Passengers returning to US queue at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, March 14, 2020

UPDATE, 1130 GMT:

The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reports that the Trump Administration tried to poach German virologists working in Tübingen on a Coronavirus vaccine.

Administration officials offered the company CureVac a large sum of money so the vaccine would be exclusive to the US.

CureVac has been working with the German Government’s Paul Ehrlich Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Medicines on the project.

The German Government has limited itself to confirming the cooperation on the project, but is not denying the accuracy of the report.

Donald Trump says attention to the spread of Coronavirus in the US is “ok, as long as we can win the election”.

The revelation of Trump’s priority came as a Saturday press conference at the White House failed to sweep away concerns over his incompetence and the Administration’s mismanagement of the crisis.

There were long lines, confusion, and chaos as airports as incoming travelers queued for several hours, after Trump’s ban on Europeans entering the US.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Government’s top infectious diseases expert, said that the more than 20,000 cases are only the start of the virus in the US.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner sought to organize the Administration’s effort by consulting a Facebook group of doctors.

And Trump, after contact with officials and legislators who have the virus, declared — following an initial refusal to be tested — that the result cleared him of the illness.

See also EA on talkRADIO: “Americans Will Die Because of Trump’s Incompetence and Ego”

Denying the Virus, Winning an Election

Trump spent the weekend of March 6 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, dining with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, playing golf, and meeting donors.

Three of the Brazilians who interacted with Trump, including Bolsonaro’s communications secretary Fabio Wajngarten and Acting Ambassador Nestor Forster Jr., subsequently tested positive for the virus. Brazilian media say Bolsonaro is also ill, but the Presidency is denying the reports.

A day after the dinner, Trump told donors:

[The press] are trying to scare everybody, from meetings, cancel the meetings, close the schools — you know, destroy the country.

And that’s ok, as long as we can win the election.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who led the donors conference, is in self-quarantine in Michigan after falling ill. She is awaiting the result of a test.

Over the past week, Trump has continued to play down the virus, insisting that the Administration will soon control the outbreak, and to defy medical guidance by shaking hands with those around him — including at a Friday appearance alongside CEOs in the White House Rose Garden.

See also TrumpWatch, Day 1,149: Coronavirus — Trump Says “I Don’t Take Responsibility at All”

Trump said throughout the week that he did not need to be tested. Questioned by a journalist on Friday, he finally said he would “probably” consent. But hours later, the White House doctor said the test was not necessary.

Then during a brief appearance at Saturday’s press conference, Trump said he had been tested and felt “totally normal”. The White House issued a late-night statement that the outcome was negative.

Airport Chaos

That news was of little comfort to thousands of travelers stuck at airports such as O’Hare in Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth International.

With staff unprepared for mass screening and the Administration’s ban on Europeans — initially covering 26 countries on the Continent and to be extended to the UK and Ireland from Monday — custom agents in masks boarded planes and incoming passengers were asked to raise their hands if they had been in Europe.

Observers noted how an Administration step meant to contain Coronavirus only produced the conditions for its spread.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker finally appealed to Trump via Twitter:

Marcus Hubbard, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “At this time, we are working quickly with our partners to operationalize a plan which will outline where these travelers will be routed and what the screening process will be.”

Chad Wolf, the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, said on Twitter that he was working on the situation.

Kushner Takes Charge Via Facebook

Meanwhile, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — designated to assert control on Wednesday after Trump’s bungling speech on national TV — has been seeking guidance from doctors in a Facebook group.

Late Wednesday night Kurt Kloss, whose daughter is married to Kushner’s brother, asked fellow emergency room physicians for advice about Coronavirus, “I have direct channel to person now in charge at White House.”

Tonight I was asked by Jared through my son-in-law for my recommendations, that’s when I turned to you my fellow BAFERDs [Bad Ass Fucking Emergency Room Dcotors] for help.

Between patients tonight I have reviewed your responses and will summarize what I am sending to Jared for your PEER review before I send it.

Kloss sent Kushner 12 recommendations on Thursday morning.

“Two people familiar with the situation” said Kushner has taken a more active role in recent days, despite Trump’s designation of Vice President Mike Pence to lead the Coronavirus task force.

Kushner was alongside Trump in a meeting with banking leaders, and he held the discussions that led to Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on Friday.

The Facebook group, EM Docs, has about 22,000 members around the globe. The posts about Kushner’s request have now been removed.