplace vs. Coronavirus: ‘No One Has a Playbook for This’
New York Times: A Global Outbreak is Fueling The Backlash to Globalization
New York Times (Austan Goolsbee): Why the Coronavirus Could Threaten the U.S. Economy Even More Than China’s
In The States
California
Los Angeles Times: Chaos at hospitals due to shortage of coronavirus testing
Politico: California braces for economic fallout as coronavirus spreads
San Jose Mercury News: Stanford cancels in-person classes over coronavirus concerns
Washington Post: 21 people test positive for coronavirus on California cruise ship, out of 46 tested so far
Florida
Tampa Bay Times: Two Floridians have died of coronavirus. Two new patients found in Broward.
Washington
New York Times: First U.S. Colleges Close Classrooms as Virus Spreads. More Could Follow.
New York Times: ‘It’s Pure Panic’: A Wrenching Wait at Nursing Home Where Coronavirus Took Hold
Trump Tweets
“It is FAKE NEWS that @HHSGov @SecAzar is “sidelined” from the great job he is doing on the CoronaVirus Task Force. He has the total confidence of the @VP and myself, and is doing a fantastic job, as the numbers would indicate!” [@realDonaldTrump, 3/6/20]
“Spoke to Governor @GavinNewsom early this morning about the cruise ship quarantined off the California Coast. CoronaVirus test kits have been delivered, testing is taking place now.” [@realDonaldTrump, 3/6/20]