Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Is White House Giving Up On Limiting Spread Of Coronavirus?
CNN: White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows: 'We Are Not Going To Control The Pandemic'
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that the US is "not going to control" the coronavirus pandemic, as cases surge across the country and nearly 225,000 Americans have died from the virus. "We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas," Meadows told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." (Cole, 10/25)
Politico: ‘We’re Not Going To Control The Pandemic’: White House Chief’s Comments Undermine Trump’s Message
Yet President Donald Trump — who continues to insist that the country is “rounding the corner” despite a new surge in cases — is campaigning in New Hampshire and Maine on Sunday before returning to the White House to co-host a Halloween event with first lady Melania Trump. Vice President Mike Pence will also continue to campaign instead of quarantine, after a top staffer tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday (McCaskill, 10/25)
The Washington Post: White House Signals Defeat In Pandemic As Coronavirus Outbreak Roils Pence's Office
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who regularly wears a mask on the campaign trail and strictly adheres to social distancing guidelines, sought to capitalize on the remark. “This wasn’t a slip by Meadows; it was a candid acknowledgment of what President Trump’s strategy has clearly been from the beginning of this crisis: to wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it, the virus would simply go away,” Biden said in a statement. “It hasn’t, and it won’t.” (Rucker, Dawsey and Wang, 10/25)
In related news —
The Hill: Biden: Meadows Coronavirus Remark A 'Candid Acknowledgement' Of Trump Strategy 'To Wave The White Flag'
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden slammed White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’s remarks Sunday that the U.S. is “not going to control the pandemic.” Biden labeled Meadows’s comments as a “candid acknowledgement” of President Trump’s strategy “to wave the white flag” in a statement released Sunday. (Coleman, 10/25)
The Hill: Murphy Says US Would Be 'Better Off' If Trump Admin 'Did Nothing' On Coronavirus
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said the American people would be better off if President Trump and members of his administration did nothing to try and slow the spread of coronavirus across the country. "At this point, we would be better off if the Trump Administration just did NOTHING on #COVID19," Murphy said in a tweet Sunday. "The nation would be safer if the whole White House stayed in bed all day." (Mastrangelo, 10/25)
