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Trump suggests he may intervene in Navy officer drama over leaked coronavirus letter
President Trump on Monday said at a press conference that he might get involved in the public crisis playing out in the Navy after an aircraft carrier commander was ousted after raising the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak on the ship in a leaked letter.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly appeared to worsen the situation when he gave a surprise speech to sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and called ousted Captain Brett Crozier "too naïve or too stupid" to be a commanding officer of a ship like this, Reuters reported.
Modly later issued an apology to the Navy and Crozier and said, "Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naive nor stupid. I think, and always believed him to be the opposite. We pick our carrier commanding officers with great care. Captain Cozier is smart and passionate."
Modly said he wanted to apologize for any "confusion this choice of words may have caused."
Trump told a press conference that he is good at "settling arguments." Trump said Crozier should have resisted sending the letter but he did not want to destroy "somebody for having a bad day," the report said.
Several Democrats in Congress are calling for Modly to be fired following the speech in which he admonished the ship's former commander for expressing concerns over the coronavirus in a strongly worded letter that was leaked to the media. Click here for more on our top story.
Other related developments:
- To get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox, sign up here.
- Acting Navy secretary 'had no discussions' with White House prior to firing Crozier: report
- 155 sailors on USS Theodore Roosevelt test positive for coronavirus, 42 percent of all Navy infections
US coronavirus deaths surpass 10,000; L.A. braces itself for more deaths, asks residents not to go out shopping
The United States passed a grim milestone Monday, as the death toll from coronavirus surpassed 10,300 and confirmed infections from COVID-19 exceeded 347,000.
On Sunday, Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned this week would be "the hardest and saddest" time of most Americans' lives. According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, as of Monday afternoon, there had been 3,048 deaths in New York City, the hardest-hit U.S. area, followed by 293 deaths in Wayne, Mich., and 208 deaths in King, Wash. The number of lives lost in New York state climbed past 4,700.
Meanwhile, with coronavirus related deaths spiking in Los Angeles County and "a critical week" ahead, health officials advised residents on Monday to stay at home and avoid shopping to limit the spread of the virus. Officials confirmed 420 new coronavirus cases in the county and 15 deaths on Monday. Over 6,360 cases and 147 deaths have been reported since the outbreak started, per data from Johns Hopkins. Click here for more.
Other related developments:
- Coronavirus in the US: State-by-state breakdown
- Coronavirus: What you need to know
- ‘Everyone’ will likely be infected with coronavirus ‘at some point,' health official says
Hudson, Wis., city clerk Becky Eggen displays some of the health alert and social distancing signs. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)
Wisconsin Supreme Court, on primary eve, blocks governor’s move to suspend in-person voting over coronavirus
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday afternoon shot down a last-minute election-eve push by the state’s governor to suspend in-person voting for the state's scheduled Tuesday primary due to health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The state's highest court -- which is controlled by conservatives -- ruled 4-2 that Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, lacked the authority to move the election on his own. Hours later, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal district court judge's ruling allowing people voting by absentee ballots an extra week to return their ballots. The ruling by the high court broke along ideological lines, with the five appointed by Republicans overruling the four appointed by Democrats.
Evers previously had resisted delaying the election -- saying he didn't have the authority to move the date -- but on Monday he signed an executive order that would have pushed in-person voting for the April 7 contest to June 9.
With the ruling of the courts, Wisconsin is asking hundreds of thousands of voters to ignore a stay-at-home order to participate in Tuesday's presidential primary election, and the Badger State will become a test case for dozens of states trying to manage an election year in midst of a pandemic. Click here for more.
Other coronavirus developments:
- Graham says 'the whole world should send China a bill' over Beijing's response to coronavirus
- Dem lawmaker describes how Trump's boosting of hydroxychloroquine 'saved my life'
- Fauci says world may never return back to normal after coronavirus outbreak
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SOME PARTING WORDS
Tucker Carlson questioned the logic and effectiveness of the ongoing restrictions across America in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, saying, "There has to be a more balanced course than the one we are on."
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Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for making us your first choice in the morning! Stay positive -- we will get through this coronavirus pandemic together. We'll see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday morning.
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