Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Timeline Of Trump's Shifting Rhetoric: President's Claims That He Always Took Pandemic Seriously Proven False
The New York Times: Trump Now Claims He Always Knew The Coronavirus Would Be A Pandemic
For weeks, President Trump has minimized the coronavirus, mocked concern about it and treated the risk from it cavalierly. On Tuesday he took to the White House podium and made a remarkable assertion: He knew it was a pandemic all along. “This is a pandemic,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” This is what Mr. Trump has actually said over the past two months: On Jan. 22, asked by a CNBC reporter whether there were “worries about a pandemic,” the president replied: “No, not at all. We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” (Rogers, 3/17)
NBC News: Timeline: Trump Administration's Response To Coronavirus
As the virus continues to spread across the United States, the nation is reeling, with schools closed, sporting and cultural events shut down, and an economy in danger of lapsing into recession. An examination of how the Trump administration responded to the coronavirus outbreak that was first documented in December reveals a story of missed opportunities, mismanagement and a president who resisted the advice of experts urging a more aggressive response. (Dilanian, Martinez, Enright, McCausland and Muccari, 3/17)
ABC News: Trump Now Calling Coronavirus Fight A 'War' With An 'Invisible Enemy'
Referring the virus as the "enemy" and the fight as a "war," Trump said, "One day we'll be standing up here and say, 'Well, we won.' And we're going to say that, as sure as you're sitting there, we're going to win. And I think we're going to win faster than people think, I hope," adding,"If we do this right, our country -- and the world, frankly -- but our country can be rolling again pretty quickly. Pretty quickly." (Cathey, 3/17)
Politico: Poll: Most Americans Don’t Trust Trump On Coronavirus Information
Few Americans trust President Donald Trump when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey, and fewer than half of respondents believe the federal government is taking sufficient steps to combat the public health crisis. (Forgey, 3/17)
