covid diary: day 62

"This guy again? Good grief."

Yesterday afternoon, the president held another press conference so he could fight with reporters. Why does he think this is ever a good idea? Here's how the press conference ended. I'll give you a direct transcript so you don't have to watch a video of this garbage fire.

CBS reporter Weija Jiang, who is Chinese-American: "You've said many times that the U.S. is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing. Why does that matter? Why is this a global competition to you if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we're still seeing more cases every day?" 

Trump: "Well, they're losing their lives everywhere in the world. And maybe that's a question you should ask China. Don't ask me, ask China that question. OK? When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer. [turns to another reporter] Yes, behind you please." 

CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins steps up to the mic, then gestures for Jiang to finish with her question. 

Jiang: "Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically? That I should ask China."
Trump: "I'm not saying it specifically to anybody. I'm saying it to anybody that would ask a nasty question like that." 

Jiang: "That's not a nasty question. Why does it matter?" 

Trump again tries to call on Collins, who specifically says she wanted to let her colleague finish before asking her own question. At that point, Trump abruptly turns and walks out of his own press conference.

Listen, that transcript doesn't do it justice. He was clearly bringing up China because Jiang is Chinese-American. He was so terrible in his response, his casual racism and xenophobia, his dismissal of women who ask direct questions. The whole thing was awful but not surprising.

Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether Congress has the right to subpoena Trump's tax returns. The obvious answer, the one that every single lower court has given, is that yes, he should have to turn over his records because no one, not even the president, is above the law. But will that be the answer SCOTUS gives? Or will the 5-4 conservative majority find a way to protect him yet again? I don't have much hope on this one.

It's been another quiet day around here. Liam went to driver's ed this morning, dutifully wearing his mask and gloves, but other than that, the boys have spent the day either sleeping or hanging out in the basement. I worked a fairly long day, and when Mike got home we went for a walk on the trails and talked about our plans for the yard. We may have figured out a way to do grapevines without too much work on his part, and we're figuring out where we want to plant wildflowers out in the pasture. After dinner, we planted an old hoe in the feeder area to offer the orioles some more options for their oranges. There's so much to do, both outside and indoors, and even now it's hard to find the time and resources to do it all. But I'm not complaining, because we're lucky enough to have that time.

Nationwide cases: 1,370,016. Deaths: 82,389.