Monthly Archives: May 2020

On Tuesday afternoon, Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, came on the line with a breaking-news bulletin. Just before our interview, Whitmer had heard that President Trump was talking about dismantling the coronavirus task force he had assembled to oversee the national response to the pandemic. Whitmer seemed stunned by this informationU.S. infections from COVID-19 were well over a million, the daily national death toll was often more than two thousand, and, in Whitmers hard-hit state, the crisis had already claimed more than four thousand of her constituents lives. Its just shocking, she said, as we both tried to absorb the news. Something new happens every day.

By the next morning, Trump had, once again, changed his mind. He told reporters that he had no idea how popular the coronavirus task force was, and that it would remain in operation while shifting its emphasis toward reopening the economy and away from a public-health catastrophe that has already caused more U.S. deaths than the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq combined. These are crazy times in American politics. Whats a governor, or anyone trying to make sense of Trumps on-again, off-again war on the virus, supposed to say?

Whitmer, a first-term Democrat in a swing state that helped Trump win the Presidency in 2016, has become such a lightning rod for Trump and his supporters that the President has given Whitmer her own derogatory Twitter nickname. After long-gun-toting protesters opposing her stay-at-home order entered the Michigan capitol last weeksome of them wearing Trump campaign regalia, and some carrying Confederate flags, nooses, and swastikasthe President praised them as very good people. As Democrats nationally celebrate Whitmers unyielding response, and as Joe Biden considers her as his running mate, both the Republican-controlled state legislature and a Republican member of Congress have now sued her for using her emergency powers to keep the state closed during the crisis. Meanwhile, in heavily Democratic, heavily African-American Detroit, health-care workers are struggling to contain one of the worst outbreaks in the country.

Public polls show that the vast majority of Michiganders support social-distancing measures to combat the pandemic (as is true nationwide), and also Whitmers handling of the situation. In a state that Trump needs to win this fall, his approval ratings have dropped, while Whitmers have risen. Whitmer told me that Trumps hyper-partisan approach did not make sense in terms of either public health or crass politics. The enemy is a virus, and it doesnt care what party youre in, it doesnt care what state youre in, she said. Trump, however, has not only persisted in his critiques of that woman from Michigan but nationalized his combative approach, with one policy for Democrat states, as he recently called them, that are the worst-affected by the virus, and another for Republican ones.

A fleeting image, captured on C-SPAN inside the U.S. Capitol this week, highlighted the divisive absurdity of the moment: Mitt Romney, wearing a mask, walked out of the Senate Republican Conference weekly lunch meeting toting a large placard with a graph on it. Blue states arent the only ones who are screwed, read the headline on the placard. Romney, though, is a minority of one. The lone Republican in either the House or Senate to support convicting Trump in his recent impeachment trial, Romney, who was the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012, is now an outlier in a Party with a devotion to Trump so strong that it has not faltered even in the face of the Presidents reality-defying response to the pandemic.

Romneys pitch, in fact, appeared to be so unpersuasive that, by Wednesday evening, Politico reported that Senate Republicans are settling on their pandemic message as they fight to save their majority: President Donald Trump did a tremendous job. This, not at all coincidentally, is the theme of a new ad being run nationwide by the Trump campaign, in which the President is portrayed as a heroic leader who defied Democrats and media pundits, shut off the country from the Chinese virus, and will lead Americas cratering economy to recovery. In case the message is too subtle, the ad spells it out in big all-capital letters on the screen: THE GREATEST COMEBACK STORY.

When I went to college, we used to joke during exam period that you were really in trouble when you started to lie to yourself and believe it. The President and at least some of his most fervent supporters appear now to be in the lying-to-yourself-and-believing-it stage of the pandemic. Truth has become so inconvenient that its better left aside for some alternate, less inconvenient reality. This is, of course, not the first time in the Trump Presidency, or even the first time during this pandemic, that there has been such a gap, but it appears to be a moment when there is a widening and very likely unsustainable gulf between Trumpian truth and what is actually happening.

Thats because the numbers are the numbers and, for Trump and for America, they look terrible. On Wednesday, there were some twenty-six hundred deaths in the United States from COVID-19, and, on Thursday, there were even more: around twenty-seven hundred. Leaked predictions from government scientists show an increase, by June 1st, to three thousand deaths, on average, every twenty-four hours. As Whitmer noted to me, that amounts to essentially a 9/11s worth of victims per day. Even after some seventy-five thousand deaths and a couple months of social-distancing public-health measures, the charts demonstrate clearly that the national curve has not flattened, with sharp declines registered only in New York and New Jerseywhich have already gone through the countrys worst ordealand a handful of other states. More than half the states have at least partially lifted strict stay-at-home orders, although none of the states that announced reopeningsnot onemet the criteria established by the Trump Administration for doing so. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week, a detailed, seventeen-page guide for how to return safely to workplaces and schools was quashed by the White House, and its authors were told it would never see the light of day, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. Testing capability is nowhere near the millions of additional tests needed to resume regular daily life, according to experts, nor is there widespread capacity to conduct contact tracing, another prerequisite.

Yet many states are reopening anyway, and Trump is not, at least for now, even bothering to hide the fact that more Americans may die as a result of these decisions. On Tuesday, he flew to a mask factory in Arizona for a photo op, where he appeared not wearing a mask, as the Guns N Roses version of the song Live and Let Die blasted over the factorys loudspeakers. In an interview taped at the factory, Trump said, Im viewing our great citizens of this country to a certain extent, and to a large extent, as warriors. Theyre warriors. We cant keep our country closed. We have to open our country. Will some people be badly affected? Yes. On Wednesday, he elaborated as to what he meant by badly affected. Asked if more Americans might die as a result of reopening too soon, he said, Hopefully that wont be the case. But, he added, It could very well be the case. He also argued against more testing. In a way, by doing all this testing, we make ourselves look bad, he said. On Thursday, it was reported that, even as Trump was saying this, one of his personal valets, who delivers his meals, had tested positive for the virus. In response, Trump said he would now be tested every day. Reality, it turns out, is not just a matter of political optics.

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Has Trump Reached the Lying-to-Himself-and-Believing-It Stage of the Coronavirus Pandemic? - The New Yorker

Early pictures of Mary Anne MacLeod tell a story of hope and confidence: Shes smiling, shes poised, fresh-faced and looking ready for adventure. Shes probably pretty smartat least her friends thought soand ambitious enough to want to leave her home on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Hebrides.

Mary, the youngest of 10 children of Mary Smith and Malcolm MacLeod, grew up there, in the small village of Tong, where the Gaelic-speaking family farmed and lived on their croft, a small plot of land on a tidal flat. Today, its still a more-than-two-hour ferry to reach the Scottish mainland from Stornoway, the isles largest town (current population: around 6,000).

Even attending church was a trek for the MacLeod family. In rain boots, theyd trudge through mud, wind, and water every Sunday to worship at the Stornoway High Church, writes journalist Nina Burleigh in her book Golden Handcuffs: The Secret History of Trumps Women. The congregation was part of the Free Church of Scotland, an evangelical movement that had splintered from the Church of Scotland almost a century earlier in protest of the corruption of landed gentry. The island is still conservative and faithful: The local tourism board advises making sure your hotel will actually be open on Sunday, as most businesses on the island are shut down on the Sabbath. The first Sunday Isle of Lewis ferry launchedto accompanying protestsjust over a decade ago.

Mary had her reasons for setting sail for America at age 17, both pragmatic and social. Stay, and her main job prospects would be weaving the local Harris Tweed or working as a fishing girl curing herring. There were few marriageable men on the isle, after World War I exacted a great death toll on the local men who went to servearound 17% of Lewisman would die in battle and another 200 men returning from war died yards away from the Stornoway coastline in 1919 when their ship hit rocks and sunk. The Calvinist sentiment of the religious isle had already stigmatized Marys older sister Catherine for having a child out of wedlock, likely encouraging Catherine to leave for New York City a decade before.

Mary joined Catherine there, finding work as a maid for Andrew Carnegies widow in Manhattan in the Carnegie Mansion on the Upper East Side, writes Burleigh in Golden Handcuffs. In relatively short order she met Fred Trump, an up-and-coming builder, at a dance; they married in January 1936, at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.

In 1946, Mary gave birth to their fourth child, Donald J. Trump.

Theres supposedly no relationship in life so central, so formative, as the childs relationship with their mother. That has seemed to hold true for our presidents. God bless my mother; all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her, said Lincoln of his mother, Nancy, who died when he was seven years old. American presidents tend to give their mothers high marks: Theres FDRs original helicopter mom, Sara Delano; Clintons strong survivor of a single mother, Virginia Kelley; and the beloved matriarch Barbara Bush, among other 20th- and 21st-century presidential mothers.

No modern president has lacked the ability to demonstrate public compassion; several presidentsmost recently Barack Obama during a speech after the massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary Schoolheld no compunction crying in public during times of great national tragedy.

Until Trump, that is.

That brings us to the flip side of the warm familial cocoon, as described by Philip Larkin: They fuck you up, your mum and dad.

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Donald Trump Loves His Father Fred, But He Rarely Mentions His Mother - Vanity Fair

The task forces mission will no longer be in response to coronavirus, but on opening up America again, said a senior White House official, adding that Pence has truly loved steering the governments response to the deadly pandemic because its allowed him to bring comfort, answers and transparency to the American people.

As Pence continues to coordinate with health officials working to develop vaccines and therapeutics, he will maintain a travel schedule that includes frequent visits to front-line facilities and meetings with people hit by coronavirus or its fallout. On Friday, the vice president will discuss the return of religious gatherings with faith leaders in Des Moines, Iowa, and participate in a roundtable on food shortages.

No longer relegated to a White House side stage, Pences highly visible role leading the pandemic response gave him a rare political opportunity: a chance to impress Americans who have sought straightforward updates and genuine reassurance from their leaders something Trump himself has at times struggled to provide.

Still, a person close to the vice president said he is anxious to outsource the lions share of supervision once the response is divided between FEMA, a handful of executive agencies and the remaining Pence-led team. The vice president has presided over daily task force meetings since late February, when Trump placed him in the command post, and has sometimes fielded phone calls from multiple governors each day.

Hes been living and breathing this crisis 24/7 for three months and believes now is an appropriate time to let others take over, said an administration official. The official added that Pences team is considering ways for him to refocus on the 2020 election without appearing insensitive to the reality that tens of millions of Americans remain out of work and thousands remain in mourning.

The senior White House official added that Pence is looking forward to getting back to his normal routine just like every American, which does not mean he wants this process to be over.

He still thinks its really important work and hes honored to be doing it, the official said.

One Republican close to the White House said the longer Pence remains the public face of the administrations coronavirus response, the more susceptible to criticism he becomes especially as efforts to rescue the economy, by sending workers and consumers back into their communities, run the risk of creating deeper health problems closer to the 2020 election.

This person said Pence may have signed his own death warrant when he first took over the coronavirus task force because no amount of loyalty will shield him from becoming Trumps fall guy if the virus returns this fall and costs the president a second term.

People have a sense that Mike Pence is in the command chair on this and I do think, to a certain extent, he will be judged by the outcome, said longtime conservative columnist Stephen Hayes, author of a 2007 biography on former Vice President Dick Cheney.

One triumph the vice presidents allies want him to lean into as he continues to discuss the administrations coronavirus efforts during interviews, official visits and eventual campaign events is the public-private collaboration to produce personal protective equipment and ensure a steady supply of ventilators for the U.S. and other countries. While touring a ventilator production plant in his home state of Indiana last week, Pence repeatedly touted the U.S. ventilator surplus.

Others believe Pences close coordination with governors will be his saving grace if he runs in 2024 and faces an onslaught of criticism over other elements of the administrations handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, including testing shortages and interagency squabbles along with a hurried reopening that could have devastating health consequences in pockets of the country that have yet to reach their peak number of cases.

Instead of indulging Trumps request in March to stop calling Democratic governors in Washington and Michigan, Pence continued to check in weekly with both governors and monitor the fulfillment of supplies they requested. In private phone calls with other governors, he has been careful to sidestep their personal frustrations with the president and always brings the conversation back to their needs and concerns, according to one state official whose boss has been on more than a dozen calls with Pence in the past few weeks.

A person involved with Trumps reelection effort said Pences deliberate outreach to states has already benefited him politically, noting that his approval rating has risen in some recent polls. This person attributed the slight uptick to public praise from popular governors such as Larry Hogan of Maryland and Andrew Cuomo of New York. (Pences national approval rating was up 3 percentage points since mid-April in an Economist/YouGov poll released this week. But several other polls have recorded no recent changes in voter attitudes toward the vice president.)

Of course, if Pence chooses to run in 2024, his coordination with governors is likely to attract less focus than both the administrations early failures in responding to the coronavirus outbreak and the laundry list of eye-popping statements Trump has made about the severity of the virus and treatment options for those who contract it.

The trouble for Pence is that other Republicans running for president are going to have every incentive to say things should have been done differently, said Goldstein, the expert on vice presidential history. So he can talk about working effectively with governors, and I think theres been plenty of indications that he has, but there are still going to be voices who say, Why did you do this? Why did you do that?

One former White House official said Trumps dubious medical claims are likely to become an albatross around Pences neck if he touts his leadership of the coronavirus task force in a future presidential primary. The president infamously suggested that household disinfectants might kill the virus a claim he made after Bill Bryan, who leads the Office of Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security, delivered a presentation at the White House explaining how sunlight and humidity can kill the novel coronavirus. In addition to sparking a firestorm of criticism, the episode frustrated some Trump aides who were against Bryans presentation from the start.

But it also concerned Pence allies, who have long wondered how the vice president will survive thorny questions about Trumps most controversial statements comments that have sparked dayslong news cycles, created diplomatic crises and alienated key voters if he runs as the presidents natural successor four years from now.

Regular news conferences by Trump and Pence over the course of the Covid-19 crisis have only magnified the vice presidents reluctance to contradict or correct the president, while inextricably linking him to his exceptionally polarizing boss.

Catastrophic earthquakes. Solar flares that bring down the entire power grid. The global rise of white supremacy. What could come after coronavirus?

On multiple occasions when Trump commandeered the White House briefing room to promote untested coronavirus treatments or lob insults at journalists, Pences trademark stoicism was on full display. Standing with his hands clasped just off to the side, there would be Pence staring warmly at Trump with a soft smile.

When the president goes out and says something off-script or sends mixed messages about states opening back up, none of that is something Mike Pence can control, but the results will ultimately shape the way Mike Pence is being seen coming out of this, Hayes said.

The next several months could have profoundly positive implications for Pence if the coronavirus abates and the economy shows signs of improvement by the time voters cast their ballots this November. A second term for Trump, whose reelection chances are now tethered to his administrations Covid-19 response, would give Pence another four years to build his own case for higher office in a period of economic recovery much like George H.W. Bush did during the brief recovery period following the Black Monday market crash in 1987.

On Wednesday, Trump said the Pence-led coronavirus task force would readjust its purpose to be very focused on vaccines and therapeutics, an area in which the White House is hoping for a major breakthrough before the 2020 presidential contest heats up later this summer.

Pence, who has described ongoing attempts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine as a Manhattan Project-style effort, praised Trumps intervention to speed up the development process during a closed briefing on Tuesday with reporters and fellow task force participants. Sipping on a Diet Coke as he guided discussions about outbreak zones, hospitalization rates and state-based approaches to reopening businesses, Pences deep grasp of the once-in-a-generation pandemic was on full display.

Despite the off-camera setting, the vice presidents approach was unchanged from a week before, when he joined Trump for a Rose Garden news conference and jumped in to provide particulars on testing expansions when the president himself was short on details.

One of Pences strengths is he is an effective communicator who stays on message, Goldstein said. I think thats helpful to him now, but its hard for me to see those moments being remembered in the long term.

Link:

The 2024 election test arrives early for Mike Pence - POLITICO

Brad Parscale, campaign manager for President Donald Trumps reelection, hinted at the coming mobilization of their effort by referring to the campaign as the Death Star, and quickly got some ridicule given the way that the original Star Wars ends.

For nearly three years we have been building a juggernaut campaign (Death Star). It is firing on all cylinders. Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc., he wrote on Thursday. In a few days we start pressing FIRE for the first time.

That got the attention of Joe Bidens presidential campaign, which tweeted back, 11/3/2020, along with the GIF of the exploding Death Star.

Parscale responded, I didnt give our campaign the name, Death Star, the media did. However, I am happy to use the analogy. The fact is, we havent used it yet. Laugh all you want, we will take the win!

Hes right in that the reference did draw a lot of attention.

Its also only the latest Star Wars reference in the 2020 presidential campaign. Earlier this week, the campaign unveiled a doctored video showing Trump, as Yoda, battling the empire, which included superimposed images of Biden, CNN and MSNBC. The occasion was May the 4th, now apparently an unofficial observance of all things Star Wars.

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Trump Campaign Warns Of Its Death Star Mobilization And Gets A Star Wars Schooling - Deadline

President Donald Trumpsaid the inicident in which Ahmaud Arbery was killed could have had "something that we didn't see on tape," in reference to the video that showed the chase and physical confront ation that ended in the shooting.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday (May 7), he offered condolences to Arbery's family. "My heart goes out to the parents and to the loved ones of the young gentleman. It's a very sad thing."

Trump said he was expecting a full report on what happened but seemed to imply the tape doesn't tell the whole story. "If you saw, things went off tape and then back on tape. But it was a troubling, I mean to anyone that watched it, certainly it was a disturbing or troubling video. No question about that, he said.

As far as what comes next in the case, Trump said he trusts those handling the case. "They have very good law enforcement in the state of Georgia," he said, "and I am sure they are going to come up with exactly what happened."

Trump said he had not seen video of the incident, which was released on Tuesday (May 5).

Former vice president and current Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden tweeted about Arbery's murder on Tuesday, shortly after video of the killing was released. "The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood. My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder," he wrote.

Arbery was killed on February 23, while he was jogging, unarmed, in broad daylight. Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael were arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations on Thursday (May 7) on charges of murder and aggravated assault, following mounting public pressure and calls for justice.

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Trump Says There Could Be 'Things We Didn't See' In Ahmaud Arbery Video - BET

Late-night hosts discussed Donald Trumps inability to follow safety precautions and his willingness to let Americans die to protect the economy.

On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah spoke about the coronavirus pandemic being hard on everyone but its been especially hard on Donald Trump as hes used to playing golf and travelling around like an ignorant Dora the Explorer.

On a trip to Arizona, the president left Air Force One and proceeded to try to shake the hand of a greeting official but instead opted for an awkward back slap. What is the point in avoiding a handshake if you then wipe your hands all over the other guys suit? Noah asked. At that point youre just using him as a corona napkin.

Trump also refused to wear a mask while visiting a mask factory. The mask would literally the least distracting thing on his head, he said.

During an ABC News interview, Trump claimed that he wasnt preparing for the pandemic because of the hoaxes created by his detractors. He spent three years not preparing for a pandemic because he was distracted by all the scandals he created, he said.

Trump has also blamed Barack Obama for he inherited. It feels like anytime Trump needs an excuse, his go-to is Obama, he said. Hes probably been doing this since he was a kid.

On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert also commented on Trump refusing to wear a mask at the factory and instead choosing goggles. Wearing goggles in a mask factory is like walking into the bedroom with a condom on your nose, he said.

There was also word this week that the coronavirus taskforce might be shut down. Of course this is Donald Trump so that means that things end when he finds a hotter, younger taskforce, he joked.

In the aforementioned ABC News interview, Trump also said that reopening would put some peoples lives in jeopardy. Thats just a risk that Trump is willing for you to take, he said.

Colbert also joked that Keep America Great should be changed to Kill Americans? Groovy before playing footage of Live and Let Die being used as Trumps backing track at the factory. Are they punking us now? he asked.

When asked what message he would give to grieving relatives, Trump said that they should be pleased that there will be a raging economy next year. Colbert said his response was colder than the caves of Pluto.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host showed footage of Trump pretending he was wearing a mask backstage at the factory while sitting in the Oval Office for National Nurses Day surrounded by nurses. Clearly he did not wear a mask and, by the way, hes sitting there with a bunch of nurses not wearing a mask saying this. Is this really a surprise? he said. If theres one thing we know from Stormy Daniels its that wearing protection isnt his No 1 concern.

He also spoke about his ABC News interview: I love when he claims he doesnt want credit while he complains that hes not getting credit.

When asked about the mass loss of life, Trump said that no one has been losing more sleep than him over it. Even in grief, he is No 1, he said.

Kimmel added: The reason you dont sleep at night is because youre watching Fox News and rage-tweeting at Kellyanne Conways husband.

On Full Frontal, Samantha Bee said that another reason to be scared of going back to work is that all of our offices definitely belong to the roaches now.

She dedicated a segment to the various ways in which the government has responded that should teach us about how people should be treated in the future.

Bee spoke about the employment benefits for freelancers and those within the gig economy are now getting, calling it the bare minimum.

It shouldnt take a pandemic for us to start taking care of people, she said.

Various insurers have lowered the exorbitant prices of vital medicine such as insulin, which is usually about $100 yet made for less than $5. Its like how a McDonalds value meal used to cost $400 until the fry guys got caught spending that money on blood diamonds, she joked.

There have also been TelAbortions created, which help women in need call up and get everything they need for a 10-week or under abortion at home, including a Sex and the City boxset that also functions as a heating pad.

Airlines and other big brands have also been giving food away to those in need. It shouldnt just be up to companies seeking good PR to do it., she said. America has enough food to feed everyone.

She added: We can afford to protect each other through social safety nets We have to keep fighting for reimagining a more equitable world.

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Trevor Noah on the pandemic: 'It's been especially hard on Donald Trump' - The Guardian

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters.

At a Fox News Town Hall in front of the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, President Donald Trump revised the US coronavirus death toll, citing a number significantly higher than what hed been predicting just a few weeks ago. I used to say 65,000, and now Im saying 80 or 90, and it goes up and it goes up rapidly, said the president.

Confused about what to make of this? Us too. And with new data and studies about the coronavirus coming out every day, understanding how science and statistics work has never felt more essentialand, lets admit it, overwhelming.

Thats why we brought two people onto the Mother Jones Podcast this week who can help sort through it all, providing tips and tricks for identifying reliable data. Sinduja Rangarajan, a senior data journalist at Mother Jones, has been analyzingdata to show how COVID-19 is infecting Black communities at alarming rates, to highlightwhich communities are the least prepared for the coronavirus, and to forecast when states will run out of hospital beds. Its not always clear what kind of data sources are trustworthy or not, Rangarajan tells host Jamilah King on the Mother Jones Podcast. When Im reporting on on these topics, I tend to be skeptical of everything, no matter where that datas coming from, whether its from a city or a state or from universities or nonprofits or think tanks or private companies.

King also talks to Jackie Flynn Mogensen, an assistant editor at Mother Jones, who has been reporting on the medical science of the pandemic, answering key questions on immunity and antibodies and helping us make sense of all those terrifying death projections. Her recent reporting takes a step back and revealsjust how complicated all this science actually isand how, in the frantic rush to get more and more information about the new virus, it can sometimes be untrustworthy or riddled with conflicts of interest. Science isnt about being right. Its the process of becoming less wrong, Mogensen explains on the podcast. What the experts have told me is that making a mistake now, like in the case of ibuprofen, can cost lives.

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Donald Trump Can't Stop Spewing Bad Science. We're Here to Help. - Mother Jones

Washington, May 8

The sacred Vedic Shanti Path or peace prayer was recited by a Hindu priest in the Rose Garden of the White House on the occasion of National Day of Prayer Service to pray for the health, safety and well-being of everyone affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Pujari Harish Brahmbhatt from the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in New Jersey joined religious leaders from other faiths offering prayers on the occasion of National Day of Prayer Service.

In these troubled times of COVID-19, social distancing and lockdown, it is not unusual for people to feel anxious or not at peace. The shanti prayer or peace prayer is a prayer that does not seek worldly riches, success, fame, nor is it a prayer for any desire for heaven,"

Brahmbhatt said in his brief remarks from the Rose Garden podium.

"It is a beautiful Hindu prayer for peace, shanti. It is a Vedic prayer derived from Yajurveda," he said before reciting the prayer in Sanskrit. Thereafter, he translated it in English.

"The prayer translates into onto the heavens be peace. Onto the sky and earth be peace. Peace be onto the water. Onto the herbs and trees be peace. Onto all the crops be peace. Onto Brahma and onto all be peace. And may we realise that peace. Om peace, peace, peace," Brahmbhatt said.

Trump thanked Brahmbhatt for his prayer recitation.

In his remarks, the president said on the National Day of Prayer Service, America is engaged in a fierce battle against a very terrible disease.

"Throughout our history in times of challenge, our people have always called upon the gift of faith, the blessing our belief, the power of prayer, and the eternal glory of god. I ask all Americans to join their voices and their hearts in a spiritual union as we ask our lord in heaven for strength and solace, for courage and comfort, for hope and healing, for recovery and renewal," he said.

First Lady Melania Trump extended her deepest sympathy to the families of those who have lost their loved ones to COVID-19.

"Let us pray for the ill come out the ones who are suffering, and those serving on the frontlines," she said.

"When evil darkens our world, give us light. When despair numbs our souls, give us hope. When we stumble and fall, lift us up. When doubts assail us, give us faith. When nothing seems sure, give us trust. When ideals fade, give us vision. When we lose our way, be our guide that we may find serenity in your presence and purpose in doing your will," Melania Trump said.

Describing America as a nation of prayer, Vice President Mike Pence said the American people have long believed in the power of prayer.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln urged Americans to pray so that in his words, the united cry of the nation would be heard on high and answered with a blessing and since 1952, every president has issued a proclamation in the honour of the National Day of Prayer, he said.

"And today, President Donald Trump continues that tradition here in the Rose Garden. And as we gather here, I know we all feel that it is especially fitting that we do so this year during this time. In these times of hard ache for tens of thousands of American families and hardship for tens of millions, now more than ever it is important that we take time to pause and pray for America," Pence said.

This is probably the first time that a priest from the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey attended and recited prayers at the White House. The BAPS temple in Robbinsville is one of the largest Swaminarayan temples outside India. PTI

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Covid-19: Trump invites Hindu priest to chant Shanti Path for safety of all at White House - The Tribune India

In the last day, your administration has talked of winding down the coronavirus task force and now you've said it will continue indefinitely. Will you be at the meetings and briefings? Or will you speak separately, and undercut or contradict your experts?

So many of my military colleagues have tried to help, and all understand that you don't take criticism, and even suggestions are poorly received. But the United States needs real leadership now, and others around the world are also looking to us. So, as someone who has spent most of my life leading, studying or teaching leadership, may I respectfully offer some observations that may be helpful? And may I speak frankly? This might be your last chance to get it right.

First point, leaders have to gain trust. It doesn't come automatically with the office. You have to earn it by your performance. The public must see and believe that your public duties come first, before every other interest -- business, friends, or even family. And in the case of this medical emergency, before your re-election, too! When you worry about polls and rallies, you're undercutting the public's trust and faith in your leadership.

Another thing about trust: be careful what you say. Any statements later proven false will hurt your reputation. Don't blurt out observations and possibilities -- we know you were just thinking out loud about the bleach and disinfectants -- but every statement you make is going to be judged. That is the burden of leadership. You can't be flip-flopping on what you say -- and, honestly, you would be the first to point that out in an opponent. You cannot lead if people cannot trust you.

Second, leaders have to have a strategy and a plan to get there. You're absolutely right to recognize that ultimately, we have to be able to reopen the economy. And you gave us a pretty good strategy for reopening the country while we wait for the vaccine -- but you seem to be undercutting your own strategy by encouraging protesters to demonstrate for an earlier opening. Why undercut your own strategy? Unless you're slyly pushing to open the economy earlier in order to have good "numbers" for your reelection. Of course, this goes back to the trust issue.

Mr. President, if you deal successfully with Covid-19, you will likely be reelected. If you prematurely push opening of the economy, and the US lurches into repetitive spikes of Covid-19, you will likely not be re-elected, so, first things first.

Third, leaders accept their responsibilities. You are America's highest elected official: the whole executive branch works for you, and anything they do or say is ultimately your responsibility. No one expects you to be perfect, but as the sign on Harry Truman's desk famously pointed out, "the buck stops here." Admit some mistakes, or acknowledge that your projections or views have changed, and explain why. If you dodge responsibilities now, you won't be able to claim credit when we win this struggle. And by the way, stop blaming your predecessors -- that makes you look small, and you sure don't want that.

Fourth, top level leaders aren't expected to know everything -- but they are expected to bring in the right experts and use their expertise. Your experts are constantly dodging and weaving around your public statements. It's obvious you have them on a razor's edge of intimidation and fear. You have all the power -- you don't need to lead that way. When they give you inaccurate information or disproven projections, replace them, and hold them accountable, but otherwise, put them out front to discuss the technicalities, and don't dispute, correct, or go beyond them in public.

Fifth, leaders show empathy in times of trouble. Already American losses are staggering in personal terms, and many of these losses are among your blue-collar supporters. These people have families, loved ones, friends, and colleagues who expect your empathy, and if they have a sense that these losses are nothing but a "number standing in the way of your reelection," they will hold you personally accountable. Show empathy everyday, visit the families, talk to the doctors and nurses on the front lines, console, console, console -- this is what leadership demands.

Sixth, good leaders pull their teams together. To some extent, you have carved out a new political model for modern America, built on supercharging your base, at the expense of others in the electorate, as well as delivering the "goods" in terms of judgeships, deregulation and tax cuts. It worked well enough to get you elected, and to keep money coming into your election campaign. But in this crisis, as we say in my part of the country, "that dog won't hunt." You now have to lead a country, not win an election, and you know it. The United States, every one of us, is your "team," whether it is in maintaining social distance, pushing forward innovative solutions, or helping to work the logistics of meatpacking or supplying face masks -- and whether they are Democrats or Republicans.

Please, don't seek out more enemies -- it only hurts everyone. While the federal government rightly relies on the states for an assessment and response to local conditions, this is your opportunity to go beyond partisanship and pull the country together. Please stop the silly competition with those Democratic governors -- it totally undercuts you and your Administration. You could be so much more effective if you brought them onto your team and built mutual respect.

Seventh, good leaders lead by example. So, if you want people to wear face masks, wear a face mask. The Honeywell visit Tuesday was good, but you vitiated its success by not publicly wearing a mask. And of course, the press made a big deal of it, because they believe you're one of those "do as I say, not as I do" leaders -- and that goes back to the trust issue again.

Eighth, good leaders have a thick skin, at least in public. They don't allow their fears, resentments, or unscripted anger to show -- it's about control. In private, sure, they get mad, they nurse their wounded pride, and they try to learn from every event and comment, and move on. As we used to say in the military, "don't wear your heart on your sleeve," where it gets bruised and bumped constantly. So please, stop swatting back at every comment that hurts you -- that may work to get a Twitter following, as entertainment, but it is not an effective way to lead.

So, Mr. President, I know this advice sounds harsh, and it's painful, but you are a wily strategist, a fact that your opponents often misunderstand. You are also an able negotiator, as you most recently proved by making the deal for the 10 million barrels per day cut in oil output. And you are very tough and resilient. Those are all good qualities. But you cannot be an effective leader without relentless and painful self-examination. Take it in or reject it, after due consideration.

My aim in writing this is to help you, because today, the United States and indeed, the whole world, needs leadership -- and though some may not like it, you're the man. We ALL need you at your best!

Sincerely,

Wesley Clark

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President Trump, here's how to take charge of this crisis - CNN