Sadly, we aren’t talking about a satire article from the Onion…
While the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a worldwide health emergency, CNN is worried about something far worse: all of the white men on President Trump’s coronavirus task force.
In an article titled, Coronavirus task force another example of Trump administration’s lack of diversity, CNN’s Brandon Tensley dramatically writes, “It’s a statement that’s as predictable as it is infuriating: President Donald Trump’s administration lacks diversity.”
Never mind whether or not these privileged men have the background and capabilities to keep this deadly virus contained…more importantly, let’s focus on their skin color and whether or not there’s anyone on the task force with breasts.
Tensley goes on to decry the team of “experts” that President Trump put together as “the same sorts of white men (and a couple women on the sidelines) who’ve dominated the Trump administration from the very beginning.”
Of course, Tensley compares President Trump’s team to that of President Obama during the 2014 Ebola crisis: “By contrast, former President Barack Obama’s circle of advisers in the face of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was hardly so monochromatic,” he writes. “Neither was it so abysmal in terms of gender diversity. (Of course, to contextualize, Obama’s administration, on the whole, was far more diverse than Trump’s.)”
So, why is Tensley really writing this piece? To remind everyone of just how awful President Trump is during the lead-up to the 2020 election: “And yet, as unsurprising as the diversity issue in the Trump era has become, it’s still worth pointing out from time to time, especially as the country approaches the 2020 presidential election in earnest,” he writes.
Meanwhile, in actual news, the United States issued its most severe level 4 “do not travel” advisory for China.
In a release, the State Department writes, “Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice.” It also recommends that Americans “consider departing using commercial means.”
China says the virus has infected 9,800 people and killed 213.
The CDC also confirmed yesterday the first human-to-human transmission of coronavirus in the U.S.
The transmission occurred in Chicago after a woman was infected during a recent trip to Wuhan. Her husband now also has the virus. According to health officials, the man is in his 60s and has “some underlying medical conditions.” Both patients are doing well.
The U.S. is currently monitoring 36 states for coronavirus and has confirmed 6 Americans have the illness.
