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    Gleefully ignorant Trump fiddles as health officials scramble to contain deadly coronavirus outbreak

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory
    March 10, 2020

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    President Donald Trump. (AFP / SAUL LOEB)

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory

    Worried about the coronavirus? Then you’ll be frightened to learn about Donald Trump’s cheapskate budget proposals for fighting disease.


    His 2021 budget year plan calls for cutting 7.2% cut from the National Institutes of Health budget. That’s almost $3 billion.

    The good news is that the proposed spending cut would be less severe than Trump’s first budget plan. Trump recommends a 23.5% cut three years ago. That would have reduced NIH spending by $7.7 billion to $25.1 billion.

    Trump “is not worried at all” that he might catch the virus.

    Lucky for us, Congress didn’t let Trump have his way.

    The emergency spending bill, drafted by House Democrats, provides $8.3 billion, roughly four times what the cheapskate Trump team belatedly requested to combat the coronavirus.

    NIH spending has actually risen since Trump took office, but only because Congress used its power of the purse to overcome what Trump wanted, which was to put us all at greater risk from infectious diseases.

    Trumps’ 2021 budget proposes no change in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Taking inflation into account that’s a small cut.

    Actual CDC spending will go up, but only because of the emergency spending plan to combat the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.

    The emergency spending bill, drafted by House Democrats, provides $8.3 billion, roughly four times what the cheapskate Trump team belatedly requested to combat the coronavirus.

    Voting Against Coronavirus Spending

    Two Republican representatives voted against the emergency spending, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Ken Buck of Colorado.

    Buck, who worries that our government will take away the AK-47 he brandishes in a Twitter video, voted no because of what he tweeted was a “bloated spending package.”

    We’ve known about the severity of the coronavirus for months. Instead of considering the President’s thoughtful re… https://t.co/gPsvJvuOlq
    — Congressman Ken Buck (@Congressman Ken Buck)1583422528.0

    Maybe Buck thinks his mass killing gun can be a cheap and effective weapon against the often-lethal virus.

    To Trumpians, voting against extra money to fight the coronavirus makes sense because they don’t understand science, preferring to live in a childish fantasy world where, as Buck followers tweeted at his account, spending on coronavirus is really a plot to enrich Democrats and, even worse, Californians.

    Seriously, as you can read for yourself:

    The ignorance of Trump, Buck and many Trumpians is bad news for the more than one in five Americans under age 5 or over 64, the age groups most vulnerable to dying from the coronavirus. Add the 3% of Americans with compromised immune systems through illness or treatment for cancer and other diseases. That brings the vulnerable American population to more than one in four.

    Be Prepared ... Not

    Trump’s first budget also proposed ending all funding for the Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness. They were established in 2000 so that during a health emergency like the coronavirus experts in state and local agencies were connected to one another.

    The self-proclaimed “very stable genius” proposes yet again in his current budget to wipe out that program, which costs a mere $8.2 million annually.

    Trump “is not worried at all” that he might catch the virus.

    All of these cuts are in line with Trump’s shutting down in 2018 the National Security staff whose job was to prepare for future epidemics and pandemics. Why would Trump do that? First, because he doesn’t understand science. Second, anything Obama did, in Donald’s mind, must be bad and has to go.

    If you doubt that Trump doesn’t understand science just listen to what Stephanie Grisham told Fox & Friends Monday. Grisham is paid by us as the White House press secretary, but she is, in reality, Trump’s personal ambassador to Fox News.

    Trump Ignores Experts

    Grisham talked about the CDC’s advice on staying away from crowds to reduce the risk of community spread of the coronavirus. Already seven Republican congressmen have self-quarantined after attending an annual conservative gathering where at least one attendee was infected.

    So, is Trump following the advice of the actual experts our government employs to avoid crowds? Not a chance.

    “Yes, he plans on still holding rallies,” Grisham told the Fox& Friends show, oblivious to the contradiction.

    Grisham then dropped into adulation of the Supreme Leader mode right out of the North Korean playbook:

    “And I'll tell you what, with our President -- this man who doesn't sleep and who I have seen work 15-16 hours a day every day—I have no problem thinking that he's going to be just fine and just healthy."

    She added, as someone who compulsively washes his hands, the 73-year-old Trump “is not worried at all” that he might catch the virus.

    Let’s hope Grisham is right so that voters, not some virus that migrated from Chinese bats to people, send him packing.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

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    Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
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    Survey: Should Donald Trump be prosecuted after he leaves office?

    Fox News upset over Biden’s denouncement of white supremacy – because it might offend Trump voters

    David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
    January 21, 2021

    After the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, Fox News critiqued the 46th president's speech, taking issue with Biden's strong denouncement of nativism, racism, and white supremacy – which, they suggested, might offend Trump voters.

    Denouncing nativism, racism, and white supremacy was apparently upsetting to Fox News host Martha MacCallum and Fox News contributor Dan Henninger, who is also the deputy editorial page director of The Wall Street Journal.

    Trump supporters “might be asking, 'Why is he bringing up nativism and fear and telling lies for power and profit in the middle of an inaugural speech?'" Henninger asked, as Media Matters reports.

    Is President Biden "talking about Donald J. Trump or is he talking about the people who voted for Trump?" he also asked.

    "I think a lot of them," he said, referring to Trump voters, "would be entitled to sit out there and say, 'I'm not that person.'"

    Many Americans would say that voting for a racist, white nationalist, and white supremacist, twice, makes you "that person."

    "And if he is trying to reconcile with the country, it's one thing for him to be giving his inaugural speech about his grievances with Donald J. Trump, but a lot of people out there who supported Trump and his policies did not agree with some of those ideas," he added.

    It's important to also note that President Biden – who did not mention Trump – did not support an illegal, seditious, insurrectionist, and unconstitutional attempt to overturn an election, so he is not the one who needs to "reconcile" with the country.

    MacCallum added that President Biden "talked about nativism, racism and fear. And, you know, it kind of fits in to the litany of words that we've heard about, the 'deplorables,' about 'clinging to guns and religion,' about 'cults' and people being -- need to be 'deprogrammed.'"

    For context, here's are the words President Biden said in his inaugural speech that were so upsetting to Fox News.

    "Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonization have long torn us apart," President Biden said. "The battle is perennial. Victory is never assured. Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our “better angels" have always prevailed. In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward. And, we can do so now. History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity."

    Separately, he also said: "And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat."

    It's hard to see how anyone who isn't a political extremist, white supremacist, or domestic terrorist could take issue with that.

    Watch:

    Progressives urge Biden to abandon GOP 'outreach' as Republicans up to their old tricks on spending

    Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
    January 21, 2021

    With Covid-19 killing thousands of people each day in the U.S. and the economy still mired in deep recession, progressives are calling on President Joe Biden and the Democrat-controlled Congress to abandon futile outreach to the GOP and push ahead with a robust relief package after a pair of so-called "moderate" Republican senators voiced skepticism Wednesday about passing another major spending bill.

    Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), members of a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling itself the Common Sense Coalition, indicated shortly after Biden's inauguration Wednesday that they would have difficulty supporting relief legislation on the scale of the $1.9 trillion plan the president unveiled last week—a proposal progressives criticized as inadequate.

    "Who cares what Romney thinks. Ultimately the effectiveness of the Biden admin will be determined by how often they ignore what Republicans have to say and jam stuff through reconciliation."
    —James Medlock, policy analyst

    Romney characterized Biden's opening offer as "not well-timed" given that Congress "passed a $900 billion-plus package" last month. Some economists argue that between $3 trillion and $4.5 trillion in spending will be necessary in the short-term to bring the U.S. out of recession and pave the way for a speedy recovery.

    "Let's give that some time to be able to influence the economy," Romney said of the December relief measure.

    Murkowski echoed Romney's concern, complaining that "the ink is just barely dry on the $900 billion." Biden's relief proposal—which includes $1,400 direct payments, a boost to unemployment benefits, and other key measures—would require "a fair amount of of debate and consideration," said the Alaska Republican.

    Given that Biden would likely need the backing of both Romney and Murkowski—as well as other Republicans—to achieve his hope of passing a relief bill with bipartisan support, progressives said the two senators' comments further bolster the case for ignoring the austerity-obsessed GOP and using unified Democratic control of government to swiftly pass an ambitious package.

    "Who cares what Romney thinks," tweeted policy analyst James Medlock. "Ultimately the effectiveness of the Biden admin[istration] will be determined by how often they ignore what Republicans have to say and jam stuff through reconciliation."

    Medlock was referring to the expedited, filibuster-proof process that allows passage of certain kinds of legislation with a simple majority rather than the usual 60 votes—a threshold that would require the support of at least 10 Republican senators.

    Biden has not explicitly endorsed passing coronavirus relief through reconciliation if Republicans obstruct his agenda. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during the new administration's first press briefing Wednesday that while the president's "clear preference is to move forward with a bipartisan bill," Biden is "not going to take tools off the table for how the House and Senate can get this done."

    With the reconciliation process a possibility, another—and, according to some progressives, much better—option is to quickly eliminate the legislative filibuster, a move that would allow passage of legislation without any Republican support.

    Democrats control the Senate by the narrowest possible margin, meaning they would need the backing of the entire caucus plus a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris to pass legislation in the absence of the filibuster, which Democrats can kill with a simple majority vote.

    "A Republican minority shouldn't be allowed to hold the nation's economic recovery and public health hostage," progressive organizer Ilya Sheyman said, urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to use one of the two tools at his disposal to pass a major relief bill.

    Amid growing GOP hostility to additional coronavirus relief spending, Biden's economic advisers are expected to meet with the Common Sense Coalition in the coming days, continuing outreach to Republicans and conservative Democrats—such as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—that began before the inauguration.

    "We can do 1,000 straight days of this song and dance or we can just zoom ahead and enjoy a glorious, filibuster-free existence," tweeted Ryan Kearney of the LGBTQ Victory Fund. "Your choice!"

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the new chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Wednesday that while he has "no problem with reaching out to Republicans" and "would prefer to do it that way," he has no intention of wasting precious time trying to bring intransigent GOP lawmakers onboard.

    "If we hear very early on that Republicans do not want to act in a way that meets the needs of working people in this country or the middle class, sorry, we're gonna do it alone," the Vermont senator said in an appearance on ABC.

    As progressive Democrats and advocacy groups demand quick action, the timeline for movement of a coronavirus relief package remains unclear. Punchbowl News reported Wednesday morning that "Democrats do not expect to be able to send Biden a Covid relief bill until early March," when emergency unemployment benefits are set to expire for millions of Americans.

    Progressives made clear that waiting until March to pass a relief bill would be unacceptable, given the enormity of the public health and economic emergencies that are ravaging the country.

    "We urge the President to continue to act swiftly and boldly to address the multiple crises our nation faces," Rahna Epting, executive director of advocacy group MoveOn, said in a statement late Wednesday. "People's lives depend on it. We cannot allow Washington gridlock or Republican obstruction to stand in the way of the urgent needs of the nation."

    Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued a similar call to action, demanding that the Biden administration and Democratic Congress work toward "the swift passage of a comprehensive and bold relief package that meets the scale of this crisis."

    "We have no time to waste," said Jayapal.

    ‘The terror hotspots were Trump rallies’: Former Whit House official slammed after attacking Biden on Twitter

    David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
    January 21, 2021

    Stephen Miller, perhaps the most despised member of the Trump administration who is not the former president, apparently decided to test the waters of his personal Twitter account just hours after Joe Biden was sworn in to office as the 46th President.

    It did not go well.

    "Today, @POTUS pledged to be a president for all Americans," he tweeted about President Joe Biden. "It's unclear how all Americans are served by opening travel from terror hot spots, proposing a giant amnesty, or halting the installation of security barriers along the Southwest border."

    He was immediately "ratioed," Twitter slang for getting significantly more comments than retweets or likes.

    Currently, his tweet has over 9000 comments, but just 1600 retweets and just 700 likes.

    Miller, who has been characterized as a white nationalist and a white supremacist, is responsible for some of President Trump's worst policies. Among them, separating children from their parents at the border to intentionally terrorize them into telling others from Central America to not attempt to enter the U.S.

    He was also the architect of Trump's Muslim ban.

    Here are some of the responses.

    It turns out the terror hotspots were Trump rallies, so.
    — Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) January 20, 2021
    Your rock awaits. Slither back under it now.
    — Helen Kennedy (@HelenKennedy) January 20, 2021
    Says the person who advocated for a "zero tolerance" immigration policy, leading to hundreds of families separated at the border.

    To this date, children are without parents because of your and your boss's failures.
    — Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) January 20, 2021
    You're genuinely one of the worst people on the planet
    — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) January 20, 2021
    Is this not Gab? I think he was looking for Gab.
    — Tim Miller (@Timodc) January 20, 2021
    Looking forward to seeing you chained in a crate.

    🇺🇸
    — Benjamin Dreyer (@BCDreyer) January 20, 2021
    don't you have a flight to Argentina to catch and an assumed name to get used to?
    — Kelsey D. Atherton (@AthertonKD) January 20, 2021
    Hey, hopefully one day you will be held accountable for your crimes you white supremacist pos
    — SPIRAL CURSE DEMARCO (@Clarknova1) January 20, 2021
     
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