The Patriot Post® · Coronavirus & Media Bias

President Trump’s White House press conference Wednesday was a striking contrast to the left’s carping and its attempts to politicize the coronavirus. The left politicizes everything — tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires — so it’s no surprise that it is trying to score cheap political points with a virus.

For example, one reporter pressed the president to justify his appointment of Vice President Mike Pence to direct the government’s coronavirus response when he had previously suggested that a “virus czar” wasn’t necessary. 

Really? That’s the most pressing question on her mind? She was more interested in trapping the president with a “gotcha” question than reporting news. 

Suffice it to say that the president was there with top experts doing their best to protect the country, while there were plenty of reporters doing their best to divide the country.

Trump Takes Charge

At Wednesday’s press conference, President Trump and top officials from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control reassured the American people that we are prepared and taking all necessary actions. As I just noted, Trump also announced that Vice President Mike Pence would coordinate the government’s response efforts. (See next item.)

The American people should be reassured by this move. The vice president is a workhorse who knows how to inspire people. As governor of Indiana, Pence dealt with the first case of MERS in the United States, another form of coronavirus that originated in the Middle East. 

Pence also has a strong relationship with HHS Secretary Alex Azar, a former top executive at Eli Lilly, a major U.S. pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis. 

Yesterday, Pence announced that he will be assisted by Ambassador Debbie Birx, an expert in immunology who has led America’s global effort to combat the AIDS epidemic.

During his remarks, Trump repeatedly stressed that not one person in the United States has died from the coronavirus. In contrast, the flu kills anywhere from 25,000 to 70,000 Americans every year. 

So far this year, at least 10,000 Americans have died from the flu. Tragically, many more children in America (105) have died from the flu this year than there are known coronavirus infections. 

But our hysterical media and the political left are accusing the president of moving too slowly. It is absolutely astonishing that this has become such an absurd controversy. 

Speaking of absurd, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is demanding that funding for the border wall be diverted to efforts to fight the coronavirus. What Warren doesn’t understand is that the border wall is protecting us from the coronavirus. 

As we have told you, there was a surge of Chinese nationals coming across the southern border just a few months ago. The last thing you want to do is slow down efforts to secure the southern border. 

Coronavirus is now in Brazil. If there is a major outbreak in Central America, there will be caravans of “medical refugees” headed north, especially with progressives like Warren and Bernie Sanders promising free healthcare for illegal aliens. 

Pence at CPAC

Vice President Pence addressed the annual Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday. He began his remarks by expressing the administration’s commitment to combatting the coronavirus. Here are some excerpts of his remarks:

President Donald Trump has no higher priority than the health, safety and well-being of the American people. Last month, following word of the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, President Trump took unprecedented action to protect the health of Americans. 

He declared a public health emergency. He suspended travel to the United States from China. He initiated quarantine efforts for American citizens returning, and he established the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which has literally met every single day… 

Yesterday, President Trump directed me to lead a whole of government approach to address the coronavirus in this country. And I promise you: We will continue to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear to protect the American people… 

We’re all in this together. This is not the time for partisanship… This president will always put the health and safety of America first.

More Winning

As you know, the Trump administration is working hard to fight the left’s radical open-borders agenda. A key part of that agenda is the insane “sanctuary” movement where left-wing jurisdictions shield criminal illegal aliens from federal law-enforcement officials. 

The Trump administration moved aggressively in its first days in office to confront this radical policy by cutting off federal grants to cities and states that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Predictably, Obama-appointed judges issued injunctions blocking the Department of Justice from punishing sanctuary cities.

Wednesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the administration’s authority to suspend federal dollars to sanctuary cities. 

This is a huge victory for President Trump, American taxpayers, and common sense. If progressive cities refuse to cooperate with federal law-enforcement officers, they should not get federal law-enforcement dollars!

Religious Broadcasters Honor Israel

I was honored to address a breakfast Wednesday at the National Religious Broadcasters annual convention. The breakfast, dedicated to honoring Israel, was sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Combat Anti-Semitism, and NRBTV. The audience was comprised of hundreds of Christians and Jews, Americans and Israelis. 

My remarks were interrupted several times by applause from the enthusiastic audience. While gratified by the reaction, I was particularly encouraged by the number of radio-station managers and owners who told me how popular my daily radio commentary is in their communities. 

The commentaries air Monday through Saturday on the Bott Radio Network. Click here to find station listings or to listen live online.

A Ray of Hope?

The latest poll from the Sunshine State offers a ray of hope for Joe Biden. 

Previous polls showed Mike Bloomberg leading in Florida after a $50 million ad blitz. But now Biden is once again in the lead with 34% to Bloomberg’s 25%. Bernie Sanders is a distant third with just 10%. No other candidate received double-digit support. 

The poll is likely evidence of Bernie’s self-inflicted wound in a state where many people have escaped the evils of communism, and it seems to be evidence that Biden is getting a second look from many voters after Bloomberg’s disastrous debate performances. 

But this presents a potential nightmare for Democrats. 

Billionaire Bloomberg won’t go away. He’s now run more ads than Hillary Clinton ran during the entire 2016 campaign! Meanwhile, on America’s Left Coast, Sanders appears to be consolidating his hold on California. Sadly, Sanders’s defense of Cuba’s communist regime, while a burden in Florida, apparently isn’t a big deal to many Democrats elsewhere in the country.

If Bloomberg and Biden keep battling it out, the anti-Sanders vote will be split, allowing Bernie to continue coming out on top, increasing the chances of a contested convention. 

By the way, the Trump campaign is making an unprecedented bid to attract black voters. It’s opening up 15 Black Voices for Trump Community Centers in key battleground states, including five in Florida alone.