Oh did they now.

A review of public statements by Trump administration officials urging confidence in the markets as the coronavirus spread reveals a stark contrast with the private behaviour of some GOP lawmakers. 

While the president and his top economic adviser late February were urging Americans to show confidence in the stock market and invest as the coronavirus spread, at least two GOP senators had already privately dumped stocks — after receiving classified briefings on the damage likely to be caused by the disease. 

In other words Trump and Kudlow were telling people to buy stocks when they knew the market was going to tank. Meanwhile were they putting their own money at risk? Nah.

Deputy Labor Secretary in the Obama admin:

But we now know that lawmakers in Trump’s own party were taking a very different course of action. At least two had been briefed with information from government officials on the likely devastating impact of the disease which contrasted sharply with the White House’s optimistic messaging about the likely minimal impact of the virus.

They lie to us but not to each other.

Zookeepers are the best people.

But wait – people are still thinking about other things. It’s not all pandemic from morning to night.

March 17, less than a week ago – a guy at Leeds City Council sends a hostile letter to someone about a Woman’s Place event at Leeds City Hall more than four months ago. What is Leeds City Council guy so hostile about four months later and during a pandemic? He’s hostile about “alleged statements about misgendering by speakers at the meeting and a Social Media post which was allegedly tweeted by the organisers about the use of gendered toilets and which toilets guests should use.” More than four months later, during a pandemic. Omigod some women talked about misgendering four months ago! Send them a fierce bossy letter immediately! Don’t forget your mask!

Also…”As a service user of a building belonging to Leeds City Council i[t] is not appropriate for any organisers of a meeting using the venue to make such comments on which toilets visitors could and couldn’t use and the post could be classified as offensive.” So…people holding a meeting at Leeds City Hall can’t say the women’s toilets are to the right and the men’s to the left? It’s now forbidden to say which toilets are which and where they are? Or are the toilets at Leeds City Hall now all “gender-neutral”? Or what? Is it really now municipal government policy to bully and rebuke women for using women’s toilets?

All this “could,” the letter says, “be classed as offensive and not in accordance with our equality policy,” the one that says women have to put up with men in the women’s toilets, so “we would welcome your comments on these points which were brought to our attention within 15 working days.”

Within fifteen working days during a pandemic, that is, when everyone is self-isolating and having to deal with the logistics of self-isolation but nevertheless has nothing better to do than send “comments” to Leeds City Council on the fact that some women dared to hold an event and say where the women’s toilets are.

I can think of some comments I would make. Well, two comments. Fuck, and off.

Fauci spoke to ScienceInsider yesterday.

Anthony Fauci, who to many watching the now-regular White House press briefings on the pandemic has become the scientific voice of reason about how to respond to the new coronavirus, runs from place to place in normal times and works long hours. Now the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has even less time to sleep and travels at warp speed, typically racing daily from his office north of Washington D.C. to his home in the capital, and then to the White House to gather with the Coronavirus Task Force in the Situation Room. He then usually flanks President Donald Trump addressing the media–and when he isn’t there, concerned tweets begin immediately. Shortly before he planned to head to the White House for a task force meeting today, he phoned ScienceInsider for a speedy chat.

The first question was how is he. He’s wiped but otherwise ok. Neither infected nor fired as far as he knows.

How is he managing the not fired part?

Well, that’s pretty interesting because to his [President Trump’s] credit, even though we disagree on some things, he listens. He goes his own way. He has his own style.  But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.

Yes, he does go his own way, he does have his own style, and…he shouldn’t. His own way and his own style are anti-scientific, anti-thoughtful, anti-careful, anti-reasonable, anti-responsible – they deviate from every quality we need in an emergency. What we need from Trump for a change is a whole lot of conformity. We need him to find out what the norms are and then act according to them. We don’t need a freelance insult comic for this job.

And it’s nice that he listens to Fauci, I suppose, but since he still then goes his own heedless murderous way, it’s not much help.

Q. You stood nearby while President Trump was in the Rose Garden shaking hands with people. You’re a doctor. You must have had a reaction like, Sir, please don’t do that.

A: Yes, I say that to the task force. I say that to the staff.  We should not be doing that. Not only that–we should be physically separating a bit more on those press conferences. To his credit, the Vice President [Mike Pence] is really pushing for physical separation of the task force [during meetings]. He keeps people out of the room–as soon as the room gets like more than 10 people or so, it’s ‘Out, everybody else out, go to a different room.’ So with regard to the task force, the Vice President is really a bear in making sure that we don’t crowd 30 people into the Situation Room, which is always crowded. So he’s definitely adhering to that. The situation on stage [for the press briefings] is a bit more problematic. I keep saying, is there any way we can get a virtual press conference. Thus far, no. But when you’re dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things 1,2,3,4 times, and then it happens. So I’m going to keep pushing.

When you’re dealing with this White House you have to say things a hundred times before anyone listens. It’s not normal, it’s just this White House.

Q: What happens before each press conference? What do you do as a group?

A: We’re in the task force. We sit down for an hour and a half, go over all the issues on the agenda. And then we proceed from there to an ante room right in front of the Oval Office to talk about what are going to be the messages, what are the kind of things we’re going to want to emphasize? Then we go in to see the president, we present [our consensus] to him and somebody writes a speech. Then he gets up and ad libs on his speech. And then we’re up there to try and answer questions.

While Trump is up there to lie and brag and pick fights.

[Updating to stipulate: I’m not criticizing Fauci here, just reminding myself and others of the truth about Trump.]

Oh, Gwyneth, not now.

It’s true about Trump’s letter to Kim.

Washington and California and New York have to wait until most of us are dead, but that nice Mister Kim is a whole other story.

Rand Paul’s colleagues are not happy that he went scampering around the Senate for days after being exposed to C19 and taking a test.

Jake Tapper has the details:

Then he got the test, and he went straight home, really he did. But it was some days later than he should have.

Trump did another rally packed with lies about the pandemic this afternoon.

He couldn’t just say “veterans’ hospitals,” he had to repeat a chronic lie about himself as a rescuer of veterans.

But Trump said we’re not going to have that. All that’s required, surely.

What great things? What great things will happen? Name them. List them. Tell us when. Explain how. Full details.

Why can’t we let the cruise lines go out of business? They’re grotesque.

In other words hell yes he’ll take bailout money for his own businesses. What do you think he is, some kind of fucking charity?

Fauci wasn’t there today.

Well thank god he’s concentrating on the pandemic.

We’re not.

Take health insurance away during a pandemic! It’s genius!