The Trump campaign is running an ad showing Biden meeting with Chinese officials in a weak attempt to smear him. One of the men they show Biden meeting with is Gary Locke, an American who was the governor of Washington and Secretary of Commerce. The Trump campaign responded to inquiries by saying the clip was included because Hunter Biden was on the trip.
During a press conference, Trump said there was no shortage anywhere in the US of protective masks. Hospitals are currently taking hand-sewn donations from the public because they do not have enough.
This excellent New York Times piece details the months of inaction on the pandemic from the Trump administration. They also published emails from a group of government and health experts detailing their views of the response. The group, including former members of the Trump administration expressed alarm over the federal government’s inaction. I highly suggest reading both.
This NBC article details the huge boosts private companies are getting from the Trump administration’s policies on distributing protective medical gear. The federal government has emergency authority to dictate where supplies go and at what costs. They are not using this power. Instead the government is funneling supplies back into commercial sellers who are selling to the highest bidder. The states are competing against each other and against the federal government for overpriced gear. This is in line with Trump’s view that the federal government doesn’t really have a role in the pandemic and everything should be left up to the governors. This policy is a disaster.
In a task force meeting last month, Trump asked about letting the virus “wash over the country” with the goal of spreading the infection more quickly in order to re-open businesses earlier. Dr. Fauci pointed out a large number of people will die using this tactic.
