Vice President Mike Pence published a tweet on Saturday, assuring the public via Twitter that the White House Coronavirus Taskforce had completed a “very productive meeting” in the Situation Room. The tweet included an image of the meeting’s participants.
Right off the bat, something obvious stood out in the image: there were literally no women in the photograph. In 1950, such a picture would be expected. In 2020, that’s an awfully tough personnel dynamic to defend.
But there were also concerns about those who were at the table. Among those visible were Pence, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Including Carson seemed odd, though he did have a successful career as a physician. (He was formally named a member of the task force yesterday.)
But also visible was Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, who was formally chosen for the Coronavirus Taskforce last Thursday.
Or put another way, Kudlow was named to the task force two days after he shared these words of wisdom with a national television audience. “We have contained this. I won’t say airtight, but it’s pretty close to airtight,” Kudlow told CNBC. The outbreak is a “human tragedy,” but it’s not likely to become an “economic tragedy,” he said. What’s more, the day after being added to the White House task force, Kudlow boasted that Trump’s response to the outbreak will likely help the Republican’s campaign prospects. “I think the way he’s handling this will have a very positive effect on his re-election campaign,” Kudlow told reporters at the White House. “I’m a longtime Trump friend and watcher and now, of course, the last couple of years I’ve been working with him — for him. I think it was one of his best news conferences I’ve ever seen him give.” Maybe now be a good time to ask what exactly the qualifications are for those with formal roles on the White House Coronavirus Taskforce?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
