President Trump has been eager to project optimism about the COVID-19 pandemic but has faced scrutiny from reporters. In an interview aired this week with Jonathan Swan of Axios, the president responded to rises in death rates by saying “it is what it is,” while insisting the White House is doing everything it can to combat the virus. Meanwhile, in Congress, Democrats and the White House could not agree to a new round of stimulus or an expansion of the $600 supplement to unemployed Americans that expired last week. The panel discussed the president’s response to the coronavirus crisis, the fate of a deal in Congress and the potential candidates to serve as Joe Biden’s vice-presidential pick.