Trump COVID 19 Timeline, Updated

    1/6 - Chinese first describe the new virus.

    1/8 -CDC issues warning on virus, Intelligence community waving "red flags" as it "did before 9/11"

    1/14 - Trump has campaign rally, New Hampshire.

    1/16 - BERLIN (AP) — GERMAN researchers said Thursday they have developed the first diagnostic test for a  new virus that has emerged in central China. (the Trump administration did not have a test until 3/5)

    1/18 - Trump plays golf, Trump Intl, West Palm Beach

    1/19 - Trump plays golf, Trump Intl, West Palm Beach

    1/21 - First coronavirus case is detected in Seattle.

    1/22 - Trump makes his first comments about the coronavirus, saying he is not concerned about a pandemic. “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. … It’s going to be just fine.”

    1/24 - Trump tweets - "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!"

    1/28 - Trump has campaign rally, Wildwood NJ

    1/29 - Trump's Chief Economic Trade Advisor Navarro writes memo to Trump: " there is a real risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.”

    1/30 - The WHO (World Health Organization) declares a global health emergency.

    1/30 - Trump has campaign rally, Des Moines, Iowa

    1/30 - Trump rally, Warren, Michigan, on virus - “We think it’s going to have a very good ending for it. So that I can assure you.”

    1/30 - Trump tweet - "Working closely with China and others on Coronavirus outbreak. Only 5 people in U.S., all in good recovery."

    2/1 - Trump plays golf, Trump Intl, West Palm Beach

    2/5: Trump’s impeachment trial ends with his acquittal by Republican in the Senate.

    2/5 - Senator Chris Murphy (CT) tweet - "Just left the Administration briefing on Coronavirus. Bottom line: they aren't taking this seriously enough.  Notably, no request for ANY emergency funding, which is a big mistake. Local health systems need supplies, training, screening staff etc. And they need it now."

    2/10: Trump says, “I think the virus is going to be — it’s going to be fine.”

    2/10 -Trump has campaign rally, Manchester, NH

    2/15 - Trump plays golf, Trump Intl, West Palm Beach

    2/19 - Trump has campaign rally, Phoenix, AZ

    2/19: Trump addressing group of governors says: “I think it’s going to work out fine. I think when we get into April, in the warmer weather, that has a very negative effect on that and that type of a virus. So let’s see what happens, but I think it’s going to work out fine.”

    2/20 - Trump has campaign rally, Colorado Springs

    2/21 - Trump has campaign rally, Las Vegas

    2/23: Another Navarro memo warns of an “increasing probability of a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic that could infect as many as 100 million Americans, with a loss of life of as many as 1-2 million souls.”

    2/24: Trump tweet -  "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"

    2/25 - Trump news conference, New Delhi -  “You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country. We have very few people with it, and the people that have it are – in all cases, I have not heard anything other.”

    2/25 - Trump tweet - "CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world.."

    2/25 - Trump Director Economic Council - Larry Kudlow - “We have contained this, I won’t say airtight, but it’s pretty close to airtight.”

    2/26 - Trump White House briefing -  “So we’re at the low level. As they get better, we take them off the list, so that we’re going to be pretty soon at only five people. And we could be at just one or two people over the next short period of time. So we’ve had very good luck.”

    2/26 - Trump tweet - "Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Coronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape!"

    2/26 - Trump White House Task Force Briefing -  "And we have a total of 15 cases, many of which, or most — within a day, I will tell you most of whom are fully recovered.  I think that’s, really, a pretty impressive mark." :  "And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done." .... "It’s a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner."

    2/28 - Trump holds rally, SC - "They tried the impeachment hoax. ... They tried anything. ... And this is their new hoax. ... One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear..."  

    2/29 - Trump at CPAC Wash. DC - “And I’ve gotten to know these professionals. They’re incredible. And everything is under control. I mean, they’re very, very cool. They’ve done it, and they’ve done it well. Everything is really under control.”

    3/2 - Trump campaign rally, NC, - "My job is to protect the health of American patients and Americans first and that's what we're doing. Washington Democrats are trying to politicize the coronavirus, denigrating the noble work of our public health professionals, but honestly, not so much anymore...."

    3/4 - Trump at White House with airline CEO's - “We have a very small number of people in this country [infected]. We have a big country. The biggest impact we had was when we took the 40-plus people [from a cruise ship]. … We brought them back. We immediately quarantined them. But you add that to the numbers. But if you don’t add that to the numbers, we’re talking about very small numbers in the United States.”

    3/4 - Trump interview Fox News -  “Well, I think the 3.4% is really a false number.” — Trump in an interview on Fox News, referring to the percentage of diagnosed COVID-19 patients worldwide who had died, as reported by the World Health Organization.

    3/6 - Trump at CDC news briefing - “I like this stuff. I really get it,” Trump told reporters, “People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors say, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should’ve done that instead of running for president.”

    3/7 - Trump responding to reporters, on cases in Wash. DC - “No, I’m not concerned at all. No, we’ve done a great job with it.”

    3/7 - Trump plays golf, Trump Intl, West Palm Beach

    3/8 - Trump plays golf, Trump Intl, West Palm Beach

    CUMULATIVE GOLF to date:  117 days,    2308:20 hours spent involved in the pursuit of playing golf.
    Trump, August 2016 - “If I win I may never see my property — I may never see these places again. But because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go golfing, believe me. Believe me. Believe me, folks.”

    3/9 - Trump tweet - “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

    3/10: After meeting with Republican senators Trump says: “And we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”

    3/11: Trump says, “I think we’re going to get through it very well.”

    3/11 - NBA suspends season.  WHO declared the global outbreak a pandemic.

    3/12 - Trump, on his exposure to a virus case at CPAC: "Let's put it this way, I'm not concerned."

    3/13 - Trump  “No, I don’t take responsibility at all”.  Issues 'proclamation' on virus.

    3/16: Trump Monday White House press conference - "We have a problem today that a month ago nobody ever thought about".

    3/16  continued -  Asked about his repeated comments saying the situation was “under control,” he says: “If you’re talking about the virus, no, that’s not under control for any place in the world. … I was talking about what we’re doing is under control, but I’m not talking about the virus.” - asked how he would rate his administration’s response to the coronavirus on a scale of 1 to 10.  “I’d rate it a 10,” Trump said at a White House press briefing Monday.

    3/17 - Trump White House press briefing - "I've felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic."

    3/19 - Trump daily press conference - “Governors are supposed to be doing a lot of this work... The Federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. You know, we’re not a shipping clerk.”

    3/20 - Trump, press conference - (on hydroxychloroquine) "very, very encouraging early results", "It may work, it may not work. I feel good about it. That's all it is. Just a feeling."

    3/21 - Trump tweets: "HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine,"

    3/22 - Trump press briefing - “We're really backing up the governors, ..The governors have to go out, do their things.”

    3/23 - Trump press briefing -  “We’re giving the governors a lot of leeway. The governors are going to make those decisions.”

    3/25 - Trump supporter in Arizona dies taking chloroquine used for aquariums, wife says they learned of chloroquine's connection to coronavirus during a President Donald Trump news conference, which "was on a lot actually." They took it because they "were afraid of getting sick," she said.

    3/27 - White House press briefing, Trump -  "we have done a job, the likes of which nobody has seen."

    3/29 - Trump, speaking at White House Rose Garden - “And so, if we could hold that down (deaths of Americans due to the virus), as we’re saying, to 100,000 – it’s a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100 [thousand] and 200,000 – we altogether have done a very good job.”

    3/29 - Trump tweet - Because the “Ratings” of my News Conferences etc. are so high, “Bachelor finale, Monday Night Football type numbers” according to the @nytimes, the Lamestream Media is going CRAZY. “Trump is reaching too many people, we must stop him.” said one lunatic. See you at 5:00 P.M.!

    3/30 - "We inherited a broken test -- the whole thing was broken," Trump said on the Fox News morning show "Fox and Friends", 3/30.

    4/1 -  "We inherited -- the word is we inherited bad tests. We really inherited bad tests. These are horrible tests. And it was broken. It was all broken. And we fixed it," Trump said at the White House briefing.

    4/3 - "The original test -- the ones we inherited, Jim, as an example, they were -- they were broken. They were obsolete. They were not good tests. And that's what we got stuck with," Trump said at the April 3 briefing.

    4/6 - "Initially speaking, the tests were old, obsolete, and not really prepared," Trump said at the April 6 briefing.

    4/14 - Trump Halts Funding World Health Organization - Trump scapegoating WHO - "Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China's lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death .."

    4 /19 - Trump White House press briefing -  "How many people died in the United States? And yet I closed up the country, and I believe there were no deaths, zero deaths at the time I closed up the country. Nobody was there. And you should say thank you very much for good judgment.  ....  Nothing’s about me. Look, you’re never going to treat me fairly, many of you, and I understand that. I don’t even know, I got here with the worst, most unfair press treatment they say in the history of the United States for a President. They did say Abraham Lincoln had very bad treatment"

    4/23 - Trump White House press briefing - "And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute — one minute — and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning?” he asked. “Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”

    4/25 - President Trump's new press secretary - Kayleigh McEnany, said “Millions and millions of Americans tune in each day to hear directly from President Trump and appreciate his leadership, unprecedented coronavirus response, and confident outlook for America’s future.”

    4/25 - Trump tweet - “What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday night. “They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!”

    4/29 - Trump, White House meeting with business leaders - “We think we really have crossed a big boundary and much better days are ahead, I often say I see the light at the end of the tunnel very strongly, .. We did all the right moves,” Mr. Trump said. “If we didn’t do what we did, you would have had a million people die, maybe more, maybe two million people die ...A lot of progress had been made,” he said. “It’s pretty incredible.”

    4/30 - Trump, White House press briefing -  "Our death totals, our numbers, per million people, are really very, very strong. We're very proud of the job we've done."

    5/8 - Trump - White House - “I feel about vaccines like I feel about tests. This is going to go away without a vaccine, it’s gonna go away, and we’re not going to see it again, hopefully.”

    5/11- Trump, WH - “We have met the moment and we have prevailed ... we will transition into greatness"

    5/14 - Trump - Allentown, PA -  “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.”

    5/18 - Trump, roundtable at White House - “I happen to be taking it ( hydroxychloroquine),”  “A lot of good things have come out. You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the front-line workers. Before you catch it. The front-line workers, many, many are taking it.”  He added: “I’m taking it, hydroxychloroquine. Right now, yeah. Couple of weeks ago, I started taking it. Cause I think it’s good, I’ve heard a lot of good stories.”

    5/21 - For Spy Agencies, Briefing Trump Is a Test of Holding His Attention - President Trump’s intelligence briefings have gotten renewed attention since he blamed them for failing to sound the alarm early on about the coronavirus. Robert C. O’Brien, national security adviser, response to NYT “The president is laser-focused on the issues at hand and asks probing questions throughout the briefings — it reminds me of appearing before a well-prepared appellate judge and defending the case,”

    9/10 - Trump, White House Press Briefing: "If Bob Woodward thought what I said was bad, then he should’ve immediately, right after I said it, gone out to the authorities so they can prepare and let them know."

    5/26 - U.S. confirmed COVID 19 cases -  1,713,245 (highest in world)  Deaths  - 100,030  ( highest in world)  Death % - 5.84%

    8/14 - U.S. confirmed COVID 19 cases - 5,473,346 (highest in world) Deaths - 170,075 (highest in world).  Deaths % - 3.11%

    9/11 - U.S. confirmed COVID 19 cases - 6,604,391 (highest in world) Deaths - 195,250 (highest in world) Deaths % - 2.96 %

    Comments

    Thank you and...

    Be smart.

    eyeball%20over%20glasses%20mask%20small%20120px

    Stay safe…

    ~OGD~


    Thanks OGD, you and everyone else here at Dag too. 


    Thanks for the updates



    Trump may cut off aid to Israel next, they have scum nasty fake failing reporters there too?

    Trump didn't care until hundreds were dead. He only listens to praise from Hannity, and Fox and Fiends about how great he is.

    Of course, a couple weeks ago when ABC came out with the November warning report, that the Times of Israel confirms, the administration denied a "corona virus" related "product" in November as a cover-up.

    The "official denial tweet" mentions a "Coronavirus-related product did not exist in November". That's weaselly cover-up words:

    1. The November report mentioned a contagion, it did not identify the coronavirus, the name and type of the contagion was not even known in China at the time. So, of course, a "coronavirus product" did not exist.

    2. The warning related to the unknown epidemic was likely in a product assessment of health risks to US forces in the western Pacific region, neither US intelligence, not the Chinese, knew what the contagion was in November.

    The "official denial tweet" :

    The "official statement"  is from Colonel R. Shane Day, he is not the Director of DIA's National Center for Medical Intelligence unit, Kathryn Morici is director.

    The colonel is a Doctor of Osteopathy, and "leads a team of over 400 personnel providing medical care and operational support to over 15,000 beneficiaries." He is a primary care provider, and likely DOD Secretary Esper promotion seeking toady.

    What connection primary care provider Dr. Day had to interpretation of 2019 satellite images and communication intercepts of and from China ?  Not stated in his Air Force biography.


    "800,000 US deaths or more over the next 18 months" - CNN interview

    Dr. Michael Osterholm, who founded the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, warned in 2005 that "time is running out to prepare for the next pandemic," a point that he expanded on in his 2017 book, "Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs."

    He said we're only in the second inning of a nine-inning contest, with the possibility of as many as 800,000 deaths or more in the US over the next 18 months. Will the next waves get bigger like they did in 1918 when there was a spring peak and a fall peak?

    Osterholm: " We don't know that, but it surely is a virus that likely will have to infect at least 60 to 70% of the population before we see a major reduction in its transmission.  So, the first thing we need is a plan. That's critical. "
     
    Osterholm also pointed to a shortage of chemical reagents that are necessary for widespread testing for the virus and said that the CDC's low public profile in this pandemic in the United States has been a "tragedy."
     
    He decried the lack of a national long-term strategy for the pandemic and noted that there are real questions about the efficacy of the antibody tests that are being developed to detect if people have been exposed to the virus.

    “As a country, we’re unprepared not just logistically but mentally for this next phase,” said Michael T. Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious-disease expert. He worries most Americans do not grasp the long, hard months facing them and the likelihood of repeated surges of the virus.

    “For a while, people were told all we need is to get past the peak. Then, they started hearing all we need is testing. Meanwhile, the president keeps telling everyone that things are going to reopen in a matter of weeks,” Osterholm said. “The way you prepare people for a sprint and marathon are very different. As a country, we are utterly unprepared for the marathon ahead.”

    By pushing responsibility for the pandemic response and reopening onto the states, experts said, Trump has freed himself to play the role of criticizer-in-chief. Already, he is criticizing governors for not reopening immediately, but if cases rise uncontrollably, he can criticize them for reopening too early or mishandling it.

    “It might be a clever and effective political strategy, but it leaves our country without any way to pull itself out of the current mess,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, who was in charge of U.S. foreign disaster assistance during the Obama administration...

    But such efforts, born of desperation, will go only so far without federal intervention and funding, public health experts say. Even if a handful of states find some way to shore up testing and contact tracing, the virus could rage on in neighboring states, throwing off sparks that can ignite new outbreaks.   link


    Trump toady Robert Kadlec removes Dr. Rick Bright Director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) ...why? .... for putting science over Republican politics:

     "The doctor who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for a rigorous vetting of a coronavirus treatment embraced by President Trump. The doctor said that science, not “politics and cronyism,” must lead the way.

    In the statement, he said: “My professional background has prepared me for a moment like this — to confront and defeat a deadly virus that threatens Americans and people around the globe. To this point, I have led the government’s efforts to invest in the best science available to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.....Unfortunately, this resulted in clashes with H.H.S. political leadership, including criticism for my proactive efforts to invest early into vaccines and supplies critical to saving American lives,” he said. “I also resisted efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections.”

    Dr. Bright noted that his entire career had been spent in vaccine development both in and outside of government, has led BARDA since 2016. 


    McConnell and the Trumpsters have teamed up to kill the American people. They have forgotten that they are members of that group.

     


    At NYT a Trump Covidian said "So what Trump fired him, he had 4 years to make the vaccine and failed."

     The accusatory brainwashed mindset combined with unhinged hate/factless ignorance is always startling. It's why McConnell never worries about his re-election.


    Oh no, "Trump Covidian"? I'm terminally jealous.


    Covidians are Ok with 100,000 US dead. Trump said that would be a 'good job' (what 'leader'; says something like that?)

    Then again, if it hit a million they would still be worshipping Trump's every word, and blaming Obama/Biden for the defective 'virus test' Trump 'inherited' .....


    Now Trump's getting his "Vietnam" - just passed or will pass next week US deaths in WWI and Vietnam. Civil War, WWII and Spanish Flu remain. Heckuva job, Trumpie.


    Cuomo takes aim at Mitch McConnell hitting the brakes on federal money for states, saying it means defunding teachers, police and schools.

    He says it’s “vicious” and “ugly” for the Senate leader’s office to call these “blue state bailouts.”

    “How irresponsible and how reckless.” pic.twitter.com/ZYXHmPCui4

    — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 23, 2020

    .@NYGovCuomo says New York sends the feds more money than it takes, whereas Kentucky takes more than it gives.

    "Senator McConnell, who's getting bailed out here? It's your state that is living on the money that we generate. Your state is getting bailed out. Not my state."

    — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 23, 2020

    Andrew Cuomo sounds very annoyed with "self-proclaimed grim reaper Senator McConnell" for floating the bankruptcy routes for cash-strapped states.

    — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 23, 2020

     


    Cuomo himself tweeting about it now, stressing that this shouldn't be political, shouldn't be red vs. blue, wisely, I think:

     


    If the Republican Base wasn't there to guarantee re-election forever for McConnell and his ilk, they might have to take the gold they have stolen out of the Treasury and abscond to Argentina, where old Nazis go.


    Paraguay for the rednecks.


    Gotcha of Nikki Haley on supporting the Mitch thing. Another example of the hypocrisy of poor red states who actually exist by getting excessive federal funds. One of several like this I have seen:


    The balance of payments within a given budget makes McConnell's idea really stupid but what turns the comment into a real crack party is that he personally ushered in tax cuts that exponentially increased the debt before all this package of excrement hit the fan.


    Trump's legal defense for his bankruptcies included "it was their (the bank, the investors) fault for lending me the money!

    Red states excuses? McConnell - "It's the blue state liberals big government that made our red staters lazy moochers! "


    The observation about bankers holding the bag is the important one to note. McConnell suggesting that debt can be offloaded upon financial institutions is not an escape from debt as it relates to who pays for it. Especially if the Feds subsidize banks.

    Corporate welfare doesn't get any better than this.


    Five-word sentence popularized by a former president:

     


    mebbe there's something here for your timeline, mebbe not--I'm only gonna read the tweet:

    I do wonder if he's getting those bleach and uv treatments, though...


    Snake oil salesmen used to feign hoaresness or some other malady followed by a swig of the product, and exclamation "It cures hoarseness! It cures the worst cases of hoarseness! Who'll be the first to buy a bottle?"(a WC Fields movie had that scene-I used to watch those)

    Would Trump down his latest miracle cure in front of Fauci in a briefing?


    Now, waiiit jus' a dam' minute!

     

    It is obvious to the casual observer that Trump has been treating himself with UV light with diligence and enthusiasm...The result: he passes his weekly Covid19 tests handily.  I rest my case.


    Wait, what??  Spray on?  Never mind, then.


    Can we just send the entire population to tanning salons to cure the virus?


    Manicures too. And the little fishies. Viruses love little fishies nibbling on their toes. Almost human if they had organs and a few other parts.


    did you see David von Drehle at WaPo?

    Marie Antoinette - "Let them eat cake"

    the Lyin King - "Let them inject Lysol"

    Which was guillotined? Which really deserved it?


    Melania broke ground on a tennis pavilion 4 weeks ago - hope that's proceeding in expected fashion.


    Maria Antoinette had Trianon palace, Melania the tennis pavilion, I don't care, do you?


    Gonna steai the Lyin King


    Pelosi today on waste of time low rating mean scum enemy of the people not fair failing fake news CNN:

    "They call it (what Trump 'mused' on) embalming, that's the medical term."


    Embalm America.

    I'm gonna put it on a button.


    Hahaha, Trump's legacy. Mitch will drive the hearse.


    The really sad thing is that people are asking if injecting is OK.


    Hardly - snorting is the recommended method. Injections are like for junkies.
    And god nows nothing you put up your nose can hurt you.
    Aside from large paper weights, impact drills & radioactive runoff. Depending.


    It is 2020, and people are gullible enough to consume fish tank cleaner.


    Dog breeder was Trump's first COVID virus HHS task force leader,  reported 4/22 by Reuters:

    "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On January 21, the day the first U.S. case of coronavirus was reported, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services appeared on Fox News to report the latest on the disease as it ravaged China. Alex Azar, a 52-year-old lawyer and former drug industry executive, assured Americans the U.S. government was prepared.

    Shortly after his televised comments, Azar tapped a trusted aide with minimal public health experience to lead the agency’s day-to-day response to COVID-19. The aide, Brian Harrison, had joined the department after running a dog-breeding business for six years. Five sources say some officials in the White House derisively called him “the dog breeder.”

    Azar’s optimistic public pronouncement and choice of an inexperienced manager are emblematic of his agency’s oft-troubled response to the crisis. ..."


    From "Hoarse Whisperer" to "Dog Breeder" you're on a roll. Maybe an "Aunt Farmer" (Frances, no doubt - not the talking mule) and a bird stalker (I'll spare you the "birds chasing cats" video)


    The Scaife Foundation funds the Hoover institution at Stanford University, where the not peer reviewed California antibody studies were recently done. Richard Scaife was a notorious right wing billionaire, called the Funding Father of Right Wing propaganda.

    COVID trivializer Hoover Senior Fellow Richard A Epstein, research team member for Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force at Hoover -  is infamous for his paper of March 16 that forecast only 500 Americans would die of COVID,  - see Coronavirus Perspective.

    On March 23 Epstein updated his position in Coronavirus Overreaction:

    In my column last week, I predicted that the world would eventually see about 50,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus, and the United States about 500. These two numbers are clearly not in sync.

    If the first number holds, the total US deaths should be about 4 to 5 percent of that total, or about 2,000–2,500 deaths ....

    As of 4/26, US deaths are 54,941 - not 2,000 to 2,500.  World deaths are 205,957, and the US deaths are 27% of the world total, not 4-5%.

    Epstein concludes by asking:

    The question is—what should we make of these data?

    Answer? You, your data, your forecasts, your 'research, this administration,this president, the Republican Party, the Hoover Institution and the right wing noise machine are not to be believed or trusted, they are a malevolent danger to the nation and its citizens.


    In 16  the Scaife ´s   garden door entrance  mat  was  a photo of Hillary.

    ¨And don´t come in here  with  those muddy  feet.¨

    Classy.

     


    Kushner on Fox and Friends, as U.S.cases top 1,063,351, and confirmed virus  deaths in US are 61,618: One third of the world total in cases, 27% of the world total in deaths, and by no means under control.

    Kushner

    Kushner painted a rosy picture for "Fox and Friends" Wednesday morning, saying that "the federal government rose to the challenge and this is a great success story and I think that that's really what needs to be told. May will be a transition month ... I think you will see by June, a lot of the country should be back to normal, and the hope is that by July the country is really rocking again," 

    When he was pressed on coronavirus testing levels in the US, Kushner said the question shouldn't be why did it take so long, but, "How did we do this so quickly? ...

    If you believe the Trump administration spin "how they did it so quick" in reacting to the pandemic, check the timeline above. The NBA reacted faster.

    The best forecasts predict over 100,000 total confirmed US COVID deaths by June, with the toll continuing to rise in July.


    On the two months of magical thinking by father-in-law/son-in-law team (former experts in bankrupt real estate investing)


    Excellent article thanks for the link.


    It is like the Bonfire of the Vanities was folded into Aguirre, the Wrath of God and then translated into an anime video.


    You're getting good at this describing ridiculous absurdity thing. yes


    I have been fired for the tendency. As one supervisor said at a performance review:

    "moat seems incapable of refraining from making bizarre observations at site meetings."

     


    We all need to take a malaria pill, settle down, and tune in Fox and Friends.

    BTW, Florida is not longer touting their 'great job', and dead tourists and snowbirds don't count.

    Newsweek yesterday-

    Florida Stops Medical Examiners From Releasing Coronavirus Death Data: Report

    Exactly how many people have died in Florida as a result of contracting coronavirus may be in question after reports on Wednesday indicated that data compiled by medical examiners in Florida was squelched by the state government.

    Chairman of the Florida State Medical Examiners Commission Dr. Stephen Nelson said state officials were planning on redacting certain information, such as causes of death and descriptions of the cases. Data from medical examiners have not been released in over seven days.

    Florida's medical examiners were populating their lists of coronavirus statistics based on deaths by county. Included within that number were people who were not necessarily year-round residents of Florida, which included seasonal residents of the state, tourists or other visitors.

    However, the Florida Department of Health had only been counting official Florida residents.


    thanks for sharing that link, I will be sending it to a family member in need of reality check


    Florida Gov DeSantis remarked that Florida is "God's Waiting Room".

    As part of that promotion he has the state Tourism Board selling 'skip the line" tickets at their website. (s alert)


    here's an interesting Florida stat that might be influencing decisions a bit:


    Not all are willing to wait:


    Saw that. He's so meek and soft spoken!



    Warning, this is a disturbing question:


    Turns out can't sue Parscale. Recent polls, BAD! Need new narrative. Whaddya think of this, Jared?

    Despite reports to the contrary, Sweden is paying heavily for its decision not to lockdown. As of today, 2462 people have died there, a much higher number than the neighboring countries of Norway (207), Finland (206) or Denmark (443). The United States made the correct decision!

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2020

    (Found retweeted by Bloomberg columnist Noah Smith who uses the screen "Test and Trace". Not only did he retweet it, he also "liked" it! surprise)


    Ah, the pivot point. That is where the bone spur comes in handy.

    He may be stupid but he is not dumb.


    Not that it covers the whole difference, but Sweden has over 10 million people; their Nordic neighbors have about 5.5 million each, so the number to compare is about 1200-1300 vs 207, 206 & 443.


    Good observation.

    In regards to whether the Swedes avoid the exponential spikes or not, it is too early to tell. Death is both the most trustworthy data point and the least informative one at the same time.


    Israel population is 8.9 million, unlike Sweden, they locked down, recent reports 222 COVID deaths, 10% Sweden.


    What's infection rate in th West Bank, especially illegal settlements - those people wouldn't follow an order if it killed them.


    May 1 Haaretz link " In the West Bank, 480 cases have been diagnosed so far. Two have died. In Gaza, 17 cases have been diagnosed." Arab population is of course young on average..

    Israel restricted funerals to 20 socially distanced outside since the start of April,... it's not Brooklyn.


    He's working the "very fine people" shtick again, must have seen polls that said he was losing the rabid base:

    Or maybe he just misses the rallies.

    The mystery is, as Joe shows, it's not rocket science to avoid this and get better approval ratings. Ramping up controversy is trolling, which only gets you temporary knee-jerk emotional ratings against what you said, until people realize they should stop feeding the troll. I think it's a purposeful temporary distraction on his part. Risky, too, are these particular examples are clearly not "fine people" to most people, even those who might be sympathetic to re-opening.


    The Reach for the Bleach episode revealed a cognitive process that cannot subtend much calculation. He is more bot than troll.

    He would have gone down already if he did not serve the purposes of others.

    Those quisling what the fuckers hiding behind his behind are the problem.


    MAGA didn't work out so good!


    Cohen's early release stopped


    Your timeline could be addended forever and like a spiderweb: one long branch might be on hydroxycholoroquine, you never know:


    It's not a snake oil type of scam, the guy is on Fox News so he must be honest when he says “We’re just saving people’s lives that have coronavirus and getting rid of this virus from America". 


    Did they try shrinking it to drown it in a bathtub? I hear that's effective.


    34 days of pandemic inside the White House, new @ WaPo, 5 reporters on it:

     


    For the wonders-never-cease file: Pence reveals as an actual human being who can both make mistakes and admit them:


    Right direction for Pence and Trump would be joining "open the country" rallies, close among the unmasked armed freedom fighters, courageously NOT wearing an almost communism mask.


    More mistreated than Lincoln.

    Mussolini complex still?


    There's always a tweet (or two or three...)


    the Never Trumpers of the Lincoln Project are getting on his nerves:


    p.s. here's the exact source of his ire:


    He hates the truth, he's now throwing the country, and a quarter of a million Americans, under the bus or 6 feet under, with the delusion the economy will "rocket" back and he will win reelection.

    Scaramucci predicted it was inevitable.


    Lincoln Project thrilled, planning acceleration:

    Makes me recall Radio Free Tom's pep talk for Dems back in January to let them do the dirty work.


    Trump Virus Task Force Show Fading into History.  The virus hasn't cooperated, and Trump frustratingly couldn't lie enough without being corrected, and telling the truth will never raise his ratings.


    That puts a finger on something simple. Trump and company keep betting they know what is happening. They keep being wrong. Apart from the consequences of all of us who suffer from these bets, why are they allowed into the casino?

    I don't think a coup would help anybody right now but am gaining an appreciation for why they happen.


     In France, they finally used guillotines, although a coup would do.


    To be clear, I am not inviting some sort of terror that lops people's heads off.

    But I understand the desire for that better than I did before. I have to wrestle with my contempt before I take on other people.


     I am not inviting some sort of terror that lops people's heads off.

    Of course not. We should just let them go to movies, restaurants, bars, and churches. Guillotines just aren't necessary.


    Gyms, fitness centers..... NO commie masks!


    Free flights, free cruises. "A trip to the moon, Alice!" And Branson Missouri of course. 


    But you really are the best Trump analyst ever.

    (I just get crazy over the pix like this where he's doing the two-year old thing. Makes me realize we've come a long way from thinking of him simplistically chosing a dictator outfit. Nope he's a victim, all the time--oh poor me, nobody will let me be a dictator like the guys I admire--all the other kids presidents ruined it for me--when he starts with the childish singsongy stuff  and waving his hands like a 3rd grader reporting what he did in the summer...AAARRGHH. really I've got to turn if off right then, a grown man, much less a person with power, acting like that, just creeps me to the max, all politics aside.)


    Trump is thinking, "who let this failing scum photographer in here? I'm missing the Lauta Ingraham show for this virus update crap?"


    The (other) Steele Report

    Translation:/interpretation: "fool crackers with diarrhea mouth shouldn't be telling smart self-controlled black politicos what they can do. and yes, Trump started it."

    https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5ebb1ec1c5b62c834aaf611b


    Looking like they're disbanding because all the volunteers have to go back to work as part of reopening the country and they are tattling to the House on Jared on the way out:


    Mission Accomplished and Heckuva Job Brownie eh-vury day.

    Odd, we have the trappings and absurdities of the 50's Communists, but they didn't have to fire a shot - you guys were right, Mr Putin - except we'd sell ourselves the noise to hang ourselves and save you the trouble. Just make sure there's enough cash around to keep people greedy, and some rudimentary vestige of a political platform - frre-duhm, real Americans vs fake ones, they want to take our hard-earned money - the peasants are sheep however many pickups and mobile phones they own - once a baa - always a baa - everywhere a baa-baa, old McConnell had a farm - see eye we eye oh!


    I really got to start taking my own advice and stop feeding the troll. falling for the shtick just because the reporters do blush:

    A day after the president and vice president confirmed the NYT story that the task force would likely be done by the end of this month, the president says it will continue indefinitely https://t.co/ENmzpjzOoo

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 6, 2020

    When will I really learn that what this White House is of little import, a dog and pony show, amusing at times to deconstruct, still all the real action is going on in Congress and the state governments? And to a lesser extent by federal civil servants in the executive, even though their means have been cut way back by this admin.

     


    Congress can't even get his taxes, which is undeniably authorized in a 1920's law. The administration appears able to divert for partisan patronage or just screw up the trillions Congress does allocate. 

    You're right everything this administration says or does is trolling, lying and distraction. They don't need to ban books or run a Orwellian history altering Ministry of Truth, as for The Base, truth is what Trump says today, not yesterday.


    This shows how it's not just about parrying with the White House media,.that he decides on a deluded narrative and will bully anyone who doesn't go along with it:

    Exactly a very specific part of gaslighting: "are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" From day one, with the size of his inauguration crowd. Nobody's going to fuck with his vision.If they try to, they are the deluded ones, fake news.


    Not so mysterious


    Riotous funny. The kid must watch Trump when the parents aren't around.


    Looks like they pulled it off of Jimmy Kimmel as part of his apology

    https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5eba6d71c5b68f80c04cb8a5


    Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a science and health reporter specializing in plagues and pestilences. He covers diseases of the world's poor, including AIDS, Ebola - 5/12/20:

     


    Interesting that he also is of the opinion that Azar was doing a decent job.


    I guess after Azar took over for the Labradoodle guy. 

    Trump doesn't like people who do good jobs, it can be complicated and take too long. Lying, ignoring and waiting for the bad to blow over, and starting a new distraction on the next 24 hour news cycle is Trump's mode of operation in bypassing accountability.


    More for the psycho file:



    Trump's FDA shuts Seattle model of excellence COVID virus testing program.  F.D.A. Halts Coronavirus Testing Program Backed by Bill Gates. 

    It has tested thousands since March and would help the Seattle and Kings county meet the standards for safe 'opening' set by epidemiologists. As a program that shows meeting those criteria can be done, political Trump appointees want to shut it down as states not meeting testing standards open up:

    "The program involved sending home test kits to both healthy and sick people in the hope of conducting the kind of widespread monitoring that could help communities safely reopen from lockdowns. Researchers and public health authorities already had tested thousands of samples, finding dozens of previously undetected cases.

     But the program, a partnership between research groups and the Seattle and King County public health department that had been operating under authorization from the state, was notified this week that it now needs approval directly from the federal government. Officials with the Food and Drug Administration told the partnership to cease its testing and reporting until the agency grants further approval."


    Trump to Bill Gates, played by Humphrey Bogart, We don't need no stinkin' testing..!

    “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.” — President Trump, Allentown, PA 5/14


    this paragraph screams Jared to me for some reason

    Dr. Eric Topol, the director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, who is not involved in the Seattle group, said it had “emerged as leading lights in this whole Covid-19 crisis.” He said it was “bizarre” that the F.D.A. would halt such a project.


    SOMEBODY must have told the Deputy Führer Jared .! Nein ! Nein! too much testing!


    David Sanger & Peter Baker of NYT, do tag team:


    Fauci was "too busy" to testify in the Democrat controlled House. The FDA is not "too busy" to stop a standard of excellence virus testing and surveillance program in Seattle.

    All politics all Trump, all the time with the Trump administration, no science, no leadership. They are sending body waves to death from the virus.



    I am reminded of Jolly Roger's early April blog entry where he suggestively pointed out some noted side effects:  HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE? YOUR MIND...


    But I mostly agree with Phil, he's probably making it up (and doesn't need any drugs to be crazy)


    Oops, here's proof that Phil and I and many others are wrong, he really is taking hydroxychloroquine:

    INBOX: President Trump’s physician issues a statement on Mr. Trump’s decision to take hydroxychloroquine: pic.twitter.com/IqXSNWjJuy

    — Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) May 19, 2020

    But it is also proof of my contention that powerful and weathly people in this country often get really lousy health care (not just overtreatment but iatrogenic illness is quite common among them.) This is especially common among successful males--they either get overtested and overtreated because they offer little input as patients and unquestionally follow doctor's incorrect treatment to the tests or they are the type that bully the doctor (as no doubt happened here) into doing something they wouldn't normally do. "Hysterical" females are the ones who end up with the best care because they insist on teamwork on input from the patient.


    Mercury tincture is known to help. Plus lead - in small quantities it can actually improve brain function. Go get em, tiger..


    The memo says "after numerous discussions .. he and I ...regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydro---- we concluded the  potential benefits of treatment (to who? not stated) outweighed the relative risks"

    The memo doesn't say Trump is taking the drug. A doctor would normally give the medication prescribed, the dose, and the time period in days it will be used. Not in the memo.  It's lawyer-ese obfuscation as in not wanting to say Trump is lying. Proof might be a verified pill on Trump's tongue, and Trump swallowing it at a White House briefing.

    Maybe he could do that daily, at a certain time and we could tune in to watch?

     Maybe after his recent exposure he took some for a few days, maybe he's still taking it, it does show he is SCARED of the VIRUS getting him. But too vain to wear a mask, the zero risk most effective way to prevent infection and the best defense for the public and workers.


    Just grab that virus by the pussy. Lock 'er up. It'll just disappear in November anyway.


    WaPo analysis points out it would be against FDA regulations to give HChloro outside of a hospital setting. Grabbing the virus, pussy or other anatomy, is legal and Trump has wide experience with that. 

    WaPo-

    "It’s worth noting, too, that the FDA doesn’t allow for a use such as the one Trump claims. The emergency use authorization specifies that the drug can be used “to treat adults and teens hospitalized with COVID-19.”

    Of course, Trump’s predilection for making false assertions is well documented. This announcement follows a predictable pattern for Trump of escalating a rhetorical point. Trump wants to disparage Bright, so he claims that hydroxychloroquine is safe and effective. To bolster that point, Trump points to unnamed doctors who he asserts have been prescribing the medication. Then, he escalates the point again: In fact, he himself is taking it, and he’s doing just fine."


    Using "in fact" facetiously or rhetorically or who knows what the fuck it actually means - just another rabbit hole to pull us in.


    The Onion quick on the draw:


    And the truth about feeding trolls rather than ridiculing them:


    It certainly fits in the NCD timeline as an entry to the list of events.
    I am tired of all the winning.


    I think Fox News is thrilled cause they all got lectures from the legal team and now they can say "sue him not us!"?


    Added it Moat to the timeline.



    NAVARRO said he is IN THE FOXHOLE fighting the CHINA VIRUS and wouldn't want Dr. Bright there with him, preferring President Bone Spurs apparently.



    New related headline story @ NYTimes:

    Lockdown Delays Cost at Least 36,000 Lives, Data Show

    • Imposing social-distancing rules and lockdowns even a week earlier might have prevented thousands of American deaths, researchers found.

    Live3m ago

    Edit to add tweet with graph:


    The NBA locked down 3/11, eleven days before Cuomo and DeBlathero locked down in NY state. Next pandemic Adam Silver should be put in charge..


    Yeah thanks you are helping me remember the trajectory and chronology of attention! One thing about capitalism, when it's smart (the big cavaet!) guys running things and lots of money involved, that focuses on priorities.  Wouldn't look pretty if all those expensive players were getting real sick and dying one by one. Much less your audience that you make the profits off of.

    I do take pride in that I was posting a lot stories on coronavirus right from the start. So many that I don't remember them all, hah. One ironic thing I do remember is me and PP blithely joking with dark humor before much spread in the west--but there were warnings--that, well, maybe this will solve the over population problems like global warming fi we loose 1/6 of the world's population, etc...as if we thought it couldn't really truly happen.


    Well, you expect modern society with advanced medicine and machine learning/AI and lots more wealth and general hygienic know-how will fare better than a relatively backwards and poorly connected world of the 1918 Spanish Flu, when the Russian peasants were just freed and the Chinese Emperor reigned with concubines having bound feet. And then you find out the "developed" world has been faking a lot of it's "developed" rep. Thing is, even BBC's Chernobyl should've warned us.


    Adam Silver's action to suspend the NBA season was the first decisive national action to protect the American public, the only public Silver was in a position to protect, his players and fans. Would that the Trump administration was so decisive and concerned about us. It will never happen.

      Silver's move was a huge money losing decision that revealed to the generally jaded ignorant overly entertained American public that this virus was serious, was super contagious, anyone could get it, was all over the place, and powerful people were willing to lose loads of money reacting to it's unknown dangers.

    Trump and the Republicans would prefer that professional sports, businesses of all types, churches and the nation "open" back as normal -  the virus be damned. They would likely prefer the NBA never closed. Why? Sports distract the public from reality, from the administration's negligence and incompetence.

    The GOP has a perverse fantasy that the NBA, the NFL, the fans, front line workers, all us good citizens should just "shut-up and dribble"


    it's a hashtag now for all the bean-counting types, NCD, #HumanCapitalStock:


    Human Capital Stock. And to say that on this day.

    Sometimes, I want to hurt people.


    Thanks. Amazing. He even mentions it twice.

    The Trump administration is like our our own make believe Third Reich.

    I've read in the real 3rd Reich the SS "human capital stock" of industrial starving abused  slave labor was dying off too fast, and the war lasting longer than the Nazis expected,  so  the top SS Nazi required KLs to improve conditions, keeping the human capital stock alive a bit longer.

    Unfortunately, like the Trump administration, inhuman cruelty was too ingrained, and nothing changed. The Trump administration too isn't foreseeing things dkwn the road, like a second peak, then a second wave, and the possible effects that would have on "human capital stock".



    And I think (this is how low the bar has been set for me) at least he's answering the question instead of just calling the asker stupid. He can still spin and smear, not totally drugged into oblivion!


    Way better than the usual "there's always a tweet" find of Trump hypocrisy:


    Trump Campaign Slogans


    July 3, USA  U.S. cases- 2,887,668. deaths - 130,641

     


    He's still saying that ya know! This week! I believe more than once--the economy is coming back and the pandemic is just going to disappear-that's his plan for getting re-elected

    Unbelievable. He's still doing it. Trump is still - TODAY - claiming that the virus is going to magically disappear. I cannot believe that a human being could be this obtuse.pic.twitter.com/39lMlr6zGX

    — Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 1, 2020

    Trump hails the “incredible news” of nearly 5 million new jobs despite virus that China should have stopped. But why did he say that Covid-19 is "going to sort of just disappear"? https://t.co/whnefgXARa

    — #MediaBuzz (@MediaBuzzFNC) July 3, 2020

    Trump remains in blissful denial as crisis ripples through the Sun Belt, threatening to create chaos and distress nationwide for months to come. On Wednesday, he said of the pandemic, “I think at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.” https://t.co/yZmyy4ylFk

    — Pat Benzaleski (@PatBenzaleski) July 3, 2020

    And just now at Mount Rushmore he announced he's going to start a sculpture garden of the most famous Americans who ever lived. Oh AND THE WALL, THAT'S HIS MOUNT RUSHMORE, the wall. So there's all that too! Extra added bonus: a grand culture war against The Woke who are not just tearing down statues but who have infiltrated our schools, our corporations...and mean to silence us all....

    (the commies thing---channeling mentor Roy Cohn, but not doing quite as well as Roy, more milquetoast than pit bull) cheeky


    meanwhile, I see his Admin is planning to have different talking points next week:

    as is usual, he probably won't follow them


    Trump is using the lives of Americans like he has used borrowed dollars. If he spends enough of them he might rescue his "enterprise", his reelection. It's like risking bankruptcy, but with other people's lives not other people's money.



    on second thought, though, I think what really might have fucked up Trump is that he was confronted with real in-the-flesh voting people last night at the Town Hall thing.  Asking the same questions that, in his cocoon of yes men and women and Fox TV watching, he could peg as "the liberal faux media" enemy. But there they were, real people saying the same thing, including a guy who had voted for Trump in 2016. . Laura Ingraham is smart, she knew immediately what had to be done to maintain the fantasy "us vs. them" narrative: decry the whole thing as a set up.


    Thanks. Call it a 'political ad' or call it a short documentary of recent history. Excellent indictment. He is a man of unique, rare loathsomeness.  Beyond psychotic. That tens of millions are in total thrall to his fantastic lies, while others willingly enable him for personal gain, sadly shows that a spiralling national debasement caused by "abdication of the intellect and of moral sense to the principle of authority"* can happen again, here, or anywhere.

    *Primo Levi


    yet <sign> there's always the shtick are you going to believe your lying eyes or what I tell you and war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength...it's a never ending battle with the flunkies:

    White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said herd immunity was never considered a strategy to battle the pandemic.

    He adds that he has been told a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready in three or four weeks but would not disclose the source of the information pic.twitter.com/6NZaZ3IMTN

    — Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) September 16, 2020

    truly the first Postmodern president to the max, constant creation of narratives as if there is no reality at all to be had anymore.


    The performance at the Town Hall shows his greatest weakness is using words he is not familiar with. When new words appear in his script, he mouths them with disgust and wonder like some incantation mumbled to a waiter.

    He is in poor shape to meet Biden in debate. I hope Biden works on Trump's weakness by concentrating the outrage to a few paragraphs. The rest should be taking Trump's exact words, guessing what they might mean and responding to each of the possibilities.

    I think Biden should open up with: "Why is your healthcare plan a secret?" Why is it not on your party's platform so that the public can consider its merits and deficits.?"


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