Category: Verbatim

Morbidly Obese

Jon Ponder

“I didn’t know that he would be so sensitive. He’s always talking about other people’s avoirdupois, their weight, their pounds. ‘I think he should recognize that his words weigh a ton.”

– House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during an interview with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on May 19, 2020.

“As far as the president is concerned, he’s our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists — especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group, what is morbidly obese, they say. So I think it’s not a good idea.”

– Pelosi to Anderson Cooper on CNN, May 18, 2020, responding to Trump’s response, saying Pelosi was a “sick woman” who had “mental problems.”

Pandemic Is Different for Democrats, Republicans

Buck Banks

“There’s a stark partisan difference in who has been affected by the coronavirus: Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to live in communities hit hard by Covid-19. … This has contributed to a partisan divide in attitudes about the pandemic, one in which Republican governors, lawmakers, and voters have remained broadly supportive of Trump — and have pushed for policies like the rapid reopening of businesses — while Democrats have not.”

— Philip Klinkner

Pence Finds Self Between a Trump and a Pandemic

Buck Banks

“In the most consequential mission of his career, Mr. Pence has tried to navigate the complexities of a mysterious disease and the vagaries of a mercurial president at the same time, steering the response to the most deadly pandemic in generations without getting caught up in the melodrama of the moment. Yet questions have lingered about how seriously he himself took the threat at first and what advice he gave the president in the days when it really mattered”

— New York Times

Trump’s ‘Atavistic Scramble for Power’ Will Lead to More COVID-19 Deaths

Buck Banks

“The fear is that Trump will be content with allowing the race to develop and distribute the vaccine to devolve into a global contest — and that poorer countries will be left behind in the rush to procure doses. In essence: that the president’s ‘America First’ view of world affairs as an atavistic scramble for power will lead to unnecessary suffering and death.”

— Politico