Thread by @drvox

1. The Week In Trump News: a thread.

(Take a few deep breaths before jumping in.)

First up, it appears that Trump's stupid rally in Oklahoma was indeed responsible for a surge of virus cases in that state.

apnews.com/ad96548245e186…

2. Despite what Trump keeps saying, the surge of Covid-19 cases in US cities is rapidly outstripping the supply of tests. Yes: it's mid-July and the US *still* doesn't have the tests it needs. nytimes.com/2020/07/06/us/…

3. Also, unbelievably, the supply of personal protective gear for health workers is running short. Again. Six months into this, in the world's wealthiest country. apnews.com/481d933b0caa6f…

4. Trump is trying to solve the virus problem the way narcissists solve all problems: pretending it doesn't exist. So he hasn't even talked with the nation's top infectious disease expert since June 2. cnn.com/2020/07/10/pol…

5. Trump is also trying to force schools to reopen, though the federal gov't has offered no clear plans & no assistance & his own virus task force says it's wildly risky. nytimes.com/2020/07/10/us/…

6. At Trump campaign HQ, "you get made fun of if you wear a mask." So campaign staff have been told to don masks when the media might be watching, but otherwise, to do whatever. politico.com/news/2020/07/1…

7. A career counterterrorism official had concerns that the intelligence services have become too big, sprawling, & underfunded, w/ fiefdoms that don't communicate w/ one another. He raised the concerns w/ the Inspector General. Then he was fired.
politico.com/news/2020/07/0…

8. Lifelong Republican Elaine Duke ran DHS for 4 months in 2017. She's speaking out now about the difficulty of keeping the US safe w/ a president who uses “hate-filled, angry and divisive” language & doesn't listen to anyone but lunatic sycophants. nytimes.com/2020/07/10/us/…

9. Legal immigrants to the US, who have completed all tests & requirements & been promised papers, aren't getting them, putting them at risk of arrest. Why? The Trump admin literally shut down the printers that print the papers. washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-t…

10. One of the first & best things the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did was put restrictions on payday lenders, the scumbags who lure poor people into predatory loans. Now, during a historic recession, the Trumpies have scrapped those restrictions. cnn.com/2020/07/08/pol…

11. Gov't whistleblowers, students & teachers, poor people -- all getting hosed by the Trump admin during a time of crisis. Who's getting taken care of? Trump friends & family. propublica.org/article/trump-…

12. Remember when Trump signed that fake ethics pledge & promised to "drain the swamp"? More than 80 officials from his admin. have gone to K-Street to become lobbyists -- and those are just the ones who officially registered. It's all swamp now. politico.com/news/2020/07/0…

12.5 "Chris Shank, who became a senior adviser to the Air Force secretary after Trump took office, managed an even more impressive feat: He left the admin to become a lobbyist in 2018, returned to the Pentagon a few months later—then went back to the private sector last year." 😳

13. Finally, w/ thousands dying every day, no end to the virus in sight, a crippling recession, an eviction crisis on the horizon, Russia paying for dead US soldiers, & historic civil unrest in US streets, who does Trump see as the real victim? Trump. washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

14. Oops, and I forgot the latest excitement: Trump commuted the prison sentence of Roger Stone, who was arrested *specifically for covering up Trump crimes*. In doing so, Trump has officially exceeded even Nixon levels of corruption. nytimes.com/2020/07/11/us/…

15. Forgot this one too: during the virus, the Trump admin has fast-tracked dozens of fossil-fuel infrastructure projects on public lands, bypassing environmental review. It refuses to even reveal *which projects*. news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-an…