Category Archives: Donald Trump

The American military is suffering from the novel coronavirus pandemic. At time of writing over 1,600 Department of Defense staff have tested positive, including a major outbreak on the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, where over 100 sailors out of a crew of over 4,000 have been infected. The lack of proper quarantine facilities onboard prompted the ship's Captain Brett Crozier to plead for help in a letter to his superiors which was later obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. "Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset our Sailors," he wrote.

The Roosevelt was eventually docked in Guam and evacuated. But Crozier has now been relieved of his command. Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said Crozier showed "extremely poor judgment" in creating a "firestorm." Translation: He embarrassed President Trump, who has installed toadies like Modly in a number of senior military leadership positions.

As Crozier departed the Roosevelt, the remaining crew sent him off to wild cheers. "One of the greatest captains you ever had the man for the people," said one sailor. Such a sight ought to freeze the blood of any American politician. Historically, treating the armed forces with gratuitous contempt runs a serious risk of mutinies or revolution. He surely does not know it, but Trump is playing with fire.

In his history of the Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky wrote that the state's grip on the armed forces was one deciding factor in any potential revolution. "Against a numerous, disciplined, well-armed and ably led military force, unarmed or almost unarmed masses of the people cannot possibly gain a victory." The ground for revolt in 1917 was only laid because disgruntled soldiers disgusted by Tsar Nicholas II's appalling performance in the First World War turned against the regime. That followed an example set in the quasi-revolution of 1905, when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin famously mutinied after their captain murdered a sailor for complaining about being fed rancid meat.

It is of course exceedingly difficult to imagine American sailors and soldiers turning against the Trump administration. But extreme crises can sometimes change attitudes very, very quickly. There's a reason why in previous crises, like the standoff over the debt ceiling in 2013, the government always took care to make sure the military paychecks kept flowing. But Trump's titanic narcissism and ignorance make this danger impossible for him to grasp.

On the contrary, Trump has made it abundantly clear that the only qualification that matters for top military personnel is personal loyalty to him. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper fired Undersecretary for Policy John Rood because he was involved with the aid to Ukraine that got Trump impeached. As of early March, over "a third of all Senate-confirmed civilian positions at the Department of Defense are now vacant or filled by temporary officials," Politico reports, in part because "a 29-year-old Trump loyalist ... is now trying to exert more control over the Pentagons nominating process." Trump is a man so petty that his administration ordered the USS John McCain hidden behind a tarp during a Trump visit to Japan because the president previously feuded with the ship's namesake, and they did not want to trigger a temper tantrum.

Trump's treatment of Captain Crozier also makes a jarring contrast with what he did for Eddie Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was turned in by his own fellow troops for allegedly murdering civilians and a captured prisoner in cold blood. Trump interfered in his prosecution and reversed his demotion. The message is clear: Commit war crimes and Fox News will get the president to turn you into a right-wing celebrity grifter, but try to save your troops from a disease pandemic and your career is toast.

Finally, the coronavirus pandemic comes after two decades of ceaseless imperialist warmongering, at a cost of perhaps $6.4 trillion and hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops killed, maimed, or psychologically injured, for no benefit whatsoever. America invaded and occupied Afghanistan in 2001; nearly 20 years later that country is in worse shape than it was when we started. America invaded Iraq on false pretenses and turned it into a dystopian nightmare hell. Fifty-eight percent of veterans say the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting; 64 percent say the same thing about the war in Iraq.

American soldiers generally come from the middle of the income distribution, with the poorest and especially the richest neighborhoods underrepresented. The military is also considerably more diverse than the general population (except for the Marines, the smallest of the service branches). It is surely unlikely that dipping morale among the troops could suddenly curdle into boiling, insurrectionary rage, but it's not impossible. American soldiers have been pointlessly shoveled into a meat grinder for two decades, and now their officers have to sacrifice themselves to get Trump to protect them from a viral pandemic?

Make no mistake, segments of the military in open conflict with the president would be a terrifying development. Full-blown military revolts often end with some strongman general installing himself as dictator. America is hopefully still a long ways from that, but with Donald Trump as the commander-in-chief, with the lockstep backing of almost the entire Republican Party, and with potentially hundreds of thousands of Americans dying in the pandemic, would you really rule it out?

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Donald Trump is playing with revolutionary fire - The Week

Carlos Fernndez de Cosso, head of the U.S. desk at Cubas Foreign Ministry, recently accused the U.S. government of terrible moral decadence. He was reacting to U.S. threats against nations confronting the COVID 19 pandemic and assisted by Cuba. He was also criticizing poor pre-epidemic preparations in the United States.

His critique strayed from Cubas usual denunciations of imperialist and plutocratic excess. In suggesting that U.S. leaders disregard basic human values, the diplomat was venturing into deep waters.

In fact, U.S. decision-making on the COVID 19 epidemic and on some U.S. interventions abroad reveal easy tolerance of people dying in the one case and foreknowledge of that outcome in the other. The implications are not trivial: Thou shalt not kill is arguably the most basic moral and legal principle in any society, according to a scholar on various rationalizations of killings.

President Donald Trump on March 24 indicated measures for slowing down the spread of COVID 19 infection would be relaxed by April 12. He indicated U.S. people could then return to work and the economy would recover. In that scenario, the epidemic and the dying presumably would continue. That day Bloomberg News reported that, Business leaders in the U.S. are getting impatient with the national economic shutdown and are backing President Trump.

Soulmate and Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick indicated on March 23 he would take a chance for the sake of preserving America for your children and grandchildren. He and other old people would die for the greater good, as he sees it.

Trump retreated later on, claiming his words had been aspirational. But the head of state and lead defender of capitalism had revealed that for him human survival ranks second to the imperatives of capital.

The U.S. government is used to letting people die. In Afghanistan U.S. bombs descend from the air and bystanders die. In the 1990s U.S. strategists accepted that Iraqi people would die from economic sanctions they were imposing. The deaths there of 500,000 children were worth it, declared then Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

U.S. governments treat Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela similarly. In 1960 Cuban leaders knew what was in store for their people. A State Department memo that year called for a line of action which makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government. But only a few Cubans have died due to the U.S. economic blockade. Cubas government has left no stone unturned to protect all of their lives.

A side note: shortages alone may not be enough to provoke the desperation required for rebellion. People perhaps need to fear for their lives. Persons dying in their midst might do the trick.

In Iran now, conditions are worsening. On March 26, the U.S. government added sanctions targeting shipping, constriction and the chemical industry. The fear-inducing COVID 19 pandemic serves U.S. purposes. Iran now accounts of for 11.2 percent of COVID-19 deaths in the world. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February claimed that, things are much worse for the Iranian people, and we are convinced that will lead the Iranian people to rise up and change the behavior of the regime.

The combination of pandemic and sanctions is terrible for Venezuela. In mid-February, the U.S. government sanctioned Russias state-owned oil corporation Rosnef, claiming it had transported 55 million barrels of oil for Venezuelas PDVSA oil company.

Because of sanctions, Venezuelas daily oil output, already reduced, dropped 50 percent between 2017 and 2019. Oils sales provide Venezuelas government with 90 percent of its income. Oil exports pay for social support. Tens of thousands of Venezuelan deaths due to sanctions have been documented. Now Venezuela appears to be on the verge of a massive [COVID 19] outbreak. The mix of sanctions and pandemic at work in Iran, Venezuela, and elsewhere could kill tens of thousands [of people] if not far more.

Accusations that U.S. sanctions violate international law have long flooded the Internet. Heres one, chosen at random and appearing in a 2019 medical-journal article: U.S. sanctions fit the definition of collective punishment of the civilian population, as described by the Geneva (Article 33) and Hague conventions, to which the USA is a signatory.

At issue here, however, is the U.S. governments moral-values deficit. Indeed, editorialists of The New York Times declared on March 26 that piling on more sanctions while Iran bleeds is morally wrong and looks terrible. In their zeal to protect capitalism in crisis, U. S. political leaders clearly stop at nothing. Let the economy roll and people would die. Punish uppity subaltern nations and people do die.

The present-day reality of the U.S. states ready acceptance of peoples deaths harks back to the crimes of far-right political movements in early 20th century Europe. Worried capitalists inside U.S. power structures are seemingly on the verge of doing what their earlier counterparts did. They latched on to thuggery and gave themselves up to the terrible simplifiers, labeled as such in 1889 by Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt.

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Donald Trump, Capitalism, and Letting Them Die - CounterPunch

In reality, Americans needed authorization from a doctor to get tested -- and even many people who did have a doctor's order could not get access.

This was Trump deceiving the country about one of the most critical problems of the crisis.

The most revealing false claim: Trade with Europe

During his Oval Office address to the nation about the coronavirus on March 11, Trump, speaking from a script, announced that he was imposing restrictions on travel from Europe -- and then added that "these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing."

The most absurd false claim: Handshakes in India

Trump is regularly willing to make false claims that can be disproven using widely available video footage.

The coronavirus

'Control' of the coronavirus

Facts First: Experts said the US did not have the virus even close to under control. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at this same briefing after Trump left the room: "The worst is, yes, ahead for us. It is how we respond to that challenge that's going to determine what the ultimate end point is going to be. We have a very, very critical point now."

Expectations of the pandemic

"This was foreseeable, and foreseen, weeks and months ago, and only now is the White House coming out of denial and heading straight into saying it could not have been foreseen," Harvard University epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch, director of Harvard's Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, said on Sunday.

"Almost two months ago, experts were saying that the new virus in Wuhan was potentially a global threat," Lipsitch said in an email. "One month ago, experts were saying that it was likely to be pandemic, and the White House's response was that this was under control, despite the fact that the US's lack of testing was demonstrably giving a false picture of the extent of infection."

Obama and coronavirus testing

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, who was principal deputy commissioner of the FDA under Obama and is now professor of the practice at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said, "There wasn't a policy that was put into place that inhibited them. There was no Obama policy they were reversing."

The availability of coronavirus tests

Coronavirus testing

Trump was asked about a case in which a doctor in Houston reported being unable to obtain permission to get a patient tested despite the patient having "symptoms of something" and having tested negative for the flu.

Facts First: It was simply not true that testing had been going smoothly or that, as Trump suggested, it was simple to get a test by contacting the proper authorities.

Health officials in states around the country continued to report a shortage of tests and other problems. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress the same day: "The system does not -- is not really geared to what we need right now ... that is a failing. It is a failing, let's admit it."

Dr. Fauci said, "The idea of anybody getting it easily the way people in other countr(ies) are doing it: we're not set up for that. Do I think we should be? Yes. But we're not."

The timeline

Facts First: The US had its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on January 21, more than six weeks before Trump spoke here, so it's not true that the US had not really seen even "some possible effects" until three weeks ago.

People's knowledge of the number of flu deaths

The CDC estimates that between 12,000 and 61,000 people have died in the US in each flu season between 2010-2011 and 2018-2019; its preliminary figure for 2018-2019 is 34,157 deaths.

Flu deaths in 1990

Polling on Trump and the coronavirus

Facts First: Trump does not have a "78% approval rating" for his handling of the coronavirus, nor "the highest rating ever" for a president's handling of an outbreak.

Travel from Europe

Facts First: Trump was incorrectly describing his own policy.

His travel suspension did not apply to "all travel from Europe"; it applied to the 26 countries in the Schengen Area, a European zone in which people can move freely across internal borders. (Trump later added the United Kingdom and Ireland, which are not in the Schengen Area, to the restricted list.)

Trump did not mention that he was exempting a variety of non-US citizens, including permanent US residents and certain family members of both citizens and permanent residents. And by referring to "Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings," he did not make clear that US citizens can return from Europe even if they have not been screened before they take off for the US. The screening comes after they land in the US.

European goods

"There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings, and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing." -- March 11 Oval Office address to the nation on the coronavirus

A "rally" in Tampa

Google's coronavirus website

"I want to thank the people at Google and Google Communications because, as you know, they substantiated what I said on Friday. The head of Google, who's a great gentleman, said -- called us and he apologized. I don't know where the press got their fake news, but they got it someplace...And how that got out -- and I'm sure you'll apologize. But it would be great if we could really give the news correctly. It would be so, so wonderful." -- March 15 coronavirus press conference

So it was fair for Trump to applaud the second statement, but its existence does not mean that media reports about the first statement were inaccurate.

New York coronavirus deaths

"And then, when you do have a death, like you have had in the state of Washington, like you had one in California -- I believe you had one in New York..." -- March 4 interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity

The coronavirus situation in Italy

"...I hear the numbers are getting much better in Italy." -- March 6 exchange with reporters after tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Facts First: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in Italy was continuing to increase at the time Trump made this comment. As of Saturday, March 7, the day after Trump spoke here, Italy had 5,883 confirmed cases and 233 deaths; as of Monday, March 9, there were 9,172 cases and 463 deaths.

The coronavirus in the US and elsewhere

Facts First: Trump was exaggerating. The US did have fewer confirmed coronavirus cases than some countries, including China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France and Germany. But it had more confirmed cases than big-population countries like India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia and Nigeria, plus neighbors Mexico and Canada, plus many other high-income countries.

In addition, the number of confirmed cases is dependent on how many people are tested. The US was conducting fewer tests than some countries with much smaller populations.

A remark by Nancy Pelosi

Canadians on the Grand Princess

People on the Grand Princess

Trump's student loan plan

Border closures

The Europe restrictions and testing

Facts First: It's not true that Americans or others returning from Europe "have to be" tested for the coronavirus -- and no system is being set up to actually test these returning travelers.

Instead, travelers are funneled to specific airports and put through an inspection known as enhanced screening, which cannot prove whether someone has the virus. Previous US airport screening for the coronavirus has involved temperature checks, questions about travelers' health and travel history, and an inspection for symptoms like a cough or breathing trouble. The administration's statements about the enhanced screening for travelers from Europe made no mention of coronavirus tests being conducted.

Handshakes in India

"You know, I just got back from India, and I didn't shake any hands there. And it was very easy because they go like this. (Takes slight bow.)" -- March 12 exchange with reporters before meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar

Here is the full list of 71 false claims from the two-week period:

Obama, the coronavirus and swine flu

Trump said of H1N1, also known as swine flu: "And they didn't do anything about it." -- March 4 interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity

"If you go back and look at the swine flu and what happened with the swine flu, you'll see how many people died and how actually nothing was done for such a long period of time, as people were dying all over the place." -- March 12 exchange with reporters before meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar

Facts First: The Obama administration did respond to H1N1, and it's not true the administration did not even start "thinking" about testing until it was too late.

Unemployment in Pennsylvania and Scranton

"This area of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania itself, has the best numbers it's ever had. It's got the best economy it's ever had. It has the best unemployment numbers it's ever had. And Scranton has the lowest and best unemployment numbers they've -- and employment numbers too -- that they've ever had, by far." -- March 5 Fox News town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Facts First: Neither the unemployment rate for Pennsylvania nor the unemployment rate for the Scranton area is at its lowest level ever. And both rates have crept higher over the past several months.

Social Security and Medicare

Trump's budget is a request to Congress, not a law, so the cuts may not happen. And Republicans are free to note that the proposed cuts would reduce projected future spending, but not be reductions from the current level of spending. Still, Biden had a reasonable factual basis for saying what he did.

Trade with Japan

"I just made a deal with Japan where they're paying $40 billion. They never gave us anything. All they do is sell us cars for no tax coming into the -- to the country." -- March 5 Fox News town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania

"Japan is not paying $40 billion dollars to the United States as part of the mini trade deal," Mireya Solis, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution think tank, said in an email. She added: "US-Japan digital trade is worth $40 billion, but again that does not mean Japan is paying the US that amount."

Matthew Goodman, senior vice president and senior adviser for Asian economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said there are "no hard numbers or commitments in the US-Japan deal to support that figure, as far as I know."

China and drugs

Facts First: It is simply not true that China has no "drug problem," though Trump did not define what he meant by "drug problem." Joe Amon, director of global health at Drexel University and a clinical professor of community health and prevention, said the statement is "definitively" false. Ann Fordham, executive director of the International Drug Policy Consortium, a global network of non-governmental organizations, said, "There is so much data that refutes this claim from Trump."

Repeats

Here are the repeat false claims we have previously included in one of these roundups:

Ukraine and impeachment

The whistleblower

Trump called the whistleblower who complained about his dealings with Ukraine a "phony whistleblower" and claimed this person had described "a call that didn't exist." -- March 5 Fox News town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Hunter Biden's career

Trump claimed that, before Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden was appointed to the board of directors of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden "didn't have a job." -- March 5 Fox News town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Economy

Prescription drug prices

Hispanic home ownership

Facts First: The number of Hispanic homeowners had indeed increased by more than 500,000 during Trump's presidency, according to data provided by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals -- it rose by 176,000 in 2017, 365,000 in 2018, 277,000 in 2019. But this total gain of 818,000 was not the largest net gain ever recorded. In 2001, 2002 and 2003, the first three years of George W. Bush's presidency, the total gain was 930,000, according to the association's data. (The net gain during the 2003-2005 period, also under Bush, was 940,000.)

Median household income and energy

Facts First: It's not true that median household income gains under Trump were almost $10,000 in three years. A firm called Sentier Research says real median household income, pre-tax, was $65,666 in December 2019 -- up from $61,496 (in inflation-adjusted December 2019 dollars) in January 2017, a difference of $4,170. Trump habitually adds an additional $5,000-plus on account of his loosening of regulations and supposed energy savings, but these explanations do not make sense mathematically.

Ivanka Trump and jobs

"We're also promoting workforce development through our Pledge to America's Workers. Four hundred and thirty companies have already committed to providing new jobs and training opportunities to over 15 million Americans. And I give my daughter, Ivanka, a lot of credit for that ... she started off with 500,000 jobs, and she just broke 15 million." -- March 3 speech to the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference

Facts First: Ivanka Trump has obviously not created more than "15 million jobs." Before the coronavirus crisis, roughly 7 million jobs had been created during the entire Trump presidency.

Unemployment

Facts First: Trump was exaggerating, though the February unemployment rate was indeed impressive.

Unemployment for women

Trump said women had the lowest unemployment rate "in 71 years."=- March 4 interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity

An LNG plant in Louisiana

"I opened up LNG plants in Louisiana where they were for years -- for 10, 12, 14 years and longer -- trying to get permits. They couldn't get permits. I got them built: a $10 billion plant in Louisiana..." -- March 5 Fox News town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania

The estate tax

Trump falsely claimed to have eliminated the estate tax. -- March 2 campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina

Facts First: Trump has not eliminated the federal estate tax. His 2017 tax law raised the threshold at which the tax must be paid, from $5.5 million to $11.2 million for an individual, but did not get rid of the tax entirely.

Foreign affairs

Venezuela's wealth

"The tragedy in Venezuela is a reminder that socialism and communism bring misery and heartache everywhere they're tried. I remember so many years ago -- 20, less -- it was the wealthiest country." -- March 4 speech to the Latino Coalition Legislative Summit

Facts First: Venezuela was not the wealthiest country in Latin America 20 years ago, as Trump has claimed previously, and certainly not one of the wealthiest countries in the world, as Trump has also claimed previously. (Trump didn't say this time which one he meant.)

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Trump made 33 false claims about the coronavirus crisis in the first two weeks of March - CNN

The Senate passed a massive coronavirus stimulus bill that sends cash directly to most adults in a bid to shore up the faltering economy. The bill expected to top $2...

Its being reported that part of the $2 trillion deal to bail out the economy, signed by the Senate and the White House, is that Trump family businesses cannot receive...

The proof that identity politics is a national-security issue finally stared us in the face during this pandemic. First, we had Joe Biden and friends slamming President Trump as xenophobic...

WASHINGTON Senate Republicans pushing to lower unemployment pay in a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill admitted Wednesday night that they arent likely to succeed, clearing the way for the...

WASHINGTON President Trump says he still wants to reopen the country on Easter even if all states cant meet his beautiful timeline. But health authorities and lawmakers remain...

President Trumps daily White House coronavirus briefings are a ratings hit. The president, who has taken the lead in the task forces daily updates to the nation, has attracted an...

"What we're working on is a common challenge," said Cuomo in an Albany press briefing, noting that he's been on the phone with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as...

The virtual call comes after Trump cancelled the in-person G7 summit at Camp David in June.

To the president, you are right to want to jump-start the economy, but dont try to create an economic bump that leads to a spike in the virus, Graham said...

President Trump said on Twitter that he had a good conversation with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and that FEMAs progress building hospitals in New York were coming along ahead of schedule....

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Donald Trump | New York Post

President Donald Trump again attacked the media at his latest coronavirus press briefing, but the trigger was a question about a tweet he sent earlier on Wednesday afternoon, claiming that the media wants the economy to falter to hurt his chances at reelection.

Trump tweeted, The LameStream Media is the dominant force in trying to get me to keep our Country closed as long as possible in the hope that it will be detrimental to my election success. The real people want to get back to work ASAP. We will be stronger than ever before!

But that drew questions among journalists on whether his pronouncement that he wants to lift social distancing guidelines and reopen the country by Easter is based on his own political considerations.

At the briefing, CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid asked,Is this Easter timeline based on your political interests?

The media would like to see me do poorly in the election, Trump responded.

Then Reid interjected,Lawmakers and economists on both sides of the aisle have said that reopening the country by Easter is not a good idea. What is that plan based on?

I think there are certain people who would like it not to open so quickly, Trump said. I think there are certain people who would like it to do financially poorly because they feel that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls. I dont think that is so, but I think it is so that there are a lot of people in your profession that would like that to happen.

He went on, telling Reid, I think it is very clear that there are people in your profession that write fake news you do.

He added, They would love to see me, for whatever reason, because we have done one hell of a job. No one has done the job that we have done. And it is lucky that you have this group here right now for this problem. Or you wouldnt even have a country left.

After Trump left the briefing, Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the coronavirus task force continued to answer questions. CNN and MSNBC eventually switched away from the briefings while Fox News stayed with it.

The briefings have generated large audiences for the news networks. According to Nielsen, 11 million viewers watched Tuesdays briefing on the three news channels, with Fox News drawing 5.5 million, CNN garnering 3.1 million and MSNBC with 2.4 million. Those figures do not include the audiences watching on broadcast networks and web platforms.

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Donald Trumps Latest Media Attack Invites Questions Of Whether He Wants Easter Reopening To Boost Election Chances - Deadline

President Donald Trump's reelection campaign issued a cease-and-desist letter to television stations that aired an alleged "patently false, misleading, and deceptive" campaign advertisement by a political action committee.

A video created by Priorities USA Action Fund (PUSA), a PAC which has supported Democratic presidential candidates, showed a fluid chart of coronavirus cases while unflattering comments previously made by Trump were played in the background.

Some of the remarks included Trump downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak.

"PUSA stitched together fragments from multiple speeches by President Trump to fraudulently and maliciously imply that President Trump called the coronavirus outbreak a 'hoax,'" the letter said, adding that Trump was "abundantly clear" in referring to the "Democrat's politicization of the coronavirus outbreak" when making the description.

"Because PUSA's ad's central point is deliberately false and misleading, your station has an obligation to cease and desist from airing it immediately to comply with FCC licensing requirements, to serve the public interest, and to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation," the letter added.

Another ad using the clip also appears to be misleading. Trump's comments about the "coronavirus" and "hoax" were made during a campaign rally in late February, according to The Washington Post, and were edited so that he appeared to be saying the words together. In the actual speech, Trump made several remarks after he mentioned the coronavirus and his reference to a hoax.

The full quote as transcribed by The Post is below:

"Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. You know that, right?Coronavirus.They're politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs, you say, 'How's President Trump doing?', 'Oh, nothing, nothing.' They have no clue, they don't have any clue. They can't even count their votes in Iowa, they can't even count. No, they can't. They can't count their votes. One of my people came up to me and said, 'Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.' That didn't work out too well. They couldn't do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over, they've been doing it since he got in. It's all turning, they lost. It's all turning, think of it, think of it. Andthis is their new hoax.But you know we did something that's been pretty amazing. We have 15 people in this massive country and because of the fact that we went early, we went early, we could have had a lot more than that."

While the ad appears to be misleading, Trump and his administration repeatedly downplayed the coronavirus or delivered mixed messages about the seriousness of the pandemic, prior to the White House issuing its 15-day coronavirus isolation guidelines. And despite the warnings from public health professionals, Trump has said he'd like to reopen businesses by Easter.

At least 1,050 people in the US had died from the new coronavirus as of early Thursday morning.

"The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA," Trump tweeted on February 24. "We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart."

About 69,000 cases have been reported in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and US territories. The federal government's response has also been criticized for not heeding earlier warnings from US officials and the lack of available equipment around the country for healthcare professionals.

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Trump campaign trying to remove a video saying coronavirus is a 'hoax' - Business Insider - Business Insider

YES AND NO. The thing to understand about Donald Trump is that putting others before self is not something he can do, even temporarily. His attempts to convey facts that dont serve his perceived self-interest or to express empathy are forced, scripted, and always short-lived, since such reactions are alien to him.

This president does not have the capacity to listen to, synthesize, and internalize information that does not immediately serve his greatest needs: praise, fealty, adoration. He finds it intolerable when those things are missing, a clinical psychologist told me. Praise, applause, and accolades seem to calm him and boost his confidence. Theres no room for that now, and so hes growing irritable and needing to create some way to get some positive attention.

She added that the pandemic and its economic fallout overwhelm Trumps capacity to understand, are outside of his ability to internalize and process, and [are] beyond his frustration tolerance. He is neither curious nor interested; facts are tossed aside when inconvenient or [when they] contradict his parallel reality, and people are disposable unless they serve him in some way.

ITS USEFUL HERE to recall that Trumps success as a politician has been built on his ability to impose his will and narrative on others, to use his experience on a reality-television show and his skill as a con man to shape public impressions in his favor, evenor perhaps, especiallyif those impressions are at odds with reality. He convinced a good chunk of the country that he is a wildly successful businessman and knows more about campaign finance, the Islamic State, the courts, the visa system, trade, taxes, the debt, renewable energy, infrastructure, borders, and drones than anyone else.

Read: How the pandemic will end

But in this instance, Trump isnt facing a political problem he can easily spin his way out of. Hes facing a lethal virus. It doesnt give a damn what Donald Trump thinks of it or tweets about it. Spin and lies about COVID-19, including that it will soon magically disappear, as Trump claimed it would, dont work. In fact, they have the opposite effect. Misinformation will cause the virus to increase its deadly spread.

So as the crisis deepensas the body count increases, hospitals are overwhelmed, and the economy contracts, perhaps dramaticallyits reasonable to assume that the president will reach for the tools he has used throughout his life: duplicity and denial. He will not allow facts that are at odds with his narrative to pierce his magnetic field of deception.

But what happens to Trump psychologically and emotionally when things dont turn around in the time period he wants? What happens if the tricks that have allowed him to walk away from scandal after scandal dont work quite so well, if the doors of escape are bolted shut, and if it dawns on even some of his supporterspeople who will watch family members, friends, and neighbors contract the disease, some number of whom will diethat no matter what Trump says, he cant alter this epidemiological reality?

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The President Is Trapped - The Atlantic

Donald Trump has accused the media of wanting to keep the US economy shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic to undermine his chances of reelection.

The US president has been pushing to reopen swaths of the country by Easter 12 April despite warnings from medical experts that measures such as closing businesses and social distancing need more time to work.

The LameStream Media is the dominant force in trying to get me to keep our Country closed as long as possible in the hope that it will be detrimental to my election success, he tweeted on Wednesday. The real people want to get back to work ASAP.

At Wednesdays White House coronavirus task force briefing, Trump followed up with an aggressive denial that the Easter timeline is based on his political interests. The media would like to see me do poorly in the election, he said.

Challenged by a reporter, Trump, who has long used the press as a punching bag, said with exasperation: Just so you understand are you ready? I think there are certain people that would like it not to open so quickly. I think there are certain people that would like it to do financially poorly because they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls.

The president added: I dont know if thats so, but I do think its so that there are people in your profession that would like that to happen. I think its very clear that there are people in your profession that write fake news.

Gesturing around the briefing room with his hands, he said: You do. She does. There are people in your profession that write fake news. They would love to see me for whatever reason, because weve done one hell of a job, nobodys done the job that weve done and its lucky that you have this group here right now for this problem because you wouldnt even have a country left.

Trump has long tied his political fortunes to the economy in general and stock market in particular, but the coronavirus outbreak has wiped out the stock gains of his presidency. On Wednesday he reiterated his call for restarting the economy at Easter, even though US infections have now topped 60,000 and scientists have warned of disastrous consequences for public health.

Its time, he said. People want to get back to work. I want to get our country back.

But he sought to provide reassurance that he would heed the advice of public health officials. Im not going to do anything rash or hastily, I dont do that.

People who return to work could still take precautions, Trump claimed. Theyre not going to walk around hugging and kissing each other in the office when they come back. Even though they may feel like it.

The deadline goal drew criticism from Democratic front runner Joe Biden, the presidents likely opponent in the November election. Now hes suggesting he wants to get the country opened back open by Easter, Biden told reporters at a virtual press conference. Look, we all want to get back to normal as quickly as possible, but we have a lot to do to make that possible. We have to do it in a smart way not on some arbitrary or symbolic timeline.

The former vice president, speaking via video link from his basement, added: It would be a catastrophic thing to do for our people and for our economy if we sent people back to work just as we were beginning to see the impact of social distancing take hold only to unleash a second spike in infections.

Bidens Democratic primary with Senator Bernie Sanders has been paralysed by the crisis, denying both men political oxygen, and the long term political implications remain unpredictable. Opinion polls suggest a majority of Americans approve of Trumps handling of the crisis, despite his early downplaying of the threat.

At Wednesdays briefing, Trump also urged Congress to pass a historic $2tn stimulus bill negotiated by his administration and Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate. I will sign it immediately, he said, adding that it would mark a great day for the American worker and American families.

The bill, delayed by bitter partisan battles, includes funding to send $1,200 cheques to many Americans, $500bn to help distressed companies, including $25bn for airlines, and $367bn in loans to sustain small businesses.

Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, thanked Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell minority leader Chuck Schumer for their efforts. We couldnt be more pleased with the unprecedented response from the Senate to protect American workers and American businesses, he told reporters.

Our expectation is this bill passes tonight and gets to the House tomorrow. And they pass it. We need to get this money into the American economy and American workers.

Meanwhile Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that the coronavirus could be seasonal and cyclical. I know well be successful in putting this down now, he said. But we really need to be prepared for another cycle.

Trump also offered some bizarre digressions, boasting about his efforts to make Nato allies pay more, touting his big, beautiful wall and defending the packages $25m funding for the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

This was a request from the Democrats because of the fact that they have a facility thats essentially closed up, he said. If I wanted to go there tonight to look at Romeo and Juliet, Id love to go see Romero and Juliet...

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Trump accuses media of wanting to keep economy shut to hurt his reelection - The Guardian

An NPR station in Seattle said that it no longer will carry live coverage of President Donald Trumps coronavirus briefings because of concerns that they feature unchecked misleading or false information.

KUOW is monitoring White House briefings for the latest news on the coronavirus and we will continue to share all news relevant to Washington State with our listeners, the station tweeted. However, we will not be airing the briefings live due to a pattern of false or misleading information provided that cannot be fact checked in real time.

Most recently, Trump has called for lifting of social distancing guidelines in the near future, perhaps by Easter, even though public health professionals are still grappling with the spread of the virus. He also has made false claims about the availability of tests, the timeline for finding a vaccine and the potential benefits of a treatment that includes the ingredient chloroquine. While there is some promising study of its potential use, it has not it has not been approved for treatment. NBC News reported on one Arizona man who died after ingesting chloroquine phosphate, and his wife said that they learned about its use after watching a briefing. The chloroquine they used was part of a product use to clean fish tanks, not for medical purposes.

The news networks have been covering the briefings live, but CNN and MSNBC cut away from them on Monday, as the event stretched beyond an hour.

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Deputy White House Press Secretary Judd Deere criticized the channels for the decision asdisgraceful, but an MSNBC spokesperson said that after airing the press conference for over an hour we cut away because the information no longer appeared to be valuable to the important ongoing discussion around public health. A spokeswoman for CNN said, If the White House wants to ask for time on the network, they should make an official request. Otherwise we will make our own editorial decisions.

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Seattle NPR Station Says It Will No Longer Carry Donald Trumps Coronavirus Briefings Live Because Of Misinformation - Deadline

Kanye West is opening up about the public's outrage over his political views.

The rapper-producer-turned-evangelist has come under fire in recent years since voicing his support of President Trump. But in a new interview with WSJ. Magazine, the fashion and shoe designer revealed just what it felt like for strangers to assume his political views based on his race, among other things.

Im a black guy with a red [MAGA] hat, can you imagine? ...It reminded me of how I felt as a black guy before I was famous, when I would walk in a restaurant and people would look at you like you were going to steal something. This is your place, Ye, dont talk about apparel. This is your place, Ye, youre black, so youre a Democrat,'" he told the magazine.

KIM KARDASHIAN, KYLIE JENNER FORCED TO TEMPORARILY HALT PRODUCTION ON BEAUTY LINES

Kanye West attends the WSJ. Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

"Classism, protectionism -- not just racism, he added. Classism is like living on a bookshelf. The more money you have, the higher you go. And you get to the top and look over and what do you see? Fear.

West confirmed to the outlet that he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election because he didn't vote at all. Had he been a registered voter at the time, however, Trump would have received his support, he said.

The multi-faceted designer and artist also opened up about his lucrative career, comparing hisfan-favorite Yeezy brandto the likes of McDonald's and Apple.

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From left, Kim Kardashian West, North West, Kanye West and Joel Osteen answer questions after the 11 a.m. service at Lakewood Church, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

"I believe that Yeezy is the McDonalds and the Apple of apparel, West told the outlet. In order to make the Apple of apparel the next Gap, it has to be a new invention. To invent something thats so good that you dont even get credit for it because its the norm.

The rapper, who segued into a new musical genre thanks to his star-studded Sunday Service church performances,added that he believes his success in music does not automatically result in success in other industries.

Speaking of his accomplishments to date, Kim Kardashian's husband noted that he does not describe himself as "ambitious" -- in fact, it's a word he never wants to be synonymous with.

TAYLOR SWIFT SLAMS KANYE WEST'S FORMER MANAGER SCOOTER BRAUN FOR 'MANIPULATIVE BULLYING,' BUYING HER MASTERS

"Im Kanye West. The word ambitious is beneath my abilities, he told the outlet. Im just a doer. You can see in my eyes theres not one bit of fear.

This week,West found himself embroiled in more drama from the past. Anewly leaked video clipof his infamous phone call with Taylor Swift made its way online over the weekend, reigniting the feud around his "Famous" lyric, I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, Why? I made that b---- famous."

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In response to Swift's recent implication that Kardashian doctored the clips she released on Snapchat four years ago, Kim tweeted:I never edited the footage (another lie) - I only posted a few clips on Snapchat to make my point and the full video that recently leaked doesnt change the narrative."

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Kanye West talks support of Donald Trump, says being black led to false assumptions about his political views - Fox News