By Washington Examiner. President Trump awoke Thursday morning to newspapers in Georgia reporting he had thrown plans for reopening its economy into “disarray,” as his efforts to balance getting the coronavirus under control with the need to get people back to work begin to raise questions about his decisiveness.
Trump has sought to cultivate an image as a confident, strong leader. Georgia is a state he carried in 2016 and hopes to win again in November. His presidential campaign four years ago was premised on his managerial prowess. As he deals with the biggest crisis of his presidency, supporters and critics alike are wondering whether he will follow his gut, which seems inclined to get an economy halted by widespread lockdowns moving again, or the advice of medical experts who counsel continued social distancing as the only way to curb the spread of the coronavirus. . .
These competing instincts came into focus as Trump disavowed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s efforts to reopen the state’s businesses. “I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree — strongly — with his decision to open certain facilities,” Trump said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing. “It’s just too soon. I think it’s too soon.”
But he also conveyed a sense of indecision: “I want him to do what he thinks is right,” Trump said of Kemp Wednesday. “But I disagree with him on what he’s doing.” . . .
The confusion was heightened by reports that Trump had initially held a supportive phone call with Kemp about his plans, and that experts on the federal coronavirus task force, led by Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci, changed his mind (White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied this Thursday night). Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican ally of the president, has also expressed concern that Georgia was moving too fast and tweeted in support of the White House. Trump emphasized that Kemp’s actions “are in violation of the phase one guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia.” (Read more from “Pandemic Stretches Trump Image as Gutsy Decision-Maker to the Breaking Point” HERE)
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Trump, Officials Suggest Coronavirus Is Weakened by Sunlight and Humidity
By Fox News. President Trump and public health officials argued on Thursday that higher temperatures and humidity, as well as direct exposure to sunlight, quickly kills the coronavirus, leading to hopes that the threat of the contagion could drastically recede during the summer months.
Bill Bryan, the head of the science and technology directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, said that solar light along with high temperatures and humidity have a “powerful effect” of creating environments less favorable for the virus to survive.
A chart released by during the White House coronavirus task force by the DHS showed that the novel coronavirus dies within two minutes in hot summer humidity while on surfaces and a minute and a half while in the air.
“Coronavirus dies at a much more rapid pace when exposed to sunlight and humidity,” Bryan said during the White House briefing. “The virus dies the quickest in direct sunlight. Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds.”
Bryan, however, warned that the results from a DHS study were still in the nascent stages and cautioned Americans to continue practicing social distancing and other hygiene measures outlined by the federal government. (Read more from “Trump, Officials Suggest Coronavirus Is Weakened by Sunlight and Humidity” HERE)
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