With cooler temperatures comes a Covid surge: new US cases top 83,000, the most in a single day since the pandemic began. About 800 Americans are dying each day, and almost a quarter million have died so far. There is no vaccine and no cure. This new surge is hitting rural America especially hard.

Oct 19, 2020 The US death toll passes 220,000. Trump says America is over the pandemic and repeatedly attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci. “People are tired of Covid. People are saying, ‘Whatever, just leave us alone.’ People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots," Trump says.

The NYT reveals that in July, Trump aides blocked the CDC from issuing a mandate requiring face masks on flights, buses, trains and subways, and in airports, train stations and taxis. www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/h...

After three days of experimental antiviral drugs unavailable to most Americans, Trump leaves the hospital to return to the White House. He takes the unusual route of climbing the stairs of the White House South Portico where he theatrically removes his mask, waving, saluting and giving thumbs-up.

Amid cable TV chatter of transferring power to Mike Pence, Trump shocks doctors by briefly leaving the hospital so his motorcade can drive slowly by a handful of flag waving supporters as he waves. He is accused of endangering the lives of the two Secret Service agents with him.

At Walter Reed, Trump begins taking the antiviral drug remdesivir. His blood oxygen dangerously low, he is also receiving dexamethasone, a steroid given to the most critically ill patients. Notably, he is not treated with hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, the quack cures he urged on his fans.

Oct 2 2020 In a 1 am tweet, Trump announces he has Covid, which has now killed 200,000 Americans. All campaign events are canceled a month before the election. Trump is admitted to the Walter Reed military hospital where he is given experimental drugs. His staff conceals that he lies close to death.

What the business news looks like Oct 1, 2020: 26.5 million Americans are unemployed - 837,000 lost their jobs just last week as Disney laid off 28,000 theme park employees, Allstate cut 3,800 positions, and American and United Airlines newly furloughed 30,000 people.

Trump and Biden meet in Cleveland for a Fox News debate. Trump mocks Biden for frequently wearing a mask. He does not reveal that he and his wife had tested positive for Covid three days before the debate, where his wife and children all removed their masks contrary to venue rules.

My apologies. I jumped the gun on this: it was Sept 26

Trump packs the White House Rose Garden to announce he is naming conservative Amy Coney Barrett to replace the trailblazing Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. It is later called a superspreader event: a dozen people in the unmasked crowd, including Trump and the First Lady, caught COVID.

Visiting the California wildfires, Trump scoffs at officials worrying about global warming. Trump: "It'll start getting cooler. You just watch." Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency: "I wish science agreed with you." Trump: "I don't think science knows, actually."

Sept 2020 - Unemployment rate: 7.9% - Americans out of work: 12.6 million - Dow close sept 12: 27,534 - Tank of gas: $2.21 - Inflation rate: 0.5% Sept 2024 - Unemployment rate: 4.2% - Americans out of work: 1.8 million - Dow close sept 12: 42,096 - Tank of gas: $3.2 - Inflation rate: 2.5%

Several hundred former aides to President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain announce they are endorsing the Democrat, Joe Biden, for president over the Republican incumbent. www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Aug 20, 2020 Trump's former chief strategist is arrested by the feds for ripping off Trump fans who donated $25 million to a bogus "build the wall" effort. Steve Bannon is taken into custody off the coast of Connecticut when agents board a yacht owned by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui.

Aug 13, 2020 For the first time in months, fewer than 1 million people lost their jobs in the previous week. This is hailed as great news.

In a strange pandemic VP announcement, candidate Joe Biden introduces Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate in an empty hall - no cheering crowds, no waving signs. Keeping to health precautions at a time when 1,200 Americans are dying each day, the new ticket does not even raise clasped hands.

Conflated total deaths with daily deaths, sorry. Posting corrected version now.

With 1,000 Americans dying each day, Trump sits down with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan to claim the virus is "under control." Swan pushes back strongly, causing a sensation. Clips of the reporter's baffled expressions as Trump says outlandish things go viral. Swan will win an Emmy for the interview.

Amid BLM protests in Portland, Trump's Department of Homeland Security begins snatching protesters off the street into unmarked vans filled with officers in camo. The Oregon AG sues DHS for violating the civil rights of its citizens but a federal judge throws out the case. A warning for the future?

This exchange on Fox News Sunday, six months before the Jan 6 Trump mob tried to stop the 2020 election verification: Chris Wallace: "Can you give a direct answer that you will accept the election result?" Trump: "I have to see. I'm not just going to say yes. I'm not going to say no."

In a glaring example of corruption, Trump commutes the 3-year sentence for Roger Stone, his loyal dirty-trickster who was convicted of obstruction, lying and threatening witnesses in connection with Wikileaks targeting the Clinton campaign to help Trump win in 2016. www.justice.gov/pardon/page/...

July 7, 2020 As the pandemic continues to rage, Trump announces the United States is withdrawing from the World Health Organization. Candidate Joe Biden promises to immediately reverse this if elected. (He did, in his first hours in office.)

In a baleful 4th of July speech to a crowd of about 3,700 people at Mount Rushmore, Trump rails against Democrats and warns that “angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”

Bars in Texas and Florida - states that had declared victory over the virus and reopened their businesses - are abruptly ordered closed down amid huge spikes in infections. The virus, which initially hit worst in the Northeast, is now surging across the South and West. There is still no vaccine.

Amid an increasingly deadly pandemic and an economic crisis - and while offering no alternative health plan - the Trump administration formally calls on the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act. At least 20 million Americans face losing their health insurance.

Go through this thread. Remember what an upside down clownworld it was. I’ve blocked out so much of those years. All respect to BTS’s ARMY.

June 20, 2020 Donald Trump holds his first big rally since March, aiming to restart his lagging campaign with a supercharged crowd. It does not go as planned. A memorable debacle on several levels, it will mark the lowest point of his 2020 campaign.

June 15, 2020 The FDA revokes its emergency authorization of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which is championed by right wingers, including the president, as a covid-19 cure. The FDA says it was found to have no effect on the virus and may cause "serious cardiac adverse events." 1/3

On a sunny Sunday, Trump gives the commencement address at West Point. On his way out, he walks slowly and gingerly down a ramp - a moment of minor interest until Trump, stung by jokes about it online, tweets and makes it into a news story that leads to days of questions about his age and health.

Trump announces he will restart his campaign rallies - on hold since March - in Tulsa on June 19. The announcement is met with dismay in a nation convulsed by the George Floyd murder as Tulsa was the site of a notorious 1921 racial massacre and Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the US.

Ahead of new protests expected in DC after 9 days of nationwide demonstrations over the police murder of George Floyd, massive new fortifications of chain link and concrete go up around the White House to protect the president. His foes continue to mock him for hiding in a bunker a few days earlier.

June 2, 2020 Though nobody believes it, Trump tweets a true thing.

June 1, 2020 In one of the most notorious days of the Trump presidency, police suddenly advanced on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park across from the White House, clearing them away with batons, flash-bangs and tear gas. Trump then strode through the park and held up a bible for photographers.

As protests over the police murder of George Floyd convulse the nation, the White House briefly goes on lockdown when demonstrators mass outside. When it is later reported that the Secret Service rushed Trump to the bunker underneath the complex, he claims he was just inspecting it. Gift link

May 27, 2020 A furious Trump threatens to shut down Twitter after it applies its first fact check to one of his tweets predicting the election will be stolen via forged mail-in ballots. He accuses Twitter of "interfering in the 2020 election" and vows to "strongly regulate, or close them down."

The New York Times marks a grim milestone with a front page bearing not a single image: just names, one after the other.

Another 2.4 million Americans lost their jobs in the last week, bringing the total unemployed to over 38 million, the worst crisis since the Depression. However the rate of layoffs is slowing as states begin to loosen health restrictions newslink.mba.org/mba-newslink...

Trump refuses to host the traditional unveiling of the former president's portrait at the White House or hang the painting. All previous modern presidents have invited their predecessor (or their widow) to a bipartisan ceremony. www.businessinsider.com/trump-refusi...

The drug maker Moderna announces that a vaccine tested on a handful of people appears to be safe - and working. It is the first flicker of hope in a long time. Moderna says if more trials continue to be so positive, a vaccine could be available for widespread use as early as the end of the year.

Trump says he's taking hydroxychloroquine to avoid Covid-19. The malaria drug is touted by right wing "influencers" even as studies show it doesn't help and may hurt the heart. "I've heard a lot of good stories," Trump says. In 2024, it is estimated 17,000 people died from hydroxychloroquine misuse.

By request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump fires State Dept watchdog Steve Linick, who, it later turns out, has five open investigations, including Pompeo bypassing Congress to sell $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and Pompeo's wife using staff to walk the dog and send holiday cards.

Trump announces Operation Warp Speed, a massive government project to rush a COVID vaccine to the public. "We'd love to see if we can do it prior to the end of the year," Trump says. Most medical experts caution this is unrealistically soon. The first Pfizer vaccine will be approved Dec 11.

The Washington Post publishes a story on the high approval numbers for state governors fighting against the virus. Governors pushing to reopen early are less popular. All are more popular than the president, who is peeved by the story. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/man...

In a much-anticipated (because the White House had barred him from speaking to the Democratic-run House) appearance before the Senate Health Committee, Dr Anthony Fauci warns against reopening schools and businesses too soon. 1/2 abcnews.go.com/Politics/cor...

The White House tries to hide a report from its own coronavirus task force showing that after the initial outbreaks concentrated in blue states, cases are starting to rise in red states. Someone leaks the report. www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...