Trump news: Democratic leaders admit they may act to stop Bernie Sanders as president faces criticism over coronavirus response

Steven Colbert jokes about Trump administration's response to Coronavirus

A new report has found “overwhelming opposition” among Democratic leaders to Bernie Sanders winning the party’s nomination against Donald Trump, as the president faced increasing criticism over his administration's response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Though a new poll put him ahead of Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator blasted Mr Trump as “incompetent and inadequate” while ridiculing his appointing Mike Pence to oversee the crisis. Meanwhile, the New York Times said Democratic delegates were unlikely to hand the nomination to Mr Sanders if he failed to garner a majority.

Mr Trump followed a press conference on the global epidemic on Wednesday night in which he said Americans faced only a “very low” risk from the virus by tweeting about the FBI spying on his campaign team in 2016, a gesture giving credence to the Vermont senator’s rebuke.

At a White House news conference, Mr Trump sought to minimise fears as he insisted the US is “very, very ready” for whatever the COVID-19 outbreak brings.

Under fire about the government’s response, he put Mr Pence in charge of coordinating the efforts.

“This will end,” Mr Trump said of the outbreak. “You don’t want to see panic because there’s no reason to be panicked.”

But standing next to him, the very health officials Mr Trump praised for fighting the new coronavirus stressed that schools, businesses and individuals need to get ready.

“We do expect more cases,” said Dr Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If the CDC confirms that the latest US case doesn’t involve travel or contact with an infected person, it would be a first in this country and a sign that efforts to contain the virus’ spread haven’t been enough.

Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Key Points

• New poll puts president ahead of Bernie Sanders
• Trump downplays coronavirus threat and tasks Mike Pence with oversight
• Sanders attacks 'incompetent and inadequate' response and goes after veep
• President immediately back to tweeting FBI critiques as pandemic looms

[27 February 2020 19:36 · Chris Riotta]

The NYT report about Democratic leadership strongly opposing Bernie Sanders' potential nomination has continued to go viral and stir all sorts of controversy:

[27 February 2020 19:55 · Chris Riotta]

US stocks have fallen sharply again on Thursday morning, despite efforts by the Trump administration to calm fears over the impact of coronavirus on the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 900 points in early trading, more than 3 per cent.

Monday and Tuesday saw two of the largest points drops in the history of the Dow Jones.

If the market ends the day down more than 361 points, it will have officially entered correction territory, defined as a drop of 10 per cent from recent highs.

[27 February 2020 20:15 · Chris Riotta]

The Trump administration can withhold millions of dollars from law enforcement agencies in so-called “sanctuary” states and cities that do not cooperate with US immigration officials, a court has ruled.

The decision, issued by a Court of Appeals in Manhattan, marks a victory for the White House, which is cracking down on those jurisdictions seeking to adopt their own laws regarding immigration.

New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island have all found themselves in Donald Trump‘s crosshairs, with the president eager to strip back “sanctuary” policies that support undocumented immigrants.

[27 February 2020 20:27 · Chris Riotta]

This concludes today's live coverage on Donald Trump. Be sure to check back tomorrow as The Independent brings you the latest.