He will do a news conference tonight to try to handle the situation as he has tried to manage everything else ….
The markets ARE dropping….
And virus reports ARE increasing….
But Trump’s request for money for American efforts to combat the coming cases has been seen as inadequate….Some are concerned that Trump may NOT be up to dealing with something that won’t be handles with bull shit …. reality shifting efforts …
President Trump blamed the media on Wednesday for “doing everything possible” to make the coronavirus “look as bad as possible,” even as he said his administration was “doing a great job” with a virus that the Centers for Disease Control said would inevitably hit American shores.
Mr. Trump set a 6 p.m. White House news conference to discuss the virus with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But his reassurances have not calmed global markets, which were down sharply overseas Wednesday morning. A day after its worst one-day slide in two years, the S&P 500 closed down 3 percent on Tuesday, a decline that put the index deeper in the red for 2020.
With cabinet secretaries fanning out on Capitol Hill, Wednesday promised more sharp questioning about the administration’s preparedness for a virus that has now infected more than 81,000 people globally and killed more than 2,700.
Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, told lawmakers on Wednesday morning that the C.D.C. has already exhausted the $105 million rapid response fund that the federal government had been using in its initial response efforts. He has proposed shifting $136 million from other health programs to the coronavirus to replenish the government’s efforts.
“It’s a very fast-moving process,” he said.
Representative Rosa DeLauro, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles health care, blasted the White House’s funding proposals as “unacceptable.”
“We want to be supportive,” she said.
The White House has requested $1.25 billion in new funds to prepare for coronavirus, but Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, proposed on Wednesday to increase that dramatically, to $8.5 billion in new emergency funds.
The politics of coronavirus shifted drastically on Tuesday when Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the C.D.C.’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters that “it’s not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen.”…
People SHOULD be worried about Trump handling the virus situation ….
He isn’t good at reality….
Donald Trump could see the Chinese screw him out of a second term at a great loss to themselves….
Jim Sciutto
—>>> Chinese economic growth likely down 10-15% due to Coronavirus, risk of global recession if doesn’t dissipate, says Kevin Hassett, Trump’s fmr. Chmn of WH Council of Economic Advisors on @CNNnewsroom just now.
Has Weird Al written his “My Corona” parody song yet?
And if not, am I an idiot for not copyrighting one right away?
I hope he does. And Trump angrily Tweets at Weird Al for daring to mention the disease he wants everyone to ignore.
That’ll really turn off the white men over 40 from the GOP!
Sorry you slowpokes (and Weird Al): the genius of free enterprise, free thought and free expression has already begotten several public efforts by striving, adventurous early worm-getters.
Just Bing or Google “my corona lyrics 2020” and you’ll get raw, unfinished gems like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Kq31ciRSk
On the other hand, the genius of free capitalist (or artistic) competition should inspire you to do even better (starting with an intelligible soundtrack).
In the immortal words of Steve Ballmer, “Embrace, Extend, Extinugish”.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers released a far better version to YouTube a day earlier, so the competitive road towards perfection is not always linear:
Breaking…..
Trump has named VP Pence to lead the nations response to the Coronavirus situation…
What’s he gonna do? Electroshock the virus away like it was a gay?
¿ Hold a White House (or Blair House) interfaith exorcism ?
Talking Points Memo
@TPM
Trump Claims Coronavirus Is ‘A New Hoax’ By Democrats https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-accuse-democrats-coronavirus-new-hoax
Who you gonna believe?
Them damn Lyin medical authorities?
Or Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump?
Politico
BREAKING: A person in Washington state has died of coronavirus, health officials there confirm — marking the first death in the United States from the virus
So he had a news conference today just to discuss a “hoax”?
Typical…
The knucklehead just runs his mouth….
Then his people have correct his self serving stupidity …
Happens ALL the time…
Let’s be honest though and not overdo it on being inaccurate in opposition to Trump. I yield to nobody in being anti-Trump and I definitely think that he and potentially the Administration he “leads” is worthy of criticism over how Coronavirus is being handled.
However, he is not saying the virus itself is a “hoax” or that people do not have it. He is saying that it is a hoax that he is not handling it perfectly and all of that.
He is almost certainly far from right on his point but there is a difference between that and claiming that the disease itself is not real.
But that is not what he initially said.
and he is still saying that there are only 20+ cases in the US.
He seemed to mostly want to discuss the “peace plan” with the Taliban, which sounds like the biggest hoax of all.
… but who will pay for The Wall ?
(I understand that China has some experience in building massive but ineffective walls. Having the kind of régime that she does, perhaps the authorities could build a Wall to seal in her billion-odd inhabitants. You might call it a Golden Shield.)
Trump announces coronavirus travel restrictions and screening efforts on certain visitors
UPDATED ON: FEBRUARY 29, 2020 / 2:59 PM / CBS NEWS
President Trump on Saturday announced new efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus, including new travel restrictions on visitors from Iran and further screening efforts on people coming from South Korea and Italy. Mr. Trump confirmed a person has died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, in Washington state.
Mr. Trump said in his conference that there were 22 known cases of coronavirus in the U.S. The death in Washington is the first reported coronavirus death in the United States. Mr. Trump described the person who died as a “wonderful woman” and “a medically high-risk patient in her late fifties.”
Mr. Trump also said that experts in the administration “have been working round the clock, so hard on the coronavirus.”
“It’s a tough one, but a lot of progress has been made,” Mr. Trump said. The president also said that the White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, met on Saturday.
Pence said that the president authorized action for expanding additional travel restrictions on Iran, and for increasing the advisory for Americans to not travel to specific regions in Italy and South Korea most affected by the coronavirus. Pence also said that the task force would be working with Congress to provide supplemental funding to respond to the coronavirus, and added that “the average American does not need to go out and buy a mask.”
Mr. Trump added that he would be meeting with the largest pharmaceutical companies “in the world” to discuss a potential vaccine on Monday.
Mr. Trump took a veiled shot at the press for not doing more to report what he described as a very strong response to the coronavirus.
“We’re doing really well. Very, very professionally handled,” Mr. Trump said. “We will respectfully ask the media and politicians and everyone involved not to do anything to incite a panic.”
Trump also said that he did not regret using the word “hoax” in the context of the coronavirus response at a rally in South Carolina Friday.
“Hoax referred to the action that they take to try to pin this on somebody because we’ve done such a good job,” Mr. Trump said, accusing Democrats of politicizing coronavirus.
Mr. Trump also said that he was considering closing the southern border in response to the spread of the virus.
“Yes, we are thinking about the southern border. We are looking at that very strongly,” Mr. Trump said. He did not mention closing the northern border with Canada. However, he later said the southern border “is not a border that seems to be much of a problem right now.”
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar emphasized that “the risk remains low” to the average American. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also said “the country as a whole still remains at a low risk but this remains an evolving situation.” Fauci said that 15 to 20% of those who contract coronavirus will need hospitalization, and the vast majority of people who “get into trouble” are of advanced age or have previous underlying conditions.
Fauci also shot down reports of people becoming re-infected with coronavirus, saying there is “no indication that that’s going on at all.”
After the press conference, Mr. Trump will head to speak at national gathering of conservatives in Washington.
Since the president made his initial remarks on coronavirus, a Health and Human Services whistleblower alleged that more than a dozen health workers were sent to aid with evacuees from China without proper training or appropriate protective gear.
The White House also announced Friday that a planned meeting of ASEAN leaders scheduled for March in Las Vegas would be canceled amid coronavirus concerns.
On Wednesday, the president announced he would put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of efforts to tackle the coronavirus, as the administration seeks to reassure the public and the markets amid the global coronavirus outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned Americans to prepare for disruptions to their lives and said the spread of the virus in the country is not a matter of if, but when. Mr. Trump appeared to disagree with that assessment, saying, “I don’t think it’s inevitable,” though he added, “It possibly will. It could be at a very small level or it could be at a larger level. Whatever happens, we’re totally prepared.”
Azar remains the head of the president’s coronavirus task force, but Pence said the administration would add personnel to the White House to address the outbreak, and work closely with Congress to address the situation.
Gaby Ake, Grace Segers and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.
First published on February 29, 2020 / 1:03 PM
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Link to CBS story above