May-lée President Donald Trump has a date in mind for when he wants America back open for business — but his health experts are not on board. According to the Washington Post, "Trump — concerned with the sagging economy — has sought a strategy for resuming business activity by May 1." That May 1 date might sound great, but it also sounds optimistic to anyone who has been following what health experts believe. Namely, that there is a long way to go — and a lot of work to be done in the field of research and testing — before the country can be safely re-opened. Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House coronavirus task force stressed that point in his morning round of interviews Friday. “The virus kind of decides whether or not it’s going to be appropriate to open or not,” Fauci said when asked about a May 1 date on CNN. He said that while there are some “favorable signs,” it would be a mistake “to get out there prematurely and wind up back in the same situation.” Both Fauci and fellow task force member Dr. Deborah Birx stressed that while the country could be starting to see a leveling off, it is too early to pull back from measures being taken to fight the virus. Peak Boredom at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Are you bored at home, surfing Twitter during the coronavirus pandemic? President Trump is too. He posted more than 50 tweets on Friday morning, with the first one fired off at 12:45 a.m. Trump's epic posting binge touched included attacks on Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, CNN, ABC, the Washington Post, the Russia investigation and the World Health Organization. He rounded that off by boasting of the ratings for his coronavirus press briefings, despite increasing calls from allies (from the Wall Street Journal editorial board to Sen. Lindsey Graham) for him to cut back on the spectacles. He Was THIS Close! For the majority of Friday's White House briefing from the coronavirus task force, President Trump appeared to be heeding advice from the likes of the WSJ and Sen. Graham. He played nice with reporters, answering their toughest questions without lashing out incoherently. But at the end of the briefing, after CNN's Jim Acosta asked his second round of questions, Trump snapped. He lashed out at "fake news" and rejected Acosta's questions on the federal government not doing enough to help states in the fight against the virus. Live From Scarlett Johansson's Townhouse It's Saturday Night! In a surprise announcement Thursday, NBC said Saturday Night Live! will be returning this week, for a special episode of remotely produced content. The show will include a segment of Weekend Update — there's certainly no lack of material. Meanwhile, Alisyn Camerota came with a pressing question for Dr. Fauci on CNN: Who does he want to play him on SNL? Fauci picked Brad Pitt. Correctly. |