MOLLY: Hello. That is Molly (ph).
BRANDON: And Brandon (ph) from Boston, Mass.
MOLLY: We had been presupposed to get married this Saturday, however our marriage ceremony has been postponed.
BRANDON: This podcast was recorded at…
ASMA KHALID, HOST:
2:10 p.m. on Monday, April 13.
MOLLY: Very like our marriage ceremony date, issues might have modified by the point you hear this.
BRANDON: This is the present.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE BIGTOP ORCHESTRA’S “TEETER BOARD: FOLIES BERGERE (MARCH AND TWO-STEP)”)
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Oh, so unhappy.
KHALID: Suspending a marriage is not any enjoyable.
LIASSON: Yeah.
KHALID: However on the upside, having a marriage in spring in Boston is all the time just a little dangerous, so hopefully, you can get married when the climate in Boston is barely higher. Hey there. It is the NPR POLITICS PODCAST. I am Asma Khalid. I am protecting the presidential marketing campaign.
LIASSON: And I am Mara Liasson, nationwide political correspondent.
KHALID: And we’re joined by our outdated Washington desk good friend Tim Mak. He is now a part of NPR’s Investigations Staff. Hey, Tim.
TIM MAK, BYLINE: Hey there.
KHALID: Precisely one month in the past, President Trump had this to say.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: To unleash the total energy of the federal authorities on this effort, right this moment I’m formally declaring a nationwide emergency – two very large phrases.
KHALID: And, Tim, your group – NPR’s Investigations Staff – discovered that lots of the guarantees Trump made at that second when he declared this nationwide emergency have largely been unkept. So take us again in time, and remind us what the president truly stated would occur.
MAK: So there was this large press tackle within the Rose Backyard on March 13, and the president was flanked by leaders from big retailers and medical testing corporations. And he promised a mobilization of private and non-private sources to assault this disaster.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: On the identical time, we have been in discussions with pharmacies and retailers to make drive-through exams accessible within the crucial places recognized by public well being professionals. The objective is for people to have the ability to drive up and be swabbed with out having to depart your automobile.
MAK: And he stated he was working at this drive-through testing state of affairs at nationwide retailers in order that there can be an internet site integrating screening, directing you to a drive-through testing location and presenting outcomes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: I wish to thank Google. Google helps to develop an internet site. It will be in a short time achieved, not like web sites of the previous, to find out whether or not a check is warranted and to facilitate testing at a close-by handy location.
MAK: The Investigations Staff appeared into every of the claims that the president made that day. And let’s simply deal with one main declare – these drive-through testing websites he stated can be underway at nationwide retailers. So NPR contacted all of the retailers that had been current at that occasion and located that there has not been any form of widescale implementation of drive-through testing at these retailers. Walmart has opened two testing websites. Walgreens has opened two testing websites. CVS has opened 4. And Goal, which was additionally on the Rose Backyard tackle, has not opened any. The truth is, the corporate stated it had no formal partnership with the federal authorities proper now and that it was ready for the federal government and state governments to take the lead.
LIASSON: Wow. That’s solely eight locations. That is simply extraordinary.
MAK: Proper. The concept there are solely eight websites, in comparison with the size of the disaster, actually reveals you ways little has been completed in these public-private partnerships.
KHALID: So that you talked about, Tim, that Goal has no relationship with the federal authorities. I suppose I am simply confused as to why this all fell aside.
MAK: Properly, it appears to me that there have been a variety of issues that led to the – led to a few of these outcomes. Firstly, it appears that evidently the president made plenty of guarantees with out understanding his authority and with out correctly consulting with plenty of these corporations about their capability. And so plenty of these bulletins had been sort of achieved off the cuff with out correct planning, and so only a few of them have truly panned out.
LIASSON: Numerous the criticisms of the White Home have been about execution – that they can not seem to get a course of, they can not seem to make issues occur – in different phrases, you already know, the testing, the PPE tools, the requests from governors – it is simply – that is all a giant execution competence train. And, you already know, for no matter purpose – as a result of the president will get distracted, as a result of extra focus is put into the briefings and the sort of public message than the nitty-gritty particulars of getting this stuff achieved – they’re simply not taking place.
MAK: One other concern with implementation and execution was this concern with Google. The president stated on March 13 that there have been 1,700 Google engineers engaged on this web site that may combine screening, direct you to a drive-through testing web site after which present you your check outcomes. However that by no means occurred, and no screening and testing web site has ever been developed by Google within the weeks since.
The truth is, you already know, Google wasn’t even the lead on this undertaking. There was this firm known as Verily. It is a sister firm to Google owned by the identical guardian firm. They usually have arrange this pilot program out in California on the route of the California state authorities, and so they’ve acquired six websites solely accessible to residents of California in 5 counties. And there have been by no means 1,700 engineers engaged in that undertaking. In accordance with Verily, it was most likely nearer to about round a thousand. In order that entire undertaking turned out to be nothing like what it was marketed a month in the past.
KHALID: So, Tim, there was a promise that the president additionally made round loosening rules to permit some extra flexibility for businesses to reply to the disaster. And we must always level out it appears like there was a few of that that has occurred. Is that appropriate?
MAK: Sure. Whereas many of the guarantees that the president made on March 13 haven’t been stored, there have been a number of that he made that had been. They usually largely had been guarantees that the federal authorities solely may deal with, proper? However there have been some points with rules as nicely. I imply, the president stated that he would waive rules to permit docs to function in states the place they weren’t initially licensed, for instance. However that is a state-based concern, and that is not in his energy to waive. In order that was one other concern. The president did say that he would pause curiosity on pupil loans held by the federal authorities, and he has achieved that.
LIASSON: You recognize, the humorous factor is, generally, the president is the sufferer of his personal success. He measures his success by way of the media, dominating the media – the large announcement, the large Rose Backyard ceremony, you already know, scores for his information briefings. And generally, that is what issues probably the most to him. Now, it is true that behind the scenes, Vice President Pence has been working with the governors. Governors are saying in some ways – not all, however in some ways – they’re getting what they’re asking for from the federal authorities. However the issue is that if he did not make such extravagant guarantees that weren’t stored, his credibility wouldn’t be taking the hit that it’s.
We’re getting into a chapter now on this disaster the place competence and execution issues much more as a result of the president is speaking about opening up the economic system, which is an extremely complicated operation that wants actually cautious, detailed planning and execution as a result of you must check lots of people. You need to resolve who’s immune, who can return to work, which components of the nation do you wish to open up as a result of folks’s lives are going to be at stake right here. So we’re getting into a interval the place you possibly can’t simply sort of bluff and bluster your method by means of.
KHALID: All proper, Tim. Properly, thanks for coming again as all the time to hang around with us on the podcast.
MAK: Thanks for having me.
KHALID: All proper, let’s take a fast break. And after we get again, we’ll speak about a brand new White Home proposal to save lots of farmers cash throughout this pandemic by chopping wages for overseas employees. We’ll be proper again.
And we’re again, and we’re joined now by White Home correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Hey, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hey.
KHALID: Properly, Franco, you had an unique story over the weekend about how the Trump administration is hoping to save lots of farmers cash. And I think about they’re taking a look at that as a result of farmers have been harm by the pandemic.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, proper. I imply, it is the most recent effort that has been pushed by the Trump administration to assist U.S. farmers who – as you observe, they are saying they’re actually struggling amid all the main disruptions within the agricultural provide chain. They usually say they need assistance. I imply, simply for instance, there was an announcement on Friday directing the USDA to develop a program to supply at the least $16 billion in aid to farmers and ranchers harm by the coronavirus.
LIASSON: And American farmers had been already struggling earlier than the pandemic. We had file farm bankruptcies in a variety of states. They had been being harm by the commerce warfare with China, and the Trump administration had been already sending them large quantities of aid cash to cushion them for the losses in enterprise with China.
KHALID: Proper. So, Franco, on prime of this direct fee program that the Trump administration has been doing, you reported on one thing else that the White Home has been contemplating.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. That is one in all truly the primary large pushes by the brand new White Home chief of workers, Mark Meadows. He’s working with the agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, to see how they’ll cut back wage charges for overseas visitor employees on American farms. These are employees who’re right here on H-2A visas. And the thought is that if they may also help U.S. farmers struggling through the coronavirus, however opponents say that these farmers and the Division of Agriculture and the White Home try to reap the benefits of a disaster to push down wages not just for the weak farm employees, however it could additionally undercut wages of home employees – of U.S. employees – who’re working in the identical space.
KHALID: So, Franco, how is this concept being perceived at this level?
ORDOÑEZ: Properly, it is made some actually unusual bedfellows of labor and immigrant rights teams in addition to immigration hardliners who’re normally aligned with the president’s agenda. You recognize, these two teams, they’re each crucial of this system however for, as you may think, very totally different causes. People like Erik Nicholson of the United Farm Staff, for instance – they simply say that the main focus must be on defending these important employees, these weak employees, at a time the place they’re already risking their lives to convey folks their meals.
ERIK NICHOLSON: I do not perceive how they’ll sit down for a meal, take a look at the vegatables and fruits and the animal protein that could be on their plate and be fascinated about, let’s attempt to pay these folks much less.
ORDOÑEZ: And teams on the fitting, they argue that the administration is principally bending to the desire of the agriculture foyer. I spoke with Mark Krikorian of the Heart for Immigration Research. He says, you already know, look. They could be in hassle, however that is one more reason to, you already know, wean themselves off of overseas labor as a result of it is all about low-cost labor.
MARK KRIKORIAN: So the purpose right here is to cheapen the labor. That is the purpose. That is – you already know, H-2A program is an affordable labor program anyway. That is to make it a less expensive labor program.
LIASSON: You recognize, talking of unusual bedfellows, I believe that is going to grow to be the theme for the politics of this whole disaster since you simply had Republicans voting within the Senate unanimously for the largest infusion of federal cash into the economic system ever. Republicans voted for sick depart. They voted for earnings assist although it was non permanent.
And you are going to have lots of people supporting issues that they by no means may have thought – they by no means would have thought they’d earlier than. As an example, Republican Senator Josh Hawley – actually conservative man – desires the US to undertake a European-style subsidy program the place the federal authorities would pay 80% of individuals’s salaries to stop layoffs. So, you already know, on this agriculture program, in different methods, large authorities populism has come again due to COVID-19. The query is, does it final after the pandemic and in what kind?
KHALID: All proper. Properly, that’s all of the political information we now have for right this moment. However we wish to let you know about one thing new that we tried final week. We taped our Cannot Let It Go phase on video. If you happen to missed that and also you wish to see what it is prefer to tape the podcast, you possibly can head over to our Fb group. You possibly can be a part of by going to n.pr/politicsgroup. I am Asma Khalid. I cowl the presidential marketing campaign.
ORDOÑEZ: I am Franco Ordoñez. I cowl the White Home.
LIASSON: And I am Mara Liasson, nationwide political correspondent.
KHALID: And thanks for listening to the NPR POLITICS PODCAST.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE BIGTOP ORCHESTRA’S “TEETER BOARD: FOLIES BERGERE (MARCH AND TWO-STEP)”)
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional info.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced utilizing a proprietary transcription course of developed with NPR. This textual content might not be in its last kind and could also be up to date or revised sooner or later. Accuracy and availability might differ. The authoritative file of NPR’s programming is the audio file.
The post Trump Public-Private Partnerships Falter : Politics Podcast : NPR appeared first on Down The Middle News.
source https://downthemiddlenews.com/trump-public-private-partnerships-falter-politics-podcast-npr/
No comments:
Post a Comment