A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.

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[ [link removed] ]45's Falshoods and Failures: Weekly Coverage of Trump During COVID-19

PFAW Member,

During another week in which Americans across the country struggled for
their lives and livelihoods, Donald Trump frittered away valuable time by
obsessing over his image and the pandemic’s effect on his reelection
prospects. When the country is most in need of a unifier-in-chief, Trump
continues to sow discord and mine conflict whenever and wherever he deems
it to be in his favor.

The Trump White House and its Republican allies seem [ [link removed] ]determined to
undermine subject matter experts at every turn, creating an intellectual
vacuum that Trump attempts to fill with his political agenda rather than
data and facts. The stories we’ve collected this week illustrate all this
and create a stark picture of a president who is incapable of reining in
his own temperament in order to do what’s best for this country and its
people.

* One of Trump’s newest attempts to distract from his poor leadership
during the novel coronavirus epidemic is to threaten, in his words, to
[ [link removed] ]exercise his “constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers of
Congress” in order to push through judicial and executive branch
appointments without Congressional approval. In addition to being a
flagrant attempt to pack vital positions with Trumpist allies during a
nationwide health emergency, this newest announcement is a fundamental
challenge to the separation of powers – and [ [link removed] ]is supported neither by
the Constitution nor by legal precedent.
* This is far from the first time during this public health crisis that
Trump has taken advantage of the nation’s turmoil to further special
interests that he considers either important to his allies or to his
campaign. Back in March, Trump tried to argue at a rally that [ [link removed] ]the
border wall with Mexico could have prevented the coronavirus, a claim
for which there is no scientific evidence. This week, Trump took steps
to weaken [ [link removed] ]a rule forcing coal-fueled power plants to curtail their
mercury emissions. The rule is a vital environmental protection that
energy companies have been complaining about for years – and Trump is
using this moment to make good on a pledge to these energy companies
when he assumes few others are looking. Additionally, [ [link removed] ]Trump has
rejected an increase in air quality regulation standards, despite the
mounting evidence that high levels of air pollution puts people at a
higher risk for coronavirus.
* Even though each one of Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings is a
publicity stunt, the briefing that took place on Monday was a
particularly clear example of why [ [link removed] ]networks are considering limiting
or cutting their airing of these spectacles. Trump used this
[ [link removed] ]two-and-a-half-hour press conference as a venue to list grievances
against critics and to [ [link removed] ]tout his own propaganda, including airing a
bizarre anti-media campaign video.
* Trump’s spat with state leaders continued unabated this week, with
disagreements ranging from how to address election security to [ [link removed] ]the
amount of testing needed before beginning to even [ [link removed] ]consider
reopening the economy. Governors nationwide, including Republicans,
have begun [ [link removed] ]vocally supporting expanding vote-by-mail initiatives
and support structures in advance of the general election, a safety
measure that [ [link removed] ]Trump continues to denigrate. Then, after two
regional groups of governors announced that they were starting to
create plans for eventually easing coronavirus-related restrictions,
[ [link removed] ]Trump claimed that his “authority is total” with regard to
deciding when, how, and if the restrictions should be eased. A number
of his usual Republican allies (including Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep.
Liz Cheney) [ [link removed] ]sharply criticized him for that comment. Later, Trump
walked back his position, saying that governors would [ [link removed] ]“call
[their] own shots” on plans to reopen.
* Relatedly, Trump’s growing insistence that he will be “reopening the
country” on May 1 has resulted in the [ [link removed] ]White House strategizing to
find ways to shift blame from the president if and when greater
numbers of people die because social distancing initiatives are lifted
too soon. The strategy, [ [link removed] ]according to reports, includes attempting
to enlist prominent business leaders and other authorities in support
of reopening, so any responsibility for negative consequences is
widely shared.
* One focus of Trump’s complaints this month has been the World Health
Organization, and this week he made good on [ [link removed] ]last week’s threat to
[ [link removed] ]revoke W.H.O.’s funding. Although [ [link removed] ]he praised W.H.O. in
February, the organization of health experts has become one of Trump’s
favorite scapegoats as he has sought to diffuse blame for his bad
leadership during the epidemic.
* Although the GOP is still united behind trying to retain power through
Trump’s reelection in November, [ [link removed] ]fractures are starting to show
between party members over coronavirus responses. [ [link removed] ]Republican
governors and [ [link removed] ]members of Congress are beginning to outwardly
disagree with Trump’s calls to reopen the country at the start of next
month, with even Trump’s staunchest ally, Speaker Mitch McConnell,
[ [link removed] ]flatly contradicting Trump’s recent statement about his being able
to adjourn Congress.
* Trump’s normally reliable allies in the business community have begun
to push back against his recent actions, particularly his moves
towards prematurely opening the economy. On a call designed to curry
favor with and establish his alliance with business leaders, [ [link removed] ]Trump
received significant skepticism and pushback for his overly aggressive
timeline, making it seem unlikely that they will back him should he go
forward with removing federal social distancing guidelines by May 1.
* In an especially self-serving move that wasted valuable time in
getting relief to millions, Trump made a deal with Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin to have [ [link removed] ]his name printed on the coronavirus
stimulus checks being sent to Americans, despite the fact that the
president can’t be an official signer on Treasury Department checks.
The Internal Revenue Service team in charge of dispensing the checks
has had to race to print Trump’s name on the memo line, so Trump can
use relief allocated by Congress as a campaign tool.
* To conclude this week’s list, we’re going to leave you with the fact
that since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States
on January 20 through April 3, [ [link removed] ]Trump has made 356 false claims
related to the coronavirus. And in the two weeks since that date,
which was also the date of [ [link removed] ]this series’ first post, that number
has only continued to grow. The limited actions Trump has actually
taken to address the coronavirus crisis have been [ [link removed] ]too few, too
late; a new report suggests that had the U.S. acted to increase
testing capacity nationwide two weeks earlier than he did,
[ [link removed] ]COVID-19 deaths could have been reduced tenfold.

Sen. Lindsey Graham recently told Trump that this November, [ [link removed] ]“your
opponent is no longer Joe Biden – it’s this virus.” However, pandemics are
not political opponents and they don’t respond to bullying, lying, or
misdirection. Trump can’t beat the coronavirus into submission, and while
he tries to do so, he’s forcing millions of Americans to suffer [ [link removed] ]far
greater harm.

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The [ [link removed] ]Falsehoods and Failures series will appear every Friday on our
blog. [ [link removed] ]You can find last week's post here. For ongoing coverage of
Trump and the Right Wing's response to the coronavirus, check out PFAW's
[ [link removed] ]Right Wing Watch.

Thanks as always for your ongoing support – stay safe and stay healthy!

- Sarah, PFAW

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