South China Morning Post: “The harshness of the language used and antagonism shown in the war of words between China and the US over the coronavirus outbreak is reminiscent of the Cold War confrontation in the 1950s and 1960s, when Pacific powers were engaged in war in the Korean peninsula and Vietnam. Indeed, the finger-pointing and name-calling has escalated steadily as the pandemic continues to ravage the world.”
Layoffs Start Turning from Temporary to Permanent
Bloomberg: “Plenty of layoffs that just a month ago were labeled ‘temporary’ are now tagged ‘indefinite’ or ‘permanent.’ Alongside announcements of sweeping staff cuts by major employers such as Boeing Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. and the accelerating pace of downsizing in brick-and-mortar retailing, such notices are a sign that even as businesses continue to hope for a speedy recovery, they are starting to plan for a slow one.”
The Plan Is to Have No Plan
Jay Rosen: “The plan is to have no plan, to let daily deaths between one and three thousand become a normal thing, and then to create massive confusion about who is responsible— by telling the governors they’re in charge without doing what only the federal government can do, by fighting with the press when it shows up to be briefed, by fixing blame for the virus on China or some other foreign element, and by ‘flooding the zone with shit,’ Steve Bannon’s phrase for overwhelming the system with disinformation, distraction, and denial, which boosts what economists call ‘search costs’ for reliable intelligence.”
“Stated another way, the plan is to default on public problem solving, and then prevent the public from understanding the consequences of that default. To succeed this will require one of the biggest propaganda and freedom of information fights in U.S. history, the execution of which will, I think, consume the president’s re-election campaign.”
“So much has already been made public that the standard script for a White House cover up (worse than the crime…) won’t apply. Instead, everything will ride on the manufacture of confusion. The press won’t be able to ‘expose’ the plot because it will all happen in stark daylight. The facts will be known, and simultaneously they will be inconceivable.”
Biden’s Lead Over Trump Shrinks
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by just two points nationally, 43% to 41%.
Biden led by 6 percentage points in a similar poll last week and by 8 points in a poll that ran April 15 to 21.
Justice Ginsburg Treated at Hospital
“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent a non-surgical treatment Tuesday for a gallbladder condition called acute cholecystitis, the Supreme Court announced, the latest health concern for the 87-year-old Supreme Court member,” the Washington Post reports.
Biden Tests Virtual Campaign Events
Joe Biden is testing a new way of campaigning amid the coronavirus crisis, kicking off “local” virtual events this week in an attempt to re-create traditional campaign stops, Axios reports.
Judge Orders New York to Reinstate Presidential Primary
“A federal judge in New York ordered the state Democratic officials to reinstate a June 23 primary election, after former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang challenged the cancellation of the vote,” Bloomberg reports.
Republicans Not Interested In Trump’s Payroll Tax Cut
“President Trump’s demands for the next coronavirus aid package are running into a stubborn obstacle: his own party,” Politico reports.
“As Washington begins zeroing in on its next major coronavirus bill, congressional Republicans are on a different trajectory than the president and are themselves divided on the payroll tax cut, or whether to do anything at all. Much of the party has coalesced behind providing liability protections that Democrats disdain, yet Trump is eyeing the much flashier tax cut as the centerpiece of the upcoming legislation.”
Washington Post: “The intraparty rift on a payroll tax cut comes as the Democratic-led House scrambles to produce additional coronavirus legislation with perhaps another massive price tag.”
Trump Doesn’t Wear Face Mask at Factory
Five GOP Governors Defend Keeping States Open
The Republican governors of Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska and Wyoming write in the Washington Post:
The core reasons our states are open for business are the tenacity, grit and heart of our residents. Their clear-eyed, common-sense approach helped keep our states on track and have set us up to come out of this pandemic stronger than ever. We look forward to leading the way.
Rachel Maddow: “It’s not often that you can recognize — in real time — the kind of mistake that will haunt a politician every remaining day of their blessed lives, but it helps when five of them co-sign it together, under a headline like this.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m viewing our great citizens of this country to a certain extent and to a large extent as warriors. They’re warriors. We can’t keep our country closed. We have to open our country… Will some people be badly affected? Yes. But we have to get our country open.”
— President Trump, quoted by Vox.
Trump Blasts ‘Angry’ Female Reporters
President Trump complained to the New York Post that he found two female CBS News journalists — Weijia Jiang and Paula Reid — particularly irritating during his recent press briefings.
Said Trump: “It wasn’t Donna Reed, I can tell you that,” referring to the actress who played a 1950’s American archetypal mom.
He added: “Paula Reid, she’s sitting there and I say, ‘How angry. I mean, What’s the purpose?'”
Texas Governor Admits Dangers on Private Call
During a private call, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) admitted that “every scientific and medical report shows” state reopenings “ipso facto” lead to an increase in novel coronavirus cases, even as he publicly announced plans that same week to end an executive stay-at-home order in the state, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Abbott: “Listen, the fact of the matter is pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening—whether you want to call it a reopening of businesses or of just a reopening of society—in the aftermath of something like this, it actually will lead to an increase and spread. It’s almost ipso facto.”
He added: “The more that you have people out there, the greater the possibility is for transmission. The goal never has been to get transmission down to zero.”
Nearly Entire Prison Dorm Tests Positive
“Nearly every woman in a Louisiana prison dormitory has tested positive for COVID-19, and two-thirds of them showed no symptoms,” the AP reports.
“As of Monday, 192 inmates had tested positive, including 66 who had symptoms… The unit has about 195 inmates, though the number fluctuates.”
Trump Says Washington, D.C. Will Never Be a State
President Trump told the New York Post that Washington, DC, won’t ever be a state because Republicans aren’t “stupid” enough to add guaranteed Democratic seats in Congress.
Said Trump: “DC will never be a state. You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic — Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That’ll never happen.”
U.K. Scientist Resigns After Breaking Lockdown
“The scientist whose advice prompted Boris Johnson to lock down Britain resigned from his Government advisory position on Tuesday night as The Telegraph can reveal he broke social distancing rules to meet his married lover.”
“Professor Neil Ferguson allowed the woman to visit him at home during the lockdown while lecturing the public on the need for strict social distancing in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus. The woman lives with her husband and their children in another house.”
Whistleblower Says HHS Ignored Virus Warnings
Rick Bright, the former director of the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to take early action to mitigate the threat of the novel coronavirus, the AP reports.
Trump Mulls Winding Down Coronavirus Task Force
“Trump administration officials are telling members and staff of the coronavirus task force that the White House plans to wind down the operation in coming weeks despite growing evidence that the crisis is raging on,” the New York Times reports.
“It is not clear whether any other group might replace the task force. But its gradual demise, which officials said might never be formally announced, would only intensify the questions about whether the administration is adequately organized to address the complex, life-and-death decisions related to the virus and giving adequate voice to scientists and public health experts in making policy.”
CNN confirms the task force “will be phased down around Memorial Day.”