Updated: October 7, 2020 5:40:47 pm
The president of the United States, Donald Trump. (Reuters)
News reports suggest that US President Donald Trump has been trying to capitalize on his coronavirus diagnosis to project himself as a leader who had successfully fought the infection, just weeks before the election. Bloomberg reported how a Trump campaign spokesman berated his opponent Joe Biden for not having the experience of contracting and beating the coronavirus. Supporters have also taken to social media to project Trump as a hero for allegedly defeating the coronavirus. You can read the Bloomberg report here.
The United States witnessed a major political development on Tuesday when Trump suspended negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on a stimulus package for coronavirus relief, pressing him until after the Nov.3 election. This comes hours after the president of the United States Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, called for higher spending to avoid damaging the country’s economic recovery. Shares fell dramatically after Trump tweeted: “I have instructed my representatives to stop bargaining until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major stimulus bill that focuses on working Americans and small businesses.” Reuters has more on this story.
More White House staff are finding that the Trump administration’s lax attitude toward wearing face masks and social distancing rules to curb the coronavirus are now hitting closer to home, and more staff members test positive for the infection. The latest is Stephen Miller, a senior White House adviser and a member of Trump’s inner circle. Like his other colleagues, Miller claimed that he had repeatedly tested negative for five days, before testing positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. The Reuters report can be read here.
Trump has been pushing for the launch of a coronavirus vaccine before November 3, hoping it can improve his chances of winning the election. However, The New York Times reported that on Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released new guidelines for coronavirus vaccine developers, a move that White House officials had previously been trying to block. . In what seems like a reversal of their own stance, officials have now proceeded to authorize these guidelines that would make it unlikely that vaccine developers will create a vaccine in time for the election.
Even though these vaccine guidelines were approved by his own administration, Trump tweeted his displeasure, claiming that the new guidelines “were a conspiracy against his prospects for re-election.” You can read The New York Times story here https://nyti.ms/3iF4EzP.
Read also | Conversely, the White House passes stricter guidelines for vaccine manufacturers
The debate between Vice President Mike Pence and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris is scheduled for Wednesday night. The New York Times reported that Pence’s aides have resisted plans for the vice president to sit behind the Plexiglass dividers during the debate. Organizers reportedly wanted the dividers as safety measures to curb the coronavirus, particularly after the diagnosis of Trump and many in his inner circle who had contracted the infection. But Tuesday night, reports said that Pence’s team had agreed to install these spacers.
The New York Times reported that Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, said his team did not want the vice president to appear on national television sitting behind plastic barriers. According to the Times report, Short had said: “We don’t think it’s necessary… There’s no science to back it up. Tables are 12 feet apart and each participant is evaluated. It is important to the American people that the debate moves forward. ” You can read the New York Times report here https://nyti.ms/30EAir9.
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