WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, March 9, 2020

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1/ Trump had contact with two Republican congressmen before they self-quarantined themselves after learning they had been exposed to someone diagnosed with coronavirus at CPAC. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who attended a party with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this weekend, learned shortly after Air Force One was airborne that he had been in contact with a person at CPAC who has since been diagnosed with coronavirus. Gaetz then sat in a section of the plane by himself. Rep. Doug Collins, who had also been in contact with a person at CPAC with coronavirus, shook hands with Trump during a CDC tour on Friday. Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Paul Gosar also announced they would self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person with coronavirus at the CPAC. Gaetz and Gosar both mocked the coronavirus spending package passed last week by the House. Gosar said the money was unnecessary with so few people sick in the U.S. while Gaetz wore a gas mask to the vote. Days later, Gaetz announced that a constituent had died of COVID-19. (New York Times / CNBC / CNN / Axios / CNN / NBC News / The Hill / Washington Post / Washington Post / Gizmodo)

• COVID-19 has infected more than 550 people in the U.S., killing more than 20. More than 111,000 people have been infected worldwide, while more than 3,800 have died.

2/ The White House overruled health officials who wanted to warn Americans to avoid commercial airlines because of the coronavirus. The CDC originally submitted a plan that recommended that elderly and medically vulnerable Americans avoid flying as a way of trying to control the outbreak, but the White House ordered the air travel language removed from from the plan. The Trump administration, however, has since issued guidance that certain people should not be traveling and the CDC quietly updated its website to tell older adults to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid crowds. Administration officials pushed back, calling it “complete fiction” and saying “it was never a recommendation to the Task Force.” (Associated Press)

• Trump, wearing a “Keep America Great” hat, said he told Mike Pence not to compliment Washington Gov. Jay Inslee because “he is a snake.” Inslee had criticized the administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying he wanted Trump to stick to the science when discussing the virus. (Seattle Times / Politic...

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