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From NBC's Ben Kamisar If it's Sunday, could Americans have handled the truth?
That's the key question at the heart of the debate over President Trump's comments to Bob Woodward from February that were far more sober and somber than how he described the coronavirus at the time to America.
To hear RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tell it, Trump did a service to America by keeping people calm and preventing a large-scale panic in the early days of the coronavirus. "Think of what would have happened if he'd have gone out and said: 'This is awful. We should all be afraid. We don't have a plan.' It would have been a run on the banks, it would have been a run on the hospitals, it would have been a run on the grocery stores.”
—RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. But that's the opposite of how others see it.
Former Vice President Joe Biden called the revelations proof of a "life-or-death betrayal of the American people," joining the many Democrats who have argued that Trump's comments undersold the gravity of the virus, costing American lives.
Asked about the discrepancy between the president's message to Woodward and to the American people in the virus' early months, infectious disease expert Dr. Michael Osterholm preached the importance of leveling with the public. "Telling the truth never causes panic. If you just tell people the truth, they will respond and they will trust you to continue to tell them the truth. The great leaders of the world have done that."
—Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Click on the photo below to watch the full interview with McDaniel, and here to watch the full interview with Osterholm. Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
An exclusive interview with Peter Strzok Former FBI agent Peter Strzok joined Sunday's "Meet the Press," where he argued that the president's obfuscation about his business deals with Russia "placed him in a position where the Russians have leverage over him."
Strzok played a central role in the bureau’s investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign by was fired for sending anti-Trump text messages to another agent during the 2016 presidential campaign.
During his interview, Strzok added that he regrets sending those text messages that were "used to bludgeon the work of the FBI" but defended the bureau's investigation.
Click on the photo below to watch the full interview. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
TWEETS OF THE DAY: Florida, Florida, Florida
DATA DOWNLOAD: A deeper look at the new NBC News/Marist state polls Today's Data Download takes a look under the hood at the new NBC News/Marist polls of Florida and Pennsylvania to answer why the former is much closer than the latter.
Trump and Biden were tied in the perennial battleground of Florida (a state decided by less than 5 percentage points in six of the last seven presidential races).
Why? In large part because Biden is underperforming with Hispanic/Latino voters (even as he outperforms with whites and seniors).
And why is Biden up 9 points in Pennsylvania? Because Biden repeats his overperformance with white voters and seniors in a state where there's a significant chunk of Black voters who are more Biden-friendly.
Click on the photo below for more analysis.
ICYMI: Issuing a Bern notice Joe Biden might still hold the edge in most national and swing-state polling, but that hasn't persuaded Bernie Sanders that he's got things in the bag.
The Vermont senator believes Biden should be focusing more on health care and the economy, while also campaigning with Democrats who energize young liberals, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, according to new reporting in the Washington Post.
Sanders' former presidential campaign manager told the paper that the senator wants to see "stronger outreach to young people, the Latino community and the progressive movement."
Click on the photo below to read more from The Washington Post. Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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