Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Concedes There Will Possibly Be More Deaths, Suffering, But Continues To Push For Reopening
ABC News: Trump To ABC's David Muir: 'Possible There Will Be Some' COVID-19 Deaths As Country Reopens
President Donald Trump said in an exclusive interview with ABC "World News Tonight" Anchor and Managing Editor David Muir on Tuesday that "it's possible there will be some" deaths as states roll back restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus, acknowledging that it was the choice the country faces to reopen and jumpstart the economy... "It's possible there will be some [deaths] because you won't be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is," Trump said. "But at the same time, we're going to practice social distancing, we're going to be washing hands, we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've learned to do over the last period of time." (Phelps and Gittleson, 5/5)
The Hill: Trump: Some Will Be 'Affected Badly' As States Ease Coronavirus Restrictions
He said that new cases and deaths as the nation reopens can be slowed through social distancing policies that will remain a part of life. "It’s possible there will be some because you won’t be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is," Trump said. "At the same time, we’re going to practice social distancing. We’re going to be washing hands. We’re going to be doing a lot of the things that we’ve learned to do over the last period of time." (Wise, 5/5)
ABC News: President Trump To Americans Who've Lost Loved Ones To The Coronavirus: 'I Love You'
President Donald Trump, criticized for an apparent lack of empathy during the crisis, has a new message for Americans who have lost a loved one to the coronavirus that has killed more than 70,000 people in the United States: "I love you." "We've lost more people now than we lost in the Vietnam War. What do you want to say to those families tonight?" ABC News' "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir asked in an exclusive interview with the president Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona. "I want to say, ‘I love you.' I want to say that we're doing everything we can," Trump told Muir. (Gittleson and Phelps, 5/5)
The Hill: Trump Offers Support For Those Who Have Lost Family Due To Coronavirus
“You can never really come close to replacing, when you’ve lost someone, no matter how well we do next year — I think our economy is going to be raging, it’s going to be so good — no matter how well, those people can never, ever replace somebody they love,” Trump said. “And to the people that have lost someone, there is nobody — I don’t sleep at nights thinking about it — there is nobody that’s taking it harder than me.” Trump has caught flak for the administration's response to the pandemic from critics who claim he has not adequately acknowledged the tens of thousands of Americans who have died from the disease in a few short months. (Axelrod, 5/5)
Politico: While Trump Touted Reopening, His Team Was Sounding Alarms
President Donald Trump boasted on May 1 that his success in responding to the coronavirus pandemic has made ventilator, test kit and mask shortages a thing of the past, and that much of the country is ready to quickly send people back to work. “We’ve ensured a ventilator for every patient who needs one,” he said. “The testing and the masks and all of the things, we’ve solved every problem. We solved it quickly.” But that same day, his own health and emergency management officials were privately warning that states were still experiencing shortages of masks, gowns and other medical gear, according to a recording of an interagency meeting between FEMA and HHS officials across the country, conducted by conference call, which was obtained by POLITICO. (Ollstein and Cancryn, 5/6)
Reuters: Trump Renews Partisan Pandemic Commentary As Texas Moves To Further Ease Shutdown
President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused Democrats of hoping his coronavirus response fails “so they can win the election,” as the Republican governor of Texas moved to further relax business shutdowns aimed at quelling the pandemic. (Mason, 5/5)
CNN: Intel Shared Among US Allies Indicates Virus Outbreak More Likely Came From Market, Not A Chinese Lab
Intelligence shared among Five Eyes nations indicates it is "highly unlikely" that the coronavirus outbreak was spread as a result of an accident in a laboratory but rather originated in a Chinese market, according to two Western officials who cited an intelligence assessment that appears to contradict claims by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "We think it's highly unlikely it was an accident," a Western diplomatic official with knowledge of the intelligence said. "It is highly likely it was naturally occurring and that the human infection was from natural human and animal interaction." (Marquardt, Atwood and Cohen, 5/5)
The Hill: Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Says Evidence Suggests Coronavirus Was Not Man-Made Or Released From Lab
The Pentagon’s top uniformed official on Tuesday maintained that available evidence indicates the virus that has caused a global pandemic was natural and not man-made or released purposely from a Chinese lab. “The weight of evidence — nothing’s conclusive — the weight of evidence is that it was natural and not man-made,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley said of the coronavirus. (Mitchell, 5/5)
And other administration news —
Politico: ‘Very Difficult And Emotional’: Pandemic Expert Leaves Trump Administration
A disaster response official who previously led a global health directorate disbanded by the Trump administration is leaving the government. Timothy Ziemer’s departure robs the Trump administration of another expert as it tries to battle the coronavirus pandemic. The former Navy rear admiral is highly regarded and has decades of government service, although he has been somewhat sidelined during the ongoing crisis. (Toosi, 5/5)
