Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'I鈥檓 On A Stage, And It鈥檚 Very Far Away': Trump Defends Indoor Rally
President Donald Trump told the Review-Journal in an exclusive interview Sunday that he did not believe he was subject to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak鈥檚 order limiting gatherings to 50 people when when he addressed a crowd of thousands at an indoor rally in Henderson. (Saunders, 9/14)
President Trump and his campaign are defending his right to rally indoors, despite the private unease of aides who called it a game of political Russian roulette and growing concern that such gatherings could prolong the coronavirus pandemic. 鈥淚鈥檓 on a stage, and it鈥檚 very far away,鈥 Mr. Trump said in an interview with The Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday, after thousands of his supporters gathered on Sunday night inside a manufacturing plant in a Las Vegas suburb, flouting a state directive limiting indoor gatherings to fewer than 50 people. (9/14)
The host of President Trump's indoor campaign rally in Nevada on Sunday has been fined $3,000 for defying state聽guidelines聽that prohibit large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic. CNN reports that Xtreme Manufacturing, which allowed the Trump campaign to use one of its facilities, is accused of six coronavirus violations and has been issued a penalty. (Seipel, 9/14)
Fallout continues from Bob Woodward's new book 鈥
Journalist Bob Woodward said Monday that he was shocked when he learned that President Donald Trump "possessed the specific knowledge that could have saved lives" in January. In an interview with Savannah Guthrie on NBC's "TODAY" show, Woodward said he found out about a briefing the president had received from his national security advisers on Jan. 28 about the pandemic's coming to the United States and that, only a few days later, on Feb. 4, Trump didn't share the information in his State of the Union address, which 40 million people watched. (Shabad, 9/14)
Journalist Bob Woodward said early Monday that restricting travel from China in response to the coronavirus pandemic was not President Trump鈥檚 idea. Host聽Savannah Guthrie noted on NBC's "Today" that Woodward鈥檚 book 鈥淩age鈥 claims that Trump implemented the restrictions聽on the advice of聽his administration鈥檚 health experts, including Anthony Fauci, after a Jan. 28 meeting. (Budryk, 9/14)
In other news from the Trump administration 鈥
The Trump administration is looking to expand a ban on global health aid for foreign organizations that聽provide or promote abortions. The proposed change from the State Department would require that foreign聽groups receiving global health aid through contracts from the U.S. government agree to not provide or promote abortions 鈥 even with funding from other sources. (Hellmann, 9/14)
The Trump administration has not yet repaid the United States Postal Service more than six months after the agency sent out COVID-19 guidelines on postcards聽prominently featuring the president鈥檚 name.聽USA TODAY reported earlier this year the total cost of printing and mailing the postcards was $28 million, with a total printing cost of $4.6 million, and the Trump administration was negotiating the reimbursement with the Postal Service for the cost.But聽the bill for the postcards sent to 138 million residential addresses has still not been paid. (Wu, 9/14)