September 16, 2020

A remarkable public split opens between Trump and his own CDC director. Robert Redfield tells Congress that face masks may provide more protection than a coronavirus vaccine would, and that a vaccine will not be broadly available until “late second quarter, third quarter 2021.” Trump immediately contradicts him, saying Redfield was “confused” and insisting a vaccine could start distribution in October. The surreal spectacle of a president correcting his CDC director on vaccine timelines in real time deepens the credibility crisis as the election approaches.

Attorney General William Barr calls lockdowns the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties” other than slavery in U.S. history, a remark that generates fierce backlash but also articulates a constitutional concern that mainstream discourse has largely avoided. Biden says he believes a president has the legal authority to implement a federal mask mandate. HHS top communications appointee Michael Caputo takes medical leave after making incendiary remarks about CDC scientists engaging in “sedition,” while new emails show Caputo and his team sought to censor what government scientists said about the coronavirus. Bill Gates questions the FDA’s credibility on the COVID-19 vaccine, calling the White House pandemic response “a mismanaged situation every step of the way.”