Trump Never Wanted “Total Authority” Over the Pandemic
This headline in my morning LA Times cracks me up: Trump “relents.” Sure. Does anyone think for even a minute that Trump ever wanted total control over reopening the economy—or any other aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic? He spent two months telling us it was no big deal, and ever since then he’s done nothing…
It’s Not Clear Yet If COVID-19 Deaths Have Peaked
“Now that we have passed the peak in new cases,” President Trump said today, “we are starting our life again. We are starting rejuvenation of our economy again.” Is this true? The data for cases is too unreliable to bother with, so let’s look at deaths instead. My usual 6-day rolling average is a little…
Guess Who Trump Chose for His Committee on Reviving Restaurants After COVID-19?
In this 2017 photo, chef Thomas Keller puts the finishing touch to a caviar dish in the new kitchen at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, Calif. The celebrated chef had just opened a state-of-the art new kitchen at his famed French Laundry after spending $10 million on an extensive renovation. Eric Risberg/AP Photo For…
Donald Trump Went on TV and Tried to Blame His Own Failures on Everyone Else. It Didn’t Go Well.
Ding dong, it is eight o’clock in the east and today, like so many days in the recent past, that means that the leader of the free world strutted into the White House press briefing room and delivered an update about the pandemic gripping our nation. Why? To soothe his people, allay the fears rumbling…
Protesting Uber and Lyft Drivers Want Back Pay And More Coronavirus Protections
Mario Tama/Getty For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Drivers for Lyft and Uber in both San Francisco and Sacramento protested from their cars Wednesday morning, circling government buildings to demand the state award them expedited unemployment insurance and back wages amid the coronavirus pandemic. But the point is broader: Gig workers are…
Donald Trump Has Discovered He Can Dial Up a Mob Whenever He Wants
Protesters block streets in Lansing, Michigan, to display their hostility toward the governor’s stay-at-home order.TNS via ZUMA For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.For the first time ever, I’m a little scared of what Trump might do later this year: Will be forever haunted by this image of…