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On the roster: Dems try to keep convention alive with delay - I’ll Tell You What: It’s Groundhog Day - Economic collapse intensifies as virus takes hold - Judge torches Wisconsin for keeping primary - The universal language



DEMS TRY TO KEEP CONVENTION ALIVE WITH DELAY

NYT: “The Democratic National Committee on Thursday postponed its national convention because of the coronavirus, moving it from mid-July to mid-August. It is the largest political event to be moved so far because of the public health crisis, which has already led to the cancellation of hundreds of state and local conventions from both parties. The convention will still be held in Milwaukee, as planned, the week of Aug. 17, officials said, a week before Republicans plan to gather in Charlotte, N.C., to re-nominate President Trump. The delay comes just hours after the party’s likely nominee, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., called for rescheduling the convention during an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show.’ Even though other major events scheduled for July had been canceled or postponed, Democratic convention planners had hoped to delay a decision on whether to move the convention for several more weeks.”



What does that mean exactly? - Politico: “In addition to postponing, DNC officials are discussing ways to scale back the convention. The committee is not flush with cash and wants to avoid the appearance of throwing a big party in the midst of a severe economic downturn. ‘People are going to be hurting,’ a DNC official said. ‘It’s not a time be lavish.’ While there has been talk about having a virtual convention, party officials and Biden — the presumptive nominee – would like to have a live event as long as it can be done safely, according to sources with the DNC and one with Biden’s campaign. … The new date will put the DNC convention back-to-back with the RNC's, which is set to begin August 24 in Charlotte. The proximity presents messaging challenges for both sides: Biden will not have as much time to enjoy a potential polling bounce before the RNC begins dominating coverage. And Republicans will not have as much time to plan out responses to speeches and events in Milwaukee.”



Pro-Trump Super PAC launches Biden attack ads in Rust Belt states - NYT: “The super PAC supporting President Trump’s re-election is planning a $10 million advertising spree to attack former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in three Rust Belt states that were crucial to the president’s 2016 victory, officials with the group said on Wednesday. The announcement about the ads — which will appear in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — came after a growing chorus of complaints from White House officials, campaign aides and a wide range of the president’s allies about a lack of activity from the group, America First. Outside Democratic groups have started airing blistering ads criticizing Mr. Trump’s belated response to the coronavirus and telling Americans that the country needs to elect a leader it can trust.”



THE RULEBOOK: MORE IS BETTER

“Nothing can be more evident than that the thirteen States will be able to support a national government better than one half, or one third, or any number less than the whole.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 13



TIME OUT: RISE UP!

WSJ: “They’re calling it carb therapy. People are dusting off old bread makers and desperately trying to find dry yeast. The coronavirus pandemic is turning everyone into a baker. It’s not as easy as it looks on Instagram. … Sales of baking yeast surged 647%, more than any other food, beverage or consumer product in the week that ended March 21… Stores were already out of yeast when McKenna Mobley, a 22-year-old music publicist in Murrieta, Calif., went shopping, so she resorted to a packet at her home that was a few months past its use-by date. Her challah failed to rise to the occasion. … Maya Lewis and John Sandberg were supposed to get married on April 4 in Chicago, followed by a honeymoon in Italy. They had to postpone the wedding until after the pandemic. ‘We’re baking through our sadness,’... Thomas Muellner, a marketing copywriter in Chicago, has been baking it quite a bit during the city’s shelter-in-place order. … ‘I have set off the fire alarm more times than I am proud of,’ he said. ‘I ended up just disconnecting it.’”



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SCOREBOARD

ESTIMATED DELEGATES FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

Biden: 1,217

Sanders: 914

[Ed. note: 1,991 delegates needed to win]



TRUMP JOB PERFORMANCE

Average approval: 48.4 percent

Average disapproval: 47.8 percent

Net Score: 0.6 percent

Change from one week ago: ↑ 4.8 points

[Average includes: Grinnell/Selzer: 48% approve - 48% disapprove; ABC News/WaPo: 49% approve - 47% disapprove; Fox News: 48% approve - 51% disapprove; Gallup: 49% approve - 45% disapprove; Monmouth University: 48% approve - 48% disapprove.]



I’LL TELL YOU WHAT: IT’S GROUNDHOG DAY, FOOLS

This week Dana Perino and Chris Stirewalt survey the nation's political landscape as the Coronavirus wears on and the 2020 election looms. They discuss Joe Biden's candidacy, further congressional spending and American civic duty in times of struggle. Plus, Dana and Chris fill each other in on their favorite TV shows at the moment and Dana quizzes Chris on hometown trivia. LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE



ECONOMIC COLLAPSE INTENSIFIES AS VIRUS TAKES HOLD

AP: “The coronavirus outbreak has thrown 10 million Americans out of work in just two weeks, in the swiftest, most stunning collapse the U.S. job market has ever witnessed, and economists warn unemployment could reach levels not seen since the Depression, as the economic damage from the crisis piles up around the world. The bleak news Thursday — 6.6 million new unemployment claims on top of 3.3 million last week — came as the competition for ventilators, masks and other protective gear seemed to intensify and deaths mounted with alarming speed in Italy, Spain and New York, the most lethal hot spot in the nation, with nearly 2,400 dead. There were sobering preparations in the U.S.: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Pentagon for 100,000 body bags because of the possibility funeral homes will be overwhelmed, the military said. The mounting economic fallout almost certainly signals the onset of a global recession, with job losses that are likely to dwarf those of the Great Recession more than a decade ago.”



Banks balk at administering small-business bailout - WSJ: “A day before small businesses can apply for forgivable loans from the $2 trillion financial-relief package, banks say they are still struggling to understand how to make these loans eligible for a government guarantee. Under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, part of the stimulus package signed into law last week in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, lenders would make available as much as $350 billion in government-guaranteed loans to cover eight weeks of payroll and other expenses. Business owners can begin applying on Friday for the loans, which are forgivable if businesses keep their workforce largely intact and use the loans for eligible expenses such as rent and utilities. Many details of the program remain unclear… Among what lenders say are the unanswered questions are how much due diligence of borrowers is required and whether they will be able to sell these loans to create liquidity.”



McConnell pours cold water on new spending calls from Pelosi, Trump - WaPo: “One week after the Senate unanimously passed a $2 trillion emergency relief bill aimed at limiting the financial trauma from the coronavirus pandemic, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would move slowly on considering any follow-up legislation and would ignore the latest efforts by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to jump-start talks. McConnell’s sweeping dismissal of Pelosi’s urgent call for action underscored the uncertainty and fierce political warfare in Congress as the coronavirus outbreak shuts down much of the nation and throttles the economy, with little consensus on what should follow the biggest rescue package in U.S. history and lingering tensions from those negotiations between McConnell and Pelosi. … McConnell said his caution on pursuing infrastructure amid the pandemic is driven by his concerns about how Congress would pay for another wave of federal spending — and his position contrasts with President Trump’s plea for a $2 trillion infrastructure package to be part of the next congressional response.”



Senate conservatives say additional stimuli must wait -Politico: “Senate Republicans say Congress may eventually need to craft yet another major coronavirus package. But not at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lightning-quick pace. … ‘It’s fine to start talking about it, but it’s not going to be effective until we have the health care crisis under control,’ Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in an interview. … ‘Before we jump into another massive bill, let’s take a deep breath,’ added Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who said Congress would ‘probably’ need to pass additional legislation and fix issues with the Phase Three bill at some point. Yet rather than simply a clash between the two chambers, the next novel coronavirus-related fight is likely to be a more traditional partisan one. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appears on board with Pelosi’s timeline, emphasizing on MSNBC on Wednesday the need for a fourth coronavirus package…”



Dems ramp up oversight on coronavirus response - Fox News: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday she's creating a new House committee to oversee the coronavirus response that will have subpoena power to seek information from the Trump administration. ‘It would have subpoena power that’s for sure. It's no use having a committee unless you have subpoena power,’ Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday during a teleconference call with reporters. … Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., will chair the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis. The committee will be bipartisan, she said, with Democrats and GOP members appointed. Unlike the 9/11-style after-action committee to investigate missteps in the coronavirus response that Rep. Adam Schiff and others have proposed, Pelosi said this committee is designed to address the ‘here and now’ -- specifically concerning the allocation of the historic amount of federal funds directed to economic recovery.”



One proposal: A commission modeled on 9/11 probe - CBS News: “The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee unveiled legislation to create a commission studying the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, modeled after the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. More Americans have now died from COVID-19 than were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and the author of the 2007 legislation to implement the recommendations by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, said in a statement that the country is at a similar ‘inflection point.’”



JUDGE TORCHES WISCONSIN FOR KEEPING PRIMARY

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “A federal judge slammed Gov. Tony Evers and lawmakers Wednesday for ignoring their responsibilities by not postponing next week's election because of the coronavirus pandemic as the Democratic governor prepared to deploy the National Guard to help at the polls. ‘The State of Wisconsin’s Legislature and governor are not willing to step up and say there’s a public health crisis and make it absolutely clear that we should not be allowing poll workers and voters to congregate on April 7,’ U.S. District Judge William Conley said near the end of a four-hour hearing. Conley said he did not believe he had the power to delay Tuesday's election but would consider making some changes to voting rules. He said those who have brought lawsuits could come back to him after the election if they believe large numbers of people were disenfranchised. Conley gave his views of the case as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for delaying the election and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett — who is on Tuesday's ballot — said voters should vote absentee instead of going to the polls. Voting in person will be dangerous, Barrett said.”



House Dems add Ohio, Arkansas districts to target list - Roll Call: “House Democrats are continuing their offensive campaign while also defending their majority, adding two more seats to their 2020 target list and elevating one Democratic challenger. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding Ohio’s 10th and Arkansas’ 2nd districts to its list of targets, according to an announcement shared first with CQ Roll Call. The committee is also adding Texas Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni to its Red to Blue program. The program means Kulkarni will have additional access to committee resources, and it’s a signal to donors that the committee considers him a formidable challenger. ‘It’s never been more important to protect and expand this historic House majority and elect leaders who are committed to fighting for all Americans,’ DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said in a statement.”



Trump campaign attacks Sessions for praising the president - NYT: “President Trump’s campaign is demanding that Jeff Sessions, the former Attorney General, stop attaching himself to the president in his effort to win back his old Senate seat in Alabama, after Mr. Sessions distributed a campaign mailer that mentioned the president 22 times. In an unusual letter to the Sessions campaign, which was obtained by The New York Times, the Trump campaign called Mr. Sessions’s claim that he is the president’s top supporter ‘delusional.’ ‘The Trump campaign has learned that your U.S. Senate campaign is circulating mailers like the one I have enclosed, in which you misleadingly promote your connections to and ‘support’ of President Trump,’ Michael Glassner, the Trump campaign’s chief operating officer, wrote… Mr. Trump has endorsed Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach, over Mr. Sessions in the runoff to be the Republican nominee taking on the incumbent Democrat, Senator Doug Jones, in the fall. The runoff is currently scheduled for July 14.”



Senate GOP campaign team stands by Loeffler - WashEx: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee is reaffirming support for Kelly Loeffler as the appointed Georgia senator sustains fire on the Left and the Right for stock sales that critics charge were timed to avoid heavy losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The NRSC is backing Loeffler over Republican Rep. Doug Collins. The congressman is challenging Loeffler in a special election to select a permanent successor to Republican Johnny Isakson, who resigned from the Senate on Dec. 31 for health reasons. Some Republican insiders are questioning Loeffler’s viability against Collins amid controversial financial transactions that the senator says she had no control over. The Senate GOP campaign arm is not wavering.”



PLAY-BY-PLAY

Background checks hit all-time high as Americans stock up on firearms - WSJ



Jared Kushner sets up shop at FEMA as he expands his authority - Politico



GOP-allied group tags Rep. T.J. Cox, D-Calif., with ethics complaint over unpaid taxes - San Joaquin Valley Sun



AUDIBLE: WELL, THERE GOES OUR TAX STRATEGY

“I’m not an accountant from China.” – President Trump at his daily coronavirus announcements when asked whether he had confidence in the Chinese regime’s infection numbers.



FROM THE BLEACHERS

“If Trump can hold off those who would blame him for the dismal economy (as well as the quite fatuous ‘late start’ to confronting Covid-19), and frame the election as a choice of who is better equipped and able to bring us back to prosperity in 2021, I can’t see how he can lose. What do you think?” – Steve Litwack, Sarasota, Fla.



[Ed. note: You’ve packed quite a lot in there by way of assumptions, Mr. Litwack. First is the “if” about Trump avoiding blame for the economic disaster. That one can’t be separated from your second assumption, which is that people will find it silly and pointless to observe that the president was late to the game. We know the economic crisis is severe, but if it is also long-lasting and/or becomes a kind of stagflation trap, you’d better believe that all the things the president said to minimize or be dismissive of the threat will be on constant repeat in ads from coast to coast. Now, if the recovery is v-shaped, people will care a great deal less about what went wrong and who is to blame. Trump’s best bet for re-election coincides with the country’s fondest wish at this moment: That efforts to control the spread of the virus will succeed and that the extraordinary economic measures, both soporific and stimulative, will come to a halt as soon as possible. If Trump can say he did it well, he will probably be re-elected by a larger margin than by which he won in 2016. If he has to sell himself as the leader to help America endure an ongoing miasma – the beginning of which he presided over – it gets to be a tougher sell. In short, he wants to be like George W. Bush in 2004, not Jimmy Carter in 1980. But that will be a question of circumstances, not political strategy and messaging.]



“Why is no one asking the obvious question which is: ‘Why was the CDC totally unprepared to do very large quantities of testing for the current pandemic?’ As a country, we have been scrambling from the very beginning playing catch-up to finally now, after involving the private sector, being able to test millions of people. This problem was not Trump's fault. This unpreparedness of the CDC probably has been true for decades. The current head of the CDC has been MIA during this crisis. I encourage someone in the press to investigate this because Americans deserve an explanation.” – Dr. Grant Robertson, Colorado Springs, Colo.



[Ed. note: I think A LOT of people are asking that question, Dr. Robertson – including the president. Here’s a helpful roundup about reporting on the mistakes made at not only the Centers for Disease Control but also the Food and Drug Administration. It looks like a pretty glaring example of the old Washington story: good intentions get swallowed by groupthink, bureaucratic turf battles and failures of imagination. As a political proposition, though, it will be hard for Trump to avoid blame on that front. It’s unfair to blame presidents for the mistakes of individual agencies under their authority – missed warnings of a terror attack, lax regulation of oil rigs, etc. – but that’s the price modern presidents pay for the privilege of their imperial power.]



“‘The Right Conversation about Coronavirus’ is beautifully written, thoughtful, and inspirational without preaching. Not easy, and entirely welcome. Thanks. Wishes for health and safety to you and yours.” – John Simpson, Chicago



[Ed. note: Thank you for saying so, Mr. Simpson! And those wishes in spades right back to you and yours (even if you’re Cubs fans).]



Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.



THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

KXAN: “Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller thinks he has a possible solution to the perceived shortage of toilet paper caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Miller penned a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking to suspend a law for consumer packaging that requires the labels be printed in English. ‘We don’t have to have toilet paper labeled in English,’ Miller laughed. ‘We know how to use it.’ To catch up to the rush on paper products, Miller said suspending the rule would temporarily allow Mexican distributors to ship their supply into Texas to keep shelves stocked. ‘We have a distributor in Mexico that works down there that has a lot of product,’ Miller said in a Wednesday interview. ‘The problem is it is all in Spanish.’ ‘Large grocery chains that have business down there, they could ship product up here that we sorely need,’ Miller said. ‘Just some common sense cowboy logic.’”



AND NOW A WORD FROM CHARLES…

“Regardless of your party or policy preferences, you must admit we are witnessing a remarkable phenomenon: the organic response of a constitutional system in which the traditional barriers to overreach have atrophied and a new check-and-balance emerges almost ex nihilo.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on March 2, 2017.



Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.