Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Set To Resume COVID Task-Force Briefings
The Washington Post: Trump To Bring Back White House Coronavirus Briefings In Attempt To Revive Faltering Campaign
President Trump’s announcement Monday that he would resurrect the White House coronavirus task force briefings is the culmination of weeks of debate among his aides about how best to turn around — or explain away — his administration’s failed response to the pandemic. As the number of infected Americans surges and as Trump’s coronavirus-related approval ratings plummet, the president is pledging to “get involved” in the daily messaging campaign in a more direct way by returning to the stage where he headlined controversial news conferences in March and April. (Olorunnipa and Dawsey, 7/20)
ABC News: As Mandates Grow, Trump Tweets Photo Of Himself In Mask, Now Calling It 'Patriotic'
President Donald Trump on Monday tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask, saying, "many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance" and "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President." It wasn't clear what message, if any, he might be sending his nearly 84 million Twitter followers and supporters, but it came just hours after he said he'd resume coronavirus task force briefings at the White House amid more bad poll numbers for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. (Cathey, 7/20)
Also —
USA Today: Trump Boasts About Acing Montreal Cognitive Assessment. What We Know
The test Trump took, as described by his physician in early 2018, was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, a tool used by health professionals to identify signs of dementia or cognitive impairment. It is a one-page assessment that typically takes about 10 minutes to complete and can yield a score of up to 30 points. The test poses a series of questions and challenges, including drawing a copy of a given shape, naming images of animals and repeating a series of words from memory. (Santucci, 7/20)
