Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Contrasting Messages From Trump, Biden On Virus Increasingly On Display As Election Draws Closer
A presidential campaign that has largely been frozen for several months because of the coronavirus is looking a bit more like those from other years. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden swung through critical battleground states Thursday, presenting starkly different visions for America as it struggles with a pandemic. Touring a shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, Trump insisted the economy is “coming back at a level nobody ever imagined possible.” But in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Biden warned that “no miracles are coming” and slammed Trump’s handling of the virus. (Weissert and Levy, 6/26)
Joe Biden said on Thursday that if he were president, he would mandate that every American wear a mask in public to combat the spread of the coronavirus. In an interview with KDKA, the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, the presumptive Democratic nominee said he would attempt to leverage federal power to mandate mask wearing. “The one thing we do know is these masks make a gigantic difference,” he said. (Viser, 6/26)
In other news —
President Donald Trump’s plans to kick off Independence Day with a showy display at Mount Rushmore have angered Native Americans, who view the monument as a desecration of land violently stolen from them and used to pay homage to leaders hostile to Indigenous people. Several groups led by Native American activists are planning protests for Trump’s July 3 visit, part of Trump’s “comeback” campaign for a nation reeling from sickness, unemployment and, recently, social unrest. (Groves, 6/25)
President Donald Trump wasn’t the only one thrown off course by a lower-than-expected turnout at his comeback rally in Tulsa. Republican officials and Trump campaign aides, some of whom have been working since last year to plan the party’s convention festivities, said the disappointing event last weekend in Oklahoma imparted a critical lesson as they look ahead to Jacksonville, Fla., where Trump will deliver his acceptance speech as the GOP’s presidential nominee in late August: Learn to manage expectations and plan for trouble. (Orr, 6/25)
