Jul 21, 2017

Tucker Carlson: Trump is "a 71-year-old political novice"

Richard Drew / AP

President Trump said that if he had known Jeff Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation, he would have hired someone else to serve as Attorney General, per his NYT interview. The comment did not go unnoticed by one of Trump's usual supporters, Fox News' Tucker Carlson — but instead of defending the president, Carlson criticized Trump ("a 71-year-old political novice") for turning against whom he believes is the one loyal member of his cabinet.

"Attacking Jeff Sessions was still a useless, self-destructive act," Carlson said. "Sessions is the closest ally Trump has in this administration. ... [he's] the rare person in the entire executive branch making actual progress implementing the agenda his boss ran on."

"And in an administration brimming with opportunists and ideological saboteurs ... Sessions is likely the most effective member of the cabinet," Carlson said. "And in return, the president attacked him in the failing New York Times."

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

Trump signs $2 trillion relief bill as U.S. coronavirus case count tops 100,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

President Trump signed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package on Friday, as infections in the U.S. topped 100,000 and more cities experience spikes of the novel coronavirus.

The big picture: 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.

Go deeperUpdated 6 hours ago - Health

Axios

Coronavirus updates: Italy records deadliest day with nearly 1,000 dead

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Italy on Friday reported 969 COVID-19 deaths over a 24-hour period, marking the deadliest single-day for the country since the global outbreak began, according to data from the Health Ministry.

The big picture: The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases, as the number of global cases nears 600,000. Governments around the world are trying to curb the medical and financial fallout of COVID-19, as infections surge across Europe and the U.S.

Go deeperUpdated 7 hours ago - Health

Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 595,800 — Total deaths: 27,324 — Total recoveries: 131,006.
U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 103,942 — Total deaths: 1,689 — Total recoveries: 870.
Federal government latest: President Trump signed the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill to provide businesses and U.S. workers economic relief.
State updates: Nearly 92% of cities do not have adequate medical supplies — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month.
World updates: Italy reported 969 coronavirus deaths on Friday, the country's deadliest day.
Business latest: President Trump authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to direct General Motors to build ventilators for those affected by COVID-19. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been appointed to enforce the act.
🏰 1 Disney thing: Both Disney World and Disneyland theme parks in the U.S. are closed until further notice.
What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing.
Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingUpdated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy