Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed as an “excuse” claims from Donald Trump and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, that impeachment proceedings distracted the president from appropriately responding to the coronavirus pandemic during its initial outbreak.“We have a life-and-death situation in our country, and they should not try to hide behind an excuse for why they do not take action,” the California Democrat said. “That’s an admission that perhaps the president and the majority leader cannot handle the job,” she said.

President gives unusually sombre press conference with projections taking physical distancing measures into account * Coronavirus – live US updates * Live global updates * See all our coronavirus coverageDonald Trump has warned America to brace for a “very, very painful two weeks” as the White House projected that the coronavirus pandemic could claim 100,000 to 240,000 lives, even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.Striking an unusually sombre tone at the start a marathon two-hour briefing, the US president defended his early handling of the crisis and displayed models that, he said, justified his decision to keep much of the economy shut down.“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks. This is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks.”The US death toll from the coronavirus climbed past 3,800 on Tuesday, eclipsing China’s official count. Trump has been widely condemned for exacerbating the crisis by failing to prepare testing kits, breathing apparatus and other equipment.On Tuesday his experts said their models showed between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans could die from the coronavirus even if the country keeps mitigation measures in place.Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus taskforce response coordinator, told reporters that models show a worst case scenario of between 1.5m and 2.2m deaths in the US “without mitigation”.But with measures in place, she added, the “mountain” could be reduced to a “hill” that projects 100,000–240,000 deaths – still a staggering total. She stressed that the number could be lower if people changed their behavior.She displayed a chart in which New York had by far the most cumulative cases, followed by New Jersey, then the other 48 states bunched together. Birx expressed hope that social distancing could prevent major outbreaks in those states.Early mitigation slowing the spread of disease in California and Washington state “gives us great hope”, she added. “It’s communities that will do this. There’s no magic bullet. There’s no magic vaccine or therapy. It’s just behaviour.”Asked if Americans be prepared for the likelihood that there would be 100,000 Americans who die from this virus, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: “The answer is yes. As sobering a number as that is, we should be prepared for it.“Is it going to be that much? I hope not, and I think the more we push on the mitigation, the less likelihood it will be that number ... We are really convinced mitigation is going to be doing the trick for us.”He added: “We’re going to continue to see things go up. We cannot be discouraged by that because the mitigation is actually working ... Now is the time, whenever you’re having an effect, not to take your foot off the accelerator and on the brake, but to just press it down on the accelerator. And that’s what I hope and I know that we can do over the next 30 days.”Trump eventually heeded such advice, and opinion polls, after previously declaring an ambition to restart the economy by Easter. He announced on Sunday that he was extending to 30 April the guidelines that urged Americans to cease social gatherings, work from home, suspend onsite learning at schools and more in a nationwide effort to stem the spread of the virus.Trump spoke after another bad day for the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 400 points, or roughly 1.9%, to seal the worst first-quarter finish of its 135-year history.But the president defended shutting down much of the economy, attempting to rewrite history. Trump, who in speeches and on Twitter has compared Covid-19 to the common flu, said: “A lot of people have said, ‘Ride it out. Don’t do anything, just ride it out. And think of it as the flu.’ But it’s not the flu. It’s vicious.”And as the briefing wore on, more of the old Trump emerged. He made misleading claims about the early travel restrictions he imposed on China and Europe and, despite complaints from state governors, defended the supply of ventilators and other equipment.Although public health experts raised the alarm early based on reports from China, the president claimed: “Nobody knew how contagious this was. I don’t think any doctor knew it at the time. People have not seen anything like this.”Trump denied his early downplaying of the virus had given people a false sense of security and dismissed critics who said he should be more willing to deliver bad news. “This is really easy to be negative about, but I want to give people hope, too,” he said. “I’m not about bad news. I want to give people hope. I want to give people the feeling that we all have a chance.”And trying to put his own efforts in a positive light, he noted that without his mitigation guidelines, models show the death toll could have reached 2.2m. “You would have had people dying all over the place.“You would have seen people dying in airplanes, you would have seen people dying in hotel lobbies. How many people have even seen anybody die? You would have seen death all over.”The president added: “One hundred thousand is, according to modeling, a very low number.” But he also described the figure as “very sobering”.Trump was asked if, as the Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has suggested, he was distracted by the impeachment trial in January. “I don’t think I would’ve acted any differently,” he replied. “I don’t think I would’ve acted any faster.”In the wide-ranging session, there was also a question about a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who proposed that the coronavirus could be carried on droplets a distance of 27ft. Fauci responded: “This could really be terribly misleading ... That is not practical ... That is a very, very robust, vigorous, atchoo sneeze.”

President Trump on Tuesday responded to the idea that the impeachment trial kept his attention away from the growing coronavirus outbreak around the world.

The president golfed, held rallies, and hosted a Super Bowl party during his impeachment trial. Meanwhile, coronavirus was spreading in the US.

Yes, that's right. Mitch McConnell just blamed the coronavirus pandemic on Democrats fulfilling their moral obligation to impeach President Trump.

The Senate leader also accused Democrats of wanting to "turn the President’s handling of all this into a political liability for him."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Donald Trump's impeachment trial distracted the federal government from the novel coronavirus as it reached the United States in January, despite warnings at the time from public health experts and members of Congress about the spread of the virus. The Trump administration has been severely criticized for its slow response to the spreading pandemic, especially for the shortage of coronavirus testing kits when the infection first spread to the U.S. from China.

Democrats have a big MeToo problem on their hands, and how they handle it could — and should — go a long way towards determining the outcome of the presidential election.The problem allegedly involves former Vice President Joe Biden.Biden, the Dems' presumptive presidential nominee, was accused last week of sexual assault by a former staffer, Tara Reade. She told a podcast host that in 1993, Biden pushed her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers. "I thought this was my future, and so when that happened I felt, it's like someone pulling the rug out," Reade said.A spokesperson for Biden denied the claims. "Women have a right to tell their story, and reporters have an obligation to rigorously vet those claims," the campaign said in a statement. "We encourage them to do so, because these accusations are false."Thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic, the allegation so far seems to have had little effect on the political ecosphere. (My colleagues at The Week have noted Reade's accusation in their coverage of Biden's campaign.) But as the presidential election draws near, that seems certain to change. Already, the issue is a hot topic in conservative media, where Biden is seen as benefiting from a double standard — getting the benefit of the doubt that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh didn't receive when assault allegations surfaced during his nomination hearings in 2018."It seems unlikely the Reade accusation can sink Biden's candidacy," Robby Soave wrote at Reason, "but whether Democratic primary voters and the mainstream media are willing to air it out as they did Kavanaugh's will tell us a lot about what 'believe all women' actually means.He is right.At first glance, the situation facing Biden is not so different from that which faced Kavanaugh: Both involved decades-old allegations, making corroborating evidence difficult to obtain. Who you believe, in both cases, probably depends more on what you want to believe than on actual evidence. Full disclosure: I want Biden to be innocent — but I also think Reade's story deserves respectful consideration.Democrats don't have a great history with this stuff. They accommodated and lauded former President Bill Clinton for decades despite an impeachment involving proven adultery and accusations of rape. They forced Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) out of office when allegations surfaced against him, but many Democrats have since expressed regret about that. In Virginia, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax remains ensconced in office despite being accused of sexual assault by two women. And even without the new accusation, Biden is problematic. He has a history of being handsy with women — and indeed, Reade had previously accused him of inappropriately putting his hand on her shoulder and running his finger up her neck. The party is good at offering lip service to the notion of protecting and believing women. Often, though, those ideals are nudged aside or ignored for the sake of preserving power.As a practical matter, though, it behooves Democrats to make a rigorous investigation — inasmuch as it is possible — of Reade's accusation. Trump and his allies will almost certainly use the story against him. In 2016, when the notorious Access Hollywood tape surfaced, Trump responded by bringing Bill Clinton's accusers to his next debate with Hillary Clinton. The president won't hesitate to utilize similar tactics against Biden. If only for the sake of winning the election, Democrats have to make a real effort to resolve this allegation — and do it in a way that doesn't drag Reade's name through the mud.If her story is found to have merit, Biden should be forced out of the race.Truthfully, that seems unlikely to happen. Too much time has passed to arrive at a definitive answer. But the party of "believe women" will lose all credibility if it simply brushes off Reade and makes no effort at all to ascertain the truth. The GOP-controlled Senate confirmed Kavanaugh without a complete investigation. Democrats must do better.Forget politics, though. Americans in recent years have lamented that women's stories are so often silenced and ignored. We shouldn't halt that progress for the sake of a presidential campaign.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is what real coronavirus leadership looks like The case for cautious optimism about the pandemic Walmart to start taking workers' temperatures, providing gloves and masks

Fox News host Sean Hannity—without a hint of irony—wondered aloud Monday night how anyone in America could trust the coronavirus coverage of the “outright conspiracy theorists” in the media.Yes, the pro-Trump primetime star who called the coronavirus a “deep state” plot and suggested Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party murdered Seth Rich, is worried about conspiracy theorists.In a live broadcast from the pier in front of the USNS Comfort in New York City on Monday, Hannity took issue with a number of MSNBC hosts’ criticism of President Donald Trump’s slow response to the COVID-19 crisis.Piggybacking on the right-wing outrage over Meet the Press host Chuck Todd asking Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden if he felt Trump had “blood” on his hands, Hannity called the question “pathetic” and accused the MSNBC anchor of propping up Biden to “bludgeon President Trump.”Hannity then turned his attention to Todd’s “conspiratorial colleague” Rachel Maddow for criticizing Trump on March 20 for promising to send a hospital ship to New York “by next week,” something Maddow said “was nonsense,” as it wasn’t going to arrive by then.Fox Business Ditches Trish Regan After Coronavirus ‘Impeachment Scam’ RantAcknowledging that Maddow was technically correct, Hannity noted that the ship still arrived in 10 days and asked theatrically how Trump was ever going to recover.He then took some additional shots at Maddow and her network.“How does anyone trust the outright conspiracy theorists, that whole network full of lies, conspiracy theories, how?” Hannity fumed. “I never see one person get this much wrong over the span of four years and never gets called out. She does a disservice to her viewers.”Hannity calling out others in the media for peddling conspiracies, especially surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, is rich, considering his own history.Just in the past few weeks, and before he pivoted to taking the crisis seriously, the Fox News star suggested that the pandemic was a “deep state” plot to hurt the American economy, claimed liberals were “scaring people unnecessarily” about the virus in order the “bludgeon Trump with this new hoax,” and insisted Democrats were “weaponizing” the disease to take down the president.Hannity, who spent weeks claiming COVID-19 was no more dangerous than the seasonal flu, also seemingly suggested earlier this month that people who vape could be immune to the deadly virus.The Trump confidant is also well-known for peddling conspiracy theories about Democrats, especially former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Hannity was a leading promoter of the baseless theory that Clinton and the Democratic Party had DNC staffer Seth Rich murdered because he spoke to WikiLeaks. The Rich family later sued Fox News over the ordeal, and Hannity lost several advertisers.Chris Hayes: ‘Crazy’ to Broadcast ‘Dangerous’ Trump BriefingsRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Twitter on Monday morning deleted Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s viral tweet posted earlier this month touting the drug hydroxychloroquine as having been used by one New York hospital to “very promising results” and claiming that one “seriously ill” patient had a Lazarus-like recovery from the coronavirus thanks to it.On two consecutive nights earlier this month, Ingraham hosted an oncologist she described as being “with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City” to promote the anti-malaria drug that President Donald Trump has peddled as a “game changer” in treating COVID-19. The primetime cable star repeatedly touted the doctor’s credentials and purported findings on the drug’s effectiveness, later repeating his claims to other TV guests and on social media. But, as it turns out, the doctor is not at all employed by Lenox Hill.On her March 19 show, when Ingraham first interviewed that oncologist, Dr. William Grace, he claimed that, thanks to hydroxychloroquine, “we have not had a death in our hospital. We have probably close to a 100 patients, and not had any deaths.” And during a later segment with a different doctor, Ingraham referred back to Grace’s claims about Lenox Hill, adding that he told her about one near-death individual at the hospital who was miraculously saved by the drug. “One patient was described as Lazarus getting up after—after he was, he was like on death’s door,” she breathlessly exclaimed. “And they started getting a protocol of hydroxychloroquine at Lenox Hill, and it suddenly like Lazarus, up from the grave. I mean that’s an actual case.”Ingraham was so impressed by that anecdote that she tweeted about it the next morning. “Lenox Hill in New York among many hospitals already using Hydroxychloroquine with very promising results,” Ingraham wrote on March 20. “One patient was described as ‘Lazarus’ who was seriously ill from Covid-19, already released.”Twitter deleted that post on Monday, confirming to Mediaite that the post was removed because it fell under their “misleading information policy” with its “Heightened-risk health claims.” A Twitter spokesperson further confirmed to The Daily Beast that the platform required the tweet to be deleted by the account’s owner under the threat of being suspended.Ingraham’s post had remained on Twitter for ten days, despite Fox News quietly burying the fact that she had misrepresented Dr. Grace as being employed by the hospital about which he repeatedly made miraculous claims.Sean Hannity: Media Scared Trump Looks ‘Too Presidential’ in Coronavirus BriefingsAfter a second appearance on Ingraham’s show, on March 21, in which Grace once again touted hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus cure, Fox News posted the segment on its website with the headline: “Malaria drugs touted by Trump can work against coronavirus, top doc tells Laura Ingraham.”The following day, however, freelance author Nancy Levine reported that Lenox Hill informed her that “Dr. Grace is not employed by the Hospital. He is a private physician who has admitting privileges. His views are his own and do not represent the hospital.” A hospital spokesperson confirmed this statement with The Daily Beast.And so Fox News quietly added a correction: “Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Dr. William Grace’s relationship to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Grace is not employed by the hospital and his opinions given below are his own.”But Ingraham’s tweet remained up, and she has yet to correct herself on-air. Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Fox star’s misleading segments also appeared to result in a New Jersey State Sen. Joe Pennachio lauding Grace’s anecdotal evidence. Repeating Ingraham’s misrepresentation, the Republican lawmaker billed the oncologist as a “top” doctor “at Lenox Hill Hospital,” and touted hydroxychloroquine as a result.President Donald Trump has also seemingly been influenced by the misleading claims of Fox News stars and their guests as part of his push for hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 cure.Last Monday, the president gushed over the Lazarus-like resurrection of a coronavirus patient who was supposedly saved by the drug. Trump did not provide any other specifics on this individual, and could very well have been talking about the purported Lenox Hill patient, seeing as the president is a vociferous consumer of Fox News primetime shows like Ingraham’s.And after Gregory Rigano—a lawyer who misleadingly claimed he was an adviser to Stanford Medical School—made several appearances on Fox News this month hyping a small French study’s findings on hydroxychloroquine, the president eventually touted the drug’s possible game-changing impact during his March 19 press briefing.The White House is also currently evaluating a plan pushed by a conspiracy-peddling family doctor who claimed he has successfully treated hundreds of coronavirus patients with the anti-malarial drug. Incoming White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly reached out to Dr. Vladmir Zelenko after Fox News host Sean Hannity touted his findings in an interview with Vice President Mike Pence, prompting Trump to flag the segment for his aides.The study that Fox News and Trump have cited to promote chloroquine’s effectiveness, meanwhile, has come under criticism from health experts for having severe limitations. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, has urged caution to those boosting the drug as a solution to the pandemic, pointing out that evidence of its efficacy is only “anecdotal” and saying more clinical trials are needed.Last week, the administration said that the FDA was approving “off-label” use of the drug for coronavirus patients and clinical trials have started nationwide, including in the hard-hit New York area, in order to study the drug’s effectiveness. The CDC, however, currently notes that there’s “no currently available data from Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) to inform clinical guidance on the use, dosing, or duration of hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis or treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.”Fox Business Ditches Trish Regan After Coronavirus ‘Impeachment Scam’ RantRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? 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