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Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse ...

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Jared has now assumed center stage in the war on coronavirus


It really is hard to ascertain what is going on in the Trump White House to reach this level of folly.  The only thing I can think of is that Trump thought Pence was being too soft on Democratic governors and has called in Jared to be the enforcer.  

States have repeatedly begged the federal government for more emergency medical equipment, but to this point have been slow in getting it.  In the case of New York, by far the hardest hit state, Trump and his surrogates have even questioned whether Cuomo is inflating his numbers.  Jared has similarly disputed the governor's numbers, claiming he will be monitoring hospital needs in the state. 

This is something the state already does.  Governor Cuomo went to great lengths yesterday to describe the procedure the state has in place to create a central supply store of surplus equipment, which the state can provide on an as-need basis to deal with the crisis.  He says at the current rate of infection, the state has about 6 days worth of ventilators.  Beyond that extraordinary measures will have to be put in place.  

One would think the governor working with state health officials would have a pretty good bead on this, but not according to Trump and Jared.  They continue to believe New York hospitals are hoarding supplies, and that some nurses are selling this surplus on the black market.  One can't even begin to assess the level of cynicism that would lead the president and his son-in-law to treat their native state in this way.

It was Jared who downplayed this virus from the start, blaming the media for exaggerating the pandemic.  Trump went along with this view until the cases spiraled out of control.  You would think he would put Jared on the bench but instead put his son-in-law in charge of a shadow task force, ostensibly under the command of Pence.  Jared, being Jared, thought he could outsmart all the health experts with a little research of his own. He seemed to convince Dr. Birx, who commended his effort to find an entrepreneurial approach to the crisis.

I suppose Jared was supposed to try to coordinate efforts with industry to produce the badly needed ventilators and other medical equipment to meet the massive shortfall projected in the weeks ahead.  We've heard about the attempt to get GM and Ventec to produce ventilators, and now Trump is pressing 3M to produce masks.  The only problem is that it will take months to see any of these goods materialize.  New York needs them now!

Gov. Cuomo has reached out to other states and is actively urging companies within his state to produce the equipment necessary at premium prices.  He even said the state is willing to cover the costs of converting their plants to the production of medical supplies like N95 masks.  As it is, the state is paying top dollar for whatever supplies are available on the open market to meet the growing demand of state hospitals.

The total lack of urgency on the part of the Trump White House is the most alarming factor in all this.  Dr. Fauci appears to be the lone voice urging a faster response and a nationwide lockdown within the administration.  Trump remains content to let the states play it by ear, even as some governors display an incredible ignorance of how this virus spreads.  Meanwhile, it has been reported that his secret service is on standby for a round of golf at a moment's notice. 



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