CDC/CORONAVIRUS/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump named Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday [2-26-20] to coordinate the government’s response to the coronavirus, even as he repeatedly played down the danger to the United States of a widespread domestic outbreak. The president’s announcement, at a White House news conference, followed mounting bipartisan criticism that the administration’s response had been sluggish and came after two days of contradictory messages about the virus, which has infected more than 81,000 people globally, killing nearly 3,000. The announcement also came on a day when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a person with no known risk factors had been infected in Northern California.”
–Michael D. Shear, Noah Weiland and Katie Rogers, “Trump Names Mike Pence to Lead Coronavirus Response,” The New York Times online, February 26, 2020