Officials debate what to tell Trump about coronavirus outbreak [???]

MSNBC ^ | 02/18/2020 | Steve Benen

[Red Badger]

As the world confronts a coronavirus outbreak, Trump administration officials aren't sure "what information the president should receive."

One of the first signs of trouble in the White House came a couple of weeks ago, when Donald Trump published a tweet praising Chinese President Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. The American president said of his counterpart in Beijing, "He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack."

The Republican's gushing praise made some administration officials uncomfortable, largely because they believe China's response has been wholly inadequate and dangerously opaque.

It was against this backdrop that the Washington Post had an interesting report over the weekend:

"Although the United States has so far effectively contained the virus, some senior administration officials said there have been tensions within the administration over what information the president should receive, his posture toward China and what message to send to the American public."

All of this is obviously of great importance from a public-health perspective, but I was struck by the reporting that there's some behind-the-scenes disagreement between administration officials over what they want Trump to know about the emergency. I never worked in the Obama White House, but from what I gather, his team never quarreled over "what information the president should receive" when dealing with the Ebola threat in 2014, for example.

The Post's article went on to note that the president's perspective on the coronavirus outbreak has apparently been shaped in large part by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who has reportedly told physicians "not to get too far into the details of the virus and the outbreak with Trump."

[null and void]

Why not just tell him the truth? Isn’t that their job? Or are these more ObaMao/Deep State holdovers?

Well said.

If any president in our history can handle the truth, it's Trump.

Bring Out Your Dead

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

So far the false positive rate is 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

If a quarantine saves just one child's life, it's worth it.

[ifinnegan]

They all need to be fired.

Epitome of politicizing health and public safety and deep state thought.

[little jeremiah]

This MSNBC article is based, apparently, on a Politico article.

It is propaganda meant to make Trump look clueless, uninformed, stupid and unable to make decisions.

The “officials” who don’t know what to tell Trump are nameless, as always.

The entire “article” is a froth of idiocy. They are clutching at not just straws, but imaginary straws, to make Trump look bad.

The writers of this article and the WaPo snip which the article is founded on, and one D from HI, are Trump hating, MAGA hating Demsheviks.

[exDemMom]

The Post's article went on to note that the president's perspective on the coronavirus outbreak has apparently been shaped in large part by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who has reportedly told physicians "not to get too far into the details of the virus and the outbreak with Trump."

Seriously?

Whenever I have written a scientific analysis for high level politicians or officials, I've been told to keep it at a sixth grade level. Officials do not need to know the relationship between the size of particles expelled during a sneeze and the number of infective units contained within, but they do need to know that you should remain at least 6 feet from someone who is coughing and sneezing.

Clearly, MSNBC is trying to make something out of standard operating procedures. I'll bet any thing that none of their reporters would be able to make head or tails out of any of the scientific papers now being published on the coronavirus.

The Obama administration was not given detailed scientific data on Ebolavirus, either.

[Rebelbase]

Donald Jr. is internet savvy and informed. He’ll let his father know what the undercurrent news is saying.

[Red Badger]

But inadvertently they make Trump look good by essentially telling their readers that the bureaucracy is hiding critical information from the POTUS, something he has claimed all along, proving him right......................

[Lopeover]

This is a retarded article. The President knows more than we know. He has also probably seen the videos on twitter like anyone else. He probably knows China’s government is lying about it.

[mad_as_he$$]

Apparently you and others still don’t understand Trump’s method of handling people. He praises first and gives them the chance to do the right thing. If they don’t get it right he unleashes the pain. Simple management technique. Xi “refined” some things and apparently stumbled on a means of slowing the virus down. If the numbers do not continue to drop then Trump will bring the pain. Meanwhile Trump reduced the air traffic from China and established quarantine zones here at home.

[grey_whiskers]

Trump’s IQ is reportedly 156.
The average MD, I once read, is 132.
Trump is 1.5 sigma above The MDs.

I’m not worried about what they tell him.

[Redwood71]

“Please forgive, but I do not believe this.”

Really? You can’t trust MSNBC?

rwood

[Redwood71]

“Please forgive, but I do not believe this.”

Really? You can’t trust MSNBC?

rwood

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar...reportedly told physicians "not to get too far into the details of the virus and the outbreak with Trump."

That is sensational yellow journalism. No executive can absorb all the details. Hierarchical organizations naturally filter information that flows upward.

Every executive and board presentation I put together in my career never exposed all the details; you learned how to condense, condense, condense until you get to the most critical information the exec needs to evaluate and make a decision.

This was written by a journalist with an agenda (likely) or has zero experience in executive meetings (likely) or both (highly likely).

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I’d wager he’s seen videos and information from our intelligence source inside China that we have not seen and haven’t leaked to the public.

[Red Badger]

The Plan

In the beginning, there was a plan,
And then came the assumptions,
And the assumptions were without form,
And the plan without substance,

And the darkness was upon the face of the workers,
And they spoke among themselves saying,
“It is a crock of shit and it stinks.”

And the workers went unto their Supervisors and said,
“It is a pile of dung, and we cannot live with the smell.”

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers saying,
“It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong,
Such that none may abide by it.”

And the Managers went unto their Directors saying,
“It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength.”

And the Directors spoke among themselves saying to one another,
“It contains that which aids plants growth, and it is very strong.”

And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents saying unto them,
“It promotes growth, and it is very powerful.”

And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him,
“This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor
Of the company With very powerful effects.”

And the President looked upon the Plan
And saw that it was good,
And the Plan became Policy.

And this, my friend, is how shit happens.

[Mr. K]

That’s just his way.

When he wants to deal effectively with people he doesn’t first bad-mouth them.

Only if they attack him first.

[Grimmy]

Headline: MSNBC Makes Up Sh**.
Subtitle: Idiots still react to sh** made up by MSNBC as if there’s any chance in hell that it’s not made up sh**, thereby proving that they are, indeed, idiots.

[DouglasKC]

A msnbc article about a Washington Posr article. You can bet it will be completely free of bias.

[Cobra64]

Yup, anyone bending the truth or withholding facts should be fired immediately.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

“ Or are these more ObaMao/Deep State holdovers?”

No, this is MSNBC. Note the intonation about the adult bureaucrats not knowing how much info they should give to the “child”. This is 100% pure propaganda bullshit.

[bgill]

Trump has already figured things out on his own. He doesn’t need to deal with these little weasels. Fire them.