WHAT'S BREWING
FORD BACKS DOWN AFTER INSISTING TRUMP WEAR A MASK Trump is scheduled to visit Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, even though the visit technically violates an executive order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that prohibits “nonessential” plant tours. The governor’s office signaled it will not stand in the way of the visit, but Ford -- after initially insisting that Trump and his entourage wear face masks -- said it will allow the White House to follow whatever policy it wants. [HuffPost]
NEW YORK'S PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY IS BACK ON The New York Democratic presidential primary will proceed on June 23, according to a second ruling in federal court on Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that earlier this month reinstated the election. Democratic officials on the New York State Board of Elections announced in late April that they were canceling the presidential primary on the grounds that Joe Biden’s bid for the nomination is uncontested. [HuffPost]
INFLUENCING BIDEN ON FOREIGN POLICY IS AN UPHILL BATTLE Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has one central pitch in the 2020 election: Unlike Trump, he will be a steady hand and a stable force in the world. Biden's long experience makes it tough for people outside his circle to influence him, but progressives argue that changing views among American voters and international conditions demand a fresh approach to national security from Democrats. Biden can’t afford to appear dated, particularly after years of public soul-searching on foreign policy among many Democrats, including himself. [HuffPost]
DEMONIZING CHINA DOMINATES GOP POLITICAL ADS China is now at the top of the list of issues in political ads these days, right up there with the intertwined issues of the coronavirus and health care. Republicans spending far more than Democrats on presidential campaign ads that mention China, in what appears to be an attempt to deflect attention from the White House. From April 1-May 15, Republicans spent $8.3 million on TV ads (excluding cable) referencing China, compared to the $1.7 million spent by Democrats, according to data compiled by Kantar/CMAG for HuffPost. [HuffPost]
TRUMP HOPES YOU FORGET HOW HE PRAISED CHINA AND WHO Before Trump turned to scapegoating China and the World Health Organization for the coronavirus pandemic, he praised both repeatedly. His ploy is obvious, political analysts say. He wants to blame outsiders for his administration's failures to contain the virus. But doing that requires rewriting the history of his lavish praise. [HuffPost]
OUSTED DESIGNER OF FLORIDA'S CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD WAS ASKED TO CENSOR DATA The Florida official in charge of designing and managing the state’s online dashboard of COVID-19 data says she was fired after refusing to censor and “manually change data” in order to present a picture justifying the state’s process of reopening and loosening COVID-19 restrictions. Rebekah Jones, who led a group of data scientists and public health experts at Florida’s Department of Health, announced her departure in an email to colleagues late Friday. [HuffPost]
RADICALIZED INFLUENCERS ARE MAINSTREAMING COVID-19 CONSPIRACY THEORIES A growing group of Instagram models, influencers and so-called mommy bloggers have outed themselves as coronavirus skeptics or deniers. Akin to celebrities in the eyes of their audiences — with whom they’ve built up trust over time through streams of intimate, relatable content — these women are uniquely well-positioned to open people’s minds to dubious and false information. It’s a sobering sign of far-right ideologies creeping in from the fringes of social media amid a colossal “infodemic” that’s causing real-life harm. [HuffPost] | 
0 comments:
Post a Comment