Trump news — live: President mocked and markets slide as CDC issues grave warning over potential coronavirus pandemic
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Your support makes all the difference.A Donald Trump press conference in India descended into a bitter row with CNN reporter Jim Acosta on Tuesday after the president criticised the journalist’s network and the latter replied: “I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes.”
Trump has meanwhile secured a lucrative arms deal with the fellow superpower’s prime minister Narendra Modi, a venture he risked putting in jeopardy by refusing to eat any of the vegetarian delicacies – notably broccoli samosas - laid out for him at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon.
On Twitter, the president has insisted that the global coronavirus epidemic is “under control” — and was soon after undermined by the CDC, which warned that an outbreak of the virus in the US is nearly inevitable. That announcement spurred further market losses, as the potential global death toll remains uncertain.
The final Democratic debate before the South Carolina primaries is set for Tuesday night, and will feature two billionaires on stage this time with the addition of Tom Steyer to the mix.
In South Carolina, Joe Biden is fighting for staying power int he race after several losses in early states. He is facing stiff competittion from Bernie Sanders, who has won the popular vote in all three states to have voted so far.
Mr Steyer is performing well in the state as well, though it does not seem as though a third place performance in South Carolina would do much to bolster his very narrow path to a Democratic nomination.
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Trump media allies push coronavirus denials and conspiracy theories
While Trump may be downplaying panic over the coronavirus, at least he's taking it at face value.
The Magaverse is whipping itself up into a frenzy over the epidemic, with the president's pal Rush Limabugh dismissing it as the "common cold" and saying it is being used as a means of discrediting Trump.
"It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponised as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump,” Limbaugh told listeners to his syndicated talk radio show.
"Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus... I’m dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks.
"The drive-by media hype of this thing as a pandemic, as the Andromeda strain, as, ‘Oh, my God. If you get it, you’re dead...’ I think the survival rate is 98 per cent. Ninety-eight percent of people who get the coronavirus survive. It’s a respiratory system virus."
That figure is entirely made up, incidentally, as the World Health Organisation has not yet established a mortality rate.
Limbaugh went on to completely contradict himself by pushing a favourite and entirely unsubstantiated alt-right conspiracy theory that the virus is really a "bioweapon" cooked up in a lab in Wuhan, China. “It didn’t escape from an American research lab," he said. "It hasn’t been spread by Americans. It starts out in a communist country. Its tentacles spread all across the world in numbers that are not big and not huge, but they’re being reported as just the opposite.”
Why would that be in China's interest? Because Beijing believes "Trump and capitalism are destroying America and destroying the world”, says Rush.
Limbaugh is not the only one trying to cancel the virus.
On Fox, Tucker Carlson was equally unhinged.
"For weeks the media told you it was wrong to worry about the coronavirus, a mysterious, highly communicable lethal disease spreading rapidly around the world," Carlson said. "If that concerns you in any way, if you think maybe we ought to take some steps to protect ourselves from it, then you're a bigot."
"Countless publications wagged their fingers in the face of readers, and told them it was irrational, probably immoral in fact to worry about the coronavirus than the annual flu," he continued, apparently alluding to articles in Slate and The Seattle Times.
"Identity politics trumped public health and not for the first time. Wokeness is a cult. They would let you die before they admitted that diversity is not our strength."
Steve Bannon has also been at it on his podcast War Room, telling Chinese billionaire fugitive Guo Wengui that the virus is "man-made" and it is "ridiculous" to claim otherwise.
Don Jr takes credit for flying economy on an airline that doesn't offer first class
Check out John Q Public over here!
Here's Greg Evans for Indy100 on the president's eldest son, a true man of the people prepared to make real sacrifices for the greater good.
FBI official warns Russia wants to see US 'tear ourselves apart' ahead of presidential election
An FBI official has warned that Russia wants to watch Americans “tear ourselves apart” in the run-up to the US elections.
David Porter, an assistant section chief with the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force accused Russia of conducting operations aimed at spreading disinformation.
Porter suggested that this was in an attempt to exploit lines of division in society and sow doubt about the integrity of US elections and the ability of its leaders to govern effectively.
Here's Louise Hall's report.
Joe Biden: 'I'm a candidate for the United States Senate’
Among the 2020 Democrats, the gaffe-prone former vice-president has again put his foot in his mouth ahead of this evening's South Carolina debate.
Kate Ng has the details.
Mike Bloomberg's team post images of vandalism done to campaign offices
The ex-New York mayor's staff are attempting to win support for their man following his wretched debate performance in Nevada by posting a Twitter thread of graffiti daubed on their offices across the country branding the candidate a "racist oligarch" and a "corporate pig".
While such acts are not to condoned, you can't help feeling their real problem is Bloomberg's near total lack of personal appeal.
Trump receives rare widespread backing after refusing to eat brocolli samosa
A little more on Trump's refusal to eat his greens from Indy100, featuring some absolutely stellar Photoshop work.
Trump accuses Chuck Schumer of hypocrisy over coronavirus budget after senator says he is bringing America 'closer to a banana republic'
In the last hour, Trump has posted several rather gushing tweets about his time in India...
...plus this on Senate minority leader and cheesecake enthusiast Chuck Schumer over coronavirus funding.
No wonder he's annoyed at Schumer, the New Yorker said this on the Senate floor yesterday:
"Emboldened by the refusal of Senate Republicans to hold him accountable in his impeachment trial, President Trump has been interfering with the Justice Department and retaliating against officials in his administration who dared to testify truthfully before Congress.
"With each of these actions - I hate to say it, but it is true - any objective person will know President Trump brings our nation closer and closer and closer to a banana republic, a government not of laws but of one man."
‘Wake up America, he’s creating a dictatorship’
Here's Conrad Duncan on the angry reaction to Trump's call overnight for US Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to recuse themselves from cases concerning his affairs over bias.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner mocked by American taxpayers over India jaunt
The president's beloved daughter and her husband served little obvious purpose in Ahmedabad and it did not go unnoticed.
Ken Cuccinelli mocked after asking Twitter for help with coronavirus info
Another member of the administration being given a hard time on Twitter is Ken Cuccinelli, Trump's acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, who asked the social network for help getting information on the coronavirus after struggling to access Johns Hopkins University's live map of the outbreak.
This response was fairly typical and spoke for a worried nation.
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