May 20, 2019

Joe Scarborough calls Mayor Pete "the future of the Democratic Party"

"Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough praised 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg on Monday, calling the South Bend mayor "the future of the Democratic Party" after his town hall appearance on Fox News.

What he's saying:

"Looking at Mayor Pete last night and once again seeing this remarkable response, I was reminded of one of the most famous lines by any rock critic in music history — and that line was, 'I have seen the future of rock 'n' roll and it is Bruce Springsteen.' John Landau wrote that in '73, '74."

"Well, I've seen the future of the Democratic Party, and it's Mayor Pete. It may not be in 2020, perhaps it's in 2024 and beyond, but this guy is going to play an important role in the mainstreaming of the Democratic Party for many years to come."

The big picture: Scarborough previously served as a Republican in Congress, but publicly broke from the party to become an independent after President Trump's election.

Go deeper: Pete Buttigieg unveils first list of policy proposals

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 65,691 — Total deaths: 30,438 — Total recoveries: 139,263.
U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 119,748 — Total deaths: 1,991 — Total recoveries: 921.
Federal government latest: President Trump is considering a quarantine on New York, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. He signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill to give businesses and U.S. workers financial relief.
State updates: Alaska is latest state to issue a stay-at-home order — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month and has moved its presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters that supported Trump's handling of the virus less than two weeks ago are now balking at his call for the U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Hollywood: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have returned to U.S. after being treated for coronavirus.
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President Trump said on Saturday he is considering a "short term" quarantine of New York, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut — states that have already taken steps to quarantine residents and promote social distancing.

The big picture: With 112,000 people infected, the U.S. has the most COVID-19 cases in the world, exceeding China and Italy, per data from Johns Hopkins. A second wave of American cities, including Boston, Detroit, New Orleans and Philadelphia, are reporting influxes of cases.

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