For better or worse, coronavirus threat is personal to Trump

Nothing to sneeze at, he agrees

Donald Trump's morning tweet was worrying for those wondering if he grasped the depth of the anxiety over coronavirus that has shaken Americans and financial markets. The president said CNN and MSNBC "are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus [his misspelling] look as bad as possible, including panicking markets." He added, "USA in great shape!"

But in an evening White House news conference, Trump signaled he will put his trust in the nation's public health professionals to manage the threat, even if he prefers a softer volume on the alarms. He separated himself from the fevered conspiracy talk of right-wing allies such as Rush Limbaugh, who framed the warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a "deep state" plot to hurt Trump. "They really are professional. They're beyond that," Trump said of the health officials. "No, I don’t see that at all," he said.

Trump put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the nation's effort to forestall the spread of the disease. Showing he's got an essential part of the job in hand — making Trump look good — Pence dutifully hailed the president for steps already taken, such as travel restrictions on countries that have suffered outbreaks.

Still, there was a disconnect in tone between Trump and health officials. "I don't think it's inevitable" that the coronavirus will spread in the U.S., the president said. But Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said that while "our aggressive containment strategy … has been working … we do expect more cases." She added: “The trajectory of what we’re looking at over the weeks and months ahead is very uncertain.”

Trump said the U.S. is “rapidly developing a vaccine.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained why the complicated process, including development and testing, will take a year or more.

Trump voiced hope the outbreaks will subside. Fauci called it “quite conceivable” that the virus will “come back and recycle next year.”

But Trump agreed with the health officials on the necessity of preparing for the worst. “We’re very, very ready for this, for anything, whether it is going to be a breakout of larger proportions or whether or not we’re at that very low [current] level,” the president said. He didn't rule out the possibility of further restrictions on travel to the U.S., or that Americans might want to reconsider vacation travel abroad. For more, see Newsday's story by Laura Figueroa Hernandez.

Of course, there's politics, too

Trump didn't want to accept that the coronavirus fears are responsible for the stock market's nosedive, blaming instead investor reaction to the Democrats' presidential debate on Tuesday night.

“I think you can add quite a bit of sell-off to what” the Democrats were saying, Trump asserted.

There's a zero chance that happened, as the biggest part of the Dow's plunge — more than 1,900 points — came in the Monday and Tuesday sessions before the debate.

Trump also hit back at criticism he was mishandling the crisis from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. A morning tweet ridiculed Schumer for saying Trump's request for $2.5 billion in emergency funding was too low.

But Republicans also said more was needed, and Trump relented: “If they want to do more, we’ll do more.” He groused that it's been harder to get funding for his Mexican border wall.

Finer South Carolina poll for Biden

A new poll and a long-sought endorsement have given Joe Biden reason to hope for a big-enough win in Saturday's South Carolina Democratic primary.

Clemson University's Palmetto Poll found Biden with 35% support, Tom Steyer a distant second at 17% and Bernie Sanders with 13%. No other candidate had double digits. Other recent polls, including an NBC News/Marist survey released Monday, showed Biden with a narrower lead.

Biden's bid also won the blessing of Rep. James Clyburn, one of the most popular and influential African American politicians in the state and the No. 3 ranking Democrat in the House.

In his endorsement, which moved Biden to tears, the congressman also invoked his late wife, Emily, who died last fall, saying there was no leader she loved more than Biden. She knew him through his work during the civil rights movement. "I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us," Clyburn said.

Janison: Modi operandi

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got what they both wanted at the giant "Namaste Trump" rally — a gaudy show of adulation, writes Newsday's Dan Janison.

There was no trade agreement in place. But as with Kim Jong Un and the vexing matter of North Korean nuclear arms, Trump got by on this topic with his timeworn promise of an "incredible deal" yet to come.

Outside the protected bubble of celebration, there was mob violence in which more than 20 people have died. The clashes broke out over the weekend between protesters for and against a new immigration law promoted by Modi's Hindu nationalists that imposes a religious test for citizenship tilted against Muslims.

There was no sign the Indian law bothered the American president, who during his last campaign declared a belief that "Islam hates us."

Bloomberg falling back to earth?

Is Mike Bloomberg's half-billion-plus in ad spending not enough to keep him in contention for the Super Tuesday primaries?

“Bloomberg is in quite a lot of trouble," tweeted influential political statistician Nate Silver. "His national polls have stalled out or begun to reverse themselves.”

The editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, a branch of ABC News, said Bloomberg has fallen to 11% in the organization's California polling average and isn't showing leads in other Super Tuesday states like he had before his disastrous debate debut last week.

Meanwhile, though Bloomberg has offered to put his bankroll behind whoever wins the nomination, Sanders' campaign said no thanks. "It's a hard no," Sanders' close aide Jeff Weaver told NBC News. “ … I think we can raise over a billion dollars in small-dollar contributions."

Sanders can't stop outside groups from spending on his behalf, but the Bloomberg campaign said it can take the hint. "I don't think it would be prudent to spend on behalf of somebody who didn't want it," said Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Bloomberg.

Stone juror: Trump is wrong

The president's accusation that anti-Trump bias from the jury forewoman drove a guilty verdict against his longtime confidant Roger Stone is completely off base, according to another juror's op-ed for The Washington Post.

The forewoman, Tomeka Hart, "was actually one of the strongest advocates for the rights of the defendant and for a rigorous process," wrote Seth Cousins. Hart "expressed skepticism at some of the government’s claims and was one of the last people to vote to convict on the charge that took most of our deliberation time," Cousins wrote.

Stone, with Trump egging him on, is seeking a new trial, citing the forewoman's beliefs.

Cousins said, "When the president attacks our jury’s foreperson, he is effectively attacking every American who takes time off work, arranges child care and otherwise disrupts their life temporarily to participate in this civic duty."

Appeals court: Sanctuary isn't free

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals handed a significant victory to the Trump administration, ruling that the Justice Department can withhold crime-fighting funds from cities and states that consider themselves sanctuaries and refuse to share information with federal immigration authorities.

The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel overruled a lower court and against a suit brought by New York City and seven states — Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington.

But three other federal appeals courts have come to the opposite conclusion. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “We’ll see President Trump back in court and we will win.”

What else is happening:

• Trump’s 2020 campaign said it would open 15 storefront offices in 15 predominantly black neighborhoods across swing states like Florida and Pennsylvania, The New York Times reported. In a prototype on display in Arlington, Virginia, hoodies bearing the slogan “WOKE” were on display for sale. In 2016, Trump's black support was 8%. Campaign manager Brad Parscale said it's at least double that now.
• Aside from the self-funding billionaires, Sanders is the biggest spender for ads in the 14 Super Tuesday states, at $13.5 million aired or reserved, Politico reports. Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren plan to spend $3.5 million, $1.6 million and $916,000, respectively. Biden's campaign announced a "six-figure" buy. As for Bloomberg, he's up to $183 million in those states. Tom Steyer is next, at more than $35 million.
• Biden's campaign acknowledged that his story of getting arrested on the way to meet an imprisoned Nelson Mandela in apartheid-era South Africa didn't happen. In the revised version from deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield, Biden was "separated from his party" — members of the Congressional Black Caucus — by authorities at the Johannesburg airport. "There was a white door, there was a black door," Bedingfield said.
• Barack Obama called on South Carolina TV stations to take down an ad from a pro-Trump super PAC that falsely portrays an audio clip of the former president as an attack on Biden. The ad is edited to suggest Obama accused Biden of practicing "plantation politics," The Washington Post reports. The excerpt came from an autobiography reading by Obama, relating a discussion he had as a young man about Chicago politics in the 1980s.
• A Trump adviser told Politico that Biden remains a prime target despite his weak early performances because “wounded ain’t dead,” and "Bernie is easier to beat because he’s so far left that it’s the type of choice we want.”