As new COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the United States, President Trump's chief of staff reportedly wants the White House to publicly ignore the pandemic as much as possible.
A new report in The New York Times focused on Republicans breaking from Trump on the coronavirus crisis describes how White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows "has been particularly forceful in his view that the White House should avoid drawing attention to the virus." In fact, the report says that even amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases around the country, some of Trump's "closest advisers" insist that the "best way forward is to downplay the dangers of the disease."
This advice is evidently getting through to Trump, who in a recent interview with Fox News again asserted that the coronavirus is "going to disappear," a prediction he said he'll be right on "eventually."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although the Times report describes how some Republican lawmakers have pushed the White House to bring back regular coronavirus briefings led by Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, Meadows has reportedly "for the most part opposed any briefings about the virus." Meanwhile, Trump, the Times writes, now "seems less interested in the specific challenges the virus presents," and David Carney, an adviser to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), told the Times, "The president got bored with it."
-
‘Congratulations on your house, but maybe try a greyhound instead’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How climate change poses a national security threatThe explainer A global problem causing more global problems
-
The 5 best TV shows about the mobThe Week Recommends From the show that launched TV’s golden age to a Batman spin-off, viewers can’t get enough of these magnificent mobsters
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
