Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Campaign Ordered Removal Of Social Distancing Signs At Tulsa Rally, Source Says
The Washington Post: Workers Removed Thousands Of Social Distancing Stickers Before Trump’s Tulsa Rally, According To Video And A Person Familiar With The Set-Up
In the hours before President Trump’s rally in Tulsa, his campaign directed the removal of thousands of “Do Not Sit Here, Please!” stickers from seats in the arena that were intended to establish social distance between rallygoers, according to video and photos obtained by The Washington Post and a person familiar with the event. The removal contradicted instructions from the management of the BOK Center, the 19,000-seat arena in downtown Tulsa where Trump held his rally on June 20. (Partlow and Dawsey, 6/27)
NPR: Trump Campaign Postpones Pence Events In Arizona And Florida After Coronavirus Spikes
The states are two of the hardest hit in recent days, and health officials have encouraged people to avoid large in-person gatherings. The events have been postponed "out of an abundance of caution," two campaign officials told NPR. It's a remarkable reversal for Pence, who on Friday forcefully defended his plan to move forward with the campaign events. (Keith, 6/27)
Politico: Pence Postpones Florida, Arizona Campaign Events As Coronavirus Cases Spike
Vice President Mike Pence has postponed campaign events in Florida and Arizona “out of an abundance of caution” as both states experience a spike in coronavirus cases, a Trump campaign spokesperson confirmed Saturday. Pence was set to make stops in each state this coming week as a part of his “Faith in America” tour, and will also not appear at an additional Florida event Thursday organized by pro-Trump group America First Policies. (Semones, 6/27)
The Washington Post: Biden Campaign Staff Is 35% People Of Color And 53% Female, New Diversity Data Shows
Thirty-five percent of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign operation are people of color, and just over half are women, according to figures released Saturday under public prodding, after months in which his campaign declined to make that information public. At least 60 percent of the staff is white, a number in line with the percentage of the United States population identifying as such, according to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Five percent of the staff opted not to specify a race. (Sullivan, 6/27)
Politico: Biden Campaign Says 35 Percent Of Staff Are People Of Color
The Biden campaign refused to disclose the diversity of its staff for months even after the former vice president claimed in December that he had “the most diverse staff of anybody running” in the Democratic primary. When POLITICO asked in December and again in May for diversity statistics the campaign refused to disclose them. Those who are senior staff include senior advisers, deputy campaign managers, senior consultants and department heads.The campaign said it is still hiring and will add additional leaders across the campaign. (Barron-Lopez, 6/27)
