The chaotic White House of President Donald Trump resulted in “a lost summer” in the fight against coronavirus, according to a new in-depth report from The Washington Post.
The newspaper interviewed “41 senior officials of the administration and other people directly involved in or informed of the response efforts” for the story, with several former officials offering anonymous quotes.
The report explains the skepticism of science and experts by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
“Meadows is not just about being skeptical about medical expertise, part of the policy-first, science-second stance that has become transparent in the White House this summer and that is primarily championed by Trump,” The Post noted.
“When the administration’s first reaction to the coronavirus was denial, the pandemic’s lack of control since then has been driven by dysfunction and resulted in a lost summer,” the newspaper explained.
“Under intense pressure to improve the chances of the president’s re-election when his poll numbers came down, the White House had what was described as a stand-down order to make public the virus through the month of June, part of a conscious strategy to alleviate other problems even when the contamination spreads wildly across the country, ” The Post report. “It was only in July, when case counts began to die down in a trio of populous, Republican-leaning states – Arizona, Florida and Texas – and polls showed a majority of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, that the president and his top aides renew their public activity related to the virus. “
The controversial model of the White House coronavirus has terrible news for Trump as the election approaches.
“Yet the virus is spreading from coast to coast, making the United States the world leader, by far, in the number of confirmed cases and deaths of coronavirus. An internal model of Trump’s Council on Economic Advisers predicts a severe disaster, with the number of projected infections around later in August and in September and October in the Midwest and elsewhere, according to people informed of the data, ‘the newspaper reported. “The forecast has alarmed the president and his top aides, even though some have chosen it unbelievable, arguing that some earlier projections did not materialize. “
According to a former administration official, chaos in the White House is “an unmitigated disaster.”
Amidst the dysfunction, aides have found a way to trick Trump into thinking he is an effective leader.
“What’s more, with surveys showing Trump’s popularity over the decline and widespread disapproval of his management of the viral outbreak, employees have put together a positive feedback loop for the boss. They present him with sweeping media comments. and craft maps with statistics that support the president’s assertion that the administration has done a great – even historically excellent – job against fighting the virus, “the newspaper explained.
The newspaper quoted a “senior administration official involved in responding to pandemic.”
“Everyone is busy trying to create a Potemkin village for himself every day. You do not have to see this behavior in liberal democracies based on the principles of the rule of law. Everyone bends backwards around this Potemkin village. for him and for his inner circle, ”the official explained.
The newspaper played out who makes that inner circle.
“Although Fauci, Birx and other medical professionals are on the coronavirus task force, many of the more pressing decisions have been made recently by the smaller group that hugs in the morning and prioritizes politics. The framework includes Meadows, senior adviser Jared Kushner and strategic communications director Alyssa Farah, ‘the newspaper reported.
