Coronavirus updates: COVID-19 becoming one of leading causes of death in US; vaccine doesn't mean virus is over, WHO warns

Jessica Flores, Ryan W. Miller, Joshua Bote and Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY

The coronavirus is quickly becoming one of the leading causes of death in the United States, experts say.

Thursday was the deadliest day of the pandemic in the U.S., with 2,897 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data. While the more than 277,000 COVID-19 deaths may not seem like a lot in a nation of nearly 330 million people, COVID-19 has replaced accidents as the third leading cause of death.

According to the CDC, heart disease caused more than 650,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2018 followed by cancer, which caused nearly 600,000 deaths. The third leading cause of death in the U.S. for that year were accidents or unintentional injuries, which killed about 167,000 people in 2018.

“Last year at this time, (COVID-19) wasn’t a cause of death. Now it’s around the number three cause of death,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “The numbers of deaths that are occurring right now is an aberration, it’s not normal.”

For those who equate the impacts of coronavirus to the flu, only about 60,000 people died from influenza and pneumonia in 2018, according to the CDC. Experts say that’s on par with a typical flu season, putting it at eighth place for deaths in the U.S. under chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

Here's what to know today:

  • President-elect Joe Biden said Thursday that he plans to ask Americans to wear a face mask for 100 days after he is inaugurated to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, and he pledged to publicly take a vaccine when it's available to encourage the public to get vaccinated

  • Job gains have slowed for five straight months with November only adding 245,000 jobs with unemployment dipping to 6.7%.

  • California warned that the rise of cases can overwhelm the state's health care system within weeks. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced a regional stay-at-home order that would go into effect when a region hits the ICU capacity threshold. Four regions — all but the San Francisco Bay area — could meet that threshold “within a day or two," he said.

  • The Navajo Nation requested a major disaster declaration from the federal government. Health officials serving the Navajo Nation have warned of supplies and hospital bed shortages.

  • Warner Bros. is releasing all of its 2021 movies on HBO Max the same day as theaters, a move that experts say should certainly alarm theater chains and could very well sound the death knell for moviegoing as we know it.

📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 14 million cases and over 277,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: 65 million cases and 1.5 million deaths.

📰 What we're reading: USA TODAY's editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll embarked on a mission to learn why some Americans deny the severity of COVID-19, despite overwhelming evidence otherwise. With the help of USA TODAY's intrepid health reporters, she hopes that facts can change minds and counter misinformation.

🙂Some good news: An Alabama man who spent World War II repairing bomb-damaged trains in France recovered from a fight with COVID-19 in time to mark his 104th birthday. Read about it here.

This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to The Daily Briefing newsletter.

Pelosi says a new president, vaccine changed COVID-19 relief demands

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was backing down from months-long demands for trillions in new coronavirus relief to support a $900 billion bipartisan deal because of two things: Joe Biden was elected president and a COVID-19 vaccine is on the way.

“That is a total game changer. A new president and a vaccine,” Pelosi said, adding that some of her objections to the bill are OK because another batch of relief will come once Biden takes office. “We have a new president, a president who recognizes that we need to depend on science to stop the virus.”

This week, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., backed a $908 billion proposal offered by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate and House, saying it offered a good framework for bipartisan discussions.

Pelosi, asked about the sudden change after months of demands, cut off a reporter's question and sternly said, "Don't characterize what we did before as a mistake," she said. "That was not a mistake. It was a decision. And it has taken us to a place where we can do the right thing without other, shall we say, considerations in the legislation that we don't want."

Time is of the essence, though. The government is set to shut down Dec. 11 if Congress does not pass a spending bill that President Donald Trump will sign and the House is only scheduled to be in session for one more week.

– Christal Hayes

WHO leader: The pandemic isn’t over, even with vaccines

The head of the World Health Organization is concerned that the vaccine may lead many to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a United Nations meeting Friday that “the light at the end of the tunnel” is beginning to emerge but that people across the world must not be complacent, according to Reuters.

“The truth is that at present, he said, “many places are witnessing very high transmission of the COVID-19 virus, which is putting enormous pressure on hospitals, intensive care units and health workers.”

Key to ensuring the end of the pandemic, the WHO said, is ensuring that health care systems are able to survive — especially at a juncture in which hospitals in the United States are struggling again with resources, manpower and worsening COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 side effects mean your body is reacting properly, experts say

Americans will likely experience at least one side effect from the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors say that’s normal and you should still get vaccinated.

In Moderna’s trials, where more than half of Phase 1 study participants experienced some side effect, the company said the most common side effects in Phase 3 were fatigue, muscle soreness and aches, joint pain, headache, and pain, redness or swelling at the injection site. In Pfizer/BioNTech Phase 3 trials, the probability of getting fatigued or a headache was 3.8% and 2%, respectively.

Dr. Melanie Swift, an occupational medicine physician helping lead the COVID-19 vaccination plan at the Mayo Clinic, said it’s important to educate Americans about the vaccines’ side effects or it may deter people from getting the second dose.

“Just because you’re sore doesn’t mean that (the vaccine) didn’t work or wasn’t effective. It just means that your body responded the way it’s supposed to,” she said. “It’s important to take both doses or that first dose was all for nothing.” Read more here.

– Adrianna Rodriguez

National lockdowns ‘not on the table,’ says Biden official

Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert and a member of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ transition team, told CNN in an interview that a national lockdown is not in the works for the future.

The focus of stay-at-home orders and other preventative measures will be on areas where COVID-19 spread rates are high, rather than an overall national shutdown.

“We really view this as restrictions that you dial up or dial down based on the local epidemiology," Gounder said in an interview with the media outlet. She also emphasized the importance of keeping schools open, while supporting schools through that process by providing PPE and other resources.

US adds 245K jobs in November, signaling further decline in job growth

U.S. employers added a disappointing 245,000 jobs in November despite the looming halt of extended jobless benefits and other federal lifelines for millions of Americans.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that 486,000 jobs were added last month. Job gains have consistently slowed for five straight months since peaking at 4.8 million in June.

While the nation has recovered 56% of the 22.2 million jobs wiped out in the health crisis, the gains are offset by a resurgent virus across most of the country as states begin to re-implement stay-at-home orders and other restrictions.

– Paul Davidson

What are the ethics of keeping COVID-19 vaccine trials going?

The first two COVID-19 vaccines to complete clinical trials have been so successful they raise concerns for the next ones. Is it ethical to give people a placebo when a lifesaving vaccine is available? Should those who received placebos in the first two trials be given preferential access to active vaccine to thank them for their sacrifice? There is no consensus among ethicists and public health officials on either point.

Typical vaccine trials last for two years. Both the group receiving the vaccine and the group receiving a placebo are followed to ensure safety and indicate how long the vaccine's protection will last.

“We don’t have the full profile on these vaccines,” said Norman Baylor, president and CEO of Biologics Consulting and a former director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review at the Food and Drug Administration.

Continuing to compare the placebo and active vaccine groups could help researchers better understand how different demographic groups, such as the elderly, respond to the vaccine and identify any unexpected longer-term health issues. That information will never become available, Baylor said, if placebo recipients are vaccinated in the coming months. Read more here.

– Karen Weintraub

Warner Bros. releasing all 2021 movies on HBO Max, a 'seismic' move

In a potentially massive blow for the future of moviegoing, Warner Bros. announced Thursday that it's releasing all of its 2021 movies on HBO Max the same day as theaters. The films will be available to HBO Max subscribers at no extra charge and will stream for one month. After they leave the platform following the 31-day streaming period, the movies will still be available to see in theaters.

The studio's 2021 slate includes hotly anticipated sequels and would-be blockbusters such as "Dune,""The Suicide Squad," "Matrix 4," "Space Jam: A New Legacy," "Godzilla vs. Kong," "Mortal Kombat" and "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It."

"We’re living in unprecedented times which call for creative solutions," said Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, in a statement. “We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021."

– Patrick Ryan and Bryan Alexander

Fauci said he accepted Biden's offer to be his chief medical officer

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday that he accepted President-elect Joe Biden's offer to be his chief medical officer.

"Absolutely, I said yes right on the spot," Fauci told Savannah Guthrie on the "TODAY" show.

Biden said he asked Fauci to remain in his role as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases while also advising him as a chief medical officer.

United bans couple that flew knowing of positive COVID-19 test

United said Thursday that it banned the couple that boarded a flight from San Francisco to Lihue, Hawaii, after knowingly testing positive for COVID-19.

The Kaua‘i Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY that Wailua residents Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson were taken into custody Sunday for "placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death."

According to a police report, Moribe, 41, and Peterson, 46, were ordered by the Quarantine Station at the San Francisco International Airport to isolate after testing positive for the highly contagious virus.

The couple, however, defied airport orders and boarded a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to the islands. United said in a statement that all passengers must complete a checklist confirming they have not tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days before flying.

Newsom announces regional stay-at-home orders in California

Four of five California regions could meet the threshold to enter new stay-at-home orders "within a day or two" as intensive care unit bed capacity drops and COVID-19 threatens to overwhelm the state's hospitals, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

Newsom announced the new approach to stay-at-home orders, which divides the state into five broad regions and would close businesses and curb travel in those with intensive care unit bed capacity below 15%. Previous stay-at-home rules were based on infection rates, and the new strategy is set to go into effect Saturday.

California’s virus hospitalizations have nearly quadrupled since mid-October and now stand at 8,240, including 1,890 in intensive care units. “If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see our death rate climb, more lives lost,” Newsom said.

Navajo Nation 'in crisis mode' amid medical shortages

The Navajo Nation on Thursday requested a Major Disaster Declaration from the federal government as COVID-19 cases surge amid shortages of medical supplies, personnel and hospital beds. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez announced the declaration in a virtual town hall after hearing from public health officials and health care workers about shortages and challenges across the Nation.

The declaration, which can only be signed into effect by President Donald Trump, would bring a wide range of additional infrastructural and financial resources to the Navajo Nation, Nez said. These would include reimbursements for general fund spending and mental health resources for doctors, children and front-line workers.

Nez also announced an extension until Dec. 27 of the Nation's current lockdown, which was initially due to expire Sunday. The Nation also will reinstate a 57-hour weekend curfew for three weeks beginning at 9 p.m. on Dec. 11.

– Emily Wilder, Arizona Republic

Facebook plans to remove false posts about COVID-19 vaccines

As vaccines to fight the novel coronavirus near deployment, Facebook says it will ramp up its fight against misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines on its social media platforms.

"This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical harm," the company said in a blog post Thursday.

The platforms plan to remove vaccine claims that have been debunked by public health experts on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook has a coronavirus information site that includes a discussion this week between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

But the sites won't immediately begin enforcing the policy. "Since it’s early and facts about COVID-19 vaccines will continue to evolve, we will regularly update the claims we remove based on guidance from public health authorities as they learn more," Facebook said.

– Mike Snider

COVID-19 resources from USA TODAY

In your inbox: Stay up to date with the latest news on the coronavirus pandemic from the USA TODAY Network. Sign up for the daily Coronavirus Watch newsletter.

Tips for coping: Every Saturday and Tuesday we'll be in your inbox, offering you a virtual hug and a little bit of solace in these difficult times. Sign up for Staying Apart, Together.

On Facebook: A lot is still unknown about the coronavirus. But what we do know, we're sharing with you. Join our Facebook group, Coronavirus Watch, to receive daily updates in your feed and chat with others in the community about COVID-19.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID news: HBO Max; Navajo; California stay-at-home order; US deaths

Latest Stories

  • Republican lawmaker likens Trump vote-fraud crusade to the search for Bigfoot

    U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., told the Yahoo News "Skullduggery" podcast that President Trump's supporters claiming voter fraud share a lot in common with the people searching for Bigfoot.

  • Omar renews push to 'cancel rent and mortgage payments' during pandemic

    Rep. Ilhan Omar proposed the legislation in April but concerns about an impending wave of evictions has continued to grow.

  • Feds: Militia leader pointed rifle at officers in Kentucky

    The leader of a pro-gun group that stages armed protests against police violence has been charged with pointing a rifle at federal officers while in Kentucky for a demonstration. John F. Johnson, who calls himself “Grandmaster Jay,” is facing a federal charge of assaulting task force officers. A complaint filed in federal court in Louisville said Johnson pointed a rifle, which had a flashlight mounted to it, at officers who were on a roof in downtown Louisville on Sept. 4.

  • Is Trump really going to run for president again in 2024?

    Media reports suggest President Trump is eyeing another bid for the White House in four years. Will Trump 2024 become a reality?

  • India Muslim man arrested under 'love jihad' law

    He is the first to be arrested under a controversial anti-conversion law passed last month.

  • Murderers and rapists could be barred from claiming asylum as part of Priti Patel's crackdown on immigration

    Murderers and rapists to be prevented from claiming asylum, says Priti Patel, after the Jamaican deportation flight row. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Home Secretary said it was “completely wrong” that convicted killers and rapists released from jail should be able to exploit the asylum system to remain in the UK. She also indicated that asylum will be “streamlined” to prevent migrants making multiple claims that can be lodged and heard hours or even minutes before their removal. It will be part of a major reform of Britain’s “completely broken” asylum system, which is due to be unveiled in the new year. Her comments came after a murderer, two rapists and two would-be killers were among 23 criminals who escaped deportation to Jamaica early on Wednesday morning after lodging 11th hour appeals including claims for asylum. One was removed from the flight just minutes before the flight after a judge granted a stay.

  • Taiwan says trade deal would show U.S. support in face of China pressure

    A bilateral trade deal between Taiwan and the United States would reinforce U.S. support for the democratic island in the face of "unrelenting intimidation" from China, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday. Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, has long angled for a trade deal with its most important diplomatic and military backer, and in August Tsai announced a relaxation on imports of U.S. pork and beef, removing a stumbling block.

  • EU extends ban on Pakistan's airline from flying to Europe

    The European Union’s aviation safety agency has extended a ban imposed on Pakistan's state-run airline this year barring it from flying to Europe after a plane crash that killed 97 people in the port city of Karachi, a spokesman said Friday. At the time — and while the probe into the May 22 Airbus A320 crash was still underway — authorities acknowledged that nearly a third of Pakistani pilots, 260 out of 860, had cheated on their pilot’s exams. Pakistan International Airlines subsequently grounded 150 of its pilots while a probe by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority into the other pilots is still ongoing.

  • Rev. Raphael Warnock's allies warn of backlash in Georgia Senate runoff race over sermon attacks

    The GOP is hoping to undercut Rev. Warnock with Georgia voters by playing up comments from his sermons but his allies say the attacks could backfire.

  • Philippines police threaten social distancing violators with caning

    Philippine police on Friday threatened to cane people who violate social distancing protocols as the Southeast Asian nation fights the spread of the coronavirus during the festive season. The Philippines celebrates one of the world's longest Christmas seasons, starting as early as September, and crowds have started to flock to sprawling malls and shopping centres despite the pandemic. Police general Cesar Binag, commander of the coronavirus task force, told a news conference that police and soldiers would patrol in public areas in the capital Manila, the hotspot of COVID-19 cases, carrying 1 meter rattan sticks to measure distancing.

  • Council won't appoint new prosecutor in Breonna Taylor case

    A council of Kentucky prosecutors said Friday it does not have the legal authority to appoint another special prosecutor in the police shooting of Breonna Taylor, despite a plea from Taylor's mother. Tamika Palmer had petitioned the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council in October for a new special prosecutor to investigate police actions in her daughter’s death. In September, a grand jury declined to indict any Louisville police officers on charges connected to Taylor's shooting death during a warrant search.

  • Michigan judge declines to sanction Trump campaign over alleged 'disinformation' tactic

    A federal judge in Michigan declined to reprimand President Trump's campaign for submitting a court document that opposing lawyers said was purposefully misleading.

  • Project Veritas’ New CNN Bombshell: Jeff Zucker Thinks Rudy Giuliani Is ‘Crazy’

    Earlier this week, Project Veritas released the first of what it promised would be many shocking revelations from CNN’s internal editorial meetings, which founder James O’Keefe appears to have infiltrated and recorded over the course of several weeks.First, the right-wing group tried to make hay out of the fact that one high-level CNN staffer considered Fox News host Tucker Carlson to be racist—while simultaneously misidentifying the staffer in question. Their latest bombshell? CNN President Jeff Zucker thinks Rudy Giuliani is “crazy.”According to Project Veritas’ website, O’Keefe believes it will be “virtually impossible for the American public to take CNN’s reporting seriously after listening to these tapes.” And yet, once again, nothing that Zucker has said should surprise anyone who has been paying attention to Giuliani, especially in the weeks since Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden.“There is a term for what Rudy Giuliani is suspected of being, which is ‘useful idiot,’” a voice identified as Zucker’s can be heard saying in a tape made just a couple of days after the man formerly known as “America’s mayor” started pushing material supposedly obtained from Hunter Biden’s laptop.He goes on to call Giuliani’s efforts to undermine the election a “really important story,” adding, “It gets tied to the Hunter Biden email disinformation campaign. That’s the way we do this, because it’s all tied and part-and-parcel of one. I know Washington is working on putting that all together.”In a more recent call, when another staff member suggests that the “real craziness is the client,” referring to President Trump, “not the lawyers,” the voice ID’d as Zucker agrees before saying, “I think you raise a good point about not just pawning it off on the crazy legal team, but the client is the one who is directing the crazy legal team.”Other comments from Zucker that seem to have outraged Project Veritas concern the baseless allegations of pedophilia against Biden that circulated online, especially among QAnon Facebook groups, in the run-up to the election.“The president of the United States has just retweeted a post accusing Joe Biden of being a pedophile to his 86 million followers which is just beyond,” he says on another tape. “You know it also is just unacceptable that the president of the United States is trafficking in this and doing it.”Once again, an exposé intended to make Zucker and CNN look bad has only revealed that they are simply adhering to reality.Project Veritas’ CNN Sting Uncovers Explosive News That Tucker Carlson Is RacistRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • Growing number of Senate Republicans voice support for bipartisan coronavirus relief bill

    There appears to be growing support among Senate Republicans for a bipartisan coronavirus relief bill introduced earlier this week, reports The Washington Post.The $908 billion package — championed by moderate Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (D-Maine), and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) — is in between what Democratic leadership is pushing for and what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has suggested. The moderates suggested an unemployment boost and money for state governments, but no stimulus checks.While McConnell on Thursday continued to resist the bipartisan bill, pushing instead for his version, which the White House has endorsed, other Republican senators got on board with the package. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) signaled they were open to the bipartisan bill.Democratic leaders said they believed the $908 billion package should be the basis for negotiations. Several Republicans echoed that, saying it wasn't exactly what they wanted but it made for a good starting point.McConnell didn't comment directly on the bipartisan proposal, but instead urged lawmakers to pull the trigger on his version, which he called "a serious and highly targeted relief proposal including elements which we know the president is ready and willing to sign into law."More stories from theweek.com What Trump is doing isn't politics. It's something much worse. 5 absurdly funny cartoons about Trump's desperate fraud claims The Donald goes down to Georgia

  • To save money, Mexican president says won't replace chief-of-staff

    Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday he would not replace his outgoing chief-of-staff Alfonso Romo and will close down his office in order to save money. Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that Romo, a longtime ally and millionaire entrepreneur known for his outreach to business groups, would step down after two years in the job. The leftist president said Romo would continue to act as a go-between for the government and the private sector, a role that has often been strained over Lopez Obrador's skepticism about private sector involvement in areas such as energy.

  • Palestinians: West Bank teen wounded by Israeli gunfire dies

    A 13-year-old Palestinian died on Friday after being shot by Israeli troops during clashes with a stone-throwing crowd in the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency reported. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Ali Abu Alia was hit in the stomach and died later at a hospital. The Israeli military said “dozens of rioters” hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers and border police, who responded with “riot dispersal means.”

  • 'Simply unthinkable': Law officers call for halt to executions in Trump's final weeks

    Five executions are scheduled before Joe Biden, who opposes capital punishment, takes office. Ninety current and former law officials want a halt.

  • 'We lost everything:' Central Americans flee north after back-to-back hurricanes

    It took Luis Salgado years of manual labor to save enough money to open a small fresh produce store, so when torrential floods swept away $1,500 worth of apples, bananas and other fruits, he decided there was no longer a future for him in Honduras. Salgado had already been struggling to eke out a profit after measures to curb the novel coronavirus such as additional cleaning cut into his meager revenues. Back-to-back hurricanes Eta and Iota internally displaced more than half a million people in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, according to International Organization for Migration data.

  • Israel arrests man who doused inside of church with fuel

    Israeli police said Friday they arrested a Jewish man after he poured out a “flammable liquid” inside a church near Jerusalem’s Old City, in what they described as a “criminal” incident. The police did not provide further details about the motive, but past attacks on churches in the Holy Land have been blamed on Jewish extremists. Friday’s incident took place at the Church of All Nations, a Catholic church built on the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christians believe Jesus was betrayed by Judas, one of his followers, and arrested by the Romans before being crucified.

  • Trump reportedly derailed a GOP meeting about the Georgia Senate runoffs by praising QAnon

    President Trump reportedly needs no encouragement to start praising the dangerous, baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.The most pressing matter for federal Republicans right now is the upcoming Senate runoffs in Georgia, which will determine control of the body. But in a meeting with advisers and top Senate Republicans about that matter, Trump totally derailed the conversation by bringing up QAnon, people familiar with the discussion tell The Washington Post.Trump is reportedly not thrilled with Georgia and that fact that it flipped for President-elect Joe Biden, and is publicly upset with Republican leaders in the state who haven't somehow overturned the election for him. So even though Republican advisers say Trump's help is "key to convincing his die-hard supporters to vote for Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue" in the January runoff election, the president isn't thrilled about doing so, the Post reports. "Advisers say he has been frustrated at how some GOP senators have criticized him," leading Trump to appear "disinterested" when discussing Senate campaign plans, the Post continues.That was clear in a recent meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.), and other aides. As they discussed Georgia's Senate races, Trump brought up the QAnon-supporting soon-to-be congressmember Marjorie Taylor Greene. Trump mispronounced the name of the group as "Q-an-uhn," and then said supporters of the theory that purports Democrats are a cannibalistic, pedophilic cabal "basically believe in good government," people familiar tell the Post. Everyone reportedly went silent until White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows mentioned he had "never heard it described that way," the Post reports.Trump has been asked to denounce QAnon several times, but usually gives the theory his tacit approval instead.More stories from theweek.com What Trump is doing isn't politics. It's something much worse. 5 absurdly funny cartoons about Trump's desperate fraud claims The Donald goes down to Georgia