Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Amid Missteps On Science Of Virus, Trump Tries To Return To Comfort Zone With Focus On Economy
Politico: Trump’s Next Coronavirus Pivot: Celebrate America’s Grand Reopening
President Donald Trump is looking to the business executives of America to get him out of the coronavirus penalty box. With the U.S. economy stuck in a deep downturn, Trump is betting on his promotional skills — of corporate executives, small-business owners and American workers — to rescue his standing just six months before the general election. (Cook, 4/29)
The New York Times: Trump Administration’s Message On Reopening Continues To Be Contradictory
A week ago, President Trump chastised Georgia for starting to reopen. “It’s too soon,” he said. But on Tuesday, he cheered Texas as it began resuming business. “Great job,” he said. And Florida may be next as the president welcomed its governor to the Oval Office. White House guidelines urge states to retain coronavirus restrictions until they meet certain criteria, but Attorney General William P. Barr is now threatening to sue them if he deems those limits too strict. And even as the president talks about opening the country, he has ordered it closed to immigration, even suggesting on Tuesday that flights from Brazil be banned. (Baker, 4/28)
Stat: How A Los Angeles Doctor Got Swept Up In The White House's Covid-19 Response
He advised Joe Biden’s initiative to transform the fight against cancer. He interviewed Bill Clinton at last fall’s “Time 100” gala. And he’s treated patients with names so famous they don’t need titles: Steve Jobs, Lance Armstrong, Sumner Redstone, and Ted Kennedy. Now, David Agus — an accomplished Los Angeles cancer doctor, researcher, author, and TV pundit — has been swept up in the swirl of the Trump White House as it confronts the Covid-19 pandemic. (Robbins and Florko, 4/29)
Politico: Trump’s Allies Sound Alarm Over His Attacks On Independent Watchdogs
President Donald Trump’s recent hostility toward independent federal watchdogs has jolted the very Senate Republicans who are among his most outspoken defenders. Two months after acquitting Trump on charges of obstructing Congress, GOP senators are sounding subtle but unmistakable alarms about Trump’s efforts to brush back lawmakers’ oversight of the government’s behemoth, $3 trillion response to the coronavirus pandemic. And their warnings have grown more urgent as Trump mounts a concerted campaign against inspectors general, one of the last functional checks on his administration’s performance. (Desiderio, 4/28)
The New York Times: Trump’s Response To Virus Reflects A Long Disregard For Science
At a March visit with doctors and researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health agency at the heart of the fight against the coronavirus, President Trump spoke words of praise for the scientific acumen in the building — particularly his own. “Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability,” Mr. Trump said. It was a striking boast, even amid a grave health crisis in which Mr. Trump has repeatedly contradicted medical experts in favor of his own judgment. (Friedman and Plumer, 4/28)
The Washington Post: Recall Of West Point Cadets For Trump Address Creates Logistics Hurdles And Health Concerns
The day before the U.S. Military Academy announced it would proceed with plans for President Trump to deliver the commencement address, cadets joined a video call to learn about their return to the school’s campus outside New York, the American city hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to hold an in-person graduation June 13 meant that nearly 1,000 graduating cadets would travel back to West Point from their homes, where they have been distance-learning since spring break, and undergo up to three weeks of quarantine at campus barracks and a nearby training site. (Ryan, Horton and Costa, 4/28)
NBC News: Trump Administration Asks Intelligence Agencies To Find Out Whether China, WHO Hid Info On Coronavirus Pandemic
The White House has ordered intelligence agencies to comb through communications intercepts, human source reporting, satellite imagery and other data to establish whether China and the World Health Organization initially hid what they knew about the emerging coronavirus pandemic, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter told NBC News. A specific "tasking" seeking information about the outbreak's early days was sent last week to the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, which includes the National Center for Medical Intelligence, an official directly familiar with the matter said. The CIA has received similar instructions, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. (Dilanian, Kube and Lee, 4/29)
Reuters: Americans Losing Faith In What Trump Says About The Coronavirus: Reuters/Ipsos Poll
Americans appear to be losing faith in what President Donald Trump says about the coronavirus pandemic, with almost everyone rejecting Trump’s remark that COVID-19 may be treated by injecting infected people with bleach or other disinfectants, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. The April 27-28 public opinion poll found that fewer than half of all adults in the U.S. - 47% - said they were “very” or “somewhat” likely to follow recommendations Trump makes about the virus. (Kahn, 4/28)
The Hill: Approval For Trump's Handling Of Coronavirus Drops 10 Points: Poll
President Trump’s approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus dropped 10 points from last month after an initial bump, according to a new Emerson College poll. Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed approved of Trump’s efforts to tackle the outbreak, a drop from 49 percent last month. The poll, released Tuesday, found that 51 percent said they disapproved of the president's handling of the virus, a jump from 41 percent in March. (Axelrod, 4/28)
