HHS Inspector General Asked To Look Into CDC Mailing Featuring Trump
WASHINGTON ― The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is facing a call for an investigation after it sent a coronavirus mailing prominently featuring President Donald Trump’s name to millions of Americans.
“In terms of design, the main feature of the mailing is Trump’s name rather than the actual guidelines,” the watchdog group Accountable.US wrote in a Wednesday letter to the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general. “In fact, the message including the President’s name takes up more real estate on the postcard ― one full side ― than any other item.”
HHS oversees a number of agencies, including the CDC and the National Institutes of Health, that are involved in the coronavirus response. Both the CDC and HHS offered this response to HuffPost queries on the matter, and said they would have no further comment:
CDC, NIH, and Dr. [Deborah] Birx consulted on the content of this mailer through the White House Task Force for COVID-19. The Task Force has taken unprecedented steps to curb the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of Americans ― part of the response efforts include the mailer, which was sent out to millions of Americans to educate them on ways to help slow the spread.
The postcard dated March 16 is headlined “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CORONAVIRUS GUIDELINES FOR AMERICA” in all capital letters, and displays the logos of the CDC and the White House. On the back are the same recommendations that were unveiled that day and are frequently referred to by Vice President Mike Pence during White House briefings. The placards Pence has been holding up, though, originally titled “15 Days to Slow the Spread” and then “30 Days to Slow the Spread,” do not feature Trump’s name.
It’s unclear who decided to use Trump’s name so prominently – the font size of the headline is the largest of anything on the card ― particularly since he did not really support those recommendations, he said...
