May 12, 2017 - Politics & Policy

A tale of two worlds

Evan Vucci, Carolyn Kaster / AP

Democratic members of Congress and media publishers have focused on Comey's firing, while Facebook analytics showed that news stories about the firing didn't match up to the viral levels of other Trump controversies.

Approval: 39% of Americans approved of Trump firing Comey, compared to 46% disapproval, according to the Gallup Poll. Stories were quickly published of the Comey event threatening Trump's presidency, while Gallup has watched Trump's approval rating climb from 38% at the beginning of April to 42% this week.

Congress: Democrats went wild with accusations of Trump covering up Russian collusion and comparisons to Nixon. While a few Republicans called for an independent probe into Trump-Russia collusion, most remained silent, and House and Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan defended Trump.

Social media:

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Data: SocialFlow; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

Headlines: The Washington Post and New York Times front pages for the past three days have been covered with stories and new revelations from the Comey firing, while conservative sites like Breitbart and National Review played up his executive orders and gave Comey stories headlines like:

Senate Judiciary Chairman Confirms Trump Is Not Under FBI Investigation
"Dershowitz: Comey Firing 'Appropriate,' No Special Prosecutor"
"Exclusive–James Comey 'Threw the Reputation of the FBI Under the Bus,' Says Bureau's Former Assistant Director"
Trump's Escape from the Comey Mess

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Axios

Updated 8 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 12,745,734 — Total deaths: 565,782 — Total recoveries — 7,023,260 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 3,248,220 — Total deaths: 134,815 — Total recoveries: 995,576 — Total tested: 39,553,395 — Map.
Politics: Trump wears face mask in public for first time.
Public health: Trump's coronavirus testing czar says lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table" — We're losing the war on the coronavirus.
Education: Betsy DeVos says schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds.

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Fadel Allassan

13 mins ago - Health

Betsy DeVos: Schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told "Fox News Sunday" that public schools that don't reopen in the fall should not get federal funds, and that the money should be redirected to families who can use it to find another option for their children.

Why it matters: The Trump administration is engaged in a full-court press to reopen schools this fall, despite warnings from some public health officials that the coronavirus outbreak is out of control in many states and that it will be difficult for many schools to reopen safely.

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Axios

32 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus testing czar: Lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table"

The Trump administration's coronavirus testing coordinator Adm. Brett Giroir said on ABC's "This Week" that "everything" — including the "stringent lockdowns" that many governors implemented in March and April — should be "on the table" in states where new infections are skyrocketing.

Why it matters: President Trump said in June that the U.S. "won't be closing down the country again" — a view shared by many Republicans who believe that the economic damage caused by stay-at-home orders was too great to justify a second round of lockdowns.