Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Campaign Ordered Removal Of Social Distancing Signs At Tulsa Rally, Source Says
In the hours before President Trump鈥檚 rally in Tulsa, his campaign directed the removal of thousands of 鈥淒o Not Sit Here, Please!鈥 stickers from seats in the arena that were intended to establish social distance between rallygoers, according to video and photos obtained by The Washington Post and a person familiar with the event. The removal contradicted instructions from the management of the BOK Center, the 19,000-seat arena in downtown Tulsa where Trump held his rally on June 20. (Partlow and Dawsey, 6/27)
The states are two of the hardest hit in recent days, and health officials have encouraged people to avoid large in-person gatherings. The events have been postponed "out of an abundance of caution," two campaign officials told NPR. It's a remarkable reversal for Pence, who on Friday forcefully defended his plan to move forward with the campaign events. (Keith, 6/27)
Vice President Mike Pence has postponed campaign events in Florida and Arizona 鈥渙ut of an abundance of caution鈥 as both states experience a spike in coronavirus cases, a Trump campaign spokesperson confirmed Saturday. Pence was set to make stops in each state this coming week as a part of his 鈥淔aith in America鈥 tour, and will also not appear at an additional Florida event Thursday organized by pro-Trump group America First Policies. (Semones, 6/27)
Thirty-five percent of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden鈥檚 campaign operation are people of color, and just over half are women, according to figures released Saturday under public prodding, after months in which his campaign declined to make that information public. At least 60 percent of the staff is white, a number in line with the percentage of the United States population identifying as such, according to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Five percent of the staff opted not to specify a race. (Sullivan, 6/27)
The Biden campaign refused to disclose the diversity of its staff for months even after the former vice president claimed in December that he had 鈥渢he most diverse staff of anybody running鈥 in the Democratic primary. When POLITICO asked in December and again in May for diversity statistics the campaign refused to disclose them. Those who are senior staff include senior advisers, deputy campaign managers, senior consultants and department heads.The campaign said it is still hiring and will add additional leaders across the campaign. (Barron-Lopez, 6/27)