memeorandum: Trump's mismanagement helped fuel coronavirus crisis (Dan Diamond/Politico)

10:05 AM ET, March 8, 2020

Top Items:

Official: White House didn't want to tell seniors not to fly — NEW YORK (AP) — The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Balloon Juice, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Dan Diamond / Politico:

Trump's mismanagement helped fuel coronavirus crisis — On Friday, as coronavirus infections rapidly multiplied aboard a cruise ship marooned off the coast of California, health department officials and Vice President Mike Pence came up with a plan to evacuate thousands of passengers …

Discussion: Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Breitbart, Bloomberg and The Guardian

Washington Post:

Coronavirus continues its rapid spread, confounding efforts by global leaders — Washington DC confirms its first case while U.S., global death toll rises — Efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak showed signs of faltering on Saturday as Florida reported the U.S.'s first deaths outside …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

New York Times:

Inside Trump Administration, Debate Raged Over What to Tell Public — The administration's response to the coronavirus has repeatedly matched public health experts against a hesitant White House, where worry of panic dominates. — WASHINGTON — After weeks of conflicting signals …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Coronavirus Is Coming for Trump's Presidency — Will a nationalist president be undone by his underreaction to a foreign threat? — On Jan. 31, over a month ago, the Trump administration made an excellent decision: In an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus …

Washington Post:
Squandered time: How the Trump administration lost control of the coronavirus crisis

Discussion: Raw Story

The Hill:
CDC has tested 1,583 people for coronavirus

Discussion: Shero and Politico

Politico:

Sanders, Biden camps clash over Arizona debate format — Bernie Sanders wants to stand up at the next debate — and his campaign is accusing Joe Biden of wanting to sit down. — After a private call Friday with CNN, which is moderating the March 15 debate with the Democratic National Committee …

Discussion: NBC News

Maggie Astor / New York Times:

Kamala Harris Endorses Joe Biden for President — Ms. Harris, who ended her own presidential campaign in December, is the latest in a parade of prominent Democrats to throw her support behind Mr. Biden. — Kamala Harris endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. for the Democratic nomination for president on Sunday.

Discussion: NBC News, Reuters and Politico

Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Kamala Harris endorses Biden's presidential bid

Discussion: HuffPost, Breitbart and The Daily Caller

Brie Stimson / Fox News:
Klobuchar ‘ticket’ slip-up at Biden event in Michigan sparks speculation she'll be his VP pick

Discussion: Althouse

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Why Bernie Sanders may be Joe Biden's best surrogate

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Associated Press, Politico, MSNBC and Breitbart

Associated Press:
Sanders, Biden up attacks as head-to-head race takes shape

Discussion: The Hill, CNN and Associated Press

MSNBC:

Experts explain allegations of nepotism in the Trump White House — Do Donald Trump's children and in-laws benefit financially from his presidency? Experts explain the many allegations of Trump family favoritism in the Trump White House in conversation with Joy Reid.

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Trump ‘not concerned’ as coronavirus cases rise in DC area

Discussion: Politico

Greg Clary / CNN:
CPAC attendee tested positive for coronavirus

Discussion: HuffPost and Townhall

Alice Miranda Ollstein / Politico:
Trump ‘not concerned’ as first coronavirus case confirmed in Washington, D.C.

Discussion: Breitbart

Evan Semones / Politico:
CPAC attendee tests positive for coronavirus

Discussion: Associated Press

Lorenzo Tondo / The Guardian:

Italy set to quarantine whole of Lombardy due to coronavirus — Government's draft decree would impose fines on anyone caught entering or leaving northern region — The Italian government is to lockdown the northern region of Lombardy, as it battles to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Mother Jones

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Italy Locks Down Much of the Country's North Over the Coronavirus

Discussion: Associated Press, The Week, Quartz, The Guardian and The Verge

BBC:
Coronavirus: Northern Italy to ‘quarantine 16 million people’

Discussion: Fox News

Wall Street Journal:
Italy Plans Large-Scale Lockdown in Country's North to Fight Coronavirus

Discussion: The Week and New York Post

Adam Rogers / Wired:

Trump's Coronavirus Press Event Was Even Worse Than It Looked — His remarks at the CDC on Friday were misguided, misleading, and show how misinformation could hamper Covid-19 containment efforts. — On a visit to the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Twin Cities, USA Today, Bloomberg, Washington Post, New York Times and The Hill

Los Angeles Times: California man had coronavirus before he boarded Grand Princess, cruise ship official says

Martyn McLaughlin / Scotsman:

Revealed: Blow for Trump Organisation in obscure legal fight as member numbers fall at Turnberry — The Trump Organisation has suffered a major blow as part of a long-running European legal fight to protect its trademarked use of the US president's name for an array of goods and services …

Jack Montgomery / Breitbart:

PICTURES: Greek Border in Flames as Migrants Keep Trying to Break Through — Dramatic pictures and video are emerging of fires raging along the border between Greece and Turkey, as migrants — aided and even armed by the Turks, according to the Greeks — continue their efforts to force their way in.

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Associated Press: Tear gas sprayed across migrants at Turkey-Greece border

Kim Bellware / Washington Post:

Matt Gaetz made light of coronavirus by wearing a gas mask. Now one of his constituents has died. — Days after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wore an enormous gas mask during a House floor vote on an emergency funding package for the coronavirus response, the congressman announced that a resident …

Discussion: Congressman Matt Gaetz, emptywheel, Florida Politics, NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, floridahealth.gov, New York Post and HuffPost

Mike Baker / New York Times:

Nursing Home Hit by Coronavirus Says 70 Workers Are Sick — As a federal team arrived to help, a spokesman for the Kirkland, Wash., center said 70 staff members were out with symptoms that resembled coronavirus. — SEATTLE — A week after a deadly coronavirus outbreak was reported inside …

Gabriel Schoenfeld / USA Today:

Trump & Sanders drove me to become a Democrat. Other disgusted Republicans should join me. — I registered Democratic this year to vote against Bernie in a primary. In many states it's not too late for other Never-Trump conservatives to join me. — For many years I've loathed the Democratic Party.

Michael Levenson / New York Times:

Florida Woman Changed Voters' Party Affiliations, Officials Say — Cheryl A. Hall falsified 10 registration forms, at least six of which enrolled Democratic and independent voters as Republicans, said the authorities, who are eyeing an additional 109 forms.

Discussion: The Hill

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

When an emergency room suspected I had coronavirus, things got serious fast — The snaking check-in line at the emergency room last Friday and the scores of sickly patients seeking comfort in the spartan lobby presaged a long, dreadful morning. — Then something worse happened …

The Boston Globe:

Prayers in Vegas, slumped shoulders in N.H. — inside the final days of Warren's campaign — LAS VEGAS — It was debate day, and on the 33rd floor of the grand Bellagio hotel, high above a city of spectacle and risk, Senator Elizabeth Warren was ready to pray.It was a ritual she and her husband …

Jon Levine / New York Post:

YouTube socialist Carlos Maza slams the wealthy but lived in luxury … Carlos Maza doesn't like rich people. — The social media socialist with more than 150,000 followers on Twitter and YouTube combined regularly uses his platforms to rail against the wealthy and powerful and urges fans to be skeptical of their opinions.

Discussion: Twitchy