Category Archives: US Politics

‘I don’t want to’: Trump rejects CDC coronavirus face mask guidance – video

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Donald Trump has said he will probably not wear a protective face mask despite his administration encouraging people in the US to do so in public to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance for people to wear bandanas, T-shirts and other cloth-based coverings in crowded areas, particularly in hotspots.

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Donald Trump fires intelligence watchdog who sparked impeachment process

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Michael Atkinson, inspector general for the intelligence community, alerted Congress to whistleblower complaint

Donald Trump has fired the inspector general for the intelligence community who handled the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment, prompting fierce criticism from Democrats.

The US president chose a Friday night, with America consumed by the coronavirus pandemic, to tell the House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees of his decision to dismiss Michael Atkinson.

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Coronavirus US live: Trump uses Defense Production Act to make ventilators

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The president was tested this morning, according to the White House physician.

True paper statement from the White House, passed out to reporters in the briefing room just now. pic.twitter.com/K0SVhLAk1X

LIVE: Press Briefing with Coronavirus Task Force https://t.co/L80j4W1c8O

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Trump says US stockpile of protective equipment nearly gone amid coronavirus

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Report warns of White House and states competing for supplies as president focuses on counter-narcotics operations at briefing

Donald Trump has admitted the US government’s emergency stockpile of protective equipment is nearly exhausted because of the extraordinary demands of the coronavirus pandemic.

The shortage was first reported by the Washington Post, which said the supply of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies was running low.

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The pandemic is producing a ‘Trump bump’ in the polls – but it may not last | Simon Tisdall

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Despite his contradictory, ill-considered response to coronavirus, a growing chunk of Americans see a man in charge. But making himself the face of the crisis may yet backfire

The rise in Donald Trump’s approval ratings – it would be misleading to call it a surge – appears to have shocked his opponents. Critics in the Democratic party and the media have noisily condemned and ridiculed his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as have some scientists and economists.

But it seems a growing chunk of the America public does not agree.

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Coronavirus US live: Donald Trump predicts ‘a very, very painful two weeks’

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Dr. Fauci said “I believe we acted early,” in response to a question about whether the US could have done more, earlier. But he conceded that earlier action could have helped.

Dr. Birx, as well, evaded the question, asserting that it remains to be seen whether the disease was spreading through the US in February or earlier.

Fact check: Hydroxychloroquine cure

Trump once again touted hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure, asserting that it won’t kill people because it has already been used to treat other conditions. But the drug can have serious side effects even when it is used as recommended, to treat malaria, as well as lupus and arthritis.

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How Trump has reacted to journalists questioning his handling of the coronavirus crisis – video

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With Donald Trump under increasing scrutiny over his approach to the coronavirus crisis in the US, the president has used his daily press briefings to lash out at the media. With more than 165,000 recorded cases, the US is now the worst-affected country in the world. 

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Trump attacks journalists for asking ‘snarky’ questions on coronavirus testing in US – video

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Donald Trump said that federal physical distancing guidelines might be toughened as he urged Americans to help fight the coronavirus with tough measures through April. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said more than 1 million Americans had been tested for the coronavirus, which he called a milestone. But when questioned about testing per capita in the US, Trump wrongly claimed that the population of Seoul in South Korea was 38 million people (it is actually closer to 10 million people) and told the reporter to stop asking ‘snarky’ questions

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Trump says Republicans would ‘never’ be elected again if it was easier to vote

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President dismissed Democratic-led push for voter reforms amid coronavirus pandemic during Fox & Friends appearance

Donald Trump admitted on Monday that making it easier to vote in America would hurt the Republican party.

The president made the comments as he dismissed a Democratic-led push for reforms such as vote-by-mail, same-day registration and early voting as states seek to safely run elections amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats had proposed the measures as part of the coronavirus stimulus. They ultimately were not included in the $2.2tn final package, which included only $400m to states to help them run elections.

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‘As the president fiddles, people are dying’: Nancy Pelosi slams Trump’s coronavirus delays – video

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The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, delivered a devastating critique of Donald Trump on Sunday, accusing the president directly of costing American lives through his constant denials and delays in response to the coronavirus outbreak. ‘The president’s denial at the beginning was deadly,’ the House Speaker told CNN’s State of the Union. ‘His delay in getting equipment to where it’s needed is deadly … As the president fiddles, people are dying’

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Donald Trump in ‘near tie’ with Joe Biden, new poll finds

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Washington Post-ABC News poll puts former vice-president ahead by 49% to 47% among registered voters

Donald Trump has gained ground on his probable challenger in November’s presidential election and is in a “near tie” with Joe Biden, according to a new poll released on Sunday.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll put the former vice-president ahead by 49% to 47% among registered voters. In February, the same poll put the US president seven points behind.

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Disunited states of America: responses to coronavirus shaped by hyper-partisan politics

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Democratic states have tended to be more proactive while some Republican governors followed Trump in downplaying the crisis

It was a tale of two beaches. On Florida’s Atlantic coast, at the height of spring break season, the sand was deserted in the cities of Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, where Democratic mayors had imposed closures to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Across the narrow neck of the state, the Gulf coast beaches in Clearwater were a world apart. There the Republican mayor had declined to impose a closure, and photos that would circle the world captured the result: thousands of carefree sunbathers lining the sand and mingling in the water.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decries ‘shameful’ corporate bailout – video

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clashed with Republicans as the US Senate voted on a $2.2tn coronavirus relief bill on Friday. She said it was a ‘shameful’ corporate bailout that would further widen the income inequality gap. ‘What did the Senate majority fight for?’ the New York congresswoman asled. ‘One of the largest corporate bailouts with as few strings as possible in American history’


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#WhereIsJoe: Biden campaign tries to stay relevant amid coronavirus

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The Democratic frontrunner faces an unprecedented political challenge as he seeks traction while working from home

Video conferences from a basement, glitchy internet and bouts of restlessness. Joe Biden, like the rest of America, is working from home.

The former vice-president’s confinement began abruptly on 10 March, when he touched down in Cleveland for a primary-night campaign event only to learn that the state’s governor had called for all major indoor events to be canceled as the nation slowly grasped the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Coronavirus US live: House passes $2.2tn economic stimulus package

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Donald Trump will be signing the stimulus package at 4pm this afternoon.

Will be signing the CARE Act in the Oval Office today at 4:00 P.M. Eastern! https://t.co/0WnTNFZPZD

Donald Trump just released an ad called “Hope” that uses sound bytes from various public figures that make it appear they are praising the president for his efforts combating Covid-19.

Reposting - the president, who has accused Democrats of politicizing the coronavirus, is out with an ad using various public statements in misleading ways to highlight his response https://t.co/QwrG5AivMY

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Trump administration allows companies to break pollution laws during coronavirus pandemic

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Extraordinary move signals to US companies that they will not face any sanctions for polluting the air or water

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended its enforcement of environmental laws during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, signaling to companies they will not face any sanction for polluting the air or water of Americans.

In an extraordinary move that has stunned former EPA officials, the Trump administration said it will not expect compliance with the routine monitoring and reporting of pollution and won’t pursue penalties for breaking these rules.

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Coronavirus US live: US now has more cases than any other country – as it happened

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The Guardian’s Vivian Ho reports:

California’s homeless census was already troubled. Covid-19 is making it impossible.

Related: California's homeless census was already troubled. Covid-19 is making it impossible

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Will the coronavirus crisis spell triumph or disaster for Donald Trump?

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The president was slow to address the pandemic that is plunging the US into recession but could an economic bounceback come in time to aid his re-election hopes

On the day of Donald Trump’s election, economists predicted calamity.

Related: Record 3.3m Americans file for unemployment as the US tries to contain Covid-19

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Coronavirus in America: why the US has struggled to tackle a growing crisis

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A lack of preparation, deep-rooted dysfunction and a reckless president – now the US faces being the center of the pandemic

Exactly a month after Donald Trump tweeted that the US had the coronavirus outbreak “very much under control”, the World Health Organization delivered a stark and jarring reality check: America faces being the centre of a pandemic that has paralysed much of the world.

Related: Trump's staff cuts have undermined Covid-19 containment efforts, watchdog finds

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Delay is deadly: what Covid-19 tells us about tackling the climate crisis | Jonathan Watts

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Rightwing governments have denied the problem and been slow to act. With coronavirus and the climate, this costs lives

• Coronavirus latest updates

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The coronavirus pandemic has brought urgency to the defining political question of our age: how to distribute risk. As with the climate crisis, neoliberal capitalism is proving particularly ill-suited to this.

Like global warming, but in close-up and fast-forward, the Covid-19 outbreak shows how lives are lost or saved depending on a government’s propensity to acknowledge risk, act rapidly to contain it, and share the consequences.

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