I’m dying to know the backstory on how this very conventional and responsible briefing, probably the single best thing the White House has done since Election Day, came together given the office politics affecting the task force. Last I checked, Scott Atlas had the run of the place, Anthony Fauci was at risk of being fired, and Deborah Birx was so disgusted by Atlas’s ignorance that she left town. She’s been on the road for months, speaking to local officials about how to contain their outbreaks.
Now suddenly here they are, side by side with Mike Pence, with neither Atlas nor Trump anywhere in sight. Watching this, you would think it was late March again.
What happened? Did Pence pull off a coup of his own?
Step one today: Explaining to Americans that the state of the pandemic right now is much worse than it was in spring. It’s not as bad in New York, where Cuomo’s terrible policies already thoroughly culled the herd in March and April, but it’s a nightmare everywhere else.
Birx: "This is a call to action for every American to increase their vigilance because of the graphic that is shown here." (The graphic shows new daily cases spiking to record levels.) pic.twitter.com/oOi0zCmhah
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2020
Step two: Having Fauci reassure Americans that no corners were cut in the development of the vaccines. That’s a major hurdle in convincing people to get vaccinated. When Gallup surveyed Americans recently about the vaccine, a plurality of the group that said it would refuse to get the jab named “concerns about rushed timeline” as the reason why. Among anti-vax Democrats, 54 percent gave that as their explanation. It fell to Fauci, the official with the most credibility among the public, to explain today that no, nothing was rushed. The vaccine happened quickly because the mRNA strategy used by Pfizer and Moderna was innovative, because biotech firms are throwing everything they have at solving COVID a la the Manhattan Project, and because the federal government was supporting researchers with Operation Warp Speed.
Dr. Fauci’s back to give a strong message on the scientific integrity of vaccines: “The process of the speed did not compromise at all safety.” pic.twitter.com/UokdsW4U5x
— The Recount (@therecount) November 19, 2020
Step three: Ducking all questions, in particular, the question of why the task force isn’t cooperating with Biden’s team on the transition.
That was absurd. The vice president and the task force just spoke at us for an hour. They did not take questions or hold themselves accountable to tbe American people in this moment of national crisis.
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) November 19, 2020
I stood up and asked as loudly as I could why the are refusing to work with Biden when lives are at stake. I asked why they’re undermining our democracy. I pointed out every person on stage was complicit. I am sorry I couldn’t get you all answers.
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) November 19, 2020
Speaking of which, Politico had an interesting piece this morning about Team Biden’s ambivalence about keeping Birx on next year. Fauci will remain, as he’s established a certain degree of independence from Trump. Birx was more docile about contradicting the president, which soured many lefties on her. My guess is that the Biden White House will retain her because the contacts she’s made around the country on her road trip are useful (“Her understanding of the delivery system and what the resources are at state and local levels is probably really high right now”) but she probably won’t be in a visible role. Biden has his own people, and Fauci, for that.
One other notable takeaway from the briefing:
Pence: CDC & Coronavirus task force in agreement that closing schools is not necessary.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 19, 2020
Whether it’s necessary or not isn’t the question in New York City, as health officials there reportedly agree that schools don’t need to close right now. The question is whether the city’s supreme ruler, the teachers’ union, is willing to let its members work when the positivity rate exceeds three percent. It isn’t, so kids will just have to live with it.
I’ll leave you with a rare point of agreement today between Team Trump and Team Biden. Our administration isn’t going to do a national lockdown, Pence declared at the briefing. Hundreds of miles away, Joe Biden insisted that his administration won’t do a national lockdown either. We’ve never actually had a “national” lockdown and any attempt to impose one would almost certainly be unconstitutional, but it’s nice that all sides can come together on this critical non-issue before Thanksgiving.
President-elect Joe Biden says he would not implement a national shutdown “because every region, every area, every community can be different.”
“There's no circumstance which I can see that would require a total national shutdown.” https://t.co/txTzsD7TIk pic.twitter.com/sJMfCkGdzZ
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) November 19, 2020
