Three A Day: A Brief History of Trump’s Briefings
Trump’s Daily Briefings May Have Finally Gone Too Far
President Trump’s daily briefings have become staples of the new coronavirus reality Americans live in these days. However, after Trump suggested on Thursday that the virus could be killed by shining UV light inside the body or by ingesting disinfectant, the White House may have finally, thankfully, pulled the plug.
Trump gave a weak explanation on Friday, saying he meant it sarcastically and was trying to mess with reporters. This differed from his own press secretary, who never said Trump wasn’t being serious, but rather it was the reporters’ fault for mischaracterizing what was said. This, unfortunately, has not been the first time the President has spewed misinformation, ignored basic science, or even made light of a pandemic that is ravaging the world. His advisors may have finally had enough, as he didn’t take any questions at his briefing on Friday, and the regular 2 hour session was cut down to just 30 minutes.
It has been a long time coming for these briefings as there have been rumblings for weeks from inside the White House, that officials want the President to stop making appearances and to only let the scientists speak. Today, reports have surfaced that the briefing will no longer be daily, and Trump will be making very limited appearances as well.
These daily conferences began when President Trump felt Vice President Pence was getting too much attention, and seemed to be leading the country as the leader of the coronavirus task force, while the President was on the sidelines. So, Trump took over, and the conferences have since become replacements for political rallies, somewhere the President can vent, and a chance to divert blame while controlling the general narrative of the pandemic response.
Some of Trump’s worst moments began with the release of CDC models, predicting the potential number of infections and deaths in the US. The President joked about how he normally dealt with different kinds of models, referencing his time spent with pageant contestants, celebrities, and runway models. He then made the entirely insensitive remark of how “limiting” the US to “only” 100,000 deaths would be a great success for his administration.
Trump, ever combative with the media, also had plenty of blow-ups with reporters, especially female reporters, calling them “fake,” “third-rate,” or “failures.” Whenever pressed on issues such as PPE and testing, the President often resorted to personal insults or questioning reporters’ integrity, rather than providing anything resembling a straightforward answer. His most contentious outburst perhaps came after a scathing New York Times report came out about his administration’s slow and inadequate response to early warnings about the severity of the coronavirus. He ripped the “failing” paper and turned on his own advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, in one of the more fiery press briefings.
These briefings have also been a platform for Trump’s feud with states, as he struggles to push away blame and responsibility, while claiming total authority. He first began by blaming states for not having enough PPE or ventilators to treat the rapidly growing influx of coronavirus patients in hospitals. He resisted supporting states through the federal reserve, saying it was meant for “us” in the government, and not just for handing out.
Then, as Trump tried to push the economy to open up as soon as possible, he claimed total authority over states, saying he would tell them when they could begin lifting restrictions. This once again angered state officials, as states have the right to make these decisions, and have no obligation to the President in this regard. While he has backed down from his claim on authority, he has since been encouraging his supporters to protest against governors who he deems to be too strict, using demonstrations to demand reopening.
More recently, he has once again passed the responsibility of testing onto the states, saying the federal government wouldn’t help procure much-needed supplies, or organize any system for the nation-wide testing that is believed to be necessary for the country to reopen.
Thursday wasn’t even the first time Trump has actively endangered American lives from the podium. He began touting hydroxychloroquine as a miracle drug that would cure the virus, despite very little science to support his claim. A few days after he first began promoting the drug, a couple in Arizona overdosed, with the husband passing away and the wife going into critical care.
The biggest problem with these briefings, however, have been the overshadowing of everyone who is so much more qualified to speak on the timeline of the pandemic, treatments, and what the reality of the situation is. These sessions should be informative and based in fact, in order to get a cohesive message that will save lives.
Instead, they have become media and political circuses, a campaign platform, and an opportunity for Trump to grab the spotlight in order to advance his own cause. Thankfully, this may have all come to an end, as Thursday may have been the final, horrifying straw that broke the camel’s back.
Coronavirus May Be the Next “Caravan”
President Trump issued a new executive order limiting immigration this week, in an effort to protect Americans who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. The original order only lasts 60 days, and actually doesn’t limit a large portion of immigration. However, it may be a stepping stone to much more serious, long-term immigration reform.
Stephen Miller, a prominent immigration advisor to President Trump, told Trump supporters that more measures were being planned, mainly targeting guest worker programs and what this administration has called “chain immigration.” This includes family sponsored migrants, which makes up more than half of the immigrants that enter the US.
Unlike the alleged “caravan of migrants” parading towards the US that was used as an excuse to build the border wall and crackdown on people entering from Mexico, coronavirus is a very real threat. However, it is similar in that the Trump administration is going to use the pandemic as a guise for immigration reform.
Trump claims that these immigrants would steal some of the 26.5 million jobs that Americans have lost since mid-March, preventing Americans from getting back to work. However, this perception that immigrants take American jobs has long been disputed by economists and even Republicans. Prior to the pandemic, there were more vacant jobs than unemployed Americans, and immigrants have long helped the economy grow. Many often come over to start businesses, thus creating jobs, as well as bringing innovation and competition to industries.
Trump clearly sees an opportunity, as people have become more protectionist, and certainly are concerned about the economy. Under the pretence of the pandemic, he may be able to push immigration restrictions and not receive accusations of racism or xenophobia.
If Trump said a pause on immigration would be part of a wider international travel ban to prevent new cases from entering the country, that would be understandable. However, the President hasn’t mentioned this side at all. Furthermore, immigration has essentially dried up as a result of travel bans and stay at home orders in place around the world. Given all this, it’s clear that this is part of a longer-term play, and Trump is using the coronavirus to push a policy goal he’s had all along.
Brazil in Turmoil
The South American giant has seen instability for years now, but coronavirus has magnified and exposed the problems in the country a hundredfold.
Brazil has fallen incredibly far behind in terms of testing for the virus, as it is testing at a rate scarily low compared to the rest of the hardest hit countries. Patients in hospitals, medical workers, and even those who have died have struggled to receive testing. This has enabled its delusional President, Jair Bolsonaro to severely undersell the virus, saying that it seems to be going away, while bodies pile up and mass graves are being dug.
The current official count is 51,000 cases and 3,400 deaths, but universities have estimated the real number could be anywhere from 8 to 16 times the official reports. That would mean a range of 400,000 to 800,000 cases in the country. Using a conservative death rate of 3%, that would mean up to 24,500 deaths, though the rate could be much higher given the poor state of the medical system, and the number of people dying at home, untreated.
The country is crumbling at the top as well, as Bolsonaro has lost both his health minister and justice minister in a matter of 2 weeks. He had long been at odds with the health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who criticized Bolsonaro’s coronavirus response. However, the justice minister Sérgio Moro was seen as a close ally. Moro resigned after Bolsonaro fired the police chief in an attempt to access confidential reports and control investigation requests, essentially trying to influence the police force — a force investigating Bolsonaro’s son and others close to the President for corruption.
Moro adds to a long list of ex-supporters, no longer approving of the President and his authoritarian attributes. With everything heightened due to the devastation of the pandemic, it seems that Brazil is becoming a pressure cooker, and it’s only a matter of time before something bursts. Either Bolsonaro will be able to consolidate power and take definitive control, or something remarkable will oust him. However, given the the virus, it may be difficult for movements or protests to be organized.
Both in terms of public health and democracy, Brazil is truly in dire straits. It’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen, and there is a potential for the total collapse of the country. But, one thing is certain: the people are going to suffer, and there is much pain ahead.
