As COVID-19 engulfs the United States, the few members of the federal government whom people actually want to hear from are the health officials who have a clue what they’re talking about. People like Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx, etc. Y’know, doctors. Unfortunately, at present, the executive branch is run by Donald Trump, a megalomaniac who loves the sound of his own voice, particularly when it’s spewing misinformation and irrelevant, embarrassing asides about how he used to date models. And if he can’t be heard, apparently no one can.

CNN’s Oliver Darcy reports that in an act of absurd retribution, Vice President Mike Pence’s office has refused to allow the country’s top health officials to appear on the network to discuss the coronavirus crisis because Trump’s daily briefings are no longer aired there in full. While CNN broadcasts Trump’s question and answer session, it recently dispensed with running the entire briefing, which can often run over two hours. While Fauci, Birx, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, and FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn have all appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox over the last week, the V.P.’s office has reportedly refused all CNN requests for health-official appearances in that same time span (Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and White House economic adviser Peter Navarro were allowed to go on State of the Union and New Day, respectively).

Of course, CNN isn’t the only one questioning the wisdom of airing Trump’s rally-style briefings in full of late. In a sign of just how ridiculous the daily exercises have gotten, even the notoriously conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal wants Trump to STFU, writing in an op-ed on Wednesday that a friend who voted for the president had stopped watching them, having grown sick of the Trump Show. Noting that the reality-TV POTUS uses the briefings to brag about himself, attack perceived enemies, and provide nothing in the way of informative information re: the current crisis, the board writes, “This isn’t impeachment, and COVID-19 isn’t shifty Schiff. It’s a once-a-century threat to American life and livelihood. The public doesn’t care who among the governors likes Mr. Trump, or whether the Obama administration filled the national pandemic stockpile.... What the public wants to know now is what Mr. Trump and his government is doing to prevent the deaths of their loved ones or help the family breadwinner stay employed.”

And, in a bit of unsolicited advice Trump is sure to take well, it recommends that the president’s daily briefings no longer always include the president:

If Mr. Trump wants to make his briefings more helpful to the country, here’s our advice. Make them no more than 45 minutes, except on rare occasions. Let Mr. Pence lead them each day, focusing on one issue or problem. Mr. Pence can take the questions, and Mr. Trump can show up twice a week to reinforce the message.

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— Can the News Industry Survive Coronavirus?

— Why Some Early MAGA Adopters Went Against Trump’s Virus Doctrine

— Behind Andrew Cuomo’s Psychological Game With Trump

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