Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable.
The COVID-19 pandemic is close to the end of its second month. The United States remains the epicenter of the global crisis, with over 49,000 deaths and 869,000 confirmed cases. Within the U.S., New York leads other states in terms of fatalities, with close to 21,000 deaths and over 263,000 reported cases. Globally, there have been over 190,000 deaths and 2.7 million reported cases, according to The Washington Post. The handling of the pandemic - the inability to control the crisis as other countries have done - has shaken the belief in "American exceptionalism."
Using the pandemic as a cover, the Trump administration is moving full steam ahead with a right-wing agenda that only a few years ago would have been considered fringe. Encouraged by Trump and financed by wealthy Trump supporters, protests have broken out in several states against stay-at-home orders, calling on the government to reopen America. Not only do these protests have the blessing of Trump, who is putting the lives of millions at risk by wanting to pre-maturely lift lockdown rules. They are also being supported by Republican billionaires like Robert Mercer, who helped finance the Convention of States project, which is behind many of the protests. So far, protests have been held in Washington, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas.
Critics of these Trump-backed protests point out that more people will likely be infected and die if the country re-opens too early. Meanwhile, protesters who have been calling for a rent freeze and having safe protests in cars have been ignored. A CBS News poll published on Thursday, April 23, reports that 70 percent of respondents believe the countrys top priority should be to try to slow the spread of coronavirus by keeping people home and social distancing, even if the economy is hurt in the short term.
Today on our weekly roundtable, our panelists will be discussing the pandemic as cover to move forward with a right-wing agenda nationally as well as internationally. They will also be discussing a story they want to bring out, but has not gotten much mainstream media attention. Also, what about the November elections? We return to our Sojourner Truth Election Watch.
Our panelists are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne.
