R&I – FS
(CNN)The often-at-odds collection of health experts and political figures who comprise President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force now appear less influential than ever as Covid-19 cases begin to spike again three weeks before Election Day.
While still technically in place, people close to the White House task force and others inside the administration describe a panel that has, for all practical purposes, been swept aside by politics and competing interests. Instead of advising Trump on a response, members of the task force now find themselves entirely at odds with a President whose own bout with the disease has only emboldened him further to ignore their recommendations.
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With Vice President Mike Pence — the task force’s leader — on the road every day campaigning, the weekly governors’ call he usually heads was led Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Governors were provided an update on the status of the pandemic, vaccine development and concerns about small home gatherings, with input from the task force’s health experts, including Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and Adm. Brett Giroir.
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The panel also continues to release weekly reports with tailored recommendations to each state, a practice it began in June.
But those reports, which often paint a picture at odds with Trump’s more optimistic statements, aren’t made public. And task force officials haven’t conducted a briefing from the White House in weeks as Trump looks to convey a cheery view of the crisis, despite the new increases.
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“We’re rounding that final turn,” Trump said Wednesday during a remote address to the Economic Clubs of New York, Washington, Chicago, Sheboygan and Pittsburgh. He went on to claim the media has “undermined our public health efforts and put innocent lives in danger.”
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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/politics/task-force-coronavirus-trump/index.html