Trump's den of dissent: Inside the White House task force as coronavirus surges

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

Discord on the coronavirus task force has worsened since the arrival in late summer of Atlas, whom colleagues said they regard as ill-informed, manipulative and at times dishonest. As the White House coronavirus response coordinator, Deborah Birx is tasked with collecting and analyzing infection data and compiling charts detailing upticks and other trends. But Atlas routinely has challenged Birx’s analysis and those of other doctors, including Anthony S. Fauci, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, with what the other doctors considered junk science, according to three senior administration officials.

Birx recently confronted Vice President Pence, who chairs the task force, about the acrimony, according to two people familiar with the meeting. Birx, whose profile and influence has eroded considerably since Atlas’s arrival, told Pence’s office that she does not trust Atlas, does not believe he is giving Trump sound advice and wants him removed from the task force, the two people said.

Pence did not take sides, but rather told Atlas and Birx to bring data bolstering their perspectives to the task force and to work out their disagreements themselves, according to two senior administration officials.

The result has been a U.S. response increasingly plagued by distrust, infighting and lethargy, just as experts predict coronavirus cases could surge this winter and deaths could reach 400,000 by year’s end.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-den-of-dissent-inside-the-white-house-task-force-as-coronavirus-surges/2020/10/19/7ff8ee6a-0a6e-11eb-859b-f9c27abe638d_story.html

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Pence is the opposite of a leader. He's a gray bump on a log that flies perch on. . . . nt

[AZ8theist]

2. Flies like shit. A fly perched on Pence's head, therefore...

Pence is a shit head.

[Mr.Bill]

11. A true leader resolves disputes.

A poor leader tells the two disputing parties to work things out for themselves.

I have worked for both. Usually not very long for the latter.

[soothsayer]

3. "Debbie, you bring evidence the world is round. Scottie, you bring evidence

...the Earth is flat. They’re equally good theories.”

[AllyCat]

7. That's how this read to me.

[zipplewrath]

8. I always hated this crap

It takes just as long to check over someone else's work as it does to do your own work. These analyses take a long time. Pence should look at the fact that three of the experts on his task force are telling him that Atlas' work is flawed and accept their counsel, or replace them.

[Hugin]

9. It's pass-through management in action.

Giving the appearance of doing something while not doing a damn thing.

[tanyev]

4. But he looks like he's from central casting!

I mean, come on, wouldn't you rather have actor Patrick Dempsey perform a risky surgery on you than an uggo who's successfully done the same surgery hundreds of times?

[radius777]

5. Atlas is a fake Fauci. /nt

[central scrutinizer]

6. "Ill-informed, manipulative, dishonest"

In other words, a typical Trump staffer.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Den of iniquity.

Just like the entire administration where murder of those with no voice is a badge of honor......