Across the country, and no doubt around the world, many are asking their landlords for a bit of leniency in these unprecedented and perilous times. But very few of those begging mercy of property owners have the luxury of owning the very property they need a rent break on, which sure does sound like an ideal situation.
Take, for example, the Trump International Hotel, housed in a federally-owned building just blocks away from the White House. According to the New York Times, the hotel has long been the inn of choice for those hoping to curry favor with the Trump family, but the property is currently mostly empty right now, making its $268,000 per month rent a bit harder to come by.
Cue Trump offspring Eric Trump asking the federal General Services Administration for a reduction in rent for a company owned by the President of the United States. But don’t assume that Trump Hotel is asking for special favors from President Trump, the company would just like the same massive favors all the other giant companies are getting:
“‘Just treat us the same,’ Eric Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. ‘Whatever that may be is fine.’”
Someone, please cut Eric a check for $1,200. [New York Times]
Sorry to burden loyal readers with a second story about the Trump family’s general commitment to villainy, but that ineffective coronavirus treatment the president keeps touting may actually kill people, according to the AP:
“A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.”
The nationwide study involved just 368 subjects, but of those, 28 percent given hydroxychloroquine in addition to the “usual care” died, while just 11% of patients receiving only standard care fared the same. And while this study has not yet been peer-reviewed, more comprehensive tests by the National Institue of Health and other organizations are in the works. [AP]
Smithfield Farms, at the center of one of the biggest covid-19 outbreaks in the country, says it’s their workers’ own fault they got sick. [Buzzfeed]
Which is an excellent indicator of how well we will all fare after the Trump administration rolls back federal regulations around environmental and labor policies, as well as workplace safety and health care, in order to revive the economy. Expect Trump bragging about all those tremendous after-school factory jobs he got the nation’s kindergartners in the very near future. [Washington Post]
Nobody tell Eric what all the other corporations are getting. [AP]
New York nurses are suing over hospitals’ failure to provide adequate protection as they risked their lives caring for sick patients during the pandemic. [Politico]
So now is probably not the time to offer them a ticker-tape parade in lieu of supplies and compensation. [Politico]
If Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick thinks offering himself as sacrifice to the corona will appease the economy god, I say we let him try it. [Texas Tribune]
Jeff Bezos continues to misunderstand Charles Dickens novels as manuals for humane factory conditions. [Guardian]
Funny, senior citizens are super into public health policy all of a sudden. [Twitter]
I hope the response letter is just a sheet of copy paper with “No” printed in 12-point Times New Roman at the top. [Twitter]
