Sunday shows – ‘Our Pearl Harbor moment and our 9/11 moment’

Top Trump administration officials appeared on the Sunday morning political talk shows, offering a grim outlook for the next week as coronavirus cases and related deaths increase in the United States.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams, for example, said it would be the “hardest and saddest week” of most Americans’ lives, adding that will be our “Pearl Harbor moment and our 9/11 moment.” 

Governors from multiple states also offered updates on their efforts to fight COVID-19. 

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

 

Surgeon general: ‘This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week’ of most Americans’ lives By ZACK BUDRYK   “This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment and our 9/11 moment only it’s not going to be localized, it’s going to be happening all over the country,” U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said. Read the full story here

Fauci says it would be ‘false statement’ to say we have coronavirus under control By ZACK BUDRYK   “We are struggling to get it under control,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday.  Read the full story here

Louisiana governor says state will reach ventilator capacity this week By REBECCA KLAR   Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said Sunday that his state will have more critical patients than available ventilators or ICU beds this week, based on current modeling. Read the full story here

Illinois governor fires back after Trump says states were unprepared: ‘He doesn’t understand the word federal’ By REBECCA KLAR   Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) slammed President Trump early Sunday, saying after the president suggested states should have prepared their own stockpiles of equipment ahead of the coronavirus pandemic that Trump does not understand the word “federal.” Read the full story here

Whitmer: Lack of national coronavirus strategy ‘creating a more porous situation’ By ZACK BUDRYK   Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said Sunday that the lack of a unified federal approach to the coronavirus pandemic was creating a “more porous situation” that allowed some parts of the country to fall behind others. Read the full story here

Former Trump adviser says president needs to think further ahead in coronavirus response By JUSTINE COLEMAN   “I know what I’d be telling the president right now would be to lift his gaze,” Tom Bossert said. “He’s looking 10 feet – and it seems to me a lot of our leaders are looking 10 feet in front of their bumper right now.” Read the full story here

Arkansas governor: ‘I’d like to see a better way’ to procure medical equipment By REBECCA KLAR   “It literally is a global jungle that we’re competing in now,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said.  Read the full story here

Biden says Democratic convention may need to be virtual By JUSTINE COLEMAN   “We’re gonna have to do a convention,” the former Vice President said. “We may have to do a virtual convention. I know I think we should be thinking about that right now.” Read the full story here

Biden says dismissal of aircraft carrier captain is ‘close to criminal’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN    “I think it’s close to criminal the way they’re dealing with this guy,” Biden said. “I think he should have a commendation rather than be fired.”    Read the full story here

Esper: Removal of aircraft carrier commander an ‘example of how we hold leaders accountable’ By REBECCA KLAR   Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday defended the Navy’s decision to remove Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer who warned of a coronavirus outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, without an investigation, saying it is an “example of how we hold leaders accountable.” Read the full story here

Pentagon chief says military moving toward face coverings By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday that the military will issue guidance on face coverings for troops after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended people cover their faces when out in public to stem the spread of coronavirus. Read the full story here

Clyburn says stimulus spending oversight committee will be ‘forward looking’ By REBECCA KLAR   “My understanding is that this committee will be forward looking, we are not going to be looking back on what the president may or may not have done back before this crisis hit. The crisis is with us,” House Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.)  said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Read the full story here

Stephen Moore: We’re facing another Great Depression By MARTY JOHNSON   Economist Stephen Moore said during an interview on Sunday that the U.S. could be headed to into another Great Depression if the economy isn’t restarted by May amid the coronavirus outbreak. Read the full story here