Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who is African-American, has recently spoken out about racial health disparities and the threat that people of color face in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic. And now, Politico’s Dan Diamond reports, Adam is being sidelined by the Trump Administration.
Diamond observes, “The Trump Administration took Surgeon General Jerome Adams off television last week after his controversial remarks on COVID-19’s threat to minorities, silencing the White House’s loudest voice on racial disparities even as concerns mount about risks to communities of color. Adams made just one TV appearance last week, a steep decline from the ten-plus TV appearances he made the prior week on programs like ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’ CBS’ ‘This Morning’ and NBC’s ‘Today Show.’”
After Adams spoke at a press briefing on April 10, Diamond notes, some liberals and progressives criticized him for — as Diamond puts it — “shifting responsibility to minorities.” But Diamond observes that “health officials also fear that minimizing Adams means the White House is retreating from questions about its work on behalf of minority communities — a perennially sensitive issue for President Donald Trump and his administration.” Continue reading.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Friday that most places in the United States would not be able to open up by May 1 amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.