There have been dozens of news reports in recent weeks suggesting President Trump was warned about the dire circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic around the same time that he was downplaying the spread publicly.
The Washington Post added fodder to that argument with a new report on Monday evening, revealing that Trump was warned in at least 12 different classified intelligence briefings throughout the months of January and February about the virus spread. The warnings were reportedly included in the President’s Daily Brief, a document given to presidents each day to inform them of the most severe and sensitive developments and threats around the globe.
It’s been known for some time that Trump rarely reads the briefing and has requested that it be read to him orally instead. But, per the Post, Trump was made aware in these reports that the virus was spreading and China was hiding information about the deadliness and contagiousness of the disease. Around the same time, we saw the President comparing the deadly virus to the flu and downplaying the need for swift action in the U.S.
Here’s more on that and other stories we’re following today:
What The Investigations Team Is Watching
Tierney Sneed will be monitoring the turnout and results of Ohio’s re-do primary election throughout the day today, which is on track to have a very low turnout, perhaps the lowest presidential primary in Ohio in decades. If you remember, today’s deadline for mail-in primary voting follows a series of circumstances last month that caused mass confusion over when and how voting would take place amid the coronavirus spread.
As Tierney lays out in this Twitter thread, the mail-in primary in Ohio is experiencing some of the same issues that voters saw in Wisconsin earlier this month. Keep an eye out for the rest of Tierney’s coverage on the results today.
The number of people who voted early + the number of who requested absentee ballots is 1.9 million https://t.co/TuTQjd84Wf That number is on par with the previous lowest turnout prez primary in the state and well below the 3.3 milionl who voted in 2016's https://t.co/W8awYxB26b
— Tierney Sneed (@Tierney_Megan) April 28, 2020
What The Breaking News Team Is Watching
Last night, Trump rejected Joe Biden’s prediction that he would attempt to delay the upcoming election, saying he “never even thought of” doing so. “Let him know I’m not thinking about it at all, not at all,” Trump told reporters at his COVID-19 task force press briefing. Biden issued a warning last week that Trump would likely attempt to use the chaos of the pandemic to push back the general election. We’ll keep an eye on this back-and-forth.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Trump administration yanked funding from a study on bat-to-human virus transmission that would help scientists understand where coronaviruses like COVID-19 come from. Trump’s allies have baselessly accused the study’s researchers of giving grant money to a lab in Wuhan, China that’s at the center of a right-wing conspiracy. The theory alleges COVID-19 escaped from the lab and caused the pandemic. We’ll keep tracking any fallout here.
If You Read Anything On COVID-19 Today, Read This
Yesterday, Tierney Sneed reported on a new memo released by Attorney General Bill Barr encouraging federal prosecutors across the U.S. to be on the “lookout” for any social-distancing orders in states that might be “violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.”
Today’s Rundown
11:00 a.m. ET: Trump will meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the White House.
12:30 p.m. ET: Trump will receive his daily intelligence briefing.
3:00 p.m. ET: Trump will address small business leaders and speak about supporting them through the PPP in the Rose Garden.
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Kelli Ward Urges ‘Reopen’ Protesters To Masquerade As Health Care Workers — Kate Riga
What We Are Reading
Hundreds Of Miles From Home, Nurses Fight Coronavirus On New York’s Front Lines — Jenny Gross
Denuded Of Tourists, Paris Reveals Its Old Beating Heart — Adam Nossiter
Top E.R. Doctor Who Treated Virus Patients Dies By Suicide — Ali Watkins, Michael Rothfeld, William Rashbaum and