Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Envisions America Going Back To Normal With Packed Stadiums, Crowds
The New York Times: Trump Looks Ahead To Post-Coronavirus Sports: 'We Want Big, Big Stadiums Loaded With People.'
In a telephone appearance during a televised charity golf exhibition on Sunday, President Trump enthusiastically supported the return of live sports events during the coronavirus pandemic. “We want to get sports back, we miss sports,” Trump said. “We need sports in terms of the psyche of our country. And that’s what we’re doing.” On Sunday, at roughly the halfway point of a skins game match involving four of the PGA Tour’s top golfers — Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff — Trump praised NBC for carrying the event, then called for a more robust resumption of activities in all sports. (Pennington, 5/17)
The Associated Press: Trump Says Back To Normal In Golf Means Big Crowds, No Masks
“After that, hopefully, it will be back,” Trump said in his interview with NBC host Mike Tirico. “We really want to see it back to normal so when we have all these thousands, tens of thousands of people going to your majors and going to golf tournaments, we want them to be having that same experience. We don’t want them having to wear masks and be doing what we’ve been doing for the last number of months. Because that’s not getting back to normal. “We want to be back to normal where you have the big crowds, and they’re practically standing on top of each other and they’re enjoying themselves, not where they’re worried,” he said. “But in the meantime, they do the social distancing, and they practice that. And they’ve been doing really well. The country is ready to start moving forward.” (Ferguson, 5/17)
CNBC: Trump Calls Into PGA Charity Broadcast: ‘I’m Getting A Little Tired Of Watching 10-Year-Old Golf Tournaments’
“I’m getting a little tired of watching 10-year-old golf tournaments [on television] where you know who won,” Trump said. Trump called the sports channel after returning to the White House from Camp David. “I do miss it. I haven’t played, really, since this problem that we have started, I haven’t been able to play golf for a while, I’ve been very busy,” Trump said. (Breuniger, 5/17)
The Hill: Trump Calls Into NBC Golf Broadcast To Discuss Return Of Sports, Coronavirus Response
Major sports leagues in the U.S. have suspended competition amid the pandemic. The Trump administration convened league commissioners for an advisory panel that held one conference call in April, but it's unclear whether it's been active since.(Samuels, 5/17)
The Wall Street Journal: We’re Out Of Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer—And Golf Pushcarts?
Robbie Gould, the San Francisco 49ers’ kicker, couldn’t believe his luck when a local store told him it had a line on a product he desperately wanted. The NFL star finally had his very own golf pushcart. Mr. Gould never had a pushcart because he never needed one. It is essentially a piece of metal with a few wheels attached that makes lugging a bag of clubs around a golf course slightly easier. It’s a device historically associated with grandparents who sign up for 6 a.m. tee times at local municipal courses. (Beaton, 5/17)
