Down The Middle News: Week In Politics: Daily Doses Of Contradiction And Confusion

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

To place it mildly, the president was reluctant to embrace the sort of mitigation measures public well being consultants mentioned had been wanted to gradual the unfold of the coronavirus. However ultimately, he did and even prolonged his preliminary two-week suggestion to a month. However judging from his feedback yesterday within the White Home briefing room, his resolve is wavering once more. NPR nationwide political correspondent Mara Liasson joins us now. Good morning, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hello, Lulu.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: There’s an previous chorus coming from the lectern on the White Home Coronavirus Activity Drive briefing. What’s Donald Trump saying once more that sounds so acquainted?

LIASSON: He is saying we’ve got to open up. We’ve got to get again. At the same time as Dr. Fauci on the similar lectern within the briefing room talked about maintaining our foot on the fuel pedal, persevering with social distancing, yesterday, Trump was going again to the argument that, as he places it, the treatment cannot be worse than the issue. This is what he mentioned.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We had been having the best interval in our nation’s historical past from an financial standpoint and plenty of different methods. We can not let this proceed. So at a sure level, some exhausting choices are going to should be made.

LIASSON: He is actually chomping on the bit. However he is nonetheless in a field as a result of you possibly can’t take the economic system out of its medically induced coma till it is secure to cease social distancing. You already know, Invoice Gates, who’s the founding father of Microsoft and an enormous infectious illness philanthropist, mentioned, you possibly can’t say to individuals, hey, exit to your restaurant, however ignore that pile of our bodies over within the nook. I imply, the economic system cannot get going till the virus is solved.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So once more, I suppose we’re seeing this awkward cut up display on the briefing with the president saying all the pieces is best than it’s and endorsing this or that plan of action, whereas the consultants say one thing totally different, besides there is not any cut up display. We’ve got to sift by way of it ourselves and attempt to work out what is going on on.

LIASSON: That is proper – numerous confusion, numerous contradictions. The CDC says everybody ought to put on masks. Donald Trump says, I do not wish to put on a masks. I am not going to. It is voluntary. He says there’s sufficient ventilators. Everybody who wants one can get one. In the meantime, you hear the governors saying, we’re determined for extra ventilators. So the blended messages might account for why the president has solely seen a small bump in his approval score – smaller than different presidents have gotten in previous crises – since you hear one message from the White Home. After which individuals are listening to their native well being officers, medical doctors, nurses on the frontlines who’re telling a distinct story.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: However what the president says is absolutely necessary, proper? As a result of, particularly, Republicans and Republican-leaning governors are actually listening to his statements and taking his cue on this.

LIASSON: Completely. Nobody has a much bigger bully pulpit or a extra necessary megaphone than the president of america.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: There’s voting happening in Wisconsin Tuesday. I wish to swap course right here just a little bit as a result of it is actually attention-grabbing. We have seen numerous primaries get delayed throughout this present disaster. Why is Wisconsin going ahead with Tuesday’s vote?

LIASSON: Tuesday’s vote is in Wisconsin laws. In different phrases, it is as much as the state legislator – legislature to alter it. The legislature is Republican. The governor there’s Democratic. He wished a delay within the major. However the state legislature would not do this. He did get – the governor there did get a federal choose to order the state to increase absentee voting guidelines. However he wanted an precise piece of laws to delay the first. And he did not get one as a result of Republicans do not wish to enhance absentee voting.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That is NPR nationwide political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, thanks a lot.

LIASSON: Thanks. Transcript supplied by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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