Former Trump adviser fires back at Dr. Birx over her coronavirus accusations: 'It is an Orwellian attempt to rewrite history'



Dr. Scott Atlas, a former medical adviser to former President Donald Trump, fired back at accusations from Dr. Deborah Birx, who also worked in the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, excerpts of congressional testimony from Birx were released where she accused the Trump administration of being too distracted by the election. She also claimed in the comments from early October that 30% to 40% of the coronavirus deaths during Trump's term could have been avoided.

She went on to blame some voices skeptical of social distancing guidelines.

"Do I think that we could have done more on unified messaging coming out of the White House?" Birx asked rhetorically. "Do I think we could have done more on — very early on showing the efficacy of masks? Yes. And I think that would have decreased the confusion."

Atlas immediately fired back at Birx.

"It is an Orwellian attempt to rewrite history to blame those who criticized the lockdowns that were widely implemented for the failure of the lockdowns that were widely implemented," said Atlas in a statement Tuesday.

"The policy recommendations of Dr. Birx as Coordinator of the White House Task Force were implemented by governors throughout nearly the entire nation during 2020. Those policies failed to stop the dying, failed to stop the infection from spreading, and inflicted massive health damage and destruction, particularly on working class and lower-income families and on our children," he continued.

"History's biggest failure of public health policy lies directly at the hands of those who recommended the lockdowns and those who implemented them, not on those who advised otherwise. Period," he concluded.

Atlas went on to deny that he advised to "let the infection widely without mitigation to achieve herd immunity."

The denial by Atlas seemed at odds with comments he made in October 2020 advocating for lower-risk people to become infected.

Here's more about the coronavirus in the U.S.:

Signs Of Hope As New Coronavirus Cases Drop In The USwww.youtube.com

Trump’s Response to COVID-19 Relief Bill Causes Internet to Absolutely EXPLODE

Trump’s Response to COVID-19 Relief Bill Causes Internet to Absolutely EXPLODE

Columbia med school professor calls for President Trump to be declared a 'public health threat'



Dr. Raymond Givens, a cardiologist and professor at the Columbia University Medical Center, would like to see President Donald Trump officially declared a "public health threat."

What are the details?

In an op-ed in MedPage Today, Givens claimed that Trump is "one of the most serious threats to public health and human rights in modern American history" and that the medical community has a responsibility to declare him as such.

"We are ethically bound to identify threats to the health of patients and populations, to speak the truth even if it provokes the anger of powerful people. Refusal to do so is malpractice," Givens argued. "The [American Medical Association] Declaration of Professional Responsibility asserts that physicians have a duty to 'educate the public and polity about present and future threats to the health of humanity' and to advocate for 'political changes that ameliorate suffering and contribute to human well-being.'"

Consequently, he wrote, "the entire American medical establishment has a duty to name Donald Trump, specifically, as a public health threat and strongly recommend that the upcoming election end his presidency."

https://t.co/ngvfRkzXkG My challenge to American medicine to speak the truth- that @realDonaldTrump is a threat to… https://t.co/58MLlihYAz
— Raymond Givens (@Raymond Givens)1603472042.0

What did he say specifically?

Givens specifically took issue with Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, throughout the lengthy diatribe characterizing Trump as chaotic, unprepared, and wantonly reckless.

President Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been chaotic at best but more often destructive. He has knowingly and repeatedly downplayed the gravity of the outbreak while hobbling the CDC and undermining public confidence in the agency when trust is needed most. He has launched attacks, often ad hominem, against our best scientists and public health experts. His supporters have followed his lead in defying masking and social distancing recommendations. Based upon exceptionally low-quality data from a grossly irresponsible study, Trump promoted hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as antivirals, contributing to their regrettable embrace by desperate healthcare providers in an unprecedented crisis; multiple studies have since refuted their utility, while toxicity concerns remain.

Furthermore, Givens blamed Trump for spreading the disease, noting that "amid rising caseloads across much of the country, he has held large rallies packed with barefaced attendees."

But it wasn't all about the coronavirus. Givens also excoriated Trump's supposed racism, too. At one point, he referred to the president as America's "racist-in-chief," and elsewhere he derided the fact that while racism is now considered a public health threat, Trump is not.

Medicine acknowledges racism as a public health crisis but is silent about the racist vitriol emanating from the White House. Donald Trump exploited the racist and xenophobic "birther" conspiracy against President Barack Obama, whose election unleashed a spasm of rage and resentment that Trump rode all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Candidate Trump slandered Mexican immigrants as rapists, drug dealers, and carriers of infectious disease — the last smear now particularly ironic.

It is not immediately clear what the repercussions would be should the medical community follow Givens in his condemnation.

(H/T: The College Fix)

Biden ad features struggling small business owner under Trump’s COVID economy — only he’s actually a wealthy Democratic donor​



A Biden campaign ad released Sunday attempts to portray a humble Michigan small business owner struggling to stay afloat while his business is being decimated by President Trump's "COVID response."

"For 50 years, the Blind Pig has been open and crowded, but right now it's an empty room," says Joe Malcoun in the ad, describing popular Ann Arbor, Mich., live music venue "The Blind Pig," which he co-owns.

"This is the reality of Trump's COVID response," he continues. "We don't know how much longer we can survive not having any revenue. A lot of restaurants and bars that have been mainstays for years will not make it through this."

What's the problem?

The ad would certainly be effective if not for its misleading portrayal of Malcoun and its incoherent attack on the president's pandemic response, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

But as it turns out, struggling small business owner Malcoun is actually a wealthy Democratic donor who contributed $5,000 to the former vice president's presidential campaign in July as the pandemic raged on, Federal Election Commission filings show.

In an interview with a local news outlet in 2018, Malcoun described becoming a well-known angel investor for local tech startups after inheriting a large sum of money from his wife's late grandfather. During the interview, he characterized the inheritance as "like winning the lottery" and described money as "no object" after that.

"Usually you become a CEO and you make money, and then the money allows you to become an angel investor first," he said. "I happened to have different circumstances where I had money [first]."

While there is certainly nothing wrong with Malcoun coming into money and using it wisely to further his family's financial success, the full context of his financial situation gives reason to doubt that he is just like many small business owners in America who have been negatively impacted by coronavirus lockdowns.

The Blind Pig | Joe Biden For President 2020 youtu.be

What else?

Furthermore, as noted by the Free Beacon in its report, President Trump has actually railed against the kind of lockdowns that the ad seems to be describing.

Rather, such lockdowns, which have resulted in thousands of Americans being put out of work, were implemented in Michigan by order of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has warned that he'd implement a national lockdown if needed to combat the coronavirus.

Nevertheless, Malcoun complains, "This is Donald Trump's economy. There's no plan and you don't know how to go forward. It makes me so angry. My only hope for my family, and for this business, and my community, is that Joe Biden wins this election."

Yet in a June interview with MLive.com, Malcoun indicated Bling Pig owners weren't necessarily forced to stop having live music shows but chose to.

"There weren't a lot of people showing up, which is frankly what we wanted and expected," he told the news outlet. "Now that we tried it and saw it's really hard to communicate what it means to have a really socially distanced and live music show, we decided it's not really worth trying."

Malcoun did not return a request for comment to the Free Beacon.

(H/T: The Washington Free Beacon)

Trump says he would 'love' to donate his plasma after bout with COVID-19, declares he's off coronavirus medication



In his first on-camera interview since being diagnosed with COVID-19, President Donald Trump proclaimed that he is no longer taking coronavirus medication. Trump divulged details about his battle with COVID-19 during an interview and "medical evaluation" with Dr. Marc Siegel, a medical contributor to Fox News and associate professor of medicine at New York University since 1988.

During Siegel's interview with the president that aired on Friday's episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Trump gave an update on his health and said he is off coronavirus medication.

Siegel first asked Trump how he feels. "I feel really good. I feel very strong," Trump replied. "I know a lot of people that have had the COVID or the China virus as I call it because it came from China. But I feel really, really strong and a lot of people don't feel that way sometimes for awhile afterwards but are very good."

DR. SIEGEL: “How are you feeling now?”TRUMP: “I feel really good. I feel very strong.” https://t.co/dHiM6oYPcj
— Danny De Urbina (@Danny De Urbina)1602289508.0

Trump said he had either beat COVID-19 or the respiratory disease is in remission. "I haven't found out numbers or anything yet, but I have been retested and I know that I am at either of the bottom of the scale or free," Trump said

"Right now, I am medication free," Trump said during the interview. "I'm not taking any medications as of probably eight hours ago. I'm medication free which, frankly, makes me feel good. I don't like medication."

"We pretty much finished and now we'll see how things go," Trump continued. "Pretty much nothing. We've had our final doses of just about everything."

Trump praised the experimental coronavirus antibody treatment manufactured by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which he was given while he was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center.

"Actually, the original transfusion, that's supposed to last for about four months, you know that?" Trump said. "The antibodies? And I think you're supposed to be protected anywhere from two to four months and maybe longer than that, I don't know."

"They tested the lungs ... with different machinery ... and it tested good," Trump explained. "Initially, I think they had some congestion in there, but ultimately it tested good, and with each day it got better, and I think that's why they wanted me to stay frankly."

Siegel asked the president how he thought he contracted coronavirus, Trump answered, "I don't know. They had some big events at the White House and perhaps there."

"Nobody really knows for sure. Numerous people have contracted it, but, you know, people have contracted it all over the world," President Trump added. "It's highly contagious. That's one thing you learn. This is a contagious disease."

Trump told Siegel that he would "love" to donate his convalescent plasma to help other COVID-19 patients.

When asked by Siegel if he would donate his plasma, Trump responded, "I will. Nobody's asked me that question, actually, but I will. If that's if they want me to do it, I'd love to do it."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states:

"Convalescent refers to anyone recovering from a disease. Plasma is the yellow, liquid part of blood that contains antibodies. Antibodies are proteins made by the body in response to infections. Convalescent plasma from patients who have already recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may contain antibodies against COVID-19. Giving this convalescent plasma to hospitalized people currently fighting COVID-19 may help them recover."

In August, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for "investigational convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients as part of the agency's ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19."

On Thursday, White House physician Dr. Sean Conley gave Trump the green light to "return to public engagements" as soon as Saturday.

President Trump will hold an in-person event at the White House on Saturday, then return to the campaign trail with a rally in Florida on Monday, his first campaign event since he was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to treat the virus.


Breaking: Debate commission cancels second presidential debate after Trump refuses virtual format



The Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the second debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden after the president refused to participate in the virtual format.

CNN reported the development on Friday evening and cited a source familiar with the plans. The Wall Street Journal first reported the decision.

The reported cancelation of the debate caps off an angry feud between the two campaigns and the commission as they argued over when to have the debate and how to have it conducted safely.

A spokesperson for the Biden campaign released a statement confirming the decision.

"Vice President Biden looks forward to making his case to the American people about how to overcome this pandemic, restore American leadership and our alliances in the world, and bring the American people together," said Andrew Bates.

"It's shameful that Donald Trump ducked the only debate in which the voters get to ask the questions — but it's no surprise," he continued.

"Everyone knows that Donald Trump likes to bully reporters, but obviously he doesn't have the guts to answer for his record to voters at the same time as Vice President Biden," he concluded.

The president tested positive for coronavirus and his physician said in a statement on Thursday that his treatment had gone successfully and that he was ready to begin public appearances again.

Here's more about the debate over the debate:

Trump rejects virtual debate with Bidenwww.youtube.com

President Trump now full-go on striking 'big' COVID relief deal with Congress just 3 days after scrapping negotiations



Just three days after abruptly calling for the end of coronavirus relief negotiations until after the election, President Donald Trump has now signaled that he is determined to strike a big deal with Congress before the election.

"Covid Relief Negotiations are moving along. Go Big!" the president tweeted Friday morning.

Covid Relief Negotiations are moving along. Go Big!
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1602258520.0

What are the details?

Earlier in the morning, Jake Sherman of Politico reported that Trump now wanted a deal "badly" and that White House officials were planning on working all next week to get it done.

Later, Sherman and company reported in the Politico Playbook PM that the White House's new top-line number is $1.8 trillion, up from the GOP's previous top line, which was $1.5 trillion.

The Trump administration is also aiming for $300 billion in state and local funding — which is also higher than before but also still likely too low for Democrats — and a boost in stimulus payments to replace the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The developments are a complete reversal from the president's position earlier this week, when he tweeted that negotiations were off until after Nov. 3, blaming Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) for "not negotiating in good faith."

"I am rejecting their request and ... have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business," he added.

Hours later, he put the ball in Pelosi's court by tweeting his support for standalone $1,200 stimulus checks, airline payroll support, and small business funding.

Why the reversal?

Speculation reportedly swirled on Capitol Hill following news that Trump wanted negotiations to continue.

Axios reported that the change of heart came as a result of negative reactions to his tweet.

"Trump was spooked after seeing the instant drop in the stock market and intense backlash to his tweet, and he has since directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to push for a more comprehensive relief bill before the election," the news outlet said.

Politico was less sure in its analysis. "He may want noise to fill the silence. Maybe he wants a bump in the stock market. We're not mood readers or psychiatrists or psychics," that report stated.

What else?

Despite the administration's renewed desire to make an agreement, negotiations still have a long way to go and it may be particularly difficult to get fiscal conservatives on board should the administration meet some Democratic demands.

In response to the news, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said, "The situation is kind of murky, and I think the murkiness is a result of the proximity to the election and everybody kind of trying to elbow for political advantage. I'd like to see us rise above that like we did back in March and April, but I think that's unlikely in the next three weeks."

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Doctors OK Trump to get back to campaign trail



The president's physician said that President Donald Trump could return to public events after completing treatment for coronavirus in an update released on Thursday.

Dr. Sean Conley listed the president's vital signs in the statement and said he was doing extremely well.

"Today the President has completed his course of therapy for the COVID-19 as prescribed by his team of physicians," read the statement in part.

"Since returning home, his physical exam has remained stable and devoid of any indications to suggest progressions of illness. Overall he's responded extremely well to treatment, without evidence on examination of adverse therapeutic effects," Conley continued.

"Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday's diagnosis, and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the President's safe return to public engagements at that time," he concluded.

The president stunned the political world on Friday morning when he tweeted that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus. He was taken to Walter Reed Medical Center out of an abundance of precaution later that day, and returned to the White House on Monday.

The announcement might affect the debate over whether to conduct a second presidential debate between the president and his competitor, Joe Biden.

On Thursday the Commission on Presidential Debates said that the debate would be conducted virtually instead of being in person. The president immediately objected and said that he would not participate in a virtual debate.

"The commission changed the debate style and that's not acceptable to us," said the president to Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.

"I'm not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That's not what debating's all about, you sit behind a computer and do a debate, it's ridiculous," he added later.

"They're trying to protect Biden," said the president. "Everybody is."

The Trump campaign later called on the commission to delay the debates by one week in order that they may be conducted in person.

Here's more about the debate about the debates:

Trump tells Fox Business he won't do virtual debatewww.youtube.com

San Diego school district removes letter written by Trump from food baskets because it said 'consider wearing a face covering in public'



The San Diego School Unified District is under fire after they pulled a letter written by the president to students from food baskets because the language the president used was not strong enough when it comes to masks.

Specifically, the district objected to a portion of the letter which read, "Practice social distancing and consider wearing a face covering when in public," because it did not not state that face masks are required in public. In other words, even though President Trump specifically encouraged recipients of the letter to wear a face mask, the school district considered his letter objectionable because it did not order students to wear a face mask.

Superintendent Cindy Marten told Politico that the decision was made "in order to protect local families from being misled on how to protect themselves from becoming infected."

The letter included in the food baskets has been criticized by opponents of the president as politicizing the pandemic. President Donald Trump takes credit for the federal program providing groceries to underprivileged families.

"As part of our response to coronavirus, I prioritized sending nutritious food from our farmers to families in need throughout America," said the president in the letter.

Marten said that the objectionable portion of the letter was where the president talks about masks.

According to Marten, the letter only presents masks as an option, and doesn't emphasize the necessity of mask-wearing enough.

"Science is clear: wearing masks works to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," she said in a statement.

"Wearing masks is required in California and on every San Diego Unified school campus," Marten added. "It is not optional, as the president wrote in his letter."

San Diego Unified Trustee Sharon Whitehurst-Payne was outraged at the letter and called it appalling.

"To take advantage of that suffering by distributing misleading medical information is appalling," said Whitehurst-Payne. This is equivalent to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in terms of the level of contempt demonstrated towards our community."

The Tuskegee study was a disgraceful government experiment in the 1930s where the disease was allowed to spread without treatment among African-Americans so that health experts could study how it affected a community. Many of the participants died and there was great public outrage after the study was leaked and reported.

The San Diego School District is the second largest in the state of California and among the largest in the United States.

Here's a local news report about the letter:

San Diego Unified School District to remove letter to students from President Trumpwww.youtube.com

Joe Biden says if Trump still has coronavirus by second debate, it should be canceled



Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said on Tuesday that if President Donald Trump was still testing positive for coronavirus at the time of their scheduled second debate, it should be canceled.

The former vice president made the comments to reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland, as he boarded his plane to fly to Maryland.

"I think if he still has COVID, then we shouldn't have a debate," he said, referring to the president.

President Trump stunned the political world when he tweeted early morning Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for coronavirus. He has since gone to Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment and returned to the White House.

"I think we were gonna have to follow very strict guidelines," explained Biden.

"Too many people have been infected," he continued. "It's a very serious problem, so I will be guided by the guidelines of the Cleveland Clinic and what the docs say is the right thing to do. If and when he shows up for debate."

Previously on Monday Biden said that he would debate the president if the experts said it could be done safely.

Watch: Jill Biden pulls Joe Biden further away from press while answering Qs at airport. Biden said he is happy to… https://t.co/cK3fWL78iW
— Bo Erickson CBS (@Bo Erickson CBS)1601913805.0

"Look, if the doctors, listen to the scientists, if the scientists say that... it's safe, that the distances are safe, then I think that's fine," said Biden. "I'll do whatever the experts say is the the appropriate thing to do."

The second debate is scheduled for October 15, while a third has been scheduled for a week later on October 22.

A debate between Vice President Mike Pence and the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), is also scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th.

A CNN poll showed Biden with a commanding lead after the first debate, but the Trump campaign downplayed the results, and blamed flawed methodology for the reported gap in support.

"They don't have the best, most stellar reputation for being real news," said Trump 2020 campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley of the CNN poll.

Here's more about the current state of the election:

Trump campaign reacts to Biden's 16-point lead in recent pollwww.youtube.com