The test results made Trump’s risky decision to go ahead with a demonstration in the room feared by doctors turned into a contagious event that was very diffuse in even worse light. They also showed how the virus – now moving through southern and western countries despite Trump’s insistence that the US had “won” in the fight – had a devastating effect on the narrative of the “Great American Comeback” at the heart of his re-election. the bid.
Far from mitigating the political damage caused by viruses, Trump continues to worsen. On Monday, he gave a new life to the controversy caused by his comments on Saturday that he told his staff to slow down virus testing to avoid finding new cases, which naturally reflected his negligence in responding to a pandemic that has now killed more than 120,000 Americans.
Trump, who described his statement as “semi-tongue in cheek,” continues to argue that the problem in the United States is not because the virus is so spread, but testing continues to discover how deeply it has penetrated the community.
“Instead of 25 million tests, let’s say we do 10 million tests, we will look like we are doing much better because we have far fewer cases. You understand that. I won’t do that, but I will say this:” We do more from other countries so that makes us look bad but actually we do the right thing, “Trump said.
The comments appeared to trigger a new political storm that would further complicate the efforts of the President’s campaign team to revive after being embarrassed on Saturday. The campaign team is now considering smaller venues for Trump events – a move that will definitely make the ego commander, or an outdoor location where supporters might feel more comfortable.
Limitation of campaigning will not be tolerated for every President who seeks re-election. For Trump, such style crimes would be even worse, given the centralization of large demonstrations for his political and moral id that increased the role they fulfilled for an outsider in Washington.
Strong base
There is no doubt that the President holds Republican voters – the reluctance of GOP senators to reprimand him for his latest racist comments – when he calls the coronavirus originating from China “the kung flu” – is proof of that.
And Fox News said that Trump’s return to the footsteps was guaranteed the biggest Saturday night television audience in its history, suggesting that while some Trump fans might be worried about the virus, their absence from Tulsa did not go down due to lack of enthusiasm.
Trump has always opposed political gravity – and the months-long effects of orders and lockouts at home make it increasingly difficult for political analysts to get a solid assessment of how much the country now views the President.
But the rally controversy points to the more fundamental political challenges that Trump faces when he follows in the footsteps of Democratic Vice President Joe Biden in polls and the virus tightens its grip on nearly half the country.
See Trump and Biden’s head-to-head vote
The Saturday night event was intended to send a signal that the worst danger from the pandemic was over and that America was on the path of comeback. Instead, it suggests that even Trump supporters who choose not to appear in closed events that carry the risk of infection, may not yet believe the core message of their hero campaign.
With every chance that thousands of more Americans die before Election Day, Trump must face the prospect that his rejection and pandemic mismanagement that leaves the country unprepared for a deadly public health crisis becomes a stepping stone whose campaign might never be shaken. die.
Burning attack
The President’s response to the sad 48 hours was typical – an all-out attack. His targeting of Biden and Democrats showed his tenacity in a way that also signaled concern in his inner circle.
Trump fired a series of burnt claims on Twitter – which actually had no basis – that balloting through letters that are being considered by many countries would cause massive fraud and foreign interference in the November election.
The President’s team followed up with a new attack on Biden’s health and mentality. They claim that the former vice president’s decision to stick to the convention and only register for three official presidential debates in the fall – and not the extra meetings Trump demands – shows that the former vice president has doubts about taking President. The tactic is the return of efforts to define Biden as unfit to serve as President – which does not seem to work, if the state polls on the battlefield must continue.
Trump also returned to safety and often returned when he was in political trouble – a hard-line immigration policy, signing an executive order that further restricted legal immigration.
On Tuesday, Trump will head to Arizona to visit a part of the border wall that is fundamental to his application to supporters of conservative bases in his first presidential election campaign.
The President’s actions are all aggressive actions that might appeal to his sharpest supporters. Taken together with Saturday’s campaign of winding diversion, lavish self-praise, casual racism and disinformation, it is hard to see how they will attract the attention of voters who are not included in Trump’s base.
Arizona’s trip – while it will provide food for the cheering part of Trump’s conservative media – will surely be overshadowed by increasingly intense fighting in the country with the virus. The Grand Canyon state is one of 10 other states, mostly Trump-won who witnessed the highest average of seven days of new daily corona virus cases on June 21,
according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
While the President is out of town, two of his top public health officials, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield and the government expert in infectious diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, will give testimony before the DPR committee about the situation that is getting worse. in many countries.
Trump will try to put the embarrassing scene on Saturday night behind him when he discusses the “Student for Trump” event in Arizona.
Participants have been told to bring a face mask to the event but will not be forced to wear it.
Democrats have been trying to exploit Trump’s statement about slowing testing in Oklahoma, describing it as a symbol of mismanagement efforts to tackle the virus that caused economic closure.
“Two nights ago in his diatribe, he told them to stop testing because the numbers were rising … I mean, my God,” Biden said at a fundraising event, according to a pool report on Monday.
Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins from CNN contributed to this report.