Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at a White House Coronavirus briefing, March 9, 2020 (Drew Angerer/Getty)
UPDATE, 1030 GMT:
The response from Saturday Night Live, with Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci, to Donald Trump’s latest statements:
See also EA on talkRADIO: Why is No One Stopping Trump’s Dangerous Coronavirus Statements?
UPDATE, 0815 GMT:
The official US death toll is now 53,934 with 939,249 cases.
More than half the deaths are in the greater New York area, including New York State (22,009) and New Jersey (5.938).
Ten states have recorded at least 1,000 states. Georgia, where Governor Brian Kemp began lifting restrictions on businesses on Friday, is 11th with 907.
After a Coronavirus week in which he supported illegal protests and recommended that people ingest disinfectant — as the US death toll passed 50,000 — Donald Trump retreats and looks for a scapegoat.
On Friday, after high-profile criticism of his suggestions of “injection inside” and treatment with ultraviolet light, Trump declined to take questions for the first time at a White House briefing.
On Saturday there was no White House summary for journalists, and Trump indicated on Twitter that he might give up his conversion of the briefings into ad hoc campaign rallies.
He took no responsibility for his misinformation and dangerous declarations, instead trying to blame reporters.
What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020
Trump offered no explicit correction of his disinfectant comments, which he tried falsely to pass off as a “sarcastic” response to the journalists. However, he or his staff retweeted advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Household cleaners and disinfectants can cause health problems when not used properly.”
And Trump wrote, “Be careful, be safe, use common sense!”
Meanwhile, Trump has quietly dropped his encouragement of the illegal protests against State stay-at-home orders.
Seeking to “re-open” the US with removal of restrictions by May 1, Trump had tweeted that demonstrators should “LIBERATE” states such as Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia. However, since Tuesday he has said nothing about the protests.
Instead, having supported Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s plan to lift some restrictions on business, Trump criticized Kemp on Wednesday for moving too quickly with the re-opening of gyms, tattoo and massage parlors, bowling alleys, and other premises.
Scapegoating the Health Secretary
Trying to shift attention and blame, Trump’s inner circle told journalists that they are considering the replacement of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
Azar tried in January on two occasions to warn Trump of the need for preparations against the spread of Coronavirus, only to be told that he was being “alarmist”. He was pushed aside in February as Trump named Vice President Mike Pence to head a Coronavirus Task Force, causing more weeks of delay in planning and response.
See also TrumpWatch, Day 1,178: How Trump Fiddled While Coronavirus Spread
TrumpWatch, Day 1,173: Coronavirus — How Trump Denial and Dysfunction Cost US 70 Days
But “two senior administration officials” said new White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is among those considering the removal of Azar.
“Four people familiar with the talks” said possible replacements include Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Dr. Deborah Birx, the medical head of the Coronavirus task force; and the HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan.
The officials said Trump is angered with Azar after lengthy exposés in The Washington Post and The New York Times of the Administration’s failure to prepare, including Trump’s repeated denials of any problem.
Aides are also trying to blame Azar for mishandling the dismissal of Dr. Rick Bright, who headed the Administration’s task force seeking a Coronavirus vaccine.
Bright says he was removed after he insisted on strict vetting of hydroxylchloroquine, the anti-malaria drug pushed by Trump as a “wonder cure” for the virus.
Officials claimed that Azar presented the transfer of Bright to the National Institutes of Health as a promotion, only for Bright and his lawyers to announce that he will file a whistleblower complaint against the Administration.
On Saturday, the White House officially held the line that Azar is not being removed.
“The Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Azar, continues to lead on a number of the President’s priorities,” said spokesman Judd Deere. “Any speculation about personnel is irresponsible and a distraction from our whole-of-government response to Covid-19.”
