As parents scramble to adjust to shifting advice about resuming school in the fall and teachers panic at the prospect of putting their own lives at risk, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany made the Trump Administration’s attitude extremely clear at today’s White House briefing, noting that “science should not stand in the way” of opening schools. “Open and full,” she said. “Kids being able to attend each and every day.” Following the rather direct acknowledgment that science is being pitted against politics here, the festivities moved on to comments from Trump on water pressure and some deeply odd business about some trucks:
It’s a metaphor! Unlike all the other times the president posed with trucks.
[Guardian]
Web developer-turned-digital strategist Brad Parscale was demoted today, ceding control of Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. The San Antonio native, who rose to prominence for his social media micro-targeting practices as the head of digital operations for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, will be replaced by Bill Stepien, a longtime political consultant. While Parscale will surprisingly continue on with an administration known for dumping advisors and staffers at an alarming clip, it will be as a senior advisor for digital operations.
News reports on Parscale’s sudden departure suggest the switch is largely due to Trump’s abysmal polling, which has been sinking rapidly given the state of the economy and the government’s coronavirus response. Trump has also allegedly been unable to let go of his sparsely attended rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the several overflow events that were quickly and unceremoniously canceled when the main event attracted just 6,000.
Jezebel sends our condolences for Brad, but hope he’s warmed by the thought of his meteoric rise from a guy who designs websites for wineries to a member of the president’s inner circle, as well as all those multimillion-dollar-properties and pleasure crafts he’s picked up recently in the Sunshine State.
With just a month left until the Republican National Convention, party leaders are scrambling to create a victorious spectacle while concurrently ensuring the entire GOP doesn’t keel over and die within the space of a few weeks: Today, as Politico reports, Republican chairwoman Ronna McDaniel sent a letter to RNC members limiting the scope of some of the convention’s events. According to the letter, the first three nights of the four-night event will be open only to delegates, with guests and alternate delegates allowed to hear President Trump only on the fourth night. The event, which is being planned by such luminaries as Stephen Miller, Hope Hicks, and Lara Trump, will also feature temperature checks and coronavirus testing, the latter of which we sincerely hope for everyone’s sake will still be available in Florida by next month.
[Politico]
- Stephen Miller told Fox that Trump would announce a plan to target Black Lives Matter with executive power sometime next week. Seems bad! [Twitter]
- The first randomized clinical trial for oft-touted hydroxychloroquine has shown that… it’s not more effective for mild cases than a placebo. [Washington Post]
- CMS Administrator Seema Verma spent more than $5 million in taxpayer funds on contractors to raise her profile and get her those glossy magazine spreads. [Washington Post]
- Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has forbidden cities and counties from requiring masks in the state. We wish everyone the absolute best of luck. [Washington Post]
- A second man has been executed after being given the death penalty this week, following a hiatus on federal executions for twenty years. [AP]
- The coronavirus data the federal government ripped out of the CDC’s control has already vanished from public view. [CNBC]
- The Supreme Court has declined to overturn a Florida case that prevented people convicted of felonies from voting in the state. [Washington Post]
- The Black Lives Matter statue in England has been taken down after barely 24 hours. [New York Times]
- And meanwhile, in the United States: