A reminder: https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1238274039434448896
An ongoing, months-long "Mission Accomplished" banner:
From May 10 2018 —> https://twitter.com/AtomicAnalyst/status/994696175575068672
Thread —> https://twitter.com/GeoffRBennett/status/1240029227619098625
"The work done over the past five years ... demonstrates that the government had considerable knowledge about the risks of a pandemic and accurately predicted the very types of problems Mr. Trump is now scrambling belatedly to address." https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/status/1240659865984552960
"'Nobody ever thought of numbers like this,' Mr. Trump said on Wednesday, at a news conference.

"In fact, they had." https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/status/1240659865984552960
"The administration's refusal to work with Congress from the beginning of this crisis made America less safe."  https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1241020915376365568
"U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action...." https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-intelligence-reports-from-january-and-february-warned-about-a-likely-pandemic/2020/03/20/299d8cda-6ad5-11ea-b5f1-a5a804158597_story.html
U.S. intelligence reports from January and February warned about a likely pandemic

Officials reported that China appeared to be downplaying the outbreak and said swift action could be needed to contain the coronavirus.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-intelligence-reports-from-january-and-february-warned-about-a-likely-pandemic/2020/03/20/299d8cda-6ad5-11ea-b5f1-a5a804158597_story.html
"'Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were — they just couldn’t get him to do anything about it,' this official said. 'The system was blinking red.'" https://twitter.com/kalhan/status/1241164834533597184
—> https://twitter.com/NPRinskeep/status/1241161983006781440?s=19
Feb 5 2020 —> https://twitter.com/chrismurphyct/status/1225073987639705600?s=21 https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1225073987639705600
January 2020 —> https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1222863896882679808
☠️ "Some of the president’s advisers have privately said that they share the longstanding opposition of conservatives to government intervention and oppose using the law...." https://twitter.com/kalhan/status/1241185707323830272?s=19
Trump to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un: I am eager to render assistance to your pandemic response

Trump to his own people: "we’re not a shipping clerk," you're on your own unless you're in a swing state that might help me stay in power ☠️ http://washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-says-trump-wrote-kim-jong-un-a-letter-offering-to-help-out-with-coronavirus/2020/03/22/a3facf9a-6c35-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html
Trump writes North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to offer help against the coronavirus

Kim’s sister said while a personal letter is nice, North Korea still expects more respect from the United States.

http://washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-says-trump-wrote-kim-jong-un-a-letter-offering-to-help-out-with-coronavirus/2020/03/22/a3facf9a-6c35-11ea-a156-0048b62cdb51_story.html
Trump on Friday, lying: "We invoked it.... [W]e’re using the act." 🤥
https://twitter.com/amandakhurley/status/1241734433604059141
Trump on Friday, lying: "We invoked it.... [W]e’re using the act." https://twitter.com/amandakhurley/status/1241734433604059141
Trump on Friday, lying: "We invoked it.... [W]e’re using the act." https://twitter.com/amandakhurley/status/1241734433604059141
"'It was heartbreaking to watch,' said Bao-Ping Zhu, a Chinese American who served in that role ... between 2007 and 2011. 'If someone had been there, public health officials and governments across the world could have moved much faster.'" https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1241832028376457216
The political "optics" for Dear Leader must be protected, even if it requires large-scale death and the crashing of the health care system https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1242125798355632131
"[T]he wealthiest nation in the world is leaving its caregivers unprotected in this crisis because [the Trump presidency] did not plan for it and wasted precious weeks before responding." https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/government-scrambling-to-advise-hospitals-that-run-out-of-basic-supplies/2020/03/21/d9c36702-6b88-11ea-abef-020f086a3fab_story.html
Trump administration scrambles to offer guidance on what to do if hospitals run out of basic...

Health-care workers are reusing masks and switching to less effective protections, and the Department of Health and Human Services said Saturday it is updating formal guidance on how hospitals should...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/government-scrambling-to-advise-hospitals-that-run-out-of-basic-supplies/2020/03/21/d9c36702-6b88-11ea-abef-020f086a3fab_story.html
While Fox News downplayed the coronavirus epidemic as a "hoax," its boss Rupert Murdoch canceled his 89th birthday party out of concern for his health: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/business/media/fox-news-coronavirus-rupert-murdoch.html
As Fox News Played Down the Coronavirus, Its Chief Protected Himself

The cancellation of an 89th birthday party for Rupert Murdoch highlights a disconnect between his family’s behavior and statements made on air by some Fox commentators.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/business/media/fox-news-coronavirus-rupert-murdoch.html
He doesn't take responsibility at all —> https://twitter.com/kalhan/status/1242277585356234752?s=19
🎯 https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1242248180726628355?s=19
"Trump’s private business has shut down 6 of its top 7 revenue-producing clubs & hotels b/c of restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus"—and now he's "considering easing restrictions...sooner than federal public health experts recommend" https://twitter.com/kalhan/status/1242466668804059140
"[U]nder the Trump administration, 'it just sat as a document that people worked on that was thrown onto a shelf,' said one former U.S. official, who served in both the Obama and Trump administrations." https://twitter.com/LauraWalkerKC/status/1242978782174216192
"We have it totally under control.... One day, it's like a miracle, it will disappear." ☠️
Feb 26: "Q: So far, your administration is only testing less than 500 people. And health officials are questioning whether that’s enough...

"TRUMP: Well, we’re testing everybody that we need to test. And we’re finding very little problem." https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1243314620737236992
(March 11) "Trump is reluctant to declare an expansive emergency to combat the escalating coronavirus outbreak... 'The president isn’t persuaded because [it] contradicts his message that this is the flu,' said a Republican who speaks to Trump." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/11/trump-emergency-declaration-coronavirus-message-125902
Trump fears emergency declaration would contradict coronavirus message

Trump is concerned that declaring an emergency would hamper his narrative that the coronavirus is similar to the seasonal flu.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/11/trump-emergency-declaration-coronavirus-message-125902
"Your government knew in the summer when it did a drill that if this happened, this would be a problem and there was a lack of preparation." https://twitter.com/kalhan/status/1243523032989093890
The missing six weeks: how Trump failed the biggest test of his life [and not just Trump: all of his Republican Party enablers too] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/28/trump-coronavirus-politics-us-health-disaster
The missing six weeks: how Trump failed the biggest test of his life

The president was aware of the danger from the coronavirus – but a lack of leadership has created an emergency of epic proportions

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/28/trump-coronavirus-politics-us-health-disaster
. @ChrisMurphyCT: Trump presidency officials, including @SecAzar, turned down emergency coronavirus funding on February 5th—said "they would be able to handle it" and "that they had everything that they needed on hand, which was false" ☠️ https://news.yahoo.com/senator-says-white-house-turned-down-emergency-coronavirus-funding-in-early-february-003319950.html
Senator says White House turned down emergency coronavirus funding in early February

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, says that Trump administration officials declined an offer of early Congressional funding assistance that he and other senators made during a meeting to...

https://news.yahoo.com/senator-says-white-house-turned-down-emergency-coronavirus-funding-in-early-february-003319950.html
Meanwhile, Trump to America's governors: "They have to treat us well" if they want to get ventilators and essential protective equipment for health care workers, like masks and gloves. "Try getting it yourselves." https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1225836989393534976
Infection and death rates are growing exponentially because of Dear Leader's inaction, but in case you were worried that might be weighing on him, fear not—he's super pumped by the ratings his virtual rallies are getting (which the networks are too lost to stop broadcasting live)
Mar 7 2020 —> "I’d rather have the people stay [on the cruise ship] ... because I like the numbers being where they are. I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault." https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/07/which-is-trump-more-worried-about-coronavirus-numbers-or-coronavirus-patients/
Analysis | Which is Trump more worried about: Coronavirus numbers or coronavirus patients?

A comment on Friday suggests it's the former.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/07/which-is-trump-more-worried-about-coronavirus-numbers-or-coronavirus-patients/
. @BostonGlobe editorial: "As the American public braces itself for the worst of this crisis, it’s worth remembering that the reach of the virus here is not attributable to an act of God or a foreign invasion, but a colossal failure of leadership." https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/30/opinion/president-unfit-pandemic/
A president unfit for a pandemic - The Boston Globe

The president has blood on his hands. The scale of suffering and death from COVID-19 coming to the United States was largely preventable.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/30/opinion/president-unfit-pandemic/
"What makes Mr. Trump particularly dangerous is that he is not acting alone. He is backed by the Republican Party, which translates his natural apathy to suffering into malicious policies." https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1242940648526880768?s=19
Trump in March, repeatedly: "It’s an unforeseen problem." "Came out of nowhere."

Pentagon in Jan 2017: "The most likely and significant threat is a novel respiratory disease... Coronavirus infections [are] common around the world." https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/covid-military-shortage-pandemic/
Exclusive: The Military Knew Years Ago That a Coronavirus Was Coming

The Pentagon warned the White House about a shortage of ventilators, face masks, and hospital beds in 2017—but the Trump administration did nothing.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/covid-military-shortage-pandemic/
"[D]ilettantism raised to the level of sociopathy"—Jared Kushner Is Going to Get Us All Killed: https://nyti.ms/2x1tlVc 
Opinion | Putting Jared Kushner In Charge Is Utter Madness

Trump’s son-in-law has no business running the coronavirus response.

https://nyti.ms/2x1tlVc
"[O]fficials said Mr. Kushner had mainly added another layer of confusion to that response, while taking credit for changes already in progress and failing to deliver on promised improvements." ☠️ https://nyti.ms/3bNl5ak 
Kushner Puts Himself in the Middle of the White House’s Chaotic Coronavirus Response

President Trump’s son-in-law has become a central player in the White House effort to curb the pandemic. But critics say he is part of the problem.

https://nyti.ms/3bNl5ak
"One moment Mr. Trump is talking about reopening the country by Easter, the next he is warning of more than 100,000 deaths. In the afternoon, he threatens to quarantine tens of millions of people in the Northeast, then in the evening he backs down." ☠️ https://nyti.ms/3bNl5ak 
Kushner Puts Himself in the Middle of the White House’s Chaotic Coronavirus Response

President Trump’s son-in-law has become a central player in the White House effort to curb the pandemic. But critics say he is part of the problem.

https://nyti.ms/3bNl5ak
And the next moment he's talking about "build[ing] up my poll numbers"—while people are dying because of his malign ineptitude ☠️ https://twitter.com/kalhan/status/1245910216954146818?s=19
"[T]he United States will likely go down as the country that was supposedly best prepared to fight a pandemic but ended up catastrophically overmatched by the novel coronavirus, sustaining heavier casualties than any other nation." https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/04/04/coronavirus-government-dysfunction/
The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged

From the White House to the CDC, political and institutional failures cascaded through the system and opportunities to mitigate the pandemic were lost.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/04/04/coronavirus-government-dysfunction/
"The failure has echoes of the period leading up to 9/11: Warnings were sounded, including at the highest levels of government, but the president was deaf to them until the enemy had already struck." https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/04/04/coronavirus-government-dysfunction/
The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged

From the White House to the CDC, political and institutional failures cascaded through the system and opportunities to mitigate the pandemic were lost.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/04/04/coronavirus-government-dysfunction/
In January, while Trump was actively downplaying the risks of a pandemic, his economic adviser was warning that those risks were severe (but urging dubious immigration-centered policies in response) https://nyti.ms/3aPtSZ5 
Trade Adviser Warned White House in January of Risks of a Pandemic

A memo from Peter Navarro is the most direct warning known to have circulated at a key moment among top administration officials.

https://nyti.ms/3aPtSZ5
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