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As it happenedended

Trump news: Trump visits golf course for second day in a row as coronavirus deaths near 100,000

President spends Memorial Day weekend golfing and spreading false claims as nation's death toll climbs to devastating high

Alex Woodward,Harry Cockburn
Sunday 24 May 2020 13:01 EDT
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Joe Biden attacks Trump for playing golf as death toll heads toward 100,000 in new ad

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As the nation's death toll approaches 100,000 lives lost during the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump was spotted playing golf on Saturday and Sunday, as crowds of people flocked to beaches and parties over Memorial Day weekend despite growing infection rates across the US.

The president also shared sexist insults about his political rivals, including one message that called Hillary Clinton a "skank", while also spending the weekend on Twitter floating conspiracy theories about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.

After encouraging Americans to spend the weekend outdoors and at the golf course, White House health official Dr Deborah Birx defended her remarks following reports of massive crowds over the holiday weekend and suggested that Americans need to change their behaviour and follow physical distancing guidelines, which are beginning to ease in most states after weeks of quarantine.

Offline, Mr Trump spent the holiday weekend at his Virginia golf club, where he was captured putting, driving his golf cart and waving to supporters.

In another apparent attempt to undermine the results of an election, the president also continued to push his false claim that mail-in or absentee voting would lead to voter fraud, a falsehood that even a commission that he appointed to investigate had failed to find any evidence.

"The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history," Mr Trump said on Twitter. "People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and 'force' people to sign. Also, forge names."

There is no evidence to suggest this happens.

The president's top economic adviser meanwhile has predicted that the unemployment rate will remain in double digits by the 2020 presidential election in November and hit 20 per cent by the end of May, as the number of unemployed Americans continues to creep upward.

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Former Durham Police Chief Constable Mike Barton has said of Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham: “Let’s not beat about the bush… he broke the rules. It’s very clear.”

“If you’re suffering from coronavirus, you stay at home. You’re in lockdown, you do not leave your home under any circumstances. Not only did they do that and travel 260 miles, but are also then trying to justify it and evade their responsibilities,” he said to the BBC.

Harry.Cockburn24 May 2020 13:20

The Labour Party has now tweeted about the Dominic Cummings debacle:

Harry.Cockburn24 May 2020 13:34

China reported three new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, two from outside the country and one locally transmitted in the northeastern province of Jilin, which has experienced a minor outbreak now apparently largely contained. No new deaths were reported and 79 people remain in treatment, with another 380 under isolation and monitoring for being suspected cases or having tested positive for COVID-19 without showing any symptoms. China has reported a total of 82,974 cases, including 4,634 deaths.

Harry.Cockburn24 May 2020 13:47

Underground production at AngloGold Ashanti's Mponeng mine in South Africa will remain closed until further notice after 53 employees tested positive for the coronavirus, a provincial health department said in a statement on Sunday.

The mine, the deepest in the world, restarted operations on April 22 after closing entirely during a nationwide lockdown, and was operating at 50% capacity.

The department of health in Gauteng, the province where the mine is located, said in statement posted on Twitter that 53 employees at the mine had so far tested positive for the virus, and that a further 104 tests were still being processed.

"The management of the mine has indicated that the underground production will remain closed until further notice," the statement said.

Harry.Cockburn24 May 2020 14:10

Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands who, in defiance of curbs imposed to contain the coronavirus, gathered on Sunday to protest against Beijing's plan to directly impose national security laws on the city.

In a return of the unrest that roiled the financial hub last year, crowds thronged the bustling shopping area of Causeway Bay, where chants of "Hong Kong independence, the only way out", and other slogans echoed through the streets.

Coronavirus restrictions have largely kept protesters off the streets in recent months.

Harry.Cockburn24 May 2020 14:29

Breaking: US unemployment to remain in double digits until November election, White House predicts

 A top economic adviser to Donald Trump has predicted that the unemployment rate could still be in double digits by the 2020 presidential election in November, as the number of unemployed Americans continues to creep upward due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump administration officials expect the unemployment rate to eclipse 20 per cent by the end of May, the highest such figure since the Great Depression, senior White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

Griffin Connolly reports:

Alex Woodward24 May 2020 14:52

Trump’s guess of how much life costs hasn’t helped coronavirus fight, economists say

When Donald Trump said in late March he didn’t think the economic devastation from stay-at-home orders was a good trade-off for avoiding Covid-19 deaths, tweeting, “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” economists across the country already were busy working on the exact kind of cost-benefit analysis implied by the president.

They reached a very different conclusion from Mr Trump. Todd C. Frankel on expert predictions that the costs to "flatten the curve" outweigh the projected hit to the nation’s economy:

Alex Woodward24 May 2020 16:00

Birx: 'It's our job to communicate'

Without any effective law-binding or consistent mandates on the state or federal level to enforce social distancing, Dr Deborah Birx — questioned about her encouraging people to spend the Memorial Day weekend outdoors — said "we've made it clear" there's asymptomatic spread and that "social distancing is absolutely critical".

"We've learned a lot about this virus, but we need to translate that learning into real changed behaviour," she told ABC on Sunday.

But, Martha Raddatz said, we're not seeing that — months after those guidelines have been in place.

"It's our job to communicate," Dr Birx said.

Alex Woodward24 May 2020 16:15

Republican governors urged Americans to wear masks: 'This is not about politics'

Face coverings have become a political symbol among the nation's right wing.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, echoing North Dakota Governor Burgum's emotional press conference urging residents to wear face coverings, told NBC's Meet the Press that "it's not about conservative or liberal, it's about helping other people."

Alex Woodward24 May 2020 16:40

Trump shares sexist tweets calling Hillary Clinton a 'skank' and insulting prominent Democrats

Donald Trump unleashed a string of vile, sexist messages against his Democratic rivals while promoting false claims about absentee ballots and suggesting MSNBC host Joe Scarborough had something to do with the death of a former intern in 2001 — just before he headed to his Virginia golf club for a second day while nearly 100,000 Americans died from coronavirus.

Alex Woodward24 May 2020 17:10

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