Trump also promised that he would return to briefings on the government’s response to the crisis on television as soon as Tuesday, after weeks of trying to distract himself from high infection rates and attacking scientific advice from government officials.
Five months after the worst domestic crisis since World War II, and after his disastrous call to open states that have not yet purged the disease, sparked a wave of infections, the President may finally be understanding that his performance during the pandemic will be decisive. in the November Election. But his recent comments and his government’s actions also indicate a largely cosmetic public relations attempt to convince the public that he is in charge rather than a complete rethink of the strategy as the virus spirals out of control.
The briefings will offer Trump a return to the television screens he longs for and probably not by chance will resume after he told supporters over the weekend that the worsening pandemic will keep him out of the campaign for the moment.
Your investment in the masks could be positive if you convince conservatives who see the cover-up as a violation of their freedoms to take a step that could slow the spread. But his delay in acting may have irrevocably damaged public confidence in government health recommendations and has contributed to the spread of the disease from wildfires, especially in the western and southern states.
New Trump briefings will be watched for signs that he is committed to leveling with the American people about the true nature of the challenge and that he has learned and recognized his mistakes and offers true leadership.
But he made it clear Monday that his biggest concern was not the rampant numbers of new infections or the death toll of more than 140,000 Americans.
When he announced the return of his briefings in the Oval Office with Republican leaders in Congress, it was as if it was Sweeps’ week when television networks watched the new seasons of their best shows.
“We had very successful briefings. I was doing them, and we had a lot of people watching, recording numbers. And in the history of cable television, television, there has never been anything like this,” Trump said.
The president hinted that he would once again paint a deceptively positive view of the pandemic, exaggerating the good news on topics like vaccine treatments and developments rather than the grim reality of the situation. And as before, it seems likely that he will blame others.
“I will discuss, as I call it, the China virus, the plague of China,” Trump said Monday.
Trump sees another opportunity to dominate the screen
The president’s decision to return to being the face of the pandemic seems to represent a characteristic instinctive call that no one can present his case better than he.
Biden sought to capitalize on his lead Monday.
“He just seems to have given up. He has raised the white flag,” Biden told a virtual fundraiser on Monday. “Simply ignoring the pandemic won’t make it go away even if he thinks about it.”
Trump sticks to the same old lies
There is little evidence that the administration has decided to change the way it fights the pandemic.
It was unclear whether Fauci would join the president in the meeting room in a sign that the administration is finally treating the pandemic with the scientific rigor it demands. However, Fauci appeared with Vice President Mike Pence on a coronavirus task force call with state governors and asked them to make the recommended mitigation efforts to stop the spread of the disease.
Perhaps the President will finally absorb that data and take a more serious approach. But the experience of his tenure thus far suggests that he will vastly overstate optimistic data points – for example, he repeatedly predicted the light at the end of the tunnel in his previous round of reports. He also used the spotlight to promote what he called innovative treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, which turned out to be ineffective against the virus.
School momentum is a symbol of Trump’s true focus
Trump’s demand for a full-time opening of all schools in the coming weeks also shows how he tends to put his own political interests above scientific evaluations and a perception of what might be in the national interest.
It is, in many ways, a repeat of his dire call for states to increase their economies before science backs the return of bars, restaurants, and shops, especially with many people following the president’s lead and rejecting the use of facial covers to prevent spread. infection
Despite Trump’s strong calls for children to return to class, the administration has done no preparatory work that can convince parents and teachers that it is safe to do so, even as the virus infects tens of thousands of people all the days.
The consequences of not returning to school are severe, especially for the poorest children, whose only source of stability and nutrition often comes to school. Abuse in the home is often first seen by teachers. And online learning programs are, in many school districts, a poor substitute for school.
Sources have told CNN that the president believes he can play on frustration with continued school closings among suburban voters so far by rejecting his reelection campaign.
Trump’s flaws were summed up in his comment in the Fox News Sunday interview when he insisted that Fauci was an “alarmist” and that “eventually” it would be shown that he was right about the disease even when states break infection records and mortality rate increases again.
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