Donald Trump gave a less-unhinged press conference yesterday and the biggest headline was definitely the Ghislaine Maxwell remarks, which I covered separately. But the point of the press conference was that someone, somewhere thought Trump should go back to giving regular briefings on the pandemic. My guess is that Trump is bigly mad that his Nazi rallies are so poorly attended, and try as he might, he can’t continue to just pretend that the pandemic isn’t happening. Not only is the school situation utterly shambolic, but there’s been such a huge spike in infections over the past month that the mortality rate is spiking too.
At least 1,000 American deaths linked to the coronavirus were reported Tuesday, and the spread shows no sign of slowing down. The harrowing death toll comes as states across the country report record-breaking numbers of new cases. More governors are making masks a requirement as overwhelmed testing labs and hospitals are raising alarm. And officials are debating whether to send children back to school in person.
The only other time this month the country crossed the threshold of 1,000 reported deaths was July 7, with 1,195 reported fatalities. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, a quarter of all days this year have seen a US death toll exceeding 1,000.
So that was the backdrop for Trump’s big coronavirus presser. He got weirdly “good reviews” for seeming sober and hinged. He still didn’t take responsibility for f–king up the federal response, but at least he’s admitting the obvious, which is that this sh-t is bad:
Donald Trump changed his tone while talking about coronavirus on Tuesday in his first COVID-19 briefing since April. After months of downplaying the virus, the president gave a sober warning to Americans about the deadly pandemic.
“It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better,” Trump, 74, said. “[That’s] something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the way it is. That’s what we have.”
At the time of Trump’s press conference Tuesday, the New York Times database reported at least 141,400 people in the U.S. had died from the virus, while at least 3,875,700 confirmed cases had been identified since February. Trump said at one point Tuesday, “I think we’re all responsible,” when asked if he would take responsibility for what his administration’s critics have called a slow and skeptical handling of the pandemic.
Trump mostly read from notes at his podium and took a handful of questions from reporters before ending the press conference, which lasted about half an hour. (Trump’s previous coronavirus press conferences sometimes lasted more than two hours.) The president’s prior press conferences throughout the pandemic often featured Trump arguing with reporters and suggesting false remedies for the virus. On Tuesday, Trump appeared to come around on a number of virus-related issues. Trump encouraged others to wear face masks and called them “a good thing”— reflecting a stark change from the position he’s taken previously.
Yeah. I mean, of course he’ll be extra bonkers for the next press conference, and of course NO ONE should praise him for doing the bare minimum by admitting that we’re in the middle of a huge crisis. The only nice thing I’ll say is that now maybe those MAGA crisis actors and unhinged, maskless Karens will realize that this sh-t it real. Probably not though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Is Van Jones going to treat us all with another commentary about how presidential he sounds again because he managed to stay on script for a few minutes?
The absolute bare minimum- things he should have said months ago (things he might not have needed to say if he’d done his job at the outset of this nightmare) and the MAGAts are going to be creaming themselves heaping praise on him. It’s painfully obvious someone finally got him to realize that the cult worshippers weren’t going to be enough to bring his approval rating up. Of course conversely, it is pathetic what a jump it will take because he finally did the absolute bare minimum.
And ultimately, nothing is really going to change – he’s made his tiny concession and now it will be business as usual as he and the GOP will continue to try and screw everyone suffering as a result of the shutdown.
Plus, even if he did a total about face (which we know isn’t going to happen – just a few days ago he was still saying the virus will just disappear) and spent every day talking about the importance of masks and social distancing, he’s created a monster he simply can’t control.
Arrrrgh. What. A. Tosser.
His followers still ain’t gonna wear masks. He knows this.
And he’s unhinged on Twitter, saying mail in voting will make the election rigged. He’s planning to foment protests if he loses.
And he still sent his secret police to Chicago, despite them saying “stay out”.
No cookies for him. Ever.
Headline fodder while he signs despicable executive orders.
The Covid meeting yesterday was with McConnell, McCarthy. Was Pompeo or Barr there? Anyone I missed? The point was, “Our poll numbers are shrinking we need you to read a script today.” 🙂 And then the Maxwell comment. By tonight, if not sooner, he’ll be back to his role of Bozo the Clown on Twitter.
The best and worst thing about Trump is he can’t stay on message, consistently or even philosophically. He is saying this because his advisors managed to convince him that the polls are valid and that he better start saying what the country wants to hear to get his numbers up. He is all about validation, and IF this strategy works, even for a week, Trump will forget why and just go back to his usual unhinged polarizing ways.
His critics should love this latest turnaround. These campaign videos have more ammunition now. Take this latest mea culpa splice it with the myriad occasions of him contradicting himself and unleash it in the public. We need a constant reminder of his hypocrisy and lies. Right to Election Day.
This man does NOT care about the American people. He only cares about re-election. But I don’t know why. He clearly hates this job. He just loves the power it gives him. Please vote.
The conspiracy theory side of my brain says he’s waited this long to advocate masks because once everyone starts wearing them the number of cases will go down dramatically, just in time for the election. He can claim victory and people may just believe him. Never mind that there will be a few hundred thousand dead Americans that would still be alive if his administration had followed the science from day one.
I can’t believe 45 is running his presidential campaign based on the Covid death toll “improving.” What a sick fak he is.