Tony's Diary Package — page 51

we . (see below): Alex Azar is obviously being pushed aside as he played a very minor role in the Rose garden Presser. PRESS: MSNBC Morning Joe; GMA (ABC);CBS The Morning; FOX and Friends; BBC World News; Rose Garden Presser with many cameras. Mar. 14, 2020 (Saturday) - CDC numbers (less than WHO numbers. 142,320/5388. 129 countries involved. China numbers going way down - only 11 new infections. Koreaa flattening out. USA - 2226 cases, 50 deaths, 532 new cases. POTUS came into the TF meeting with "USA" baseball cap on. We spent a lot of time talking about "ratings' of yesterday's press conference and its effect on the stock market. He dwelled on doing more press conferences and how the ratings would be even better than the best fake news TV ratings. He made the right decisions about now doing travel restrictions in UK + Ireland and so what I ma seeing is someone who actually makes decision that are bestr for the public health since he follows what the TF recommends (driven by me and Deb and CDC) but his public expression and even private expression is related to the fluff of ratings and publicity. And so he wants us to do 2 press conferences/day - one in AM and one in PM. Really interesting. We now will have no time to do work. Hope Hicks seems as uncomfortable with this as I am. I see her as a future ally. POTUS Did press conference and Alex Azar was not invited in order to make room for "diversity" on the podium with Ben Carson and Jerome Adams. Death by a 1000 cuts for Azar. I volunteered to Alex that in my introduction I would mention that the Declaration of Natuonal Emergency gacve Azar as Secertary enormous powers and flexibility to unshackle our response. I did so. Mahor positive profile of me in The Atlantic yesterday (03/13/2020) https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2020/03/time-capsule-2-exceptional-drfauci/607957/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email&utm_source=a (see below): As of today, March 13, 2020--three-plus years into the current administration, three months into public awareness of the coronavirus spread, seven-plus months until before the next election--Anthony Fauci is playing a role in which no previous Trump-era figure has survived. One other person has been in the spot Fauci now occupies. That is, of course, James Mattis, the retired four-star Marine Corps general and former secretary of defense for Trump. Former is the key word here, and the question is whether the change in circumstances between Mattis's time and Fauci's--the public nature of this emergency, the