Less than two months into 2021, Democrats are already struggling to contain a range of serious PR issues despite the fact that they now control the White House, Congress and a range of powerful institutions.
New York nursing home scandal
Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo allegedly went to great lengths to hide the true numbers of coronavirus-related nursing home deaths because he was concerned about federal prosecution, according to a report from The New York Post (NYP).
A health department order issued in March required nursing homes accept COVID-19 positive patients, sparking backlash. The New York State Department of Health then altered its counting procedure so that they only counted residents who died while actually physically present at the facility, as has been previously reported. The Department of Health later confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) that it changed its reporting procedures regarding nursing home deaths around May 3.
Cuomo insisted that the state had one of the lowest nursing home fatality rates and that the March order did not contribute to nursing home fatalities.
State Attorney General Letitia James issued a report in January that found Cuomo’s administration underreported nursing home coronavirus deaths by as much as 50%.
Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to the governor, told state lawmakers that the administration purposely withheld nursing home data because they feared former President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice might use it against them.
The FBI and a U.S. attorney are now investigating Cuomo and his administration for their handling of coronavirus data, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Schools reopening — or maybe not
President Joe Biden pledged to reopen a majority of schools within his first 100 days of presidency in December, as long as Congress could provide necessary funding.
“If Congress provides the funding, we need to protect students, educators and staff. If states and cities put strong public health measures in place that we all follow, then my team will work to see that the majority of our schools can be open by the end of my first 100 days,” Biden said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in early February that reopening schools would basically just call for “most” schools to have in-person learning “at least” one day a week by Biden’s 100th day in office, a goal that has already been surpassed in most schools.
That statement was later backtracked by Biden himself who said it was a “mistake in communication.”
Joe Biden is asked about his administration originally setting a goal of schools being open five days a week, which changed to a goal of schools being opened at least one day a week:
“It was a mistake in the communication.” pic.twitter.com/M6mffuzsXf
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 17, 2021
Biden said he actual goal is to open school for K-8 students for five days a week, noting it would be harder to open up high schools.
The Biden administration has appeared to struggle to keep up with its own school reopening plans, with Biden’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saying on Feb. 3 that vaccinating teachers isn’t a “prerequisite” to reopening schools.
Psaki walked back Walensky’s statement mere hours after she made it.
Coronavirus vaccination strategy
Biden and his administration made various statements about the coronavirus vaccine that ended up having to be disputed by the same experts he said he was going to trust as leaders.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain told CNN in January that the then-incoming Biden administration would “fix” the “huge mess” they inherited from the Trump administration on coronavirus vaccine rollout. Klain said the vaccine rollout was slow and that a vaccine reserve stockpile did not exist.
Vice President Kamala Harris even said in February that the Biden administration had to start “from scratch” when it came to vaccine distribution. (RELATED: ‘Either Not Telling The Truth Or Mentally Gone’: Trump Rips Biden Over Vaccine Claim)
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Disease, contradicted that claim as early as January, telling reporters that the Biden administration was certainly “not starting from scratch because there is activity going on in the distribution.”
Jobs lost to green energy
On Biden’s first day in office, he signed an executive order revoking the Keystone XL pipeline permit. The decision is estimated to cost approximately 11,000 American jobs.
Biden’s climate czar John Kerry said that workers who lost their jobs due to the administration’s climate policies can find jobs making solar panels instead.
John Kerry is asked what his message would be to oil and gas workers who “see an end to their livelihoods”:
“What President Biden wants to do is make sure that those folks have better choices… That they can be the people to go to work to make the solar panels.” pic.twitter.com/i9TYXlD9Jg
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 27, 2021
Kerry said Biden wants to “make sure [displaced workers] have better choices, that they have alternatives. They can be the people who go to work to make those solar panels,” noting that the focus of the Biden climate plan is to grow clean energy jobs.
Fox’s Peter Doocy asked Psaki when the “green jobs” promised to workers formerly employed in the fossil fuel industry would be available.
Psaki did not have a specific answer, instead saying Biden will focus on putting forward a jobs plan in the next few weeks “or months.”
