"There's No Boogeyman He Can Attack": Angry at Kushner, Trump Awakens to the COVID-19 Danger

[babylonsister]

“There’s No Boogeyman He Can Attack”: Angry at Kushner, Trump Awakens to the COVID-19 Danger
For weeks, Trump and his son-in-law saw the novel coronavirus mostly as a media and political problem. But the spiraling cases, plunging markets, and a Mar-a-Lago cluster finally opened eyes.
By Gabriel Sherman
March 16, 2020

snip//

With the markets in free fall despite emergency action by the Fed over the weekend, Trump is waking up to the reality that’s been clear to everyone: Coronavirus poses a once-in-a-hundred-years threat to the country. “In the last 48 hours he has understood the magnitude of what’s going on,” a former West Wing official told me. As Trump processes the stakes facing the country—and his presidency—he’s also lashing out at advisers, whom he blames for the White House’s inept and flat-footed response. Sources say a principal target of his anger is Jared Kushner. “I have never heard so many people inside the White House openly discussed how pissed Trump is at Jared,” the former West Wing official said.

Sources told me Trump is regretting that Kushner swooped into the coronavirus response last week. Kushner, according to sources, encouraged Trump to treat the emergency as a P.R. problem when Fauci and others were calling for aggressive action. “This was Jared saying the world needs me to solve another problem,” a former White House official said. One source briefed on the internal conversations told me that Kushner advised Trump not to call a national emergency during his Oval Office address on March 11 because “it would tank the markets.” The markets cratered anyway, and Trump announced the national emergency on Friday. “They had to clean that up on Friday,” another former West Wing official said. Trump was also said to be angry that Kushner oversold Google’s coronavirus testing website when in fact the tech giant had a fledgling effort. Trump got slammed in the press for promoting the phantom Google product. “Jared told Trump that Google was doing an entire website that would be up in 72 hours and had 1,100 people working on it 24/7. That’s just a lie,” the source briefed on the internal conversations told me.

Reached for comment, a White House official said: “This is just another false story focused on rumors about palace intrigue instead of the actual aggressive measures President Trump has implemented to keep the American people safe and healthy.”

One reason the president’s attitude may be changing is that coronavirus showed up at his doorstep, literally: Mar-a-Lago is now a hot spot. Last weekend, Trump interacted with a Brazilian government official who tested positive for COVID-19. The appearance of coronavirus inside the president’s bubble jolted the president’s inner circle that up until that point treated the virus more like a Democratic plot. With coronavirus lurking on the property, about a hundred guests sipped cocktails by the pool at a 50th birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle. RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced after attending the party that she was self-quarantining after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Another turning point was an intervention by Guilfoyle’s former colleague Tucker Carlson. A source who attended the party told me Carlson went to Mar-a-Lago to confront Trump directly about his failure to take the virus seriously.

more...

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/trump-awakens-to-the-covid-19-danger?fbclid=IwAR01_SVQXuX4prOPN_dGXrB8nr92LbtQDMJVlM9lFm3MPzJZNQ3ZUgoZ6cc

[Demovictory9]

1. Jared is in charge of middle east, immigration, economy, overhaul of govt, coronavirus

Jared who only got into college cuz dad made big donations. sheesh!

[Marie Marie]

2. "In the last 48 hours he has understood the magnitude of what's going on,"

The last 48 Hours????? About fucking time you idiot. We are screwed.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. +1

[sop]

8. Trump only understands what this will do to his re-election chances.

[MFGsunny]

21. Maybe that alleged test he took wasn't conclusively negative after all???

He's got 7 or so days to go for that usual 14 day incubation period to be more definitive from the Brazilian soiree time of 6-8 March. Any bets?????

[Marie Marie]

23. And with him and his enablers, will we ever know the truth?

[SWBTATTReg]

3. So, the BS artists rump chose to trust didn't work out. No surprise even though he had the choice...

of hiring and relying on the best SMEs in the field. He didn't.

Blame still rests squarely on rump's shoulders. Idiot. I pray for all of us to stay healthy, be safe, and if sick, pls. recover 100%.

[GusBob]

4. These stories write themselves

Trumps always in a rage. Last week was not the time to act, January was

JK is just the Fall guy

[TeamPooka]

6. It's like Trump found out a virus won't settle out of court.

[CatWoman]

11. nor will it sign an NDA

[hatrack]

16. Indeed - and will refuse both options, after it fucks HIM . . .

Simultaneously sickening and hilarious article, with both emotions flashing by in rapid, horrific succession.

[Blue_true]

13. And that it's a microscopic mofo that doesn't give one wink about his behind. nt

[DinahMoeHum]

20. It bears saying again: Trump got the big fat middle finger. . .

. . .and a vote of no confidence. . .
. . .from the markets and Mother Nature.




#newrostrong

[MFGsunny]

22. + 1000 n/t

[2naSalit]

7. LOL!!

Tucker Carlson confront orangeanus? He just felt left out of the fun, he really went to give the anus another lick.

[Dennis Donovan]

9. Every account I've heard or read is that it's chaos in the WH

Everyone thinks they know what to do, but it's clear no one knows a damn thing.

[Squinch]

10. Tucker Carlson is the adult in the room. We're all going to die.

[Blue_true]

15. Good point. nt

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. Hope somebody follows the money; you know these asses want to profit from disease.

[LisaL]

14. Kushner has no medical degree or medical education.

That Trump was listening to him over those who are educated tells it all.

[dalton99a]

17. But he does have a HARVARD degree

that his father bought for him

[LisaL]

18. I guess he forgot to stay in the Holiday Inn last night.

[EndlessWire]

19. I agree. n/t

[global1]

24. It's Basically Trump's Paranoia That Makes Him Go To People Like Kushner, Ivanka.....

Don Jr., Eric and maybe a few other people that he feels he can trust. Plus - he knows how to manipulate these people to tell him what he wants to hear. That's one of the ways he gets to do what he wants versus what maybe an expert tells him and he doesn't agree with.

The ironic thing is when he listens to people like Kushner that doesn't know what he's talking about and maybe takes a suggestion from them - he gets himself in trouble most all the time.

He just hasn't learned to listen to the experts - because he always thinks he's the expert and he wants things done his way. He's running this country like he runs the Trump businesses.