Donald Trump ran on the promise to rescue the American economy….
To ‘Make America Great Again’…..
He had that red MAGA hat….
All THAT?
Has NOT happened…
And THAT was before the virus and economy tanking….
In particular though?
Are the states he was able to convince he WAS their saviour ….
All around the country jobless numbers ARE breaking records…
Will those people vote for Trump come November?
Battleground states that handed Donald Trump the presidency four years ago are seeing higher-than-average layoffs amid an economic downturn wreaking havoc across the country — a dynamic that could hold major implications for November’s election.
Job losses are piling up in places like Michigan, where more than one in four workers applied for unemployment benefits in the past five weeks, according to a POLITICO analysis of Labor Department data. In Pennsylvania, another key Rust Belt state that voted for Trump in 2016, nearly one-fourth of the workforce has filed an unemployment claim since mid-March. Ohio is seeing more than 17 percent of workers filing jobless claims, outpacing the national average of 16.1 percent, as is Minnesota, a state Trump narrowly lost.
One of the only major battlegrounds seeing a lower claims rate than the national average is Wisconsin, according to the analysis, which compared claims filed to the number of employees on states’ non-farm payrolls in February. But with more than one in eight workers filing for benefits there, it’s still a dramatic rise for a state that for years boasted an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent or lower, trending below the national average.
The numbers are likely to continue rising for weeks, as states work through a backlog of applications and race to dole out benefits to gig workers and others who are newly eligible for aid. They’ll remain elevated as long as restaurants, retail stores and other non-essential businesses remain shuttered. And even once some areas of the country begin to reopen, it could be months or years before Americans are back to work at the same levels as before — undercutting Trump’s plans to hang his re-election bid on leading the economy to a robust recovery.
Instead, Democrats across the country are already working to make the remainder of the 2020 campaign a referendum in part on the economic fallout from the coronavirus, and whether more could have been done to avoid shutdowns that threw more than 26 million Americans out of work in just over a month….
image…businessinsider.com
Well, we may be in luck, he basically endorsed the Tide Challenge to fight the Coronavirus…Also using UV light inside the body to kill the virus…
Doctor Trump…he really is the biggest distracter in chief we have had in a long time…3 of the last 4 Republican Presidents were distracter in chiefs to push the Right Agenda, Reagan, Bush the Third and Trump…
The only one who wasn’t a distractor was Poppa Bush and he was so stiff and the Economy in a recession he lost…
Lets see how the 2020 elections turn out..I will be out there voting I know that for sure…Ebola couldn’t keep home…lol
Trump’s latest is disinfectant….
Drinking it?
How about shining a light inside the body…
No clue….
And where are the Republicans to denounce this insanity?
Nowhere to be found..
Fox News doesn’t even mention it on their website this morning.
I wonder how many Republicans will issue a strong rebuke to Trump’s impersonation of Dr. Nick from The Simpson’s?
My guess is they’ll let it slide and wait for our Quack in Chief to say he didn’t say that and all will be back to “normal”.
I’m sure he’ll soon be recommending old family and traditional-American therapies, such as leeching and cupping.
And making positive cases wear special clothes, carry bells, and (as a substitute for social distancing) cry out to any and all passers-by “Unclean! Unclean!”
He’d no doubt speculate [aloud, of course, at a 2-hour live press conference] about shipping them all off to Molokai, until someone incredibly brave lets him know that Molokai is within the U.S.A.
Contrary to the blathering we heard here yesterday…
“Biden gotta do this…Biden must do that”
And the usual “ stuff” spouted off here by you know who?
NBC has an excellent story on their website attributing Bidens recent good poll numbers as much to him Not being Donald Trump as anything.
In my view,so far at latest, Biden is running exactly the type of campaign called for at this time.
Things may ,and likely ,will change as things progress but right now?
Stay the course.
Oh and let chicken litte here babble on.His blandishments are so much nothing!
I agree Jack on all counts.
Yep, with Biden hitting or approaching 50% in all of the battleground states it’s pretty clear what he is doing is working.
The commentary from the peanut gallery (james, CG)–notwithstanding.
I am the one who said the less Biden is in the spotlight the better for him. That is what has been happening and that is why he has favorable polls recently.
Definitely don’t get too cocky though.
True–but you also remarked on how his interviews weren’t being well received.
Seems to me they are being received well enough to bump up his polls and get the whole of the Democratic Party as well as an increasing number of high profile Republicans like Meghan McCain (and possibly Larry Hogan if Gunzburger’s Vaguebooking is any indication) behind him.
None of us who are serious about evicting Trump from the White House are getting cocky. If anything our resolve is going stronger–just look at the voters in Wisconsin showing up to vote despite Republican efforts to stifle the vote. They beat a conservative Supreme Court justice by double digits.
Not cocky–just pissed!
It’s not too late. You can join us.
“Regular” people aren’t seeing or paying attention to his interviews or what is on his podcast, etc. Only political junkies and/or die-hard partisans have opinions on them. For Biden, right now, that is a good thing.
You will never want me to “join” you, because I will not change my beliefs or values and compromise is a dirty word in both parties these days. I sincerely hope you guys can beat Trump, but I will be the “opposition” as soon as that happens anyway.
Oh and now the waterworks. Compromise is a dirty word. All of politics is cursed. Both sides.
That’s so 2016.
Might I add “you don’t want me”–the words of a petulant child. The country is at stake here. Get over yourself.
“We the People”
Simple concept. Any childish petulance is on behalf of those who whine and cry about someone not seeing things exactly as they do. I think you are largely using me as a proxy though on this. It has no bearing on me.
Not a proxy, Just irrelevant. The Democratic Party is united and any third party defection will be minor. I really don’t care if you vote for a statistically insignificant write in or unknown or don’t vote at all. I like giving you crap about it because you act like it’s some sort of superior mindset to be “above it all”
It’s above nothing.
If I was saying it was “above it all”, I would be criticizing those who will not do as I do. I do nothing of the sort. If a conservative thinks they need to vote for Biden, I will not say a word to try to change their mind. Only you have the issue of of the need to “give crap.”
I am making the right choice for me. If your party is united, you don’t need me anyway obviously.
CG?
Joe Biden NEEDS EVERY vote he CAN get…
If you mean what you say about Trump here?…
Plan on voting FOR Joe Biden…
No, he doesn’t need my vote, and you were prepared to not vote for other Democrats yourself.
He made his choice about the kind of votes he needs or was afraid of not getting and there are consequences to those political choices. Of course I am not voting for Trump. You are welcome.
Ya have 6 months to change ur mind…
And CG?
In opposition to the peanut galley here and ur view?
Joe Biden IS making SURE he’s coming in from the cold…
Again?
AMEN!
He’s coming in from the cold?
Well, the sun might cure whatever is ailing him.
In answer to your 9:45 am Jack?
There HAS BEEN and uptick in Joe Biden stories in the media as I have hoped WOULD happen…
There have been Biden GOOD polling stories…
Biden’s newest way to get media attention is to say something about Trump trying to delay the election…
ALL these things ARE what I was talking about….
Joe Bide & Co.n ARE trying HARDER to keep HIS name in the media…
Amen‼️
“His name in the news”
Biden should legally change his name to “The Guy Who Isn’t Trump.”
Then he can give everyone his word as an IsntTrump.
In the end CG?
It’s gonna be about voting AGAINST Donald Trump…
Not really for Joe Biden for the people that are needed for a Biden win…
Most Democrats WILL vote for the nominee…
But the swing voters generally vote against someone I believe
Last time it seemed to be Hillary…
But now?
Trump IS the President and his history sucks…
I definitely should not be considered a “swing voter.”
I should be looked upon as an example of a staunch conservative who has always been and remains unwilling to give any sort of voter acceptance to Trump. Y’all ought to be using (someone like) me as a talking point not a punching bag.
I do NOT use u as a punching bag…
I don’t either.
I told you months ago that I didn’t care who you vote for.Scott has said he is just playfully messing you a little(you often do that too.So do I.
You say that your vote doesn’t matter because Illinois is going to vote For Biden anyway.
You’re right!
Well I’m sorry CG if you perceive I’m using you as a “punching bag”.
I do think the third party vote is going to be more insignificant this year than in most recent Presidential election years.
“In the end it’s gonna be about voting against Donald Trump.”
A total contradiction to what you were saying yesterday when you were declaiming on things Biden “had” to do.
Anyway it’s irrelevant.
Tomorrow?
You’ll be taking a new line.
He, he, he
One comment IS about what Bide should DO….
The others are about what voters ‘tend’ to do….
Biden HAS to present himself as the alternative…
But you KNOW THAT right Jack?
Deflection. .
You’ll be back to “Biden has to…” in a few days.
You can’t help yourself.
Neither can U….
William Bryan, the Homeland Security official who talked about sunshine as a counter to the virus yesterday, has no perceptible experience in either laboratory, clinical, medical or biological science, as can be seen from official bio on the DHS site:
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/william-n-bryan
William N. Bryan assumed the role of Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology (DHS) on May 30, 2017. As the science and technology advisor to the DHS Secretary, Mr. Bryan leads the research, development, innovation and testing and evaluation activities in support of DHS operational components and first responders across the nation. Prior to joining S&T, Mr. Bryan was the President of ValueBridge International’s Energy Group in Reston, Virginia.
An Army veteran with 17 years of active military service and three years in the Virginia National Guard, Mr. Bryan brings a wealth of experience gained from multiple leadership roles in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Defense (DoD).
Mr. Bryan served eight years with DOE, most recently as a Senior Advisor in the Office of International Affairs. There, he responded to pressing global energy challenges including energy security, market volatility and hazard/threat impacts. With his primary focus on Ukraine, he led several international delegations to help Ukraine overcome energy challenges, move toward energy independence and mitigate impacts from cyber events.
A former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration in DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Mr. Bryan worked with the National Security Council, other U.S. government agencies, private industry and international partners to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure. He also facilitated the reconstruction and recovery of damaged or disrupted energy systems from a variety of threats and hazards.
Prior to his DOE activities, he served for five years as the Director for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) in DoD’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, where he led all critical infrastructure and Defense Industrial Base (DIB)-related activities. He also advised DoD leadership on the relevance of current CIP and DIB capabilities, methodologies and technologies in support of military and civil homeland defense efforts deemed essential to national security.
Mr. Bryan holds a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College in Washington, D.C. He also graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in logistics systems management from Colorado Technical University in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/images/st/Leadership/William%20Bryan_undersecretary.jpg
See also,
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/24/nation/no-warm-weather-will-not-kill-coronavirus/
No, warm weather will not kill the coronavirus
¶ Experts and studies suggest no one should get their hopes up as temperatures rise and spring turns into summer.
By Kay Lazar and Andrew Ryan
[Boston]Globe Staff,Updated April 24, 2020, an hour ago
For months, President Trump has claimed that the novel coronavirus will likely vanish with warmer weather. Massachusetts health officials have leaned on Mother Nature too, suggesting the state’s high infection rate is linked to our cold, winter climate.
The latest came Thursday at President Trump’s daily press briefing when William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security presented “emerging” evidence from a government lab suggesting that sunlight, heat, and humidity weakens the coronavirus on surfaces and in the air.
But disease experts and recent studies suggest no one should get their hopes up as temperatures rise and spring turns to summer. Mounting evidence indicates that COVID-19 is unlike the seasonal flu, which does dissipate as the weather warms. Most studies have found weak evidence that high temperatures and humidity will vanquish the virus.
“We all hope that if we can’t do something about it before June, that it all disappears on its own,” said David Walt, a pathology professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But all indications from other parts of the world suggest otherwise.”
Though much about the virus remains unknown, experts across the globe are racing to understand the roots of the pandemic and what factors might help quell outbreaks.
A recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine downplayed the impact of warm weather, concluding it “may not lead to a significant reduction” in spread, at least on its own. The report, coauthored by Walt and issued to the White House earlier this month, found that the best defenses are the adoption of major public health actions, such as social distancing, and more widespread immunity to the virus.
The Academies’ report acknowledged the limited and at times conflicting evidence, based on a review of studies from around the world. But it didn’t give much weight to claims that COVID-19 spreads less efficiently in hotter places.
“Given that countries currently in ‘summer’ climates, such as Australia and Iran, are experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed,” it said.
So while warming temperatures can dampen the flu and other respiratory infections, its impact on the coronavirus remains a bit of a mystery, according to Cindy Prins, a University of Florida associate professor of epidemiology.
“We still don’t know whether there is any effect on COVID-19 with warmer and more humid weather,” Prins said.
“If it sticks around and keeps coming back as a seasonal virus, then we’ll probably start to understand that a little bit better,” Prins said. “But I don’t necessarily expect to see an effect of that at least this year.”
But as the virus continues its spread and the death toll grows, the hope of a warm-weather link to fewer infections is hard to shake. Especially for government officials.
Asked last week why the infection rate in Massachusetts was so much higher than that of Washington state, which has roughly the same population, the Massachusetts health department pointed in part to New England’s colder climate.
“Though the science is not yet conclusive, many published articles indicate that COVID spreads more easily in colder weather (similar to most strains of influenza),” the department said in a statement to the Globe.
The statement went on to say, “the climate in Massachusetts in February and March is notably colder than Washington, which likely contributed to greater spread.”
The department did not cite the articles on which it based its assumption.
Asked about that thinking again Thursday, the department said its comments still stand, but noted that state health officials are “focused on communicating” that citizens should stay home, wear face coverings, and socially distance from others.
Even if weather was a factor, the department’s argument was ill-timed. Typically Boston winters are significantly colder than Seattle, but not this year. Boston had an unseasonably warm winter with an average temperature of 37.8 degrees in December, January, and February.
“This winter season of 2020 was the second highest in recorded history,” which goes back to 1877, said Bill Simpson of the National Weather Service’s Boston office.
With an average temperature nearly 6 degrees above normal, Boston was not much colder than Seattle, where temperatures averaged 41.8 degrees, according to National Weather Service data. And that trend continued in March.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said such state-to-state comparisons of weather and coronavirus infections are shaky.
“There no evidence for that, from what I know,” he said.
Still the high heat and humidity theory persists.
At President Trump’s press briefing on Thursday, Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security said new science shows that the coronavirus may be vulnerable to both heat and light.
“Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus,” Bryan told reporters. “Summer-like conditions are going to create an environment where the transmission can be decreased and that’s an opportunity for us to get ahead.”
A reporter then asked why the virus is still growing in some hot and humid places in the US, such as New Orleans.
Undeterred, Bryan said the department’s new information could help governors make decisions about how and when to reopen their states.
“This [research] is just another tool in the tool box, another weapon in the fight that we can add,” he said.
As scientists continue to study what factors may influence transmission of the coronavirus, Walt, the pathology professor from Harvard Medical School, said health officials need to keep in mind one very basic human trait.
“Even if [the coronavirus] were very sensitive to heat, we would have to tell people on 95 degree days, don’t turn your air conditioning on” to get the virus-killing benefit, Walt said. That, he added, could be a hard sell.