Nancy Pelosi looked more like she was on the set of "Contagion" the sequel than the U.S. Capitol building ... as she and her entourage all strolled in wearing masks.
The House Speaker arrived Thursday to the nation's capital as the House of Representatives begin debating several coronavirus-related issues and, hopefully, vote and approve the new stimulus package to help the reeling economy and specifically small businesses. The Senate already approved the nearly $500 billion relief bill.
You can see it's not just Nancy wearing a face covering. Her staff and security detail are also following the CDC's guidelines to wear masks while entering essential businesses. When the session began, you can also see almost every member -- both Democrats and Republicans -- wearing masks, though there were a few knuckleheads who opted going sans mask.
TBH, it's great to see most politicians practice what they preach, especially during this pandemic. If only the folks at Jersey Mike's would do the same.
Rep. Ilhan Omar says the Trump Organization has a lot of nerve asking the federal government for rent relief ... when regular Americans can't get it themselves yet.
We spoke to the Minnesota congresswoman Wednesday about the Trump International Hotel in D.C. making a formal request to its owner's administration to be able to delay its monthly rent payments of $268k. It certainly seems to scream ... conflict of interest.
Eric Trump -- who's in charge of Trump's business affairs while he serves as president -- told the NYT he just wanted to be treated like everyone else ... seeing as how their revenue has taken a nose-dive during the coronavirus pandemic, similar to other hotels in the country.
That's definitely not cool, though, according to Rep. Omar -- who tells us President Trump and his cabinet should NOT be prioritizing hotels over everyday Americans when it comes to rent relief ... as there's a lot more of the latter than the former.
She says no one bats an eye when corporations and businesses ask for help, but when the people need assistance -- more than the federal stimulus checks -- everyone makes a fuss. It sounds like the congresswoman is teasing a potential new bill that would help out with this issue specifically -- namely, rent deferments.
Rep. Omar says there's another reason for the feds to step in quickly ... and it has to do with getting ahead of the curve. Not for the virus, but for a potential housing crisis.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has a big new idea that he's launching ... and it could be the beginning of a New Deal-like revolution in America.
The Guv came on "TMZ Live" to unveil his latest initiative -- Californiansforall.ca.gov. The idea is pretty simple ... jump on the website and you'll be hooked up with someone who will help you figure out how you can best volunteer your time to help people.
It could be delivering food or medicine to a senior's center, or helping feed the homeless. There are a thousand ways to help, and the program matches people's talent with the needs of those who are living on the edge.
You know, when you watch people like Jeff Bezos contribute $10 billion or Oprah plunking down $10 million, a lot of people figure they can't really make nearly that kind of difference, so why bother?
Well, Governor Newsom has an answer to "why bother?" People -- especially young people -- have the energy and unique talents to help others. Think about it ... with everything in our economy changing, what if this becomes like the New Deal and we start turning volunteer work into a profession? So, people who volunteer could make a living and help others live well in the process.
And, one more thing. Crises like the coronavirus pandemic create heroes, and Newsom is among them. He's been a steady, smart leader who has captured national attention by the way he's handled the crisis, and this latest move is just another great initiative by the Governor.
President Trump just did something that rarely ever happens live when he's got a hold of a mic -- he fact-checked himself ... but only to serve his agenda.
DT was doing his daily White House Press Briefing Saturday, and while he was ticking off figures about testing in New York, he compared rates there to those in Singapore ... which he said were 6% higher than the South-Eastern Asian country.
Or, so said his notes, which he paused to correct, while calling out the typo. Trump said the actual number was closer to 67% -- a YUGE difference -- and that 6% didn't "look too good." He also seemingly took a shot at his staff, saying ... "Good job out there."
First off ... the fact that Trump is comparing New York testing rates per capita to Singapore -- which has about a quarter of the population NY does -- is pretty ridiculous, even if Singapore was one of the countries that seemed more prepared for COVID-19 than others.
Also, it's ironic that Trump would point out a typo ... when his tweets are often full of 'em, which get published as is, without correction. Here, when it's to boost his image of how he guides the States he oversees ... he wants to get it right.
At the coronavirus task force briefing, Trump snipes at Democratic governors over "complaining" about ventilators, Covid-19 testing. pic.twitter.com/OwdY2vHVyZ
Unfortunately, it appears the typo remark was only made to push the narrative that there's more than enough testing going on, and that Democratic governors -- like Cuomo, who's been calling for way more federal help lately -- are simply complaining to complain.
2:00 PM PT -- Speaking of those Orange County protests, it looks like they're still raging on well into the the weekend -- and it appears someone really wants their GD 31 flavors!!!
UPDATE
Check out this photo that was shot in front of the Baskin-Robbins on Main Street in Huntington Beach Saturday morning -- ya got this lovely lady screaming at the top of her lungs in front of the ice cream shop with a sign that reads, "Give Me Liberty or Give me Death"
Probably not what Patrick Henry had in mind when he wrote this speech while he was trying to rally troops against the Red Coats, but that's how the good people of HB feel about these stay-at-home orders, apparently. The funny thing is ... the liberty they want might just cost them death in the process. Anything for an overpriced double-scoop, it seems.
A guy working on PresidentTrump's newest task force to help reopen the nation just compared the fools taking to the streets to protest quarantine life ... to the late, great Rosa Parks.
GOP economist and strategist Stephen Moore -- whom Trump's administration has tapped to be part of the White House council to reopen the country -- made the absurd comment this weekend in a story published by WaPo, detailing the growing demonstrations nationwide.
What he said ... "I think there's a boiling point that has been reached and exceeded. I call these people the modern-day Rosa Parks -- they are protesting against injustice and a loss of liberties." Yep -- that came out of his mouth.
Of course, the guy's getting ripped online for the ridiculous comparison. In case we had to spell it out ... Rosa Parks fought to open up the United States to people of all colors. A lot of these protesters want the country opened up so they can go to the beach.
Not to say there aren't millions of people truly suffering now with the shutdown ... but still, comparing these protesters to Rosa Parks -- get real.
As wrong as Moore is, it's telling that his sentiment has connected with some folks -- including those demonstrators who are flocking out in droves. The President hasn't done us any favors, by tweeting to his followers to "LIBERATE" certain states, squarely contradicting his statement the day before when he said the governors will decide when their states open, and he contracted that statement the day before that by basically saying he was King and only HE could reopen the country.
LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!
There was even a huge protest on the West Coast -- people in Huntington Beach, CA came out en masse with signs like "Quarantine the Sick, NOT the Healthy" and others like it.
BTW, there are reports of even more protests just like these popping up this week -- in fact, it appears one might already be underway in Texas, where folks are out and about in a rage.
This is the “liberate” protest happening now in Austin, Texas.
It looks like they packed themselves as close together as humanly possible.
Before chanting for the firing of the only intelligent member of Trump’s coronavirus task force.
Naturally, none of them are practicing social distancing while they demonstrate ... and with that, they probably think they're sticking it to man -- "just like Rosa Parks" 😑
Jacksonville, FL Beachgoers Don't seem at all concerned with the number of coronavirus deaths and cases on the rise ... because they hit the sand Friday and packed in like sardines.
It's a crazy sight, as the sun worshipers took their chances by getting in close contact with other beachgoers.
Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, celebrated the trek to the beach saying, "This can be the beginning of the pathway back to normal life."
President Trump is clearly encouraging people to break quarantine, with Tweets like, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN," "LIBERATE VIRGINIA," and "LIBERATE MINNESOTA."
He's clearly dog-whistling, because he threw in this ... "And save your great 2nd Amendment."
Not hard to read between the lines ... he's telling his stalwarts to ignore the advice of doctors, scientists, their governor and mayor, because they're Americans dammit.
Florida currently has 24,066 confirmed coronavirus cases and 726 deaths ... and counting.
Forget social distancing or staying at home to save lives -- an angry group of Michiganders are over it and they're loudly protesting, hoping to get their Governor to lift the safer-at-home order.
The scene from Lansing is pretty insane ... hundreds of protesters lining the streets around the Capitol -- very few wearing masks -- to pull off what they call "Operation Gridlock." Drivers in about 400 vehicles leaned on horns while protesters shouted with megaphones.
Fox News
Michigan State Police troopers are on hand, but say they are protecting First Amendment rights and will only take enforcement action for traffic laws, vandalism or threats to human life. In other words, NO tickets for the obvious social distancing violations.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently expanded the state's stay-at-home order, requiring stores to block off non-essential aisles and banning people from traveling between vacation homes. Motorized boating is also now prohibited.
Protestors say the Governor should let more people back into the workforce and lift restrictions on public outings, even though health officials back the order and warn against lifting restrictions too soon.
Michigan has over 27,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the virus has killed 1,768 people ... fourth-most in the country. Federal health officials still consider the state a "hot spot."
Dr. Deborah Birx is in the hall of fame -- the Bobblehead Hall of Fame -- and like Dr. Fauci before her ... her plastic likeness will raise funds for protective gear for medical workers.
Bobbleheads for Birx -- the coronavirus response coordinator for the White House task force -- went on pre-sale Wednesday for $25, and 5 bucks from each sale will be donated to the American Hospital Association's Protect the Heroes campaign ... according to National Bobblehead HOF and Museum co-founder Phil Sklar.
Sklar says ... "Bobbleheads are the ultimate honor, and we think Dr. Birx deserves it, given what she has done and continues to do for our country and the world in the battle against COVID-19."
Birx's figurine features her wearing one of her signatures scarves, which have garnered a fan following -- one Instagram account has more than 17,000 followers. The bobbleheads are expected to ship in July.
Birx bobbleheads come a week after the museum released Fauci bobbleheads for presale, which have already raised over $130k for the same good cause and quickly became the company's best-seller.
Deepak Chopra's urging everyone to be kind now -- even to your adversaries -- assuming we all, like Deepak, want the best possible post-pandemic outcome.
The mindfulness expert and holistic health guru specifically calls out people blasting the President, and other "Trumps of the world," because he believes you can't fight darkness with darkness ... and we all need to work together.
Sounds great, but if you're fighting darkness, who represents the light? Chopra suggests it COULD be Joe Biden, but adds he's going to need help from a variety of other progressive leaders.
Watch the video ... Deepak thinks he has a pretty solid game plan for Biden and says the likely Democratic presidential nominee is off to a good start with Barack Obama's endorsement.
As for whether he'd consider joining the Biden team as a spiritual adviser, Chopra tells us the formality of that situation's not really his thing ... but he's open to a chat.
Deepak also suggests his 21-day meditation plan for help getting through this difficult time. That goes for everyone, not just Biden.
Former President Barack Obama waited until the dust settled among all the Democratic presidential candidates, but he's fully throwing his support behind Joe Biden now.
Obama opened a video message with an uplifting sentiment about the fight against coronavirus and gave a thank you to those on the frontlines. He then transitioned to the political side ... saying, "That's why I'm so proud to endorse Joe Biden as President of the United States."
Obama then goes in on Trump and Republicans, saying, "One thing everybody has learned by now, the Republicans running the White House and the U.S. Senate are not interested in progress, they're interested in power."
At one point he mentions the failure of the Trump administration in containing the coronavirus, saying Republicans ignored the science of pandemics just as they ignored the science of climate change ... reminding everyone of the importance of honesty and informativeness from a President.
Biden was obviously thrilled with the endorsement, tweeting just a few minutes later, "Barack — This endorsement means the world to Jill and me. We’re going to build on the progress we made together, and there’s no one I’d rather have standing by my side."
Obama's backing of Biden comes just a day after Bernie Sanders joined Joe on a livestream to offer his endorsement, as well. Sanders dropped out of the race last week, seemingly leaving the nomination to Biden.
Joe told Bernie if he does indeed become the nominee, he's going to need Sanders' help "not just to win the campaign, but to govern."
Biden will certainly need more of Obama's help to defeat Trump, as well. The good news is ... 44 has been getting back out there more lately, mostly on social media to post helpful info about the coronavirus pandemic.
Ya gotta think he'll pivot to pushing his party to vote for Joe now though ... especially since it's been his goal to unite Democrats after all the primary chaos cooled down.
President Trump has yet to respond to Obama's endorsement. Start the countdown.
Chris Cuomo might be going a little stir-crazier than the average person ... based on his epic rant against CNN and President Trump, and him saying he's over the BS that comes with his job.
The CNN anchor -- who's battling COVID-19 -- was on his SiriusXM radio show Monday, and told his audience how he felt about his J-O-B ... and what he'd rather be doing instead. Long story short -- Chris wants to be able to cuss people out when they challenge him in public.
Chris gives an example of the latter -- describing a situation he and his family recently went through when they were out in his family's driveway, and a biker rolled up in the neighbor's driveway and apparently started chewing out Chris.
As Chris explains in this rant, he just wants to tell off people like that, but in way more colorful language. Of course, he acknowledges he can't because of his celebrity and his position at CNN -- which he implies constrains him.
He also says he's over the hyper-partisanship of his gig -- going on to say he doesn't believe anything Dems or Republicans tell him on the air. He says indulging that type of environment isn't worth his time -- and he doesn't even care about the money.
Oh, and yeah ... he called out Trump too.
BTW, at some point the same day ... Chris was on his regular CNN show discussing coronavirus with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and how it gets into your head and seriously screws with ya.
Unclear if he was trying to explain his radio words away, or if he was simply offering context to what he'd said -- but either way, something tells us Chris wasn't lying here.
Joe Exotic's former campaign manager wants to do forJoe Bidenwhat he did for the 'Tiger King' star -- raise tons of cash with some wild fundraising parties.
Joshua Dial, who ran Joe's failed campaign for governor of Oklahoma, and was heavily featured in the Netflix docuseries, tells TMZ ... Joe's campaign would regularly rake in $5,000 to $10,000 for tiger parties catering to rich folks.
TMZ.com
Joshua says they would load a baby tiger into a cage in the back of a van and haul it off to private parties for rich donors ... who gladly paid top dollar to party the night away and play with the tiger cub.
The tiger fundraiser parties were a huge hit, and Joshua says they organized several of them during Joe's 2018 campaign.
While Joe ran as a Libertarian, Joshua says the party has a lot in common with the Democrats ... and he wants a chance to work his magic for Biden!!!
9:28 AM PT -- In a message to his supporters, Bernie promised he'd work with Vice President Biden to help further his campaign ... Biden also posted a message about Bernie.
UPDATE
I know Bernie well. He’s a good man, a great leader, and one of the most powerful voices for change in our country. And it’s hard to sum up his contributions to our politics in one, single tweet. So I won’t try to. https://t.co/Z6OkCDWFNm
9:05 AM PT -- President Trump just chimed in on Twitter, of course, saying ... "Bernie Sanders is OUT! Thank you to Elizabeth Warren. If not for her, Bernie would have won almost every state on Super Tuesday!"
UPDATE
Trump adds ... "This ended just like the Democrats & the DNC wanted, same as the Crooked Hillary fiasco. The Bernie people should come to the Republican Party, TRADE!"
Sen. Bernie Sanders just ended his 2020 bid for President ... leaving Joe Bidena wide open path for the Democratic nomination.
Bernie made the inevitable decision Wednesday from his hometown of Burlington, Vermont after telling staffers he was suspending his campaign. The news, of course, makes Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Bernie tweeted, "Today I am suspending my campaign. But, while the campaign ends, the struggle for justice continues on."
The announcement comes about a month after getting walloped in primaries held in 6 states, but most importantly ... it came during a global pandemic that effectively shut down the U.S.
It also comes a day after Wisconsin controversially held its state elections. Sanders said about the decision ... "holding this election amid the coronavirus outbreak is dangerous, disregards the guidance of public health experts, and may very well prove deadly." The campaign refused to promote any "get out to vote" efforts for that reason.
Furthermore, the math just wasn't there for Bernie as he faced insurmountable odds. Bernie would reportedly have had to win more than 55% of delegates to score a delegate majority. That no longer seemed possible as Sanders badly struggled to make his case in Florida (Biden's shellacking him there, polls show) and Georgia (Sanders lost badly there 4 years ago to Hillary Clinton) ... two states holding primaries in the next couple of weeks.
The senator from Vermont -- whose platform resonated with young voters who were all-in on his push for universal healthcare and free college -- had hoped to pick up crucial wins Tuesday to give his campaign a much-needed boost. But, instead, it was Biden who distanced himself ... scoring victories in Missouri, Idaho, Mississippi, and perhaps most importantly, Michigan.
After a resounding win, Biden spoke to supporters and all but talked like he was the presumptive nominee saying, "I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion. We share a common goal, and together we'll defeat Donald Trump."
Once left for dead before the South Carolina primary, Biden's all but officially emerged as the Democratic nominee for president.
Donald Trump just did something jaw-dropping ... he shut down the leading infectious disease specialist in the United States of America -- stopped him from exposing a dangerous lie the President had just told.
Trump held a coronavirus briefing late Sunday and made a long pitch for people to use the drug hydroxychloroquine to battle the disease. He looked in the camera and said, "What have you got to lose?" There's actually an answer -- side effects include mild problems like nausea, but doctors say there's also a risk of stroke and major heart issues.
Fact is ... the drug is unproven. There have been very limited tests and results are a light-year from conclusive, and as you see, the side effects are significant.
A reporter then asked Dr. Fauci about the drug. He's spoken about it before, and there's no way he was on Team Trump, and the President knew it. You gotta watch the video.
Trump ended the briefing by insulting 2 reporters he didn't like, cutting off legit questions ... but watch and judge for yourself.
Forget politics for a minute ... Donald Trump is demanding, of all things, gratitude from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, despite the fact New York's health care system is about to break without these phantom tests, ventilators and PPE's the President constantly claims are rolling out.
Trump was true to form as he MC'd his daily coronavirus briefing, boasting about the federal response ... something in sharp, sharp contrast to the thousands of doctors and nurses who are now drafting their wills because there's nothing to adequately protect them from the disease.
Trump went in on Cuomo, saying he's given him everything imaginable ... maybe he didn't hear about the broken ventilators, the ridiculous competitive bidding among states for lifesaving equipment, the lack of masks, the lack of tests, and on and on.
Trump said Cuomo should be more like CA Gov Gavin Newsom. Here's the thing ... Newsom's a smart guy, and he, like every other leader at this point, knows Trump's enormous ego needs heavy stroking ... or else. Remember, he told Pence not to even call the governors of Washington State and Michigan because they supposedly lacked gratitude.
Here's what clearly escapes Trump. We want leaders who speak up, leaders who raise their voices when the doctors and nurses in their states are getting infected and dying. We need leaders who will stand up to a federal government that STILL will not recommend that EVERY state impose a stay-at-home order ... which is the most absurd thing in this whole messed up situation.
Trump likes polls, so check ours out today. People think Cuomo is a better leader than Trump by a margin that exceeds 2 to 1.
Andrew Yang says it's sad but true -- many Americans are aiming their hostilities over the coronavirus at Asians ... but he's trying his best to be empathetic.
The former presidential candidate -- who's Taiwanese American -- tells us he understands that times are tough for everyone right now, and with tough times comes feelings of anger ... and for some, it creates a need to find scapegoats.
Unfortunately, many Asian Americans like Yang are bearing the brunt of what he calls "racial hostility" ... due in part to people falsely equating the coronavirus' Chinese origins to all Asians somehow being responsible for it. It didn't help Trump started calling it the Chinese virus.
Yang points out that Asian Americans' lives have been upended just like everybody else's by the COVID-19 crisis ... but everyone else isn't having to deal with daily prejudice on the streets because of it, as well.
It's totally unfair, but Andrew's not one for sulking during the pandemic ... he's about solutions.
He's been urging his fellow Asian Americans to not cower in fear, but to "do everything in our power to accelerate the end of this crisis."
Yang added ... "We should show without a shadow of a doubt that we are Americans who will do our part for our country in this time of need."
