“It will go away, just stay calm. Be calm. It’s really working out. And a lot of good things are going to happen.”
— President Trump, quoted by CNN, on the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump Wants Payroll Taxes Waived Through Election
“President Trump told Republican senators on Tuesday that he wants a payroll tax holiday through the November election so that taxes won’t go back up before voters decide whether to return him to office,” Bloomberg reports.
“Democrats have expressed reluctance about a tax cut to address the economic impact of coronavirus and several Republican senators also held back from endorsing the idea before Trump’s visit to the capitol.”
Quote of the Day
“We are the captains of the ship. We are the last to leave.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quoted by Politico, shutting down suggestions of allowing lawmakers to vote remotely.
White House Mulls Aid to Shale Companies
“The White House is strongly considering pushing federal assistance for oil and natural gas producers hit by plummeting oil prices amid the coronavirus outbreak, as industry officials close to the administration clamor for help,” the Washington Post reports.
“White House officials are alarmed at the prospect that numerous shale companies, many of them deep in debt, could be driven out of business if the downturn in oil prices turns into a prolonged crisis for the industry.”
Dutch PM Shakes Hands After Warning Against It
“The Dutch prime minister undermined his own public health advice in record time this week by shaking hands with a medical expert immediately after warning people against doing so,” The Independent reports.
“Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ PM, had just gone on live TV to tell his country’s 17 million residents to stop shaking hands in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus when he made the mistake.”
New York Sets Up ‘Containment Zone’ In New Rochelle
“New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Tuesday announced schools and places of worship within a one-mile zone of the city of New Rochelle will close their doors for 14 days, and National Guard troops will help deliver food and disinfect common areas inside the zone,” the Washington Post reports.
Acting Spy Chief Declines to Meet with Congress
“Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has declined to appear before Congress on Tuesday to speak about foreign election threats, citing apprehension about his preparedness to address sensitive subjects that tend to upset the president,” the Washington Post reports.
“The top intelligence community official asked President Trump to be excused from the briefings because he anticipated pointed questions from Democrats about politically volatile subjects — such as intelligence assessments that Russia is once more interfering in American politics, two of the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.”
Court Rules Mueller Evidence Must Be Given to Congress
A federal appeals court ruled the Justice Department must release to congressional Democrats secret grand jury evidence lawmakers are seeking in ongoing investigations into President Trump, the Washington Post reports.
“The divided ruling, which can be appealed, is a victory for Democratic lawmakers in one of a set of separation-of-powers lawsuits filed before the House vote to impeach President Trump and his acquittal in the Senate in February.”
Kansas City Mayor Turned Away at Polls
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) tweeted that he was turned away from the polling station because he wasn’t on the voter rolls.
Said Lucas: “Even though I’ve voted there for 11 years including for myself four times!”
He added: “If the mayor can get turned away, think about everyone else… We gotta do better!”
Trump’s Friends Convince Him He’s Not at Risk
Washington Post: “Some friends have told Trump that the coronavirus does not seem like a major threat, noting that they don’t know anyone in their communities who has been infected. Some also have sought to flatter Trump by saying that unlike the two septuagenarians running for the Democratic nomination — Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders — Trump, 73, is so healthy that he is not personally at particular risk, according to a senior administration official.”
Jonathan Chait: “Right, the president who doesn’t exercise, has to be tricked into eating vegetables like a toddler, and had to use a golf cart rather than accompany fellow world leaders on a short walk is just so monumentally healthy he has nothing to worry about.”
Trump Faces Backlash on Plan to Stabilize Economy
“President Trump plans to travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and meet with Senate Republicans as he struggles to rally support for a large economic plan that he has said is needed to stabilize the economy in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic,” the Washington Post reports.
“Many Republicans are uneasy about Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut, and Democrats are focused on other ideas, such as ensuring paid sick leave.”
Biden Gets Into Heated Debate Over Guns
In a heated argument caught on video, Joe Biden rejected a worker’s claim that Biden was “actively trying to end his second amendment right.”
Biden told the worker “you’re full of shit.”
Bernie’s Last Stand
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Cancel Everything
Yascha Mounk: “Social distancing is the only way to stop the coronavirus. We must start immediately.”
Trump Questions Biden’s Cognitive Abilities
Politico: “President Trump stood before about 500 of the Republican Party’s biggest patrons at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday and raised a topic few in the audience expected: Joe Biden’s mental capacity.”
“Trump walked the donors through a list of Biden’s recent verbal stumbles, such as his recent declaration that he was running for Senate and his assertion that 150 million Americans had been killed by gun violence since 2007. Trump questioned whether the former vice president had the mental stamina to sustain the rigors of a general election campaign.”
Meanwhile, former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein accused the media of hiding Biden’s “cognitive challenges.”
Exchange of the Day
Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked by CNN’s Manu Raju if she thinks President Trump should be tested after his interactions with Reps. Doug Collins and Matt Gaetz, who are now in self-quarantine.
PELOSI: Tested for what?
RAJU: Coronavirus.
PELOSI: Oh, I thought he should be tested for a long time now.
GOP Mayor In Michigan Abandons ‘Deranged’ Trump
Michael Taylor (R), mayor of the city of Sterling Heights, Michigan, told the Chicago Tribune that he has abandoned “deranged” President Trump and thrown his support behind Joe Biden instead.
Said Taylor: “I think Joe Biden is the candidate who can unify all of the Democrats, and he’s the candidate who can appeal to moderates and Republicans like me who don’t want to see four more years of President Trump.”
He added: “When it was down to him and Hillary, I kind of said, ‘Well, you are a Republican, and yeah he’s nuts, but maybe he’ll get better and you know he’s going to lower taxes.’ I slowly talked myself into it. ‘He can’t seriously be this deranged once he gets in there,’ and he’s even more deranged now than I thought then. So, I take the blame. I voted for him.”
Romney’s Approval Craters Among Republicans
A new Gallup poll finds Sen. Mitt Romney’s support among Republicans collapsing following his vote to remove President Trump from office in his impeachment trial.
Romney’s approval among Republicans is just 23%. When he was the GOP presidential nominee in November 2012 it was 84%.
In contrast, Romney’s approval rating has surged among Democrats to 56%.
