Navigating Coronavirus — May 2

6 min readMay 2, 2020

It’s been 65 days since President Trump said we’d soon have zero cases in the U.S. We now have 1,131,000 cases and 65,700 deaths — more deaths than any other country in the world.

THE LATEST

Message guidance on the latest developments with President Trump’s handling of the crisis.

Trump refuses to listen to experts, endangering Americans.

As Trump has pushed states to prematurely “re-open” despite none of them meeting the White House standard of a 14-day decline in cases, his administration ordered 100,000 more body bags — a grim sign of what could lie ahead.

Experts have been clear: prematurely ending social distancing will backfire.

CNN: “More than 30 states will have started easing social distancing restrictions for coronavirus by week’s end — and some are taking a ‘really significant risk’ in doing so, the nation’s top infectious disease expert says.”
Business Insider: “Georgia reported over 1,000 new coronavirus cases on the same day its governor lifted the stay-at-home order for most residents”
U.S. News: “Texas Reports Deadliest Day Hours Before Businesses Set to Reopen”
NEW NAVIGATOR DATA >> A majority of Americans (56%) are concerned that Trump is downplaying the health risks of coronavirus, pushing too aggressively to reopen and putting lives at risk.

But Trump continues to contradict experts and push false information.

USA Today: “Trump says he’s seen evidence coronavirus came from Chinese lab. US intelligence agencies say it was not man-made”
“Trump did not provide any evidence to support that assertion. . . . Richard Grenell, issued a statement on behalf of the U.S. intelligence community stating there was broad agreement the virus was not man-made or genetically modified.”
WAPO: “White House blocks Fauci from testifying before House panel, committee spokesman says”
NEW NAVIGATOR DATA >> 58% of Americans, including 66% of Independents, are seriously concerned that Trump has too often made decisions that have ignored or overruled the advice of health and medical experts.

Trump is putting corporate profits over people’s safety.

SHOT >> “Trump orders meat plants to stay open in pandemic” (Washington Post)
CHASER >> “The Tyson plant located in Logansport, Ind., has seen 890 of its 2,200 employees test positive in just under a week — more than 40 percent of its workforce” and it will “reopen next week.”

Saturday Spotlight: Americans reject Trump’s attempts to blame others and downplay the crisis.

On Thursday, Trump downplayed the magnitude of the death toll in the United States, calling it, “very, very strong” after claiming his response to the pandemic has been, “spectacular.” Americans want Trump to tell the truth as they remain worried about their health and the health of their families.

NEW NAVIGATOR DATA >> 59% of Americans — including 74% of Independents and 72% of college educated women — are seriously concerned about Trump’s habit of blaming others instead of taking responsibility for the situation — and 58% are seriously concerned that he has downplayed the threat of coronavirus, including 71% of college educated women.
MORE >> 50% say Trump and his administration are still not doing enough to protect them and 72% are more worried about their family staying healthy than they are about their financial well-being (28%).

NEW NAVIGATOR TRACKING NUMBERS …

TODAY’S POLLING DECK >> HERE

FULL TOPLINES >> HERE

Surprise, surprise: people who get their news from Fox News or social media are more likely to believe conspiracy theories. 63% of Republicans who get their news from social media believe that coronavirus was created in a lab and 63% of Republicans who get their news from Fox believe Obama has somehow made this crisis worse.

There is a small difference between Republicans and Democrats on whether to relax social distancing measures, but regardless of party, most continue to practice social distancing in their own lives. 67% of Republicans still believe we need to either increase or maintain current social distancing guidelines, compared to 79% overall and 88% of Democrats. But Republicans are more likely to be optimistic, 50% believing the worst is over, a recent increase. But 82% of Republicans and 79% of Democrats are still staying inside and practicing social distancing, tracking with universal concerns from Americans about them and their families getting sick.

ECONOMIC CRISIS IN CONTEXT

The latest on how the economic crisis sparked by coronavirus is actually fueled by years of President Trump’s conservative economic policies, focusing today on Trump’s callous prioritization of Wall Street and big business over worker safety.

Trump and his Wall Street and big business allies are pushing for workers to get back on the job no matter how many workers and families that would hurt — but workers are pushing back.

Workers across the country are striking to protest their treatment during the coronavirus crisis, but Trump and his conservative allies are brushing their concerns aside and putting corporate profits over worker safety.
This is especially devastating for workers who are on the front lines of this crisis: warehouse, delivery, and grocery workers whose jobs have been deemed essential yet often lack even the most basic protections.
The vast majority of workers — particularly low-wage and workers of color — don’t have the option of working remotely, making them more vulnerable to illness despite being less prepared to weather a health or personal financial crisis.
Forcing workers back on the job will lead to more people getting sick and dying, which is why it’s especially egregious that Trump’s conservative allies are holding additional support for families hostage in order to protect big businesses that endanger their workers.

People are the economy — and Trump’s conservative policies and pro-corporate actions that make people sicker have weakened our economy and exacerbated this crisis.

Trump’s conservative policies have eroded unions, created more low-quality jobs, and eliminated workers’ decision-making power on the job, and removed key guardrails that rebalance power and protect against corporate recklessness during the good times and provide stability during economic downturns.
America is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave to workers.
This is catastrophic for millions of workers who have to choose between staying home to recover and the paycheck they desperately need to pay their bills and support their families and will be devastating in an economic downturn sparked by an infectious disease.

ONE LAST THING …

SHARE THESE >> More Americans have died in three months of coronavirus than American soldiers in the Vietnam War. #VetsAgainstTrump are speaking up about his failure to protect the country.