Trump news: President disagrees with official CDC warning in rambling coronavirus conference as he puts Pence in charge
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Donald Trump has downplayed the possibility of a widespread outbreak of the coronavirus inside the United States, calling the risk "low" a day and appearing to disagree with his top health officials who have said it is a matter of when, not if, the country sees serious illnesses.
"No, I dont think it's inevitable. It probably will, It possibly will," he said. "This will end. ... Nothing's inevitable."
He said he was putting vice president Mike Pence in charge of overseeing efforts to protect Americans from the deadly virus, which has killed thousands of people – particularly in China – although there have been no fatalities in the US.
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White House considering appointing 'coronavirus czar'
Is Trump going to announce this in his press conference later? Politico says so and names a possible candidate below.
Trump butters up his favourite social media influencers
The president is clearly in a jovial mood at the moment and is praising several of his odious right-wing allies on Twitter, notably Piers Morgan and Diamond and Silk.
Nancy Pelosi calls Trump's coronavirus response 'shameful'
The House speaker has been adding her considerable voice to the growing outcry over the president's failure to act on the global pandemic.
Phil Thomas has this report.
Trouble in Bloomberg-land
From Five Thirty Eight's Nate Silver, here is some interesting polling data:
Good news for Biden heading into South Carolina
The former vice president is laying it all down on the line in South Carolina, which political observers have seen as an important firewall for his campaign.
Just this morning, Biden received the coveted endorsement of Jim Clyburn — the most powerful African American member of Congress and the leading Democrat in the state.
And, while some have wondered if Sanders's momentum out of Nevada, New Hampshire and Iowa will continue into South Carolina, it looks like the former vice president is ready to compete. Polling averages by FiveThirtyEight have put him in the lead there with 31.2 per cent of the vote, with Sanders behind him with 21.4 per cent. Steyer comes in third with 14.8 per cent, Warren behind him with 8.2 per cent, followed by Buttigieg at 7.7 per cent and Klobuchar at 3.8 per cent.
Trump press conference hours away
The president has gone on the offensive amid criticism of his coronavirus response, and is set to hold a news conference at 6pm today to address his response.
He has accused MSNBC and CNN of "doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus(sic) look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible".
Earlier reports have indicated that Trump is pretty mad about those stock market plunges, which threaten his number one claim to a successful presidency so-far: a strong economy.
Can Bernie turn Texas into a socialist haven?
Andrew Buncombe has gamed out what to expect on Super Tuesday:
On why the coronavirus is a mounting nightmare for America's germaphobe commander-in-chief
AOC says Trump's attacks are leaving her feeling unsafe
Trump sues the NYT for libel
Read all about it right here:
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