“From the beginning, Trump minimized the scale of the crisis, portraying it as a purely foreign threat that could be addressed by closing borders.”
“[On] Feb. 26 ..., he claimed there were 15 cases in America, omitting those diagnosed overseas. “The 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero,” he said. [T]here have been more than 210 cases ... across the country and 12 deaths.”
“Trump dismissed Democratic complaints about his handling of the crisis as ‘their new hoax.’ ... Mick Mulvaney [said] the media is paying so much attention to coronavirus ‘because they think this is what’s going to be what brings down the president.’”
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
Speaking to Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Trump seemed to imply that it was OK for people with coronavirus to go to work: “So if, you know, we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better, just by ... going to work ...’”
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
“Within the administration, there’s strong pressure not to contradict Trump’s line. ... [W]hen Dr. Nancy Messonnier ...warned that community spread of coronavirus in America was inevitable, ....”
“... the president was reportedly furious, and the director of the C.D.C. said she misspoke.”
“Defense Secretary Mark Esper has warned the military not to make decisions related to Coronavirus that might ‘run afoul of President Trump’s messaging’ ....”
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
“So far, Donald Trump’s response to coronavirus combines the worst features of autocracy and of democracy, mixing opacity and propaganda with leaderless inefficiency.”
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opi…
