For months, Democrats have been attacking President Trump over his national coronavirus response — but a new digital campaign is about to test how much more potent the argument becomes when it's targeted to individual states and communities.
Details: The $1.5 million buy from Pacronym, a super PAC with ties to President Obama's former campaign manager and strategist David Plouffe, is running on digital platforms in five battleground states — Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina,Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Don't be fooled by the grandmotherly demeanor and whimsical scarf collection. Administration officials say they've been taken aback by Deborah Birx's masterful political skills — including a preternatural ability to get what she wants while telling people what they want to hear.
Why it matters: She's better than any of the other public health officials at talking to Trump. While MAGA-land has spent weeks trying to get Anthony Fauci fired, Birx has been far more adept at influencing the president and shaping the administration's response to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Thirteen sailors onboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus for a second time, Politico reports. Those sailors had recently returned from over two weeks of self-isolation following earlier positive COVID-19 diagnoses.
The big picture: The initial virus outbreak on the ship led to Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's early April resignation. He had relieved the Theodore Roosevelt's captain after the official pled for help due to members of his crew contracting the coronavirus.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that the federal government has a "moral obligation" to provide funding for states in its next coronavirus relief bill, noting that police officers, health care workers and firefighters will be the first ones laid off as a result of massive budget deficits.
Why it matters: The House last week passed a bill that includes $500 billion for state governments and $375 billion for local governments. But the Trump administration and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have deemed it dead on arrival, signaling that they want to wait a few weeks until deciding on whether to pass another relief package.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized President Trump's move to oust State Department inspector general Steve Linick. On CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday, she said it was "typical" for the White House to announce something "unsavory" late on a Friday night.
Why it matters: Top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee have opened an investigation into the removal of Linick, who was reportedly investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for misusing agency staff for personal errands.
Doug Sosnik, who was the White House political director during President Clinton's successful re-election race, writes for Axios that during President Trump’s first term, the country completed a political realignment that began in 1992.
Why it matters: With this realignment, the electoral college map is changing for the first time since 1992. So Trump is running on different terrain than in 2016.
White House economic adviser Peter Navarro claimed on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus will "indirectly" kill more people than the virus itself.
Why it matters: President Trump and some of his political and economic advisers have been pushing aggressively to reopen parts of the U.S. economy, even as public health experts like Anthony Fauci warn that it could lead to a resurgence in cases and ultimately more deaths.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren opened up to The Atlantic in a piece published Sunday about her brother Don Reed Herring, who died in April at age 86 after testing positive for the coronavirus.
What she's saying: "I just kept imagining what’s happening to him. Is he afraid? Is he cold? I kept thinking about whether he was cold. There’s no one there to talk to him while he waits for the doctor. There’s no one there to be with him while he receives the news."
Eric Trump suggested on Fox News Saturday that Democrats are "milking" coronavirus lockdowns in order to "deprive" President Trump of campaign rallies and hurt him in November's election.
What he's saying: "They think they are taking away Donald Trump's greatest tool, which is being able to go into an arena and fill it with 50,000 people every single time. You watch, they'll milk it every single day between now and Nov. 3. And guess what, after Nov. 3 coronavirus will magically all of a sudden go away and disappear and everybody will be able to reopen."
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tore into President Trump on Twitter Saturday night for his "unprecedented" firing of multiple inspectors general in recent weeks, calling his actions "a threat to accountable democracy and a fissure in the constitutional balance of power."
Why it matters: Romney was the sole Republican senator to vote to convict Trump for abuse of power after his impeachment trial in January. He remains one of the few members of the GOP who will directly criticize the president.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) announced an investigation Saturday into President Trump's Friday night ouster of State Department inspector general Steve Linick.
Why it matters: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recommended that Linick, who was reportedly investigating Pompeo for allegedly misusing agency staff for personal tasks, be removed from the position, a White House official told Axios. President Trump agreed.
Demonstrators rallied Saturday to demand the resignation of two Georgia prosecutors over the investigation into the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was shot while out jogging, per a JUSTGeorgia Coalition statement.
Why it matters: President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden both spoke out over Arbery's Feb. 23 death after cellphone video of his apparent shooting sparked a national outcry. The Justice Department is investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime.
Former President Obama told seniors graduating from historically black colleges and universities Saturday "this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many folks in charge know what they're doing."
Why it matters: Obama's address during the "Show Me Your Walk H.B.C.U. Edition," hosted by comedian and actor Kevin Hart, was the first of two virtual commencement speeches containing criticism of the coronavirus response. Obama used his first public address since the outbreak began to note that "a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country."
Read the full transcript of Obama's speech to HBCU graduates via DocumentCloud below:
Former President Obama told graduating high school students Saturday that doing what's "convenient" and "easy" is "how little kids think." "Unfortunately a lot of so-called grownups, including some with fancy titles, important jobs, still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up," he added.
Former President Obama took thinly veiled swipes against President Trump and his administration during two virtual commencement speeches on Saturday, although he didn't name him.
Why it matters: Obama's addresses mark the first time he has spoken publicly since the coronavirus outbreak began, and he didn't hold back in either speech.
