Trump VS COVID-19 Threat

[lpetrich]

Texas County GOP Chair Claims COVID-19 Is Democratic Hoax | Michael Stone

A viral video from Texas shows a Republican Party leader speaking at local rally calling the coronavirus panic a hoax being perpetrated by Democrats with the goal of hurting Donald Trump, then encouraging people to take off their face masks.

The video showed Bexar County Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm speaking at a political protest against continued restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. Brehm said that a requirement to wear face coverings is a violation of people’s constitutional rights and hinted that the coronavirus panic is being manufactured by Democrats in order to hurt Trump.

Just like what Trump himself once said.

 

[bilby]

Texas County GOP Chair Claims COVID-19 Is Democratic Hoax | Michael Stone

A viral video from Texas shows a Republican Party leader speaking at local rally calling the coronavirus panic a hoax being perpetrated by Democrats with the goal of hurting Donald Trump, then encouraging people to take off their face masks.

The video showed Bexar County Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm speaking at a political protest against continued restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. Brehm said that a requirement to wear face coverings is a violation of people’s constitutional rights and hinted that the coronavirus panic is being manufactured by Democrats in order to hurt Trump.

Just like what Trump himself once said.

Those Democrats are so fiendish that they even got the Brazilian, Chinese, UK, Italian and Spanish governments and news media to collude.

Indeed, the entire world seems to have been persuaded to involve themselves in US domestic politics, to the extent of pretending that tens of thousands of their people had died.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Texas County GOP Chair Claims COVID-19 Is Democratic Hoax | Michael Stone

A viral video from Texas shows a Republican Party leader speaking at local rally calling the coronavirus panic a hoax being perpetrated by Democrats with the goal of hurting Donald Trump, then encouraging people to take off their face masks.

The video showed Bexar County Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm speaking at a political protest against continued restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. Brehm said that a requirement to wear face coverings is a violation of people’s constitutional rights and hinted that the coronavirus panic is being manufactured by Democrats in order to hurt Trump.

Just like what Trump himself once said.

Wouldn't it be a hoot is this clownish woman came down with a roaring case of church virus 19? Stupid, STUPID woman!

 

[angelo]

Yea, correct, all of that, but by delusional Dem and the far left who actually fear him taking the ground they stand on away from them!

Your opinion then, is that the majority of Americans are delusional far left Dems.
I see. No need to consider anything else you have to say in that case, since your ignorance and delusion about the American public is founded on Murdoch propaganda.

The other half who voted for Trump are the delusional " deplorables " right?

The US has been surpassed by Belgium which has nearly three times the number of deaths from COVID-16 as the US which is around 9th as of today. And Of course it's Trump's fault. Right?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/

 

[Elixir]

The US has been surpassed by Belgium which has nearly three times the number of deaths from COVID-16 as the US which is around 9th as of today.

I think you overdosed on the Kool Aid, dude. As of yesterday, Belgium has 9,280 deaths, LESS THAN A TENTH of the US total of 98,690.
But this is a typical misunderstanding on your part. No wonder people think you are full of "falsehoods", right?

Belgium DOES have an impressive 801 deaths per million citizens, while the US features "only" 298. But if you look back (I created a thread just for that purpose), you can see right away that the US is gaining on them fast. When I started that thread, Belgium had a death rate (not a total) of more than 4X the US but we have done such a fine job of cultivating the virus, that despite a population almost 30 times its size, we have closed the ratio to less than 3:1.

The other half who voted for Trump are the delusional " deplorables " right?

You just exemplified the answer to your own question.
Yes, delusional, as demonstrated by your idiotic statement. Deplorable? I addressed that here.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Harry Bosch]

View attachment 27858

Yea, Trump has dramatically mismanaged covid-19. He's done so many things wrong. But really I don't think that the republicans are suited for this crisis. To fight this virus, we need to rely on science and international cooperation. The republicans are anti science and like doing it alone. Sorry, but the virus dosn't respect borders. I'm actually not totally against Trump's crusade against WHO. WHO should be ignored until they stop playing politics (Taiwan). We need an non-political international health serving agency that can marshal and coordinate resources to fight the covid-19 crisis's and future pandemics.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Texas County GOP Chair Claims COVID-19 Is Democratic Hoax | Michael Stone

A viral video from Texas shows a Republican Party leader speaking at local rally calling the coronavirus panic a hoax being perpetrated by Democrats with the goal of hurting Donald Trump, then encouraging people to take off their face masks.

The video showed Bexar County Republican Chairwoman Cynthia Brehm speaking at a political protest against continued restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus. Brehm said that a requirement to wear face coverings is a violation of people’s constitutional rights and hinted that the coronavirus panic is being manufactured by Democrats in order to hurt Trump.

Just like what Trump himself once said.

Wouldn't it be a hoot is this clownish woman came down with a roaring case of church virus 19? Stupid, STUPID woman!

It would be a hoot if she needed to be intubated after recklessly endangering the lives of countless people.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump ordered states to open churches. Can he do that? - POLITICO

President Donald Trump is making a show of siding with religious groups in their clashes with state and local authorities — but his own Justice Department’s actions are exposing the challenges involved in trying to bring the federal government's power to bear on the issue.

The president’s sweeping pronouncement Friday that states must treat all churches and other houses of worship as essential under coronavirus lockdown orders “right now” was met with a now familiar chorus of reaction from critics and legal commentators that he has no authority to issue such a directive.

...
As is often the case, Trump was long on bravado and short on explanation for how he planned to force his views on state leaders who declined to go along.

“Allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now for this weekend. If they don’t do it, I will override the governors,” he insisted, before departing as reporters clamored for answers about the purported federal mandate.

...
Trump’s drive to re-open churches comes despite a growing body of evidence tying church services to serious outbreaks of coronavirus. Just Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control released a warning about Arkansas church meetings in March where more than a third of 92 attendees wound up infected. Another 26 members of the community wound up hit by the virus. Four people died.

Similar church-focused outbreaks have been reported in Washington state, South Korea and France. Experts theorize that hand-holding, singing and the fellowship typical of church services create robust vectors to transmit the virus, particularly through airborne droplets.

 

[lpetrich]

Congressional Freethought Caucus Denounces Trump’s Call to Open Up Churches | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos by Hemant Mehta

It’s hard for any non-pandemic news to break through the noise right now. But when Donald Trump said churches should open up this weekend regardless of the risk that poses to Christians in the congregations along with their communities — adding that he would “override” governors who disagreed with him, even though he literally can’t do that — there’s plenty of reason for groups concerned about church/state separation to speak out.

The Congressional Freethought Caucus, chaired by Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), issued a lengthy statement that also marks the first time I’ve ever seen sitting members of Congress refer to religious beliefs as “magical thinking.”

Congressional Freethought Caucus Leaders Denounce Trump’s Declaration That He Has the Power to Reopen Churches | U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman

“In a single statement of breathtaking arrogance and ignorance, President Trump threatens to trample the sovereign powers of the states under American federalism, the prerogatives of Congress under the Fourteenth Amendment, and the rights of the people under the First Amendment and the Tenth Amendment. In his dangerous rush to wipe out stay-at-home public health orders and social distancing measures, President Trump has turned himself into a wrecking ball of the U.S. Constitution.

...
“Congress has not acted to ‘reopen the churches’ over state public health policies and orders, and it has not done so for good reason. All of these public health policies and orders are perfectly lawful, respectful of religious freedom and enhancing of the general welfare. If it is unsafe for states to permit in-person indoor assemblies of more than ten people for the purposes of a social gathering, a wedding, a funeral for a COVID-19 patient, a campaign rally for Joe Biden, or a political demonstration against the idiocy of the Trump administration, then it is equally unsafe for them to permit in-door assemblies of more than 10 people for the purposes of religious worship. We have seen numerous cases where people, including ministers, have contracted this dread disease at religious events. People certainly have a right to believe in religious miracles and to engage in magical thinking, as the president does, but the states have no obligation or power to operate on that basis.

...
“Opening up any corporate assemblies, including churches, against the advice of public health experts and medical professionals, is a recipe for COVID-19 outbreaks that will put people’s lives at risk and worsen our public health and economic morass.

“America’s founders did not give the President the powers he is recklessly asserting. Deciding the safety of public gatherings based on the neutral criterion of numbers of people present is a policy choice for state and local public health authorities, not a pandering President who recommends the ingestion of disinfectants. The President clearly understands neither public health science nor the constitutional limits of his authority.“

Some months back, Trump did something similar: Trump ordered US firms to ditch China, but many already have

• President Trump rattled Wall Street when he ordered U.S. firms to move production out of China.
• But, in conference calls with investors just this past month, dozens of executives have signaled plans to further diversify their supply chains away amid the intensifying trade war.
• Toymaker Hasbro, Bath & Body Works parent company L Brands, and fashion designer Steven Madden have all outlined plans to substantially reduce their dependence on Chinese manufacturing in the next few years.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Trump ordered states to open churches. Can he do that? - POLITICO

President Donald Trump is making a show of siding with religious groups in their clashes with state and local authorities — but his own Justice Department’s actions are exposing the challenges involved in trying to bring the federal government's power to bear on the issue.

The president’s sweeping pronouncement Friday that states must treat all churches and other houses of worship as essential under coronavirus lockdown orders “right now” was met with a now familiar chorus of reaction from critics and legal commentators that he has no authority to issue such a directive.

...
As is often the case, Trump was long on bravado and short on explanation for how he planned to force his views on state leaders who declined to go along.

“Allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now for this weekend. If they don’t do it, I will override the governors,” he insisted, before departing as reporters clamored for answers about the purported federal mandate.

...
Trump’s drive to re-open churches comes despite a growing body of evidence tying church services to serious outbreaks of coronavirus. Just Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control released a warning about Arkansas church meetings in March where more than a third of 92 attendees wound up infected. Another 26 members of the community wound up hit by the virus. Four people died.

Similar church-focused outbreaks have been reported in Washington state, South Korea and France. Experts theorize that hand-holding, singing and the fellowship typical of church services create robust vectors to transmit the virus, particularly through airborne droplets.

The Washington church choir that was an early vector showed that being in an enclosed space with an infected person is the worse thing to do. Singing of course is worse. But that choir practiced distancing, and everyone brought their own music.

 

[lpetrich]

More than 100 COVID-19 cases in Germany traced back to Frankfurt church services | TheHill

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that German officials have linked 107 cases of the disease to a May 10 gathering at Evangelical Christian Baptist Congregation in the city, despite church officials insisting that social distancing guidelines were upheld during the service.

...
"The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now, this weekend," Trump said Friday at the White House.

"Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but have left out churches and other houses of worship. It's not right," the president added.

Second Missouri hairstylist may have exposed 56 clients to COVID-19: officials | TheHill

Oregon Supreme Court orders judge to toss or explain ruling invalidating coronavirus restrictions | TheHill

Shirtcliff decided last week that Brown overstepped her authority by shutting down in-person religious gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The judge sided with the 10 churches and other local elected officials and business owners who challenged the governor’s order.

 

[crazyfingers]

Hey look. The USA is #1. Good Job Trump!

https://bangordailynews.com/covid-19-maine/

 

[lpetrich]

Trump imposes travel restrictions on Brazil | TheHill - "The White House on Sunday announced President Trump is restricting the entry of non-U.S. citizens traveling from Brazil as the Latin American country sees a surge in coronavirus cases."

Trump rips Columbia as 'disgraceful institution' after study showed lives lost due to delayed shutdown | TheHill

Sharyl Attkisson asked the president about the study, which determined almost 36,000 deaths from COVID-19 through early May could have been avoided if social distancing and lockdowns had started earlier.

The president called the fact that the university would issue the study “a disgrace” on the show “Full Measure.”

“Columbia is a liberal, disgraceful institution to write that because all the people that they cater to were months after me,” Trump said.

“And I saw that report,” he added. “It's a disgrace that Columbia University would do it, playing right to their little group of people that tell them what to do.”

Trump continues to act like a big baby.

On the other side,
Ocasio-Cortez posts experience getting antibody tested for COVID-19 | TheHill
AOC got some blood drawn to be tested for COVID-19 antibodies.

There we go, easy peasy. That was easy,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the video, as the health care professional explains that she will get her results over the phone within nine days.

“Did you know? There are 2 types of COVID tests! The nasal swabtests if you have COVID now. Antibody blood tests check if you already had COVID, even w/ few or no symptoms,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted with the video.

“I got my antibody test today at First Baptist in Queens w/ our amazing nurses. You can get one too!” she continued.

 

[lpetrich]

Confidence in Trump’s handling of COVID-19 slips among white evangelicals | Pew Research Center

With poll numbers for March 19 - 24 and April 29 - May 5.
[TABLE="class: grid"]
[TR]
[TD]Who[/TD]
[TD]F M %[/TD]
[TD]F A %[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]All[/TD]
[TD]48[/TD]
[TD]41[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]White evang Prot[/TD]
[TD]81[/TD]
[TD]75[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]White mnln Prot[/TD]
[TD]65[/TD]
[TD]56[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]White Cath[/TD]
[TD]62[/TD]
[TD]55[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Jewish[/TD]
[TD]34[/TD]
[TD]34[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hispanic Cath[/TD]
[TD]42[/TD]
[TD]29[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Nothing in part[/TD]
[TD]38[/TD]
[TD]29[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Black Prot[/TD]
[TD]26[/TD]
[TD]19[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Agnostic[/TD]
[TD]22[/TD]
[TD]18[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Atheist[/TD]
[TD]19[/TD]
[TD]14[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

White evangelical Protestants are among Trump's biggest supporters, but they also are turning against him.

 

[lpetrich]

Behind Trump’s demand to reopen churches: Slipping poll numbers and alarm inside his campaign - POLITICO

The anxiety over Trump’s standing with the Christian right surfaced after a pair of surveys by reputable outfits earlier this month found waning confidence in the administration’s coronavirus response among key religious groups, with a staggering decline in the president’s favorability among white evangelicals and white Catholics. Both are crucial constituencies that supported Trump by wide margins in 2016 and could sink his reelection prospects if their turnout shrinks this fall.

... Another person close to the campaign described an April survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, which showed a double-digit decline in Trump’s favorability among white evangelicals (-11), white Catholics (-12) and white mainline protestants (-18) from the previous month, as “pretty concerning.”

Trump's demanding the reopening of houses of worship seems like an appeal to white evangelicals, some of his most loyal supporters.

Trump campaign aides, White House officials and outside allies are responding to the threat by boosting their outreach to religious voters and promising to prioritize religious gatherings as they push to reopen the U.S. economy.

POLITICO: Trump’s Reelection Looks Unlikely If He Loses More Evangelical Support | Terry Firma | Friendly Atheist | Patheos by Terry Firma

The bad news is that for the next 163 days, until the election, Trump will treat those evangelicals like the belle of the ball, courting them every way he can think of, and gifting them policies that are sure to further erode the wall between church and state.

...
Judging by word and deed, the Pussygrabber-in-Chief sure would seem to be the least Christian U.S. president ever. But as long as he can make his base think he’s devout, and continues to drop juicy culture-war morsels into evangelicals’ insatiable maws, his team figures he has a shot at a second term.

...
If you have the stomach for a closer look at how right-wing religious groups are working with Trump strategists to hand him another four years at the helm, The Intercept has that story.

 

[lpetrich]

The Influential Evangelical Group Mobilizing to Reelect Trump

“The Covid virus has been a gift from God,” began Ken Eldred. “The kingdom of God advances through a series of glorious victories, cleverly disguised as disasters.”

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Eldred noted, millions of Americans are turning to Christ, Walmart is selling out of Bibles, and online church broadcasts have hit record numbers.

But while religiosity was growing, there have been setbacks from the disease outbreak. “Satan has been busy too,” Eldred, a major donor to evangelical and Republican causes, explained. “The virus has messed up many of our plans involving our in-person meetings with voters.”

And the rise of mail-in ballots, Eldred added, would undercut voter identification laws, which have been a pillar of GOP election strategy. “The children of the darkness put early voting into this CARES package,” he grumbled, a reference to the $400 million for election assistance programs to states included in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Following a brief prayer led by Eldred, in which he declared that “we have now turned the corner on the virus” and asked God for an end to coronavirus deaths, the business of the call got started: How Christian voters can be a force to reelect Donald Trump.

...

• United in Purpose is a group on the religious right that worked to grow evangelical support for Donald Trump in 2016.
• UIP’s 2020 strategy, as discussed on an April call, is to target religious Latino and African American voters.
• Ralph Reed boasted of “data partners” who had identified 26 million key voters in battleground states, about three-fourths of whom they could target via Facebook.
• Speakers expressed concern over the rise in mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It's great to watch them run scared at the sight of a voting method that they can't easily rig.

 

[lpetrich]

A post shared across the Kullberg network of Facebook groups warned that refugee programs represented “cultural destruction and subjugation.” Another claimed Muslims are incapable of assimilation because a “normal Muslim’s loyalty is to Sharia law and supremacy.”

Something like how Catholics cannot be loyal Americans because they owe loyalty to the Vatican.

Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus threatens to undermine their efforts and draw attention away from these conservative wedge issues.

George Barna, a pollster, has worked closely with UIP to shape its approach. In a recent memo to the group, he warned that the coronavirus pandemic has sharply reshaped American priorities going into the election, with a new focus on health care, unemployment, economic growth, and stability.

Trump Cabinet Bible Teacher Says China, Gay People to Blame for Coronavirus

Ralph Drollinger, a minister who leads a weekly Bible study group for President Donald Trump’s cabinet, released a new interpretation of the coronavirus pandemic this week, arguing that the crisis represents an act of God’s judgment.

The coronavirus, Drollinger argues in two blog posts and a rambling Bible study guide published in the past few days, is a form of God’s wrath upon nations, but not one as severe as the floods described in the Old Testament or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Intercepted: Coronavirus and the Right’s Bumbling Messiah - Trump, of course.

Donald Trump and extreme right groups are encouraging people to take to the streets during a pandemic. This week on Intercepted: Hidden behind the scenes of protests against Democratic governors is the role of radical fringe groups, gun enthusiasts, and right-wing financiers, some with ties to the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Author Jeff Sharlet discusses the rise of right-wing religious extremists, influential members, their broader strategy, and how the shutdown protesters are being used as disposable pawns in a much longer game.

 

[lpetrich]

Missouri’s Jewish Leaders to GOP: Our Faith Requires Absentee Voting in Pandemic | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos by Hemant Mehta

In Missouri, voting-by-mail is only permitted for those who offer a valid reason for it. Maybe they’re out of town or sick, but it’s not automatic.

Given the pandemic, you would think there would be a push to mail ballots to everyone for November’s election, but this is a state where Republicans dominate the legislature as well as the governor’s office. They sure as hell don’t want more people voting. When people vote, Republicans lose. They love voter suppression.

But Republicans also claim to love religious freedom…

So some Jewish religious leaders said that it's an important religious principle to keep people alive, so that's why they'd prefer to have vote-by-mail available. What might be called the AOC gambit, after when the Congresswoman slammed the Religious Right for hiding behind "religious freedom" earlier this year.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump targeted Michigan's top 3 officials because they're all women, state AG says | Fox News

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel continued her criticism of President Trump on Friday, claiming he had “risked the health, safety and welfare” of all Michiganders by removing his mask during a tour of a Ford Motor Co. factory in the state Tuesday.

“I will not remain silent and just twiddle my thumbs as I see him do that," Nessel told NPR's "All Things Considered."

Nessel said she believes Trump has been at odds with the state’s top three leaders recently, in part because they’re all women.

"I guess if any one of us were doing Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo's dishes, he might be fine with us. But since we're not and we're actually running the state of Michigan, he seems to have a real issue," she told NPR.

Gretchen Whitmer says she censors herself when speaking about Trump to ensure continued federal assistance - CNNPolitics

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she censors herself when speaking publicly about President Donald Trump in order to ensure continued federal assistance to her state amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked specifically by Axios reporter Alexi McCammond during an interview on "Axios on HBO" if she self-censors her comments about the President "for the sake of continuing to receive federal assistance," Whitmer responded bluntly, "Yes."

When pressed if she has always felt that way, Whitmer offered that "the worst night sleep that I've gotten in the last 10 weeks is when he has attacked me on Twitter."

It must be horrible to have to appease President Anthony Fremont.