Trump could best unify the country by announcing his resignation. He has been a complete flop as a president. In a heat wave, thinking people wouldn't follow him into an ice-cream parlor.
18
People , myself included , still expect competent , cognizant , emphatic and compassionate thoughts and feelings from Trump ?
2
Mr. Trump,
What does it feel like to be the most hated and vilified man on the planet?
10
Trump has made no effort to unify anybody, other than had rabid supporters against everyone else.
The headline is ridiculous.
24
In other words: The sky is blue.
9
So this is somehow, in some way, Obama’s fault. Yea, saw that one coming...
20
I wish the Times would STOP dancing around this fool. Trump isn’t struggling to unify, he has from DAY ONE sought to divide this nation and pit brother against brother. His MO is to tear down and harm. Trump has no moral center. He should have been removed from office for his blatant corruption but we have an equally corrupt Republican congress. This administration and the Republicans are not serving the people.
VOTE.THEM.ALL.OUT
39
Guidance from Trump? Vote for me since I'm a stable genius, my brother was smart, and only I can solve this. Please....
9
"Mr. Kushner has gotten more involved in the response in recent days, according to three White House advisers."
Well that's great. I mean he knows how to take care of the poor and those in danger of losing their homes.
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/03/dirty-money-jared-kushner-slumlord-netflix-1202216998/
8
"he has been more follower than leader"
He is an impeder. He refused to follow anyone.
12
Please drop Trump's stupid, self-serving pitch for a payroll tax cut, which is helicopter money. A sledge hammer doesn't solve this problem which requires a screwdriver. Witch doctor Navarro has charmed Trump into stealing from the Social Security funds to pay for his re-election. Talk about brazenly buying votes at taxpayer and retirees’ expense! No way. It’s a reincarnation of the playbook from their stupid tariff-offset farm relief programs. If the Senate GOP rams this through on their side, the House Dems need to attach a pay-for, to protect Social Security and Medicare trust funds from this political scam. To stop this raid on retirees’ trust funds, the House majority needs to attach a Millionaire surtax of 5% or 10% on 2020 adjusted gross income over $500K as required by bipartisan budget rules, to fund a payroll tax cut. That's a real pay-for, which is fiscally responsible. Let the rich pay for the Trump/Navarro election -year handouts, if he insists, not future retirees.
15
I hope here in Canada we close the border with the USA asap before it's too late
15
Dump Donald off at Mar-a-Lago, give him a pail and shovel and let him play on the beach.
14
@Doremus Jessup
He wouldn't know how to use them.
11
Michael Cohen (the fixer) should be released from prison so he can pay off the virus.
9
The press and other media, need to immediately stop reporting anything and everything, Trump.
Trump is a disaster.
The experts need to ignore this fool. He has nothing to say of any importance.
Send this clown to Coventry, now!
7
Just LOL. Really.
1
Mark Twain remains our most reliable source for analyzing Trump.
He said; " There are fools, & there are damn fools". Trump is a damn fool if there ever was one.
9
The depth of his impairment, incapacity, incompetence is immeasurable ... we will survive this without a president.
10
Dear NYT:
President Trump is indeed making mistakes, but the relentless attacks against him are mostly partisan fury, signifying nothing. The media's fixation on viewing all things through the lens of Donald Trump's failure distorts reality.
Trump's narcissism has infected the media that covers him!
In fact, Trump acted early and decisively to squelch the spread of the virus from China -- which is much more blameworthy, for concealing it for crucial weeks -- and appears to be sincerely doing his best to unify the country.
The media will not allow this to happen.
The public health team he has assembled has for the most part been effective in reducing deaths, and is now integrating state, local and private efforts to mitigate its spread. They identified the genome in recrtod tiem, and are making great progress on a vaccine.
It is absurd ot blame Trump for botching development of a test kit.
And in fact, despite feverish attempts by the "fact checkers" to protect President Obama's legacy, Trump has indeed acted much faster than did Obama in declaring a national emergency. Indeed, "more than 1,000 people had died in the U.S. from the flu strain known as H1N1, commonly called the swine flu, by the time Obama declared a national emergency over the outbreak Oct. 23, 2009, according to reporting by The Associated Press." See https://apnews.com/5b5eb06cbe9b4d829c393dda18b76e74.
2
What a Team, Trump, Pence, Kushner, Miller and add in McConnell and McCarthy and our salvation will be Biden and Pelosi. HUH?
2
Short sellers are "BIGLY" pleased that Trump will be making yet another announcement about Covfefe-45 today.
6
Mr. Trump had no hesitance to kibbitz from the side before he became president, assailing President Barack Obama for not doing enough to stop Ebola, for instance.
Kibbutz is the wrong word. To kibbutz is to talk playfully and with fun or leavity. To kill time, etc. by kibbutzing. One does not assail by way of kibbutz.
3
@Gail O "Kibbutz" is indeed the wrong word.
7
"As for Mr. Trump’s call on Washington in his speech to 'stop the partisanship,' that lasted just nine hours ... " The man is a disgrace, plain and simple. Take away the snark, and there's nothing there.
11
Just to repeat, because previous comment might have been unclearly written:
A few weeks ago on Reddit, a Trump supporter said she was going to take a flight and "lick the airplane table" because COVID-19 is nothing but a Democratic hoax.
This is how Trump's words effect the USA. People very, very dumb believe him.
Considering that we are in uncharted territory here with this virus, when will the Trump supporters stop playing the pity card for Trump.
Trump deserves to be justifiably criticized. He also deserves to lose his job and he would, were he a CEO.
14
Is Trump actually trying to unify the country? I hear misplaced grandstanding, blame, shifting justification, lies, and obfuscation. Has Trump or Pence taken any responsibility for the woefully inadequate response?
80
If you would like to hear a presidential presentation on the current crisis, search for Joe Biden's recent speech on how he would handle the situation.
6
I watch the changing color palette of his face; it’s like a mood ring: the more he lies and obfuscates, the darker all but those raccoon circles around his eyes get. He was pretty dark brown for the last speech. The hair might be a clue, too, but I haven’t figured out a pattern. Lemon yellow or gold or platinum or white. I need a legend to guess if it reflects his comfort level or his golf game or his self-satisfaction about property profits. Anybody?
7
It is increasingly clear that President Trump tried to suppress coronavirus testing so that he could claim credit for low numbers, but all this did was prevent us from realizing how big a problem we already had. Willful ignorance on the President's part set back efforts to mitigate the epidemic by at least two months. It will undoubtedly result in numerous avoidable deaths.
Meanwhile, Trump's only policy to keep the virus out so far is to build walls, either with border fences or travel bans, not recognizing that the wolf is already in the fold. Note, however, that he has been careful to make sure that any countries where he has golf courses (Ireland, UK) are not banned.
This is abuse of power and incompetence taken to a whole new level. Normally, it would be an impeachable offense, but we all know what we have in the Republican-dominated Senate. Right and wrong don't matter, just the ceaseless quest to retain power, no matter what it costs ordinary Americans.
We can only hope that the American people have had enough of this man, who now represents not just a clear and present danger to our democracy, but to our very lives as well. 234 days and counting...
14
Talking of unity. Somewhere in Italy today a whole city of people who are quarantined at a certain hour are going to stand outside on their balconies and start playing music and singing together for a half hour.
And here what we get is that sound sound, of Trump's voice declaring a national emergency at 3.
7
With Dr. Trump and Dr. Kushner in charge, the only thing we have to fear is "fear itself". God help us.
5
When we finally obtain all the numbers, Corona Virus test results, Trump’s Tax Returns, Trump’s College Transcripts, etc., then perhaps we will have a better measure of the man, the myth, the monster. America has been conned, defrauded and lied to aided by a political party more interested in power than people.
What Trump’s “Base” misunderstands the most this showman is merely a performer. He surely cares not for the human condition, but only the optics. He cares not for anything nor anyone but himself.
One would think that a true leader would want to surround his/her self with the best and brightest to aid in decision making. This self-proclaimed “Very Stable Genius” seems to genuinely believe he is the Alpha and Omega of all that ever has or will ever be known. Hmmm, hello,God?
That America now has it’s own “Royal Family” should bother most, if not all its citizens. That they enjoy all the perks and privileges while ignoring the plight of the average citizen unable to get or afford healthcare, education, housing or that ever elusive “Pursuit of Happiness” should bother if not offend us all.
What we know or rather what we do not know is indeed problematic. You cannot make an informed decision without all the data. I would ask all those hanging on to the thousands of lies Trump has told, simply why?
His words mean nothing. Would you buy a used car from this guy? This man cannot grocery shop for himself let alone relate to those who cannot afford to shop. So, why??
12
“Obviously there’s been some irresponsible rhetoric"
Yes, and all of it coming from the white house and the GOP.
How can they not have burned this party to the ground by now, it's truly amazing!
10
Maybe Trump should heed his own advice to stop the partisanship and stop blaming everyone but himself for the Coronavirus. Clearly, he is no leader and does not belong in the White House.
9
Why not help Mr. Harrison with his mask? It should be covering his nose, too, to protect him!
The other states should get on board with mail-in ballots like my state. Easy to verify with recounts, too.
5
Bad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote.
10
Trump does not have a clue about what to do. We should have been prepared several months ago. All he does is make wrong moves, shift blame to others and ask clueless people to surmount this crisis.
8
Trumpism is itself a deadly virus. It could have been stopped by an electorate vaccinated with a little education, decency, and common sense. I wish I could believe that this latest demonstration of Trump's profound unfitness for office will be the last nail in his political coffin.
10
Borrowing from the wisdom of another famous Republican, George W., "Trumpie, you're doing a heck of a job."
5
Trump is a cheerleader, not a leader. His problem and ours is his personality disorder which has given us a government of stooges and lackeys rather than a functional one. If not for Trump’s fragile ego, we might have gotten ahead of this weeks if not months ago.
8
To all the supporters of Trump's Border Wall...those clearly racist, xenophobic adherents and the GOP...Just what do you propose now to keep the homeland safe? Paper towels?
12
“… he has been more follower than leader.”
Give us a break here, trump is the millstone around the necks of experts and professionals trying to their best.
The lives and welfare of Americans is in a crisis and trump is busy lying, blaming others and mongering hate— i.e. trump is delightfully campaigning and exceeding the expectations of his followers dividing Americans against Americans for his personal agenda.
16
By blaming Democrats for his own failures as a president who can bring the nation together in time of crisis, Trump has proven himself to be unfit for the office.
Are the Democrats blameless in this affair? No, because they could have sounded the warnings through their majority in the House by passing some kind of resolution to get the White House to act. In other words, their best option was to act as a reminder to the president to act.
But the Democrats do not hold the reins of power to actually implement a plan to contain the virus to the extent possible, and that is squarely within the domain of the president.
Trump knows precisely that he is the one at fault, and following his lifelong pattern, he needs to blame someone else.
This president has proven himself to be unfit for office.
9
@ernieh1 PS: I just read that Trump's latest blame-game move was to criticize Obama for not doing enough during the Ebola epidemic.
And yet, one of the first things Trump did on taking office was to dismantle Obama's White House group whose job was to prepare for pandemics, and to cut the budget of the CDC.
6
Wonder why Trump kept the travel lanes open between USA and UK? Ask yourself, "Where are his golf courses?" Bingo!
11
This is what happens when you have a reality TV celebrity as president. Kim Kardashian would probably do as well or better.
7
trump, our first Kardashian POTUS.
3
@Andrew An egg-salad sandwich would do better.
3
At least his golfing won't be disrupted. Who knew that electing a leader who is smart, honest, reliable and hardworking would turn out to be important? Worst time to have a president who lacks authority to lead, and as such, Americans are left to fend for themselves. Not believing anything the president says. Which also bleeds over to other smart government people, unfortunately. He is a cancer (and hey, I'm a conservative who would be a natural supporter!).
I'm hoping, and pretty certain, that collectively we will all win World War C, even without leadership in the White House.
6
We are all going to be paying a very steep price for having this incompetent, ignorant, vain, dishonest con man in the presidency. A very steep price.
And we should not forget that we have the amoral conservative "movement" and their equally amoral and, yes, immoral handmaidens in the Republican Party to blame for it.
11
The real National Emergency we have in this country is having Donald Trump as president. In short, he has prolonged this virus emergency with his ignorance, lack of leadership skills, and just plain narcissistic behavior. He is a threat to this country far greater than Covid-19. He should resign or be impeached as unfit for the office of President using the 25th Amendment. In short, he is a disaster as president.
10
Anyone surprised at the utter incompetence and lack of qualification exhibited by this so-called president is likely not sentient enough to cross a back country road unaided.
9
Trump is worse than a bystander. His inaccurate statements, ineffectiveness, distrust of science and constant handshaking are dangerous.
13
The oranges of Covefe-45 in California have been traced to Devin Nunes' cow.
3
When you have spent three years being completely incompetent, nobody is going to suddenly believe that you’ve suddenly become competent overnight. When you have spent three years lying through your teeth, nobody is suddenly going to believe that everything you say is the truth. Much of this chaos is down to one simple fact: Nobody believes anything Trump says, and nobody believes that he - or that circus he’s assembled in DC - is actually capable of properly handling a crisis of this magnitude. That’s why everybody is scared to death.
If he wants the chaos to stop, he needs to immediately put somebody in charge who is capable or dealing with this and who the public can trust, and then he needs to go hide somewhere and stop tweeting. Every time he opens his mouth he makes it worse.
10
When you’ve already burned the bridges, it takes time to build them up again I’m afraid.
6
> “I have the right to do a lot of things that
> people don’t even know about.”
When this president starts making assertions of dictatorial power, Americans would be wise to listen. This includes both the #resistance on the left and the so-far supine "libertarians" who have gone along to get along thus far.
11
@Jon Kiparsky That sentence jumped out at me too and I have made a post about it. Always with trump it's about "me".
4
Jared Kushner's advice is just about what we would expect from a White House "Senior Advisor" installed solely by virtue of nepotism, and whose father paid $2,500,000 to gain his college admission.
9
Trump is crippled by his malignant narcissism and lacks the intellect to comprehend complex situations like a pandemic. Trump instead lashed out at a Obama as the reason why the CDC was responding poorly to the crisis albeit Trump has had over 3 years of authority to fix any of these issues he claims Obama for. Perhaps because Obama grew up in Kenya and only has GED and as my family member a Trump supporter quoting Fox news that China caused the epidemic to hurt our economy despite the illogic that it hurt their economy. Rational thinking does not occur to Fox/Trump fanatics as it interferes with the concept that Trump is perfect in every way.
7
About time to declare this an emergency. I wonder how much of the money “Orange Man” will have at hand once he declares a “National Emergency” will go into his own coffers?
7
I do hope Nancy Pelosi has already convened a meeting with Democratic and sane Republican governors and health experts on how to coordinate and combat Corona virus. Ignore Trump, he’s useless.
8
"Mr. Kushner has gotten more involved in the response in recent days, according to three White House advisers."
Wow, that's great news. I mean this is the guy who brought a lasting peace to the Middle East, solved the opioid crisis in America, and is finishing the wall on the Southern Border, right? We're saved!!!
92
The man in the White House has finally been tested and he has failed.
94
the speech - which he couldn't even read - simply confirmed what 80% of the country already know - DJT is in way over his head, he does not have a clue - about this crisis or anything else. He is an incompetent fool.
9
Almost enough to restore one's faith in the Hebrew God of wrath who "is not mocked." That God deliberately, mockingly, satirically "hardened the heart" of the Pharaoh of Egypt, so that his hubris would make him refuse Moses' demand to free the Jews after each of the first nine plagues, until God's killing every single first-born boy in Egypt finally got the Pharaoh's attention. This go-around, that God seems to have puffed up our bloated, orange Pharaoh of Mar-a-Lago fatter and fatter with his idiotic swaggering "confidence" in order to maximize his total humiliation by a plague that threatens to especially wipe out large swaths of Trump's idiotic, geezerly, Boomer MAGA base. You can't make this stuff up. As Euripides pronounced for all human times:
Gods manifest themselves in many forms,
Bring many matters to surprising ends.
The things men think will happen do not happen;
The unexpected God makes possible.
And that is what has happened here today.
As always, the wages of hubris are total doom.
6
Please, don’t!
"Woe to the nation with an idiot for its king" - Talmud
11
I don't care what this man thinks, I don't care what this man wants, I don't care a thing about him. Every word, every emotion, every thought he exudes is hateful. He will never unify a nation and the sooner he is gone the better. I am over caring, he has sucked the life out of many of us. We want to breath again.
11
Which is worse-Covfefe45 or covid19? Both are harmful to the well-being of humans.
One causes harm through action. The other through lack of action.
7
We all have been wondering for four years exactly what it would take for Trump to lose his grip on his base, his party and would sway the independent border off the fence. As each tweet became more outrageous, as we entered into unwise tariffs, withdrew from the world community and cut out vital government functions, nothing has moved the needle.
We can only hope that the dual whammy of the physical and financial infection will be the final straw that breaks the president's proverbial back.
6
Trump Struggles to Unify a Nation on Edge. That's nothing but poppycock!!!
Basically it is nothing but another opportunity to push the Republican Anti-Abortion Agenda. Below is a clipping from the website "theHill.com":
Another sticking point relates to abortion services. Republicans have demanded the inclusion of language, known as the Hyde Amendment, explicitly prohibiting the use of federal funds to provide those services. One aide said Democrats have conceded to that request, and the language will be included, though Democratic lawmakers declined to comment before the deal is sealed.
3 years ago, in about a day and half the Republicans cobbled together a trillion dollar tax cut for the rich and then have spent last 3 years coming up with all sorts hurdles for poorer Americans to get food stamps and medical care, etc.
I think the Democrats need to pass two bills in the Congress to present to the Senate and Donald Trump.
1.) Obamacare is to be extended without any reservations to everyone in America. No more loopholes for religious reasons, no more state opting out provisions and no more tax holidays for people that don't want to buy insurance.
2.) No more restrictions on Abortion.
So until the Republicans are serious about healthcare, I wouldn't do anything.
3
We don’t need him.
Well work around him.
Because we must.
Chaos is the source of Trumps power. He creates chaos to generate leverage. So, he is powerless in the face of the chaos caused by a virus.
3
One of the reasons that Trump is failing to lead well in this crisis is that he has in the past and continues to demonize those Americans who are not his supporters. Why would any of them trust him to help them? He has not ever wanted to be the president for all the people of this country and has shown his complete disregard for those against him and his policies. He considers them his enemy. The fact that he counts any regular American as an enemy rather than thinking of them as one of his responsibilities, a person whose future he has in his hands, is part of what makes him such a horrendous leader.
He reads words off a teleprompter asking our politicians to stop with the partisanship, but he tweets partisan attacks less than 24 hours later. He is also incapable of unifying our government. The Democrats don’t have to lead a political witch hunt against him, he paints himself as the enemy constantly.
4
Donald Trump’s live tv address a few days ago should frighten everyone. He showed no empathy or understanding of the epidemic’s severity, and if it weren’t for the teleprompter I’m not even sure he would have known why he was talking. Trump’s primary characteristics, many of which he has displayed during this crisis include: lack of empathy, manipulativeness, callousness, hostility, impulsiveness, and deceitfulness. These are also six of the nine characteristics of a sociopath.
7
trump has no interest in unifying the nation. He rules only but fracturing the nation with his continuous hate speech. One only has to read the hate filled letters to the editor from Trump supporters as they reflect their "leader."
3
Breaking NEWS, according to Washington Post at 1:10 PM: "Trump to declare national emergency in response to coronavirus"
Wait a second ... Trump already IS the national emergency.
About time THAT was recognized.
4
It is inconceivable that some folks are still defending, lauding even, this administration in the face of their ineptitude and lack of responsibility.
Its a national embarrassment.
3
As a major electoral defeat looms ahead for our, ‘very stable genious.’
Our fearless leader is now forced to adopt economic and social policies. That just a few days ago would have caused laughter among his inner sanctum.
In the parallel universe which is how the WH operates., and up too the most recent King’s speech. All of this virus hysteria was in their view simply, ‘a hoax.’
1
Keep bashing Trump all you want. Here's what very well may happen:
1) at the end of this round of the virus, which we hope will end before the Nov elections (doesn't everyone hope for that? Even Trump haters) the US has had a lower infection rate and lower fatality rate than western Europe -- which had the same warning as we did.
2) The economy has picked up steam again. Nothing wrong with our underlying economy.
3) The dems and MSM have been exposed for using this as a political issue in hopes of defeating Trump.
4) In retrospect, it becomes clear that all the fear mongering did much more damage than the virus itself.
The truth is right now, with a relatively even start, Europe is doing much worse than the US in handling this. Many more cases in Europe than here, many more fatalities. A lot of that may be attributed to Trump closing the border to China -- which, if you remember, was called racist by most of the left.
Trump has to balance a fine line between creating panic and telling the truth in an encouraging way. FDR would have been much worst served if he had said, "the economy is plummeting, everyone is going to go broke, don't work, don't borrow, it's all over folks" than saying -- "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
41
@Ralphie
Except the US does not have a lower infection rate than Western Europe. The US has just tested fewer people.
Washington State has currently around 140 official cases with an incredibly high death rate compared to outbreaks elsewhere. This indicates a much higher actual unreported number of cases.
It takes an average of 17 days from infection to death with covid-19. Assuming a 1% mortality rate, that means 1 covid-19 death today roughly equates to 800 actual cases of the disease.
With 22 deaths in Washington State, the actual number of people with the disease is likely to be around 16,000 actual cases i.e. more than in Italy and Iran combined
553
@Ralphie We actually have no idea what our infection rate is because we do not have enough kits to test people.
394
@Ralphie,
not a single thing you state is true. not one.
558
If only the President would self-quarantine so that the country could get on with fixing what he has wrought.
6
Republicans need to stop playing the victim, stop sitting on their hands, and start getting funds and material to the public health officials and scientists in cities and states who are competent to speak and act about what needs to be done.
Republicans then need to just get out of the way and these trained professionals do their jobs.
Enough, already.
6
Struggles? Is that what they're calling abject failure these days?
1
What's-his-name and Pence can unify us by resigning effective immediately, and can reassure us by immediately recusing themselves from the pandemic response. And yes that means no longer censoring the professional public servants who know what they are doing. And yes that means shutting the heck up themselves. The harm they have already done is immeasurable. Take a moment and read the comments here from the credulous culty Trump base. "No problem, just 40 dead," they say. Italy is now reporting a death rate that is close to 7%. As Nicholas Kristof writes elsewhere here today:
"At this point we may already have tens of thousands of infections in the United States — no one knows, because testing has been catastrophically bungled ... We have already squandered weeks in which the president scoffed at the coronavirus ..."
3
One is reminded of another adamantly and purposefully out of touch president, Herbert Hoover. He at least was literate and in some ways competent. Unlike Trump, he was somewhat informed; but adamant about how he thought to address the stock market crash of 1929 and refused to acknowledge the extent of the harm it was causing, and would not entertain proposals to resolve it other than those that were akin to his stubborn belief in the ability of the market to repair the damage. What a fool.
Precious time was lost and suffering needlessly exacerbated because of Hoover’s refusal to accept the reality of what was happening and what needed to be done.
Sound familiar? It should, although, frighteningly, now not only can we say Trump is no FDR, but that he is also not even up to being Hoover.
2
Trump has no credibility...on any issue...given his conduct over the last three years. So it comes as no surprise that no one trusts him to put the welfare of the American people first.
2
Getting Trump to help out in a crisis is like calling for a lifeboat and getting thrown the anchor instead
4
How can a president who has spent three years dividing us even hope to unite us? Trump has driven wedges into every crack he could find, insulted, smeared, lied - and now he needs to unite us? Trump has sown the whirlwind - we get to reap the storm.
3
As evident by the mistakes made by trump in a written speech, the incompetence is not limited to trump. Choosing support staff and Cabinet Members on the basis of loyalty rather than competence and intelligence is one one more sign of the weakness of this sad unfeeling man.
5
Why does the writer even pretend to imagine Trump trying to unify the country? His entire approach to the position is divisiveness
2
During the H1N1 outbreak, I do not recall the reaction we are now seeing.
The CDC source below: "From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated that there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (8,868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus."
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/burden-of-h1n1.html
1
Well, I would just LOVE to be a fly on the White House wall and hear the raving, ranting, and meltdowns that Trump must be having these days on a quarter-hour basis.
3
You’ll have to settle for the ranting, raving meltdowns of Trump supporters on this comment thread.
1
I hear trump will participate in a news conference this afternoon
Somebody - please get ready with your truth-meter. I imagine it will break trying to find the dishonesty limit.
I hope he doesn’t strain himself when he pats himself on the back.
1
“The President as Bystander: Trump Struggles to Unify a Nation on Edge.” Why? Because his credibility is so low relative to Dim Donnie’s inability after three and a half years to run the country and avoid peevish intransigence and partisanship by blaming everyone else for his problems. He is a weak, amoral example of presidential leadership.
2
Consider as if a big shiny UFO landed on Washington’s mall. Stop hurling stones at who is at this moment the president of the United States.
There is no way in hell that the vitriolic fraud in the white house or his enablers in Congress can ever unify the nation. On the contrary, the USA has never been so divided by corrupt, dirty politicians fleecing the taxpayers as the current republican junta that has stolen our democracy, and replaced it with a fascist oligarchy made in Russia with help from the mob. Trump and his grifter clan are worse than useless. They are indeed cannibalizing the resources and workers of America.
3
Trump who cannot organize a two-car parade is in charge of our nation's health and economic systems. This country is suffering from a backward response to serious health crisis and from a worsened economic collapse due to Trump's devoted pandering to the super-rich and to himself.
Uniting this nation will never happen under the Trump/GOP scourge that makes the coronavirus pandemic look like a walk in the park.
7
He's not struggling to unify the nation. He never cared for that and never will. He only wants to make a situation where his base bothers to vote and everyone else is discouraged or flat out finds it impossible to vote.
5
Oh, that's a good one.
The past 3+ years have been spent *intentionally* dividing us. To turn on a dime and be able to unify us... would be an honest-to-God miracle.
5
There seems to be some thing wrong with our Billionaires - first Bloomberg's poor showing in the debates, and now Trump's abysmal "fireside chat" on the Virus problem.
How could Trump, not know, that the was supposed to tell us: "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself". Has he never read a history book?
3
‘“We saw tonight that even when Trump is trying to be on his best behavior, he just doesn’t have much of a clue about the nature of the crisis, or how it can best be fought.”’
The address itself was deeply unsettling because of the demeanor of the president in delivering a totally canned talk while looking like the proverbial deer in the headlights — Trump was clearly rattled.
Our president lacks the crucial ability to assimilate and digest the unfamiliar and to make best use of fully credible outside expertise — he is isolated by his own ego afflictions and the choice to rely mostly on those who pander to his foibles.
5
" I have the right to do things that some people don't even know about.
I'll take a wild guess that this involves canceling elections and nullifying the outcomes.
8
He can't help it. He has to blame others for his mistakes and miscalculations. Never takes responsibility for anything. What a person. Truly the earth will be better once he's gone for good. Not one drop of integrity or honor.
7
the most frightening thing I have yet heard concerning Coronavirus: Jared Kuschner is the policy lead.
11
Declaring an emergency only because he finally has no other choice.
Trying to make more tests available - BUT - only by doling out more funds to more private companies to develop more tests, rather than do the smart thing and use one of the numerous effective tests already developed by Germany or any other country where testing is not such a problem.
It's all the same gameplaying, playing politics is more important than following the science and the needs of the nation.
8
The NYT and the Democrats see the Coronavirus as just one more opportunity to opine about how terrible Trump is.
The clear attempt to divide Americans at a time when we should come together is just sad.
Very sad.
But you can’t help yourselves, can you.
1
@Ken Every day ending in "y" is a good day to opine about that failure. The Coronavirus really has nothing to do with it.
24
Please share and cite evidence that trump has made a serious attempt at unifying the nation. You can quote portions of speech as long as you include the ensuing Tweets that effectively contradict those portions. Context is vital; no piecing together words and phrases to imply one thing when he actually said the opposite. This game of projecting on and castigating his opponents for what he does is transparent and goofy—a third grader’s attempt to debate when he or she has no worthy ideas.
42
@Ken Watch Trump's speech. The whole thing. Then reconsider what you just wrote.
28
China is now blaming the US for the virus and threatening to withhold antibiotics from us but please don't stop bashing our President at every opportunity.
4
Are you sure trump hasn’t banned cargo from China, effectively halting distribution of drugs? I know you think trump is your savior, but he isn’t behaving like one.
18
@Susan He is actually doing a very good job of bashing himself at every opportunity and every time he opens his mouth on cameras. No criticism is necessary.
26
Correct.
Now is the time to praise Trump for calling COVID-19 the Wuhan virus. And for all his other racism — like good people in both sides and asking the endorsement of David Duke.
16
Trump supporters like to argue that Trump is especially competent in dealing with the economy. They like to talk about the stock market and 401k. Let's do some math because there is nothing like math to dispel myths. When Obama took office in January of 2009, the Dow was about 8000. After his first term, by the time of the 2012 election, it was about 12,600, an increase by about a factor 1.6. When Trump was inaugurated, the Dow was at 19,830, a whopping factor of 2.5 higher than in 2009.
We now near the end of Trump's first term and the Dow finished at 21,200 yesterday, higher by a factor of only 1.07 than in 2019. Is there somebody out there who thinks that the Dow will be at 31,700 come November, to compare with Obama? Does somebody think that it will be at 49,600 in 2024 if Trump, God forbid, is re-elected?
The plunge may continue because Trump is a disaster in managing the economy. I look for the silver lining though. No Trump supporter will ever again ask me how my 401k is doing.
10
Trump has only tried in this crisis to make himself look good at the expense of the nation. He has ignored science and facts, blatantly lied about availability of testing, and puffed his chest about being some sort of natural expert on things he knows nothing about. It is pathetic, it is dangerous, and it is disastrous.
6
One of the reasons that Europe has a higher infection rate is because they are actually testing! Trump resisted testing so he could claim fewer infections. All about re-election, not about the good of the Country. And his crummy pronouncement was written by Kushner, a silver spooner, and Miller, a Nazi. Real heart feeling there for we who are at risk.
I find it fascinating that so many people are so brain-washed by this clown who was born with a silver spoon and whose only claim to fame, besides trying to manipulate his office for his own personal gain, are a tv show and a lot of bankruptcies. The world will be a better place if we in the US get rid of Trump and his God-awful family and the do-nothing Repubs in the Legislative Branch.
15
What we're witnessing is the sad - and alarming, given the circumstances - spectacle of trump's incredible shrinking presidency. The fact that he has surrounded himself with hard-right mediocrities, flunkies and sycophants only amplify the regime's incompetence. What the crisis is making more obvious than ever is the man's utter unfitness for the office he holds. The Republican Party, meanwhile, remains in thrall to trump's cult and Fox News. It all adds up to bad news for the country.
9
A 10 minute speech. And still, he managed to place the blame on others (the foreign virus) and pat himself on the back (for stopping Chinese flights). I’ve had enough of this guy.
16
After watching Trump's talk to the nation the orher night, I am convinced we elected Pinocchio. His performance was completely wooden, he doesn't know how to be truly human, and his nose seemed to grow with every statement he made.
10
Trump is not a leader. He is the head of a name brand mov't. I cannot think of any other president who is so out of place. The corona virus caught everyone of guard. Public health officials, I think, were taken aback at how fast the corona virus could spread. Much has been said about the world's response to China's outbreak was to stand back and not plan for the chance that it could spread quickly around the globe.
2
When Trump was elected, we used to joke around that the king of bankruptcy would bankrupt the nation. It's no joke anymore!
11
One longs for the type of leadership than in a time of crisis can rise to the occasion and assure the American people that “We have nothing to fear except fear itself.” Trump is the polar(izing) opposite of Franklin Roosevelt.
3
The President of Brazil and his Communications Director spent last weekend with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and at Junior’s girlfriend’s birthday party. The Director has tested positive for the virus. The Brazilian President has just announced he has tested negative for the virus. Does anyone believe, for a moment, he’s telling the truth? Interestingly, Prime Minister Trudeau and his wife are self-quarantining because Mrs. Trudeau has openly tested positive. I know whom I would trust to be telling the truth.
8
Word on the street, trump is going to declare a National Emergency today.
If you remember, it was reported that the president was "considering using presidential authority" but he was waiting. [Waiting to see the emergency legislation, to see if he got what he wanted, a $1 trillion dollar tax cut! to cut the knees out from under SSA & Medicare.]
The WH could have been the Knight in Shinning Armour. All he had to do was prepare and get those test kits out! All he had to do was let Fauci manage the process and not make it a political mess.
Under any other president, we wouldn't worry about them declaring a National Emergency. Under this president, it's a frightening proposition given his thirst for power and authority.
Let's see what the markets do when he makes his declaration and veils his plans for what he plans to do with it.
60
Let's face it.
Trump's in waaaay over his head and has been from the start.
10
Donald Trump, in his distorted, malignant and perverse mind, conferred the Presidential Medal of Freedom on a lying, racist, hateful bigot, thus forever disgracing the great honor as well as disgracing himself. That about tells you everything you need to know about Donald Trump.
13
Get rid of him
6
I do not understand why we do not have adequate testing. In addition the restrictions on testing which makes it difficult to get tested. People are left completely to their own resources to sort through this while the government appears to have done everything to stymie any action. It appears as if this president seems bent on reducing services to the most vulnerable Americans yet again.
5
Trump is acting days and weeks after others but, rest assured, will take full credit for any improvements in the situation and none of the blame if things deteriorate.
Unfit, Un-Presidential.
3
The blame game should stop now.The shortcomings of the leadership have been established well enough,no need for endless repetition.Now we need widespread testing on demand,well designed random testing to establish the real spread of the infection.Instructions and measures to curtail the spread.Provide necessary information to combat it. We are at war with an invisible enemy provide us the means to fight it.
@Faliron: Yes, but we still have the same leadership with the same shortcomings, so what you propose won’t happen anytime soon. Get rid of Trump first and appoint Nancy Pelosi until the 2020 elections! Pronto!
1
Trump was never competent to be president of anything let alone the United States. His responses to this medical emergency based on his gut rather than science is just another indicator that if the GOP are too spineless to remove him by impeachment, maybe they will do so through the 25th Amendment. It may be too late if we have to wait until November.
8
The WHO offered the Trump Administration (or lack there of ) 60 thousand test kits back in January. Trump refused, it borders on criminal behavior, most certainly criminally negligent.
8
Successful con-artists know that timing is everything. They take the money and run before the con is exposed for what it is.
Now we're witnessing, in real-time, what happens when a con collapses, and the conman behind the curtain is exposed as the total fraud he is and always has been.
Trump is spinning all of his usual dials and pulling all his usual levers to no avail. Buckle-up Butter-cup, this ain't going to be pretty.
7
How can anyone take this President seriously? Especially after all the tweets over the last week. If one was to watch his visit to the CDC and witness his display of political KAG and ignorance to science you would get a quick sense of how serious of an issue COVID19 is to him.
4
Yesterday I struggled to remember a former icon. It took me some time but I finally found out who it was. Whenever I see Trump all I can think of is Max Headroom. He looks like and has the same mental acuity as Max. But unlike Max, he can always blame his predecessor for everything that is wrong.
7
@John Wayne
I was thinking the same thing this very morning and looked up this old gem...
"Max Headroom - Paranoimia"
The lyrics come across creepier in this current environment...
2
As I was walking with a neighbor, I complained about Trump and the crisis in testing.... they said "You cannot blame Trump for that". Of COURSE we can... he has set the tone for his administrations response, he has appointed the CDC and HHS heads, he has said that this is nothing and it will end soon, he has said that additional cases will make him look bad, he has said that declaring a national emergency will reflect poorly on him, and he has lied consistently about the availability of testing.
24
@Somebody
Similar experience an hour ago.
My friend said there are plenty of test kits.
Whole thing just the flu.
There is no excuse for this administration. They have known about COVID-19 since the beginning of December, 2019.
And they have curtailed, silenced, demoted and/or fired most of the medical and scientific experts who have spent their professional careers successfully and positively resolved prior plagues like SARS and Ebola successfully.
Further, China, S Korea, Japan and other countries have successfully given millions of tests to their citizens.
But not us. Why not? A few thousand have been tested, whereas we have been previously told that millions of tests would be available weeks ago.
Where this could have been successfully resolved with a three month ago which would have been a low curve epidemic, statements have been made that this will now be a pandemic, and that 50 to 150 million people will get this virus, and will either live or die.
Regardless of the Market, which is not as important as lives. Lives Matter.
Remember who is responsible, and failed to act appropriately this November. We, the People, should not be expected to endure and put our lives on the line, for the current administration for next four years.
15
I regret to say that I am not surprised nor shocked at the way President Trump has addressed the issue. "Nothing is his fault." "Everyone is out to make him look bad." "I've done a better job than Obama and the do nothing Democrats." November can't come soon enough.
14
First, the Elysium GOP is getting tested almost immediately, without having to navigate any sort of health system. It's easy!
And now Republicans, one-by-one, are self-quarantining themselves in an "abundance of caution" as a convenient way to be unavailable for comment while their leadership is totally failing.
12
"After feeling besieged by enemies for three years, Mr. Trump and some of his advisers view so many issues through the lens of political warfare — assuming that criticism is all about point scoring — that it has become hard to see what is real and what is not, according to people around the president. Even when others with Mr. Trump’s best interests at heart disagree, they find it hard to penetrate what they see as the bubble around him."
And is that so wrong? While Trump deserves and gets a fair amount of criticism, the actual amounts he gets and the nasty tone of them are not appropriate. Trump can be nasty but the same applies to Pelosi and Schumer and to a lot of the NYT readers.
1
@Ludwig I don't recall hearing that either Schumer or Pelosi asked for nor received election assistance from the Russian Government. I don't recall hearing that Pelosi or Schumer are being bankrolled by Russian mob money.
Once upon a time, people ran for office to do their best for the nation. That is simply not the case for Trump, everything Trump does is in Trump's own interest. The "nasty" isn't comparable, at all.
7
I just figured out the coronavirus issue. TRUST ME, I "got it."
I have proof (PROOF, I tell you) that the Coronavirus is a PLOT by the people who advocate for HOME SCHOOLING over public education.
Here is my proof: My four grandkids are now going to be at home, all day every day, because their four schools, 2 elementary, high, and college, are all closed for the rest of this academic year.
As I said to my daughter, now she is "home schooling" her three kids.
I said the same thing to my daughter-in-law about her son (my grandson).
Seems like the most obvious explanation, right?
(Yeah, this is DEFINITELY snark, or a poor effort at some humor.)
3
I will not vote for Biden. I don't care if Trump wins.
Any reasons?
4
Everything Trump does or says is immediately panned by the Democrats. For weeks, all media source including CNN, MSNBC and the NYT referred to the virus as the “Wuhan Virus”. Trump calls it a “foreign virus” and the Democrats call him xenophobic. He offers a plan of attack to fight the virus and Democrats, rather than offering to assist, belittle Trump and those who voted for him. I really believe Democrats would love to see the virus spread drastically throughout the country and the stock market crash to the bottom in the hopes Trump would not be re-elected.
2
@INDY
When Trump lies (including in a PREPARED SPEECH for television that he gave on Wednesday night), calling him out for saying things that are not true is not a "political attack."
He said: "There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings, and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing."
Then the White House walked that back.
He said: "Earlier this week, I met with the leaders of health insurance industry who have agreed to waive all copayments for coronavirus treatments, extend insurance coverage to these treatments, and to prevent surprise medical billing."
And then the insurance companies said that was not true.
So all the badmouthing is just a Democratic PLOT?
Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller wrote his speech.
I guess you think the Democrats control Jared and Stephen, right?
3
@INDY ...."Everything Trump does or says".....Is the greatest thing that ever happened, and certainly a lot better than anything Obama ever did. Just ask him; no you don't have to ask, he can't go a whole sentence without reminding everyone. Four more years of Trump, and the damage to the country will be far worse than any stock market crash.
1
There is an old saying “when I point at someone (or group), I am really pointing at myself.” And that is just what you are doing.
1
Useless individual. The only thing he is good at is to bring people against each other. Besides that, he has no clue.
The less the world hears from the Liar, the better. Lies and falsehoods, we do not need or want.
13
Tillerson was right.
11
First an epidemic, then a pandemic and now a Trumpedemic.
4
Why do you continue to normalize this clown with words like he is struggling with this process, he does not care and is incompetent, I’m at the point of cancelling my subscription as you continue to treat this nut as if he has a substantive bone in his body.
13
Dear Trumpers,
No one wants the American president to fail. Sadly, this one has been failing since his inaugural speech embracing "American carnage" instead of building on the successes of his predecessor.
Yes, Trump kept President Obama's recovery going, albeit at a slower pace, but since he wants to claim its upward growth, he gets to own its crash. And yes, he didn't cause Covid-19, but his mishandling of it is on the person who occupies the office where the buck is supposed to stop, i.e., him; it is making a bad situation much worse.
His heartless and soulless mumble Tuesday night only underscores his abject failure at being anything but a rabble-rouser for his own self-aggrandizement. If he truly loves his country, he will stand aside and fully empower competent public health professionals to do their jobs and get us through this.
Seriously, Trumpers, your emperor has no clothes, no wisdom, no clue. Despite everyone's best hopes, he is failing miserably. He is failing YOU miserably. How sad for everyone in our country and the world that you refuse to see it.
/signed/ Your Frustrated Fellow Citizen
16
Let it be written in history books:
The USA federal government is being run during a pandemic by a TV imposter personality.
Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Hope Hicks, and Stephen Miller are leading the effort to combat the pandemic.
9
@morGan
"Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Hope Hicks, and Stephen Miller are leading the effort to combat the pandemic"
All of whom; are completely unqualified and appear to exhibit the same lack of compassion as their boss.
Buckle up, buckeroos. This ride is not done yet
Turn to the front page of the NYTimes and read the account of the two medical professionals in China who contracted Corona virus. It is a brutal disease; the cavalier attitude exhibited by Trump and Pence shows such a lack of knowledge.
If they cared about the citizens—all of the world citizens—they would have shown much better leadership and stepped aside for the experts in the field.Instead of trying to be 'Dr. Kildare'—he will never live this down.
A true leader shows how he handles a crisis—Trump showed that he was over his head.
9
What a joke of a headline. Trump isn’t struggling. He’s divided the country more than any President ever. He’s never made any attempt to unify the nation. He just called for bipartisanship band within 3 hours broke his own request. The media has to stop lying about Trump. The headline should read Trump continues to make no effort whatsoever to unify the country.
14
I assume Dr. Fauci will be fired by tweet any day now, replaced with someone willing to proclaim that testing for Covid 19 is going PERFECTLY, due to the genius of our great leader. The replacement may not have any medical credentials, but Humpty-Trumpty will see that as a positive--no pesky science to cast a shadow on his parade.
9
Hicks, Kushner, Ivanka, and Miller-and I am supposed to have confidence in that clown car? With such renowned experts leading the charge I am surprised that the pandemic hasn’t already been halted in its tracks.
6
He doesn't want us to unite. He would be happier if we just died so we could get out of his way.
4
After Trump, Pense, and all their enablers become ill, Nancy Pelosi will become chief executive. Can’t wait.
3
If Trump sat beside Bolsonaro on Mar. 7th, and Bolsonaro just tested positive for COVID-19, how likely is that Trump is infected?
1
This is all going to bring you down Donald. Let’s hope it’s soon, rather than later.
You are unfit to lead. You deserve nothing but contempt.
5
A very easy way to deal with the impeached one: when he says go right? Go left.
Here in Arizona, grocery stores were super busy yesterday.
In addition, tp completely out in all stores nearby. For the life of me I can't explain why the demand and how full of sheet those hoarding it all are. Is there an underground currency of TP I don't know about?
Still waiting for my school district to extend my spring break.
Take it one day at a time and take care.
4
Because Trump told the public Covid-19 is a Democrat hoax, someone in Reddit wrote a few weeks ago that they were going to get on an airplane and lick the airplane food table.
This is how Trump's position effects dumb people.
What bugs me, is they then hurt the rest of us.
6
When Obama was president, the market never dropped 9000 points in a week,and we didn't have ALL public venues closed to the public.
Sports teams, schools, Broadway, gatherings, 28+ states declaring emergencies, airlines collapsing, Disney parks closing, cruise businesses tanking.
We had a President who's only crime, according to GOP, was to try to find a way to fix the healthcare system for the most people possible while still keeping the insurance companies in play so they could still profit.
Now, we have a childish moron, who today, in the midst of what will be an economic disaster to a lot of people in this country, scrolling thru Twitter, composing stupid tweets about the last VP, while the country copes with a health emergency like we have NEVER seen in our lifetimes.
Has this dope realized that the illnesses he rehashes have vaccines and treatment drugs?
Trump is Done. Even his gullible base will not take chances getting infected, beleive me. SAD!!!!
7
Trump doesn't matter in this outbreak. People have stopped listening to him, because they don't trust what he is saying. This isn't a Trump rally, where he can whip a crowd of red hats into a frenzy of adoration, by bashing his opponents, minorities and the media. People want the truth and he could not give it to us. It was more important to him to lie and call it a hoax, so he could vilify Health Experts, the Media and Democrats. When states started releasing their own information, that contradicted Trump's self serving agenda, he vilified them. He has done everything in his power to use this crisis as a means to set up socialist programs for his friends, while ignoring the people of this country. After watching his speech to the nation, most people shook their head and realized, that this man is incapable. Do you know when Trump started to respond? It wasn't from the roar of the people or even when the stock market gave Trump an "F" and tanked. When the stock market tanked he pumped 1.5 trillion dollars into it to try and buy a higher grade and win their friendship back. He wasn't concerned about the people, not getting tested. He was concerned about his re-election built on the stock market. Trump was forced to take action, when states, businesses, sports teams, entertainment, etc took action, because they knew he wasn't going to do it. He could not keep up the lie that this was a hoax by the Democrats and the media. This time he got caught up in his own lies and lost.
4
"Stop the partisanship." How rich!
6
Mr. T’s egomania is his sickness and it is causing him to loose any grip on reality. Coronavirus is a very real scare for the world; but the President’s egomania is his personal disease. It will end his presidency.
8
Trump’s lie: "Frankly, the testing has been going very smooth. We've done a good job on testing!"
Dr. Fauci’s truth: “The idea of anybody getting it easily the way people in other countries are doing it, we are not set up for that. Do I think we should be? Yes! But we are not!”
11
I didn’t see Trump “struggle.” I saw him totally incapable of carrying out the duties of his office. He was pitiful, helpless, flailing, out of his depth. Trump’s minions love it when he bullies his opponents, but when Trump’s very real deficiencies are revealed, his minions make pitiful excuses for him.
14
Waiting with rapt anticipation for the "going big", half-baked stunt that will awe us all into good health, and the global markets back into good fortune . . .
-C
3
This is a person who sent all credibility out the window on the wings of lies - not one lie but many thousands, casually, without thought of the consequences. Why? Because he lived a life of absolutely no accountability, none whatsoever. He literally lied his way to the top. But now, accountability has arrived - not in the form of an epiphany on the part of his cowardly enablers, but in the form of a deadly organism that cares not a whit about whatever faux principles ... or entire lack thereof, that this man possesses. The irony would be so delicious... if it were not so deadly.
12
Trump FAILS not struggles. He hasn't struggled over any of this.
6
By intentionally failing to take action to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus Trump is guilty of negligent homicide. People will die because Trump chose to ignore the advice of scientists.
8
The title of this piece should have been:
"Trump Never Fails to Divide a Nation"
4
I have been seething these last few weeks. Nothing about any of this is remotely surprising if you listen to people who know their stuff. And nothing about Trump's reaction and the incompetent federal response is remotely surprising either. This is on those who blindly supported him from day one. You were warned.
9
Mr. Trump chose to be a bystander. And he also wants to play victim. His tweets this morning attacking former administrations - really?! White House officials / Twitter board of directors - please suspend Mr. Trump’s Twitter account until this virus is under control.
10
he has spent (4) years doing his best to divide the nation
he has seriously weakened the very institutions which should help to prevent such outbreaks
he has diverted $billions to a useless wall - money which might have gone to better public health or other real threats
he has done everything possible to kill the ACA without providing anything as a substitute to improve the health care system of our nation
he has tried (and is trying again with the payroll tax holiday) to weaken Social Security and Medicare - the services which help the very most vulnerable to COVID-19
he has lied about anything and everything INCLUDING this crisis
he has stifled the voice of experts in order to get his own face in front of cameras (and tell untruths)
This is not a person who can sooth the nerves of the nation, can bring the nation together, or can be trusted. period.
the sooner he is out of office, the sooner the nation can begin to recover
11
No fear!
I‘m Your CORONA-President!
I‘ll make Your CORONA great again!
3
Trump has lost the trust of the American people, and for good reason. His recent public actions in the face of a pandemic make clear his incapacity to lead. His lack of basic information and playing the blame game will not work. You have been office for over 3 years -- do something besides playing golf -- or resign.
10
The best thing Trump could do is to resign, take Pence with him, and let the adults handle the situation.
11
I think it's worth noting at this juncture that Speaker Pelosi is only two steps away in succession from the presidency.
11
Trump is a reality show who is not prepared for reality.
9
To quote a story in WaPo this morning '
Wednesday night’s address will stand as “the moment people associate with the fact that Donald Trump failed the biggest test of his presidency.”'
The country may finally see through Trump's tendency to ad-lib, riff and lie his way through life. Not sure if his Fox-News bloat-fed base will be able to see it, but one can only hope.
8
Jared Kushner lives in a bubble of entitlement, as does Trump. If you live in a bubble, you have no connection to the real world and a very narrow perspective on things. Add paranoia to it, and you have a toxic mix of lack of empathy and inability to face the truth---never a strong point with this administration.
11
Trump has created a bubble around himself to protect his fragile ego. No bad news or contradictions are allowed. As this article reminds us, there is almost comic infighting among his staff which Trump encourages. It is actually terrifying to contemplate Steven Miller, the architect of Trump's inhumane immigration policy, drafting Trump's speech on dealing with the virus. It is almost laughable to contemplate Trump's spoiled rich kid daughter and son-in-law helping Trump understand this crisis. These people are tone deaf to the suffering of fellow citizens and are gambling that this virus will just fade away so they can get back to fleecing the country and enriching themselves. With the crew Trump surrounds himself with we can expect nothing better from him than the performance we saw on Wednesday. November cannot come soon enough.
11
Macron gave a superb speech on the corona virus and its ramifications to the French last night.
Somebody should bring it to the attention of Trump as to how leadership is exercised at a time when our nation is looking to POTUS to lead.
7
If further damage can be limited, I hope that voters will remember that it was Democrats and local governments who took the appropriate measures to stem the losses. To Democrat campaign managers, please document the timeline of this crisis well and know all of the players involved so that it can be regurgitated in graphic detail come November.
9
I work for LA County and Trump’s lack of leadership has caused this County to remain complacent in terms of flattening the curve.
Workers are not being required or even encouraged to stay at home, unless they already show symptoms. As all the research suggests, that is already too late.
We may have been annoyed or offended by Trump, but now he’s going to cause deaths.
7
The measures included in POTUS's Wednesday evening speech were like "rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic"
The financial markets overseas read the news correctly and the US markets opened next morning accordingly sharply down.
More and more people lost faith in his blustery, and dissembling leadership.
It was the House Speaker's legislative plan that at this point in time provides the essential remedies.
4
Here in Asheville most are expecting complete devastation to the tourism economy, which will have massive ripple effects. Where is the leadership? My workplace is making its own what-if plans right now but there's no clear messaging from state and federal government (at least here in NC) about what exactly to do if you get sick. Do I seek care? I assume I get soaked with any treatment costs, so whats the point. Do I lock myself in a room in my home? Amazon is already selling out or marking up essentials, so do I risk going to the store?
I'm not freaking out, but without a plan released nationally, I can't blame others for losing their calm. The vague messaging coming from the white house and the senate not being willing to support funding for sick people has me quite concerned for the outcome here.
5
Trump has not bothered to be the President for all Americans since he took office. Why would anyone take him
seriously now?
8
Unfortunately, #45 has been successful at division. Thus far, he's been a failure at unification and instilling confidence in this crisis. Not telling the truth is a sign of weakness.
2
With many in the media, and most of the Democrats constantly attacking the President for everything he does, it is no surprise that he is having a hard time pulling the country together. Civil discourse is out the window; blatant attacks are the norm. It is pretty disgusting that in a time that the nation should put partisanship aside and work together to address serious problems, many people are only looking to continue to attack, slander, and complain. What have we come to as a nation...
1
This is comical. Your unifier won't meet face to face with Pelosi because she was so mean to him, going after him for being a traitor. Imagine that.
5
Those blatant attacks were from trump; Democrats respond.
2
@G G When the WHO declared a global emergency over Corona on January 30, Trump’s response was to call it a Democratic hoax. And you think we’re being too hard on him??
2
CDC has failed in their ethical duty to be honest with their patients. They should be telling patients the true reason why they will not be tested - “There are not enough tests!”
4
Here is the irony: The more Trump worries about optics and looking good, the less good he looks.
4
Unify? He's been a systematic divider since the election campaign in 2016. He struggles to unify because he doesn't understand it or believe in it. What is unifying Americans is Coronavirus, Trump is not capable of it.
3
This is what happens when a grossly unqualified person is "elected" as president.
At a time when real leadership is needed, his silence is actively obstructing efforts to control the pandemic. And the deaths of thousands of people will be on his hands - not that he'll ever acknowledge it in any way.
3
With this televised speech, we see what kind of executive Trump actually is . He thinks he can just bark out orders to subordinates to bring him a "rock " . It's pretty clear he has no ideas of his own . Plus for a media "star" his performance on television was pretty bad . Finally, the nation is in serious trouble if we have to depend on Jared for direction. What has he ever accomplished?
4
You can bet Trump's children and friends have access to COVID-19 testing. Meanwhile, the rest of United States is fighting to get access to testing. Why weren't we prepared? We knew this would happen again (based upon previous pandemics). Not to have standard operating procedures in place to address a pandemic is unbelievable. This is not just a federal government problem, it's a state and local problem as well. Hospitals prepare for major disasters that have high casualties, but it seems they don't have a plan for a pandemic. Disgraceful!!
2
This government is straight out of "1984." This is scary.
Also Trump's attitude is one of annoyance that Covid-19 is ruining the economy.He takes it as a personal affront.
5
At a time of great crisis, our commander in chief cares more about his electability ratings than the people he is responsible for protecting. He has been made redundant by his own incompetence. The voters need to make his redundancy permanent this coming November.
2
Trump's speech, with its emphasis on an invasion by a foreign virus, and the consequent need to secure American borders against external threats, seems like just more red meat thrown to his base. It was nothing more than another campaign stunt.
The shutting down of travel from the Schengen area will have little or no effect on the spread of the pandemic, especially since it will exclude the UK, but it too was intended to make his core supporters feel good about themselves: we all know those crafty Europeans, who speak peculiar languages and eat peculiar food, can't be trusted an inch!
Donald Trump seems genuinely incapable of thinking of anything or anyone except himself and (currently) his re-election.
Actually, though, most of it wasn't Trump's speech, it was Stephen Miller's; the Miller of "American carnage".
5
We’re hearing a lot about “panic,” egged on by, “left-wing media,” and we’re hearing it at very high decibel levels, too.
Just this week, I got three loopy e-mails, capped off by a sarcastic one after I’d said that I didn’t think further conversation was helpful: there’s no real threat, no need to do anything different, we’d wiped down the counters in some places, the town’s all isolated so nobody’ll get sick anyway, and anyway it’ll all go away when the weather warmed up, the media was causing this panic, the whole nineteen loopy yards.
From somebody who should’ve known better too. All in bizarre “paragraphs,” that jumbled together the same things again and again, weird sentence structures, lots of CAPITALS and exclamations points!!! Each new e-mail repeated the previous one, with the same nuttinesses in a different order—so they actually wrote three different e-mails that had the same stuff.
It was, of course, the e-mail equivalent of somebody screaming and spraying spit around.
Now beyond the “factual,” craziness (there is zero evidence that this bad mean virus will go shuffling off meekly once the weather gets warmer, for example), here’s my point:
Somebody sends THREE successive e-mails like that, and I’M the one who’s panicking?
Seems to me that the governmental lying, the refusals to act, the scapegoating, and so on, they’re where the panic is. And the same for the people glued to Hannity or whatever: that’s hysterical blindness.
6
Why would anyone expect a man who has spent his entire time as President dividing the country to suddenly become a unifying force? I’m sure if Covid-19 only affected Democrats or the non-right wing media Trump would take no action to try to stop it.
5
Little Donnie is having another news conference at 3 today. Maybe he should wait until after 4, so he doesn't implode the markets immediately.
2
I wish he would just stop talking. He’s never going to tell the truth anyway, so what’s the point? All he’s going to do is stir things up even worse than they already are.
1
I disagree that the president has been a bystander and I don't think there is any justification to say that he has not done everything that is within his power to combat Corona panic pandemic. In fact it is was Merkel of Germany that I perceive as fear mongering. Yesterday the NY Times reported that Merkel said "2/3rd of Germany will be infected by Coronavirus" Either something is wrong in the translation or something that is patently false. I can understand 2/3rds of Germany will be exposed, based on what her definition of infected is. Only after medical history and proper testing that one can one jump to a conclusion that a person is actually infected.
There was a Corona infected person in an isolation unit in a hospital 2 miles from where I live. Since we breathe the same air, 2 miles apart in theory one could say I am exposed but am I infected? NO. Was I tested? NO. Do I need to be tested? NO. Do I have any symptoms of Corona or any other virus infection? NO. Am I taking all the hygienic precautions including avoiding personal contact with infected person? YES. Am I drinking 100% pomegranate juice as suggested to others to take for wellness and immune advantage? YOU BET. Do I believe there is a panic pandemic that is counter productive.? YES. Do I deny that there is scientific evidence that COVID-19 originated from Wuhan, China? NEVER WILL. Do I think Chinese people are responsible for the spread of Corona or are to be blamed or discriminated against? NOT JUSTIFIED.
1
I'm curious as to why the author feels this man is struggling to unite the nation. it has never been in his agenda. it has never been part of Trump's character, from well before his disastrous presidency. He may try to act the part of a concerned human, (not getting it right,ever of course) but leave the cameras on when he thinks we've all stopped watching, and his true nature presents.
175
@Jack
Well stated, thank you.
Why do people think this zebra will change it’s stripes. I don’t understand When it’s always been obvious that he is void humanity.
8
@Jack
Exactly. He is only struggling to keep his hold on power and to keep his fragile ego intact. He cares not a whit about uniting the country, unless he does it by getting rid of liberals. That’s why his emergency declaration is frightening. I fear that he will in the end use it as a stepping stone to suspend the constitution and keep power permanently.
9
It's now clear to me that the President is not competent to handle what's happening. Best would be for him to take sick leave and stay quiet. If he cannot do that then his cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment and make him stay silent.
141
@SarahB He may be ill prepared, it's the Republicans who continually protect him, and will block the 25th from being invoked. Every opportunity they get to do the right thing, they ignore.
19
@SarahB said "It's now clear to me that the President is not competent to handle what's happening."
NOW?
It was obvious before the 2016 election that Trump was not competent to be POTUS.
18
@SarahB In light of Trump's recent contact with infected people it now seems possible that, should he become infected himself, the 25th amendment could be invoked were the illness to become serious enough. How ironic would that be?
9
It’s China’s fault, it’s Europe’s fault, the Federal Reserve’s, the media’s for provoking panic, the Democrats’ for taking partisan advantage (while Trump immediately proceeds to tweet his vile partisan nonsense).
We don’t have a president. We have Krusty the Clown from the Simpsons who, when bad stuff happens, turns to us and croaks “Don’t blame me, I didn’t do it.”
14
One thing about Trump is that people are beginning to think and act for themselves, such as when individual governors committed their states to the Paris climate agreement. Now governors are taking the actions necessary to mitigate the outbreak as much as possible. Thank goodness some people are doing the right thing by their constituents regardless of what the swiss-cheesed brain Oval Office Occupant rambles off. Imagine if they didn’t.
I heard Republicans are not isolating Themselves or washing their hands as much ad democrats. Why would you take anyone’s word for anything, especially trump’s? Vote any way you want, but if you don’t want to be called stupid, don’t be stupid.
The best thing trump could do for this epidemic and his followers is die from it. And pence.
8
The Confederacy of Dunces strikes again. Never in my life have I seen so many people who are: a) tone deaf and b) or so ignorant.
6
Trump doesn't know what it is to lead or manage anything. He has been a con man, a scam artist all his life. All his roles, as a failed and bankrupt businessman, virtual reality wrestler and "executive" were just ploys to sell a package of nothing wrapped up. Trump University and Trump vitamins (with a $140 urine testing kit and $70/month fees, "tailored" to each dupe who bought in) were what he knew how to do. How can this ignoramus and pathological liar, given to tantrums and rages, who never learned to read, write, or spell, unify a country? It is a disgrace to the party of Lincoln that the GOP(Gang of Putin) has kept him in office to continue his path of havoc, increasing the harm caused by the covid- 19 epidemic with his lies, incompetence, and ridiculous attempts to extract political advantage.
8
One question for this administration.
Since we are the richest free economy in the world, why are WE BEHIND in this?
Why don’t we have more medical equipment, hospital provisions, respirators, tests, WHY???
Why aren’t we better prepared since we knew about this from China’s reporting on the virus in December?
Is it because your so-called president severely defunded the CDC after his nemesis built it up to handle the Ebola virus?
I am sure no one on fox noise is talking about how the CDC can’t do it’s job because it was DEFUNDED!
And why are the republicans so AGAINST helping out EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN with access to free corona virus screenings, free tests, free medical care for those who are sick with the corona virus, paid sick leave for ALL Americans who can’t work because of corona virus?????
WE ARE THE RICHEST NATION IN THE WORLD....
8
Who still looks to this madman for unity, comfort, information, or anything close to the truth. He is playing a part and not well. The performance is as bad as his boring, repetitive, and fake reality tv show. His presidency is even worse than that.
11
"Among the advisers who share the president’s more jaundiced view is his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who considers the problem more about public psychology than a health reality, according to people who have spoken with him."
So the "very stable genius" has given Jared ANOTHER portfolio, after he did so well on Middle East peace, immigration, getting Mexico to pay for the wall, ...
If Jared thinks coronavirus is a "problem more about public psychology than a health reality," Jared needs to have his head examined.
Trump tweeted that President Obama messed up the H1N1 "epidemic."
Gee, when Obama was POTUS, I do not recall the stock market dropping like a rock, I do not recall schools, sports teams, Broadway and Disneyland all shutting down, I do not recall people being told to self quarantine for weeks, and businesses laying off people like there will be no tomorrow.
That IS happening under the "dear leader" of the Cult of Trump. TODAY. (Or is it just a figment of my imagination? How about you?)
Trump wants you to think the FACTS are "fake news." Are you working from home today? Are you WORKING today?
The situation is so bad, we are no longer even discussing the economic effects of the tariffs that are still in place. (Remember those? How much pork and soy beans are the farmers selling to China?)
12
"Incompetent" does not even begin to describe Trump and his administration. This administration has been a "clear and present danger" from the onset. But NOW its level of self-interest and incompetence has gone exponentially virulent.
This White House is now actively criminally negligent and engaging in voluntary manslaughter----all to salve the fragile ego of a sociopath and the greed of the Republican party.
The term "a pox on all their houses" comes to mind. It's certainly what they are visiting upon us.
10
@Leslie
I think you pretty much nailed it,
This administration is way beyond incompetent and negligent.
They do not care a fig for the "general welfare."
They are a criminal organization that is trying to use the US Government for their own benefit (think fame, fortune, celebrity) at whatever cost to the general public.
Criminal prosecutions would be in order after January 20, 2021.
2
He is inherently incapable to unify anything except his portfolio. He has disintegrated his own country and the entire Western World following his personal interests and allied with an Asian dictator.
There isn't anything tangible positive which he has achieved so far.
3
Unify?? Trump is the most devisive, hate filled man anyone has ever seen. He cannot unify this nation and most Americans would shout for joy if he resigned today!
8
Trump and unify in the same heading? Not!
2
Trump is Homer Simpson only he's President.We have suspended disbelief long enough and should stop taking him seriously for our own mental health.
4
Almost three months and still inadequate testing for the virus in the US. But of course, it is a good way for Trump to show low numbers for the virus spread under his watch s0 why bother to increase testing? Just tell everyone that you are, and blame Obama for any shortfalls.
Let's get rid of the virus in the Oval Office, and then maybe this country can move forward.
10
Who knew that 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' was so prescient?
What, no test kits available for Trump, Pence, Ivanka, and Barr? No quarantine for them? Or, does one's status exempt one from catching the virus? Live and learn!
2
A President who is a known liar, who has lied to the American people on too many topics too often to be believed by any but his most adoring sycophants, unfortunately does not have the credibility to instill faith that he knows what he is doing and will lead us ALL out of harms way. He has become a totally ineffective leader because he is unbelievable.
5
Let's not forget this is not normal behavior for a mature adult or a leader. Truly pathetic.
9
Better name for the virus is COVfefe-19... He couldn't spell "coverage" then, can't provide desperately-needed medical coverage now.
4
There is such a low bar for Trump. He read a speech and only screwed up a few times! The fact that he “may” understand this is serious now? Good for him. No way to run a country.
5
NOTHING this clown could say or do could possibly unite the country. With his record of constant lying over many years no thinking person can possibly believe or take seriously anything he will every say.
7
“Mr. trump’s best interests at heart...” what a thoroughly nauseating line. McMaster covered this administration with “he’s a dope”. And so are the jerks who surround him.
4
When will Trump start to build a big Chinese Wall against that evil Chinese Virus?
1
Republicans literally are good for nothing.
12
Good for nothing, good AT nothing.
2
Trump = Virus
4
Waterloo
4
It will be our luck that he will contract coronavirus, but only suffer mild symptoms for a day or two. And as he does with everything else, he will assume that everyone elses experience should be the same as his. He will not only be further convinced of his own omnipotence, but also that it's all an overblown hoax and a plot against him.
8
Now Trump is hiding behind Ivanka, Jared, Stephen Miller, et al, as even they realize that the curtain has been pulled back to reveal...no Wizard. But by default we are getting the presidency as a family affair, a de facto invoking of the 25th Amendment, and an acknowledgement that Trump is so far over his head on dealing with the coronavirus crisis. What’s better: no leadership, or bad leadership? We’re finding out daily the answer to that question.
20
He could call it whatever he wants, but there’s those of us (most of us) that see a president trying to win another term. He’s too little and way too late!
4
One huge error is that the markets didn't respond the next morning. As Trump began his speech, the futures market was pretty much flat, as soon as he began, the market started to trickle down and by the end--10 minutes later, it had dropped by 1000 (this is on the Dow)...ending up over 1300 off.
Wall Street was flipping out as he spoke.
9
“This country will endure as it has endured, the only thing we have to fear , is fear itself “
A great man once said that , and he said it with an aggressive tilt in his voice , he used his magnificent voice as a powerful tool to boost morale for a people that desperately needed it. Compare FDR with the speech Trump gave from the Oval Office the other night, Trump looked like a man making a hostage tape.
FDR never had TV as a medium during his presidency but can you imagine if he did, you can imagine him now, square jawed cigarette clenched between his teeth , a swagger and confidence in his voice . He would have been on every night giving briefings. Tamping down fear, ramping up motivation, and he would have enlisted the entire nation to take part in the fight
FDR would tell the sports leagues to play, take a two week quarantine and back at it, with the players following certain intelligent rules , we need sports and we need things and people to boost morale.
Where is are morale boost coming from now? The Governor gives the most depressing press conferences, he has to mix in Hope with the raw numbers , but he has been better than the Mayor who sounds like a dirge when he speaks. The President is elected for many things but the main purpose is to be consoler-in chief and when the time calls for it the coach who gives the rousing halftime speech that motivates people to run through a wall
We need that halftime speech right now. Now is the time . Somebody step up.
2
Biden gave it yesterday.
4
Every time Trump speaks we become more nervous. His history of lying is a major problem with credibility. He is totally over his head and perhaps should ask someone like Biden or Romney to take over the leadership of this crisis.
10
Trump is characterized here as a bystander. If only that were true!
Trump has actively been making the coronavirus situation worse in perhaps the most critical way possible, and solely for his own political and financial reasons. As The Times reported elsewhere this morning:
"And the C.D.C. essentially ensured that Americans would be tested in very few numbers by imposing stringent and narrow criteria."
How did the CDC decide to impose stringent and narrow criteria for testing? Did the CDC, of all places, come up with that idea on their own to limit testing? Of course not. The CDC was directed by Trump and his administration to keep the number of cases of infection as low as possible. Why? Because: (1) the failure to have a sufficient amount of test kits shows the administration's incompetence; and (2) not testing people leads to a low infection number, which helps Trump in his efforts to try to bolster the stock market -- his key measure of his own success. The higher the stock market, the better he looks (and the more his "billions" are protected).
As far as I can tell, the Trump administration is engaged in a massive cover-up of information on the coronavirus's penetration into the U.S. Trump has required all messaging on Covid-19 to be run through the WH, which means real information is being quashed, and his administration has actively sought to limit testing so we can't know how large the number of infected individuals really is.
15
I have a feeling the next election will show he has managed to unify the nation in a way not entirely to his pleasing.
18
@Bob I have a feeling Trump and his family will suffer Mussoli's fate ...
It's very disappointing to read today's comments. The venom in these posts is astounding. An amazing contradiction that these people have failed to comprehend that any individual and/or a President would have control of the massive system and supply chain involved in dealing with a Pandemic. No individual can do this and we all know what happens when Humans attempt to fix something. It called Human Nature and it's in our DNA. I think what all these Critics are doing is sublimation to help themselves. They look at their alliance to the Dems and cannot face the reality that their Party and Presidential Candidates are abysmal on their best days. If it makes you feel better to rant on these comments, good for you. But it's Trump in a Landslide this November.
2
The landslide will be to dump trump.
7
@vince williams Trump will be wipes out and Trump voters will lie for the rest of their lives that they ever supported this monster.
4
You’re missing the point. It’s not about November or winning or losing. This is not political at all, but Trump thinks this virus is a hoax conjured up by the deep state to bring him down. Times of crisis need a leader who will lead and assuage concerns, not someone who puts their head in the sand. He was so critical of Obama’s efforts with Ebola but look at him now - he’s not stepping up. This is the problem with a narcissist, every situation is all about them, even when people are scared and dying. He can’t help himself.
6
Sanders has done a far better job of demonstrating what a competent, empathetic president would do and I'm glad the Times posted his live comments yesterday. That is the kind of leadership we need. Trump, while not to blame for the pandemic or the dysfunctional state of our medical system, sees this crisis as an opportunity to slice social safety-net programs and give further tax breaks to the wealthiest.His actions demonstrate what writer Naomi Klein called "Disaster Capitalism."
5
He found a reason to hit Europe once again. Even in the worst moment for the nations his priority is revenge or simple implementation of his and Putin's plan for the world "rearrangement" .
Who knows, perhaps the virus is a punishment or help. At the end of this year it will be clearer.
7
Summing up Trump's broadcast:
Folks, this stuff has always happened and always will, it's just a temporary moment in time, that's why we're cutting off flights from the EU—not the UK—it's not our fault. If I need to do something, I'll do it.
Sound presidential?
4
What needs to be done today is what the Chinese did. We should eat crow and solicit their help. They built hospitals specifically for this pandemic in two weeks. They acted proactively before they ran out of hospital beds. Today they are reaping the benefits. Their caseload is decreasing and their society is slowly recovering. If we wait until there are no hospital beds and ventilators then it will be the grim reaper who benefits.
Trump needs to order the army core of engineers to devote all resources to the task of building new temporary hospital facilities and order all American companies with the capability to start manufacturing ventilators.
2
This president doesn't "struggle to unify a divided nation". He is actively trying to divide a never unified country as much as possible, as he has done his whole life.
6
I guess, in retrospect, the e-mail server wasn't really that bad.
12
Wondering if major media outlets could run a piece a day, featuring people who have survived COVID-19 and how they were helped by others on that path. The idea would not be to minimize the potential threats of the disease, rather to tell stories of people helping each other in addition to expressing freely their criticisms of the situation.
12
I sense that guidance from the government is a broken notion now and will not be repaired. Government inherently lags behind society anyway and has seldom been at the forefront of positve social change. As long as people have freedom to act and access to information and resources we can take care of ourselves. Government's best function is to maintain infrastructure and protect the environment.
2
From my perspective, this anti-government stance has been a sad contributing factor to this country’s decline. The worship of the so-called “free market” as a solution for what ails us. I believe the truth to the opposite. Examples abound. But if you want to take one recent one, consider the 2008 financial crash. Yes. It was an imperfect solution. But as the world teetered on the edge of an economic collapse, government was the only entity in a position to keep us from the cliff.
There is nothing he says that I or my family will listen to because he lies and will kill many people. Please listen to Dr. Fauci, medically trained experts and scientists. He knows nothing.
35
Absolutely! Probably safer to think that anything the President says, or reads off the teleprompter, is more likely than not to be untrue. He has to protect the “brand,” even if it means more sickness and deaths than might otherwise have been the case. When all clinical and scientific facts are dismissed, and the neofascists Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro are the sides writing Trump’s speech(es), Americans have no reason to trust whatever comes out of his mouth!
And why is nobody asking why, given the exposure, aren’t Trump, Ivanka, or Barr being tested? Or are they hiding something?
2
Struggles? He hasn't even tried. Guess what? He doesn't give a damn. He can't even fake concern.
40
I see no evidence that trump cares for anyone beyond the tip of his snout. The last thing he wants is unity because he knows then he would be quickly stomped out of office. He is the dis-unifier in chief.
29
Trump is neither God nor a bystander. He is somewhere in between. He is reacting to the panic pandemic that has resulted from the spread of Corona virus. He can neither be blamed for the spread of the virus of which the origin was Wuhan, China nor can he be blamed for not empowering the people of US in taking care of themselves and let natural immunity cure themselves. The nation is unified in the SOS approach to do all it takes to ensure the survival of the fittest, the most immunocompetent, the most cautious and the ones best cared for. The Trump administration is doing all that is possible with the input from the established scientific administrators like Dr Fauci.
2
@Girish Kotwal But he can be blamed for spreading misinformation - do you agree?
30
@Girish Kotwal Don't think he's that close to being God! Yes, he can be blamed for reducing the CDC budget by about 20 percent and in eliminating the office in charge of pandemics. He can also be blamed for making utterly stupid comments minimizing the dangers. Moreover, he can be blamed for not taking charge on recommending closings. He's minimizing the danger because his ignorant base believes it's all a liberal plot-doesn't want to burst their bubble. Yes, it's obvious those getting the virus simply were not "taking care of themselves."
4
@Girish Kotwal....Of course he can be blamed. Had he not turned down the offer of a huge amount of testing kits from WHO more people walking around with the virus could have been tested. Did you see him reading his speech from rote, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
He just cannot ( or will not ) comprehend the seriousness of this pandemic. He knows nothing! He thinks a payroll tax reduction will put money in the hands of those who are now out of a job and were living pay check to pay check. His ignorance is amazing.
3
Admit it, it doesn’t matter what Trump does, your journalists will just criticize Trump on anything. This article criticized his ban on Europe for taking unilateral action then complains that he should have taken unilateral action in US rather than leaving it to local and state officials.
Grow up and try to be helpful to solve the problem rather than spreading fuel on it.
3
@JTM - Your Comment reflects no new thinking on this developing situation which is shutting the nation down. Didn't you read the suggestions by Dr. Fauci and Thomas Bossert? While you are hinting at the politics imbedded in the choices we all make, kindly be reminded that adult Americans of all parties and political philosophies stood firmly behind the leadership of George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani after 9/11 - their moments of collective responsibility and grief and patriotism were publicly welcomed by the nation and most of the world. This moment needs a similar boost from a national leader. If you don't believe me, believe Wall Street.
23
I would agree that I am willing to criticize trump quite often, or even always, as he is constantly acting in ways that deserve criticism. And impeachment.
33
@JTM
The first step in solving the problem is to get a leader who is competent. Trump should resign “for health reasons.”
32
I don't think it's possible to unify the nation, and the demand for him to do so is unrealistic. His critics are too deep into their anger to accept anything he says or does at this point.
And quite frankly, I'm past platitudes and unifying narratives. I'll judge this president strictly by his actions and most certainly not by a 12-minute speech.
5
It should be expected of the President to show leadership and be truthful in a national crisis. That was not present in the speech and was reflected in the response both in the financial markets and the lack of confidence by the citizens.
51
@AACNY:
Trump should be bringing the nation together instead of lying, name-calling, bullying. He has been dividing the country since he came down the escalator. He has shown no desire to unite, only divide.
Maybe “His critics are too deep into their anger to accept anything he says or does at this point” because of his incompetence as a president and as a human being.
As the president of the US, he should be able to speak clearly (no word salads) without lying, But we don’t have that with him.
And his actions have shown that he is not up to the task of leading the country, be it in a crisis or not.
25
Plenty of evidence in his past three years of missteps and misstatements of his ineptitude. The speech was just the condensed version.
19
The partisanship of our national media has never been on in fuller view then right now. It's so obvious that the left wants to turn this tragedy into Trump's Katrina moment. It's despicable behavior and evidence that our media literally can be trusted with nothing
2
@Mike James Please share with us all which brilliant accomplishments and decisive leadership you feel has been neglected in coverage? Was it his decision to ban all travel from Europe, but for no clear reason, exclusind the UK? Please share with us how that remotely makes sense, because Trump hasn't.
21
@Mike James - No, the Left wants this moment to be saved by the leadership like we saw in Rudy Giuliani in the days after 9/11. The bluest city, NYC, gave its all to the mayor because it was understood that United We Stand. If you think the national media is inherently biased, then maybe you'll believe the many Wall Street Conservatives and their choices in the last few days.
12
Trump's response to the virus crowding his glory MAGA space?
How dare you have corona virus! Do you know how bad that makes me look?
Everything through his eyes and in his mirror. All face paint, hairspray and hands. He's hollow inside. Our Tin Man without a heart, but with no longing whasoever to have one.
98
@Thoughtful Woman It is only a matter of days before Trump and Pence and several other members of the White House staff start to show signs of the Covid-19 infection. Inevitable. Then what will Trump say or do?
I can’t get over Trump blaming Obama for having caused the testing delays. Even if it were true he’s now had three years to fix the problem. According to trump he’s made America great again. Clearly trump needs to put a footnote after again.*
Had the know it all trump not eliminated the Obama era department that had been set up to deal with pandemics we might actually be leading the world through this terrible event. Instead I have to follow our allies leadership to get info. It makes you wonder what else has trump failed to make great again?
* the truth is I’ve made nothing great. If you believe this you’ll believe anything I say or do. Suckers...
14
@Billbo America is falling to 3rd rated country, following China and South Korea! What a winning MAGA fake president!
3
He is utterly and totally incompetent as most readers of the New York Times (or even people that can read at all) had already figured out. We didn't need a national crisis to confirm that.
But, there is the greed contingency out there. People that knew he was dangerous but liked their tax cuts and bubble inflated 401Ks and were willing to look the other way and jettison their value and morals (for the small portion of these people that had them to begin with).
But now, his performance in terms of the stock market lags Obama's (see that leftist rag Forbes for the detail), this "greed" faction will realize they have been had - like everyone else that has ever gotten in bed with this grifter.
1000's of American Citizens will die that didn't have to and I hold these people largely responsible - you, the Trump supporters (the literate ones that can read). You knew better, yet did nothing.
Now, we all will pay.
15
I was astonished to see how many Americans saw a racist misogynist man, who mocked a disabled reporter on live TV, as an excellent leader for this country.
I am astonished to see how many Republicans continue to see this incompetent fool as "growing into the Presidency."
Anyone this bad at their job would've been FIRED years ago, had they worked for any company, big or small, regardless of their position.
28
@anniegt
Let's fire him in November.
13
People who support Donald Trump show you what kind of people they really are.
2
@anniegt Republicans have sold their souls for their self-interests. I'm an independent and used to lean toward republicans. No more. Republicans has exposed their hypocrisy and immorality. I will never vote for Republican party anymore. There is no way Republicans to restore their reputations and trust. Mitt Romney should start a new party.
2
Our profoundly immoral Trump lies to much . Lock him up.
7
We will get through this crisis, no thanks to Trump et al.
But the real question is will we ( the people of the United States ) have learned anything ?
At some point, after the crisis has passed & the data is able to be processed, scientists, health professionals & municipal planners, working together, need to perform a root cause analysis on why the mechanisms within the government of United States of America - that are in place to have a plan, to manage a crisis such as this, failed in almost every single way. Trump earned a grade of F- and should be fired by the American people in November. There is absolutely no basis in the facts as they stand today that can or will ever absolve Trump of his colossal failures, as POTUS and as a human being.
IMHO, it will be found that the nation's slide to an 'every man for himself' national persona, an attitude if you will, that's slowly crept into our political & social culture since the Reagan administration, has infected & changed 'the way the peoples business' gets done in America.
This is manifested by lack of funding & staffing, the removal of science based evidence, the outsourcing of critical government policy planning to 'for profit' enterprises & lobbyists, the near 100% gridlock in Congress, the lack of accountability & consequences for individuals within the realms of government & beyond that have failed us, the 'health care is a privilege' model in place, and the constant lies have seriously handicapped the nation.
5
Donald Trump needs to be removed from the Presidency, NOW!
Resign or get kicked out.
9
I am just waiting for Trump to sue the virus
8
Obama! Obama! shouted the little boy who cried wolf when he grew up and became president.
7
25th Amendment ASAP.
9
trump fans need not worry, trump will never stoop so low as to acknowledge facts, professional expertise, honesty, integrity, or ethics. trump will steadfastly, continue his campaign of lyng, bullying threatening, and blaming others for this situation.
The corona virus is so unfair to trump, after all trump is the greated president ever, and the virus has no right to cause him these problems.
11
I want some of what Pence is smoking, or at least a pair of his rose colored glasses. I want to see the world the way he does! But I can't. The very-stable-genius-dotard who hires only the best people has shown nothing beyond hubris and incompetence.
5
Trump lacks empathy, the #1 quality we need in a leader right now. Plus he shakes way too many hands. He and Pence should self-quarantine, stop talking, and let the experts handle this.
6
Pish.
Trump is not struggling to unify anyone.
He remains the great divider.
And, as always, an ignoramus.
13
He never allowed the MAJORITY of citizens to have a moment where they could barely tolerate his existence, much less listen to him in any earnest or meaningful way. That is his biggest problem and failure - he's unlikeable. You can forgive a liar and a cheat and an idiot if you can at least like them, but when he takes the initial stand of the falsehood of being the smartest man in the world, and you clearly are not, you cannot be anything but unlikeable. Fool on the Hill is the best song that describes this person, or should I say Fools on the Hill, because that would include all of those that voted or him.
8
He’s not “struggling” at all, he is willingly EXACERBATING this crisis by attacking everyone his addled brain perceives as a political enemy. He needs to be removed and silenced forever NOW! By any means necessary.
6
There is only one place for Trump - JAIL.
6
Fox News has issued thoughts and prayers to their viewers across the Real America to shield them from Covid 19. Tucker Carlson will be broadcasting from his Trump bunker to the Faith Healings at Mega Churches where Pence will be praying the sick away 10,000 people at a time (SuperPAC is not coordinating with Trump Campaign, believe me). #tryingtoBeBestbutfailing
4
Please note that today (Friday, 03 13 20), Donald Trump is rage-tweeting at his own CDC, blaming them and - of course - President Obama for Trump's incompetence.
His constant, unremitting blaming of President Obama used to be amusing; then it was tedious; now it is merely pathetic.
NOT my president
17
There have been far too many “wolf...wolf...wolf” declarations. Now, Trump could be sitting there with a wolf attacked to his leg and nobody without a red hat would believe a word he says. Words carry meaning unless uttered by this guy...
3
If you're expecting trump to unify the nation.......good luck.
4
Let's get back to what's important, "How is your IRA doing"?
NOT
His gross incompetence has been exposed.
4
Unification by lying, that is a new approach!
3
unity? HA. Trump doesn't know what that means
1
Trump is the consequence of choices made to give preference to studpidity.
4
Just like in "War of the Worlds," where it took a virus to do, what even an A-Bomb couldn't, in vanquishing the space aliens in their attempt at destroying mankind; a virus could help in vanquishing the most despicable man this side of Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump.
(Could there be even the slightest of silver linings in all of this?)
1
Are we shocked this stain is proving to the world what a majority of us know? He's a gaslighter failure of a leader. Let's not turn our hopes to the White House lest millions die.
1
The stable genius should just go into the bunker and shut up and let others take the lead. Best use of his - and our time.
3
with these clowns at the helm, we are doomed
2
PSA: Disregard anything Donald Trump says about COVID-19. The ease with which he is putting health and lives at risk with his unsubstantiated claims--about a global health pandemic--should worry all Americans. Waiting until Jared Kushner "finishes his research and comes to a conclusion himself" may be the dumbest thing Trump has ever said--and that's saying something.
For factual, science-supported info. listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins--two U.S. national treasures--and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (another public health hero). Their sole focus is addressing the pandemic and saving lives.
Also, Rep. Katie Porter's exchange yesterday with CDC Director Robert Redfield is required viewing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKvCAR0Akro
4
Worse than a bystander, he's an obstructor.
2
Who writes these headlines? They on no way reflect reality.
1
Donald Trump left the White House for his estate at Mar Lago. He is said to be holed up there until the Coronavirus is caught and deported. Trump first attempted to hole up at his golf course in Scotland but the Scots refused him entry.
2
Chinese State Media says USA brought the virus to China. This story is repeated billions of times across all print and electronic media. This is America’s beloved trade partner
1
Kushner of the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement debacle in charge of the WH's coronavirus response? We're all gonna die!
3
You journalists: Just stop it. Stop reporting about anything that Trump says. To go to that trouble implies that his blatherings are worth spending the time to read. It provides a patina of legitimacy for his endless nonsense.
4
All that is missing is the bunker.
2
If he needs to do something, he will? That's the mark of a true leader. Eisenhower used that when he was running the war effort in Europe. FDR did that same thing when he guided the country through the depression, then WWII. Churchill used that ploy when England was under attack by Germany. Oh, wait, they didn't do that. They got off their butts and went to work. A great leader plans and acts, using all the resources at his or her disposal. Trump sits at his desk scowling or quaffing hamburgers at his golf resort. As Timothy Eagan said so well, Trump needs to just shut up, because anything he says is no longer believable.
2
Really. Who cares what Mr. Kushner thinks.
5
Of course, Trump is an ignorant moron. But, the main reason for his pathetic address and overall response is raw partisan politics. Another article in the NYT shows why-from a poll, 6 out of 10 Republican voters are not particularly concerned about Covid-19. Trump, deviating from the Fox "News" disgrace on the issue, and his millions of ignorant followers' belief, would burst their bubble, and betray them. (Of course, they may come to their senses (not likely) when things get much worse). What percentage of the 30 percent of the public who recently said in a poll they would not drink Corona beer now are Trump supporters? Probably all. Sad times.
2
Sounds like it's amateur hour in the west wing. Sad
1
Paraphrasing Howlin’ Wolf -
We asked for water, he gave us gasoline
1
why is no one reporting about the grand Princess passengers? have they been tested yet?
1
He never tried to unify the nation. He sews disunity, fear, blame, and shame while taking responsibility for other's successes and takes no responsibility for his multiple failures. He would be the first person off a sinking ship full of women and children while blaming them for failing to float...just like Obama failed to "float." Maybe he is the reason there has been such a huge run on toilet paper.
1
Blame it all on foreigners! They can't vote, anyway.
1
Trump really needs to prove his chops by blaming Obama more. That bull market thing - Obama's fault for starting it.
McConnell and his cronies in the Senate bear a burden here equal to Trumps.
2
He isn't trying to unify anything. He only cares about himself.
3
If you wanted unity during an emergency, maybe you should have made more of an effort during our time of peace.
210
@Meghan T. I couldn't have said it better. It's time for Trump to serve as president for all Americans, not just his base.
11
@Meghan T. Republicans don't want unity during an emergency or at any other time. They don't care about the American people which is made more obvious during this emergency where they won't change their policy on cuts to foods stamps and refusing to let states use medicaid to deal with the virus.
13
@Meghan T. Indeed! Trump is a Divider, not a Uniter! Rather than try to mitigate a bad situation over which he has limited control, Trump turns around and blames everyone else for something that occurred on his watch. He is shameless, and definitely not blameless.
11
It’s past time for trump to leave; either voluntarily, or get thrown out of office.
He’s a national disgrace. Where are the test kits, Donald? Why is the subject classified?
Go away, now?
6
Apparently Trump’s base & Fox see covid-19 as needless hysteria, MDs as ‘snowflakes’ much as they see climate change.
Everyone else sees the science as terrifying & urgent.
Calling rational analysis & realism “partisan” makes everything feel more like the Madhatters Tea Party with Trump as the Red Queen (he fires critics..’off with their heads!”).
In wRtime, America yelled together and prevailed. This profound disparity in perspective (seemingly designed to protect Trump’s re-election & short term profits) is like being locked in a speeding car with a drunk at the wheel.
7
could it be that fearless leader is fearful?
5
"Nobody knew [Fill in the Blank] could be so complicated."
- Donald Trump
5
Remember when Trump said “I alone can fix it”?
5
Doesn't the truth matter anymore? Back in October 2016, so terrified by the prospect of you know you, and inspired by the Flashdance movie song, "He's a Manic," I wrote the lyric,"Megalomaniac," to create a song video that I hoped would get out the vote. "Just a pompous blowhard looking to be President" was how the song opened after the refrain of, "He's a megalomaniac," and one of the last lines, "A blowhard without the soul to be a President." I started the facebook page,“Trauma Informed Approach to Donald Trump: Beyond Despair is Strength,” but eventually felt the situation was hopeless, and not being able to get even myself beyond despair, I became too depressed to keep posting. I wrote the lyric "Goin' All The Way Down" in 2017 inspired by the song, “I’m Going Down” by Rose Royce and then as sung by Mary J. Blige, as an anthem of hope, feeling, "yes, finally he's going to be impeached!" But he wasn't and now he was, but nothing changed. So here we are now. The coronavirus: global pandemic, illness, death, outpacing health care, lack of testing in the USA, and economic collapse. This is my comment: "Donald Trump is a lethal moral infection that cannot but worsen the coronavirus as it spreads without discrimination across the United States and the world. The callous ineptitude of Donald Trump is literally killing people."
2
Trump only wants to unify the nation around himself. If he wanted to unite the country around a defense of the nation, he'd find plenty of allies. But who is going to join him in suppressing info about coronavirus and shifting blame?
As Rep Schiff said when he rightly called for Trump's removal:
"And you know you can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump.”
5
The level of incompetence demonstrated in the writing of Trump's speech and its presentation is typical for this administration and its leader. But times are no longer typical, we desperately need a real POTUS now, and are stuck with what we got, an ignorant egotist incapable of empathy. Did he misspeak repeatedly, or was that the actual speech written for him? inadequate in guidance, inappropriate in attempted blame shifting and tone. And where are the tests? Every country on planet Earth seems to have plenty of them, except us, the so called America first country!
5
Failure of leadership, leadership of failure. Thy name is Trump.
4
Does our germophobe Fearless Leader intend to do nothing to relieve the abysmal conditions on both sides of our Mexican border: serious overcrowding, lousy nutrition, wretched sanitation, poor sleep, and high stress together seriously degrade one’s immune system. His wall is no barrier to a massive coronavirus outbreak along the border.
1
I’m not sure what I’ve read describes a “bystander”. Denialist, obstructionist, liar, sure, but bystander? Hardly.
3
In the early stages of the looming COVID-19 calamity America and the American people deserve and need a President of the United States who is competent, empathetic, focused, honest, humane, humble, industrious,serious and transparent.
And COVID-19 isn't going to wait until November 2020 for the American people to elect such a person to take office in January, 2021.
3
Even forgetting about corruption, Trump was never competent to be President. He is a 70 year very rich, loud and opinionated, sexually deviant bully. But he won. Though his power to staff the executive branch of government he has since proceeded to bring the government down to his level. He has never respected excellence. He has never chosen individuals because they have faced difficult problems and made tough decisions. And now we have perhaps the toughest management problem ever: a health care pandemic in which untold social disruption is part of the treatment plan and a looming recession. What might be good for one is bad for the other. And who does he have to manage such a crises: a team that includes not one respected economist; a bunch of yes men in charge and a leader who has spent much of his professional career in bankruptcy court.
5
It is now abundantly clear that POTUS has command of a very limited range of possible human responses to situations of any kind.
Basically this range is circumscribed by the characters permitted in a Tweet, or perhaps a degrading nickname blurted out in an uncontrolled fit of pique.
That's it. There's nothing more complex in the president's social repertoire. That's why Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is now negotiating the salvation of the US economy rather than the president himself. Meanwhile the Senate sits on its hands.
If we elect clowns to represent us, it should not surprise us to be living in a circus.
7
@John LeBaron
Your last sentence says it all.
1
After calling for non-partisanship, trump's tweet yesterday at 10:49 PM
"Sleepy Joe Biden was in charge of the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic which killed thousands of people. The response was one of the worst on record. Our response is one of the best, with fast action of border closings & a 78% Approval Rating, the highest on record. His was lowest!"
He is the worst US president in modern times and it's not even close. He MUST be voted out of office.
6
Here's what I believe:
Trump's European Travel Ban was motivated NOT to PROTECT AMERICAN CITIZENS from infected Europeans. It was designed to PROTECT AMERICAN AIRLINES (and the others, of course) which are faced with the dilemma of flying empty aircraft at huge expense or losing their valuable landing and take-off slots at foreign airports like Heathrow, Frankfurt and Charles DeGaulle. It's typical of Trump's lies. He pulls the wool over everyone's eyes once again. Can't you hear him, his cronies, and the airline lobbyists laughing?
5
Here in Québec (Canada), three COVID-19 Clinics have been established to deal with people who have symptoms and protect doctors and nurses. They're called "hot zones" because ithey’re highly controlled and sanitized environments, designed to keep the infected away from hospital emergency rooms. Ontario announced a similar set of measures yesterday. Concrete action is required to keep medical personnel safe as well as treat those infected. Everything else is noise.
168
@A Glasier such a common sense thing to do. Here we are going to get everyone of our hospitals jammed up in this and all our doctors and nurses. I pray every day for one American to step up and show the way, it could be a governor, a mayor, a business leader , someone who has the answers , all you need is one person to do it right . And everybody will follow the example. Ohio in particular has been very proactive, and you can bet your bottom dollar they will have the least deaths. You can’t stop it, but slowing it down is just as important, you have to create the kind of buffers that would usually be things like vaccinated people, or people with antibodies . Slow it down so it doesn’t inundate the medical system.
13
@A Glasier Thank you for sharing what Canada is doing. There are some of us down here who not only know where you are located but have even seen your lovely province.
5
“Trump watched angrily from the West Wing Thursday as stock markets tumbled to their worst percentage loss since the 1987 Black Friday, casting blame on the Federal Reserve for what he increasingly believes is an attempt to ruin his presidency.”
Trump assured the country that he will focus his full attention on the health crisis. But first, he has to find out who stole his strawberries
252
@David Eike
Clearly COVID-19 is a card-carrying member of the Deep State.
31
@David Eike I needed that. Thank you. :)
11
@RickyDick
Yes, Obama and Clinton did it! It's their fault.
7
Just about now, Republicans may be thinking it's time for a Democratic administration to come in and clean up the GOP's mess. As usual.
We've got a plan for that. Welcome aboard.
2
His supporters are still cheering.
2
@Zejee
Even as they face the loss of loved ones and their jobs and last penny.
2
The barely coherent speech was wooden, full of misinformation (typical) and the opposite of inspiring. It did not relieve the chaos, but rather intensified it.
Instead of preventive/ proactive measures that could be seen as necessary by the examples of other countries months ago, we got inaction and phony reassurances.
The administration's overall focus on re-election and appearances, as opposed to public health and well being and the benefit of the country, has backfired. Purposeful foot dragging on testing to promote "good numbers" has let the carriers among us spread the virus unchecked, and unleashed it to propagate geometrically. There is no walking that back. Its out of control. The "numbers" are far higher than admitted because, well, there is almost no testing.
Now draconian measures are necessary and we are all paying the price. Some with their lives.
Kudos to Gov. Cuomo, other state leaders for stepping up, enacting strategic policy, speaking and acting sensibly in the face of this reality to guide and reassure the public. And to both Biden and Sanders for standing up and showing us how a real leader, a real President, is supposed to handle a situation.
In stark contrast to the blatantly naked emperor.
2
This is what happens when you repeatedly pat someone on the back because you afraid to tell them to their face that they are an unmitigated disaster.
Trump has his family around him because they are enablers.
The Republicans are enablers.
Faux News people are enablers.
The American people, at a perilous and uncertain time, realize that the lights are on in the White House, but effective, truthful and empathetic leadership ain't home.
The Republicans have fed the monster of Trump so well and for so long that at a time when the country really needs him to put on a presidential mask for ten minutes, he cannot even manage that.
They saw it, we saw it, the world saw it. It was not fake news.. It was real time sad, head scratching scary that this man has not a clue.
I, like so many others, will heed the advice of Dr. Fauci and other medical experts, scientists, my local and state leaders.
As they said in "The Wizard of Oz" -- "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."
Nothing to see there.
6
The article leads with the fact that "School superintendents, sports commissioners, college presidents, governors and business owners have taken it upon themselves to shut down much of American life."
This is not because of a lack of guidance from the President and the team of experts from Federal agencies and the field of medicine.
This is in large part due to the incessant flogging of the coronavirus issue by Democrats in Congress and the media, trying desperately to make the coronavirus into Trump's albatross.
Read the opinion columns in the New York Times for examples of those now calling the virus Trump's Katrina or worse, Trump's Chernobyl. The virus will run its course, even as the U.S. tries to accelerate its efforts to provide more testing kits and to find a vaccine.
The President has tried to keep the nation calm and to correctly point out that risks to most people are small, those at highest risk are the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, that proper hygiene, attention to keep distant from those who are ill, and advice to stay home if sympomatic.
Advice to self-quarantine and to call primary care physicians before presenting yourself in an office or hospital is also well-promulgated.
But this is not enough. Presidential candidates like Joe Biden feel it necessary to give speeches to say they would pay more attention to the science.
@rcrigazio
There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about.
4
What exactly are Jared Kushner's credentials for this crisis? I mean, he's no doctor, no scientist, no academic. As for his wife, well we know why she is at the center of government.
6
If only the president would talk straight, and stop the scheming and conniving babble, we’d all be able to breath easier.
1
he's good at dividing people. good luck America!
1
We would do well if only we had a different president.
3
Relax people. He's going to be Presidential now. And a scientist too. With his uncle the MIT super genius. (Not genius, no, not superlative enough, but a super genius. Surprised he wasn't also teaching at the Super MIT.) Maybe we can at least get a goofy photo of Trump with goggles or something he can send to all the families with dead loved ones. Your Super Genius Scientist President. I get this, a lot of people are surprised at how much I understand this stuff. Indeed.
4
Denial has always worked exceedingly well for Trump.
Deny, and lie.
Deny, and sue.
Deny, and divorce.
Deny, and declare bankruptcy (6 times).
Deny, and call bad news “fake news.”
His mind lives in an alternate universe, whose moment of creation was a Big Bang of Denial. Even a global pandemic can’t bring him from that universe into ours.
6
Given that Trump has done nothing but slag and hate on the NYT, hoping for its demise and calling it an enemy of the people, I'm surprised at how often the NYT frames headlines and articles in ways that buy into Trump's messaging.
For example, this headline. Given his viciousness, I highly doubt Trump is trying to "unify the nation."
No journalist can know for sure what a person's true motivations are enough to have a headline state it as if it's a fact.
My view is: follow the money and the ego.
Trump's actions regarding COVID have been mostly to protect his political momentum, protect his wealthy Wall Street friends, attack Democrats, scientists and science, and make false statements about the virus and its risks.
TRUMP IS NOT A UNIFIER!
4
I wonder how many of the folks in Kushner's inner circle shorted their positions prior to Daddy's speech Wednesday night?
5
Mr. Trump and his associates are giving us a master class on how not to respond to a crisis. God help us all.
5
Simply put, Trump's horizon of sight of and contact with the world is the manicured grounds of Mar a Lago and its golf course, his staged campaign rallies, select Fox News Trumpian evangelytes, and his Twitter box. What other contact has he ever had? Meanwhile, Jared, Ivanka, Steven Miller, and Twitter Boy Parscale -- all ad hoc "family and friends" -- are running our government? The executive branch seems to have become nothing more than a mom and pop store. Time to clean house.
5
To fail at something means you at least tried. I missed the part where Trump really tried to unify us. He is a destructive character from a Dickens story, a rattled old men consumed by fear, greed and unable of compassion.
6
It turns out that the "Great Leader" is anything but. I'll settle for Joe Biden making America "Sane Again."
2
I still haven't heard any definitive answers as to what direct effects the virus has on animals. It is claimed that covid-19 stemmed from animals in China. If they transmitted this in the beginning can't pets in US and UK catch it and transmit a different, mutated strain? The US is not even testing its citizens so does Denial Chump expect our pets to self quarantine? How's that gonna work? Anybody in a different role, in any company or department, if they performed to even 5% of Agent Orange's woeful standard would either be shown the door or given a janitor's uniform. And that's no disrespect at all to blue-collar staff. I'd give any such worker, man or woman better odds of outshining Wiggy. Heck, I'd give the job to a thirteen year-old or to a chipmunk over who is there at present.
I'm surprised the president hasn't slapped a tariff on the virus.
2
As the information in tge article itself indicated, the people don’t need pablum from Trump to figure out what’s going on and what to do about it.
The news itself is warning enough to alert people and spur them to action. Adults don’t need hand holding with platitudes from the narcissistic baby-in-chief.
He and his family should just shut up and stay out of the way.
When Pence says Trump has no greater priority than the health, safety, and wellbeing of the people of this country, one has to wonder where he, Pence, has been for the past 3 years. Pence is well-groomed, dresses nicely, delivers lines dispassionately without error, and ... well, that’s about it. He certainly gives one pause to reflect on the meaning of his office, “vice president.” It is unfortunate that the apparent quest for nearness to power is so unbecoming.
This is a terrific news analysis with respect to presidential leadership. He have a bluff, a blowhard in the WH, who speaks still, in the middle of a national/ world health crisis, about having secret unilateral “rights” ... while showing himself even in that to be entirely about himself. A bully at “heart,” who is now over his head as a manager, “rights” notwithstanding. There is a revolution going on now across America. Finally, living un-weaponized truth that the Contoller-in-Chief cannot control, is providing an example of what civilized independence looks like. And, in spite of the serious health threat faced, a ray of hope is given. Sometimes it’s like that ... a blessing in disguise. Trump, even though president, does not have the last word! It now this is revealed.
"Trump Struggles to _______"
Full stop. That's been the daily headline for 3+ years.
The difference now is that Trump can't lie about Covid-19 and pretend it's "fake news". Trump is trying to spin news instead of focusing on an efficient national response to the pandemic. It's highlights his basic inadequacy as POTUS which is that's he's not very smart. Sometimes he sounds like a "dim bulb" too. So dumb that it's almost dangerous.
Even MAGA loyalists know NOT to do as Trump says even if that's been their Kool-aid chugging swallow-it-hook-line-and-sinker reaction to President Trump's 15,000 other lies.
Trump is again proving he is far from intelligent and genius was always way out of the question. Trump has a poor education in that he doesn't understand most sciences including: biology, physics, chemistry and basic Earth Science to name a few. Trump sees no value of things factual, instead pretending everything's "perfect" in his narcissistic reality TV world.
Well the world moves on and past this not stable, not genius president. States and local government agencies are stepping up where Trump's federal government failed. Providing accurate information and useful plans to defend against Covid-19 quickly, accurately while not being focused on how to "message" something good for Donnie in every TV broadcast.
Trump isn't trying to unite the nation and has about as much chance of that as a blind person seeing.
You can't call for "unity" and then instantly go back to interfering in the Democratic primaries, calling Biden "Sleepy Joe", dissing Speaker Pelosi, and blaming everyone but himself for the total chaos he's created over the last 3 years.
As George Conway points out: Trump is a madman and this could have and should have been prevented just a few weeks ago, but 52 Senators didn't remove him when they had the chance, KNOWING WHAT HE IS! Now some of them are in quarantine.
He is not struggling to unify anything. Work on your headlines NYT. He is divisive. End of atory.
10
Where are you now, Trump? Why don't you have daily reassuring remarks for a very worried and stressed nation? Isn't that what leadership is about and not about yourself and your bottom line and getting re-elected??? And what message does it send that neither you nor your daughter or Barr will get tested after exposure????? FAILURE!!!!
2
We already saw this with the various disaster responses during Trump’s time in office. Perhaps the most tragic (personally as I lost family and friends) was Hurricane Maria. We will never know the true count, but 98% of those deaths were preventable and due to the lack and slowness of the response at all levels. FEMA food would come expired and 10 days after the storm, there was no drinking water in my city for over a month, people died from leptospirosis from river water, so many died from lack of access to insulin or dialysis.
What felt like the end of my world now feels like a test run for what I fear is coming My hope comes from how we on the ground work and coordinate to protect our loved ones and mitigate the potential horror.
4
Steve Covey wrote there were "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." I agree with all he wrote.
But, if you really think about it, the effectiveness of these habits comes from having a sound foundation, as illustrated in the classical movie, "The Wizard of Oz."
You need a brain, heart, and courage.
What we saw, during trump's 10 minute struggle to unify this nation, was the absence of not one, but all three.
4
Trumps message was perfect...for a populace prepared to hear it. Trouble is, much of the nation cannot hear it. The ‘everybody gets a trophy’ bunch wonders where it’s’ feel-good pill is, and will overwhelm the system as the worried-well, who are not sick, will demand a test.
@skyfiber You cannot be serious.
2
If we make it out of this crisis reasonably unscathed as a nation, it will be because of luck and the bold actions of individuals in the US --and very much in spite of Trump's complete lack of leadership and destruction of many of our key institutions. That said, I wish people would stop acting like it's okay for older people with preexisting conditions to die. Every life has value.
3
Trump doesn't get it, and he never will. Epidemics aren't solved by blaming the other guy; neither do they have economic solutions. Epidemics are resolved only by good, solid science, and that's something Trump hates because it is based on reason. You can't browbeat and bully an epidemic. That isn't in Trump's style, or the Republican Party's, and that's why we will be fighting novel corona virus long after the rest of the world has dealt with it and moved on.
1
@Tom Wait I thought I heard Donald say yesterday that the virus is just gonna go away real soon. You mean we actually have to do something and it might cost some money? Couldn't we just take that money and build a wall to keep the virus out?
Trump should communicate in written form, because he is by far the worst extemporaneous speaker I have ever seen.
When he writes, his essays have been a bit crude but to the point and better thought through.
Still, the end results - in this case the travel restrictions on Europe - have been publically lauded by Anthony Fauci and otehr healthcare professionals.
But the presentation ? Please Jared, keep him away from a microphone.
@Objectivist - When did Trump ever write an essay? He probably didn't even write one when he was in college.
2
I had little fear about the virus, only right-sized concern until Trump's address. The combination of dishonesty, zero leadership skills and a genuine lack of basic intelligence is not comforting right now.
I'm comforting myself with the knowledge that this could very well be his undoing and the start of a shift towards Medicare for All.
3
Please, no press conferences without Trump, Pence, McConnell, Limbaugh, Miller, Bannon and Alex Jones all together in the same warm moist room. That would be the best way to show their leadership, and give the greatest hope to the markets.
2
In time, it will become clear that certain individuals within this administration deliberately handicapped and slow-walked our response to this pandemic for the sake of political optics. By then, they will have caused the illness and death of thousands of Americans. At that time, I pray we have a government that will bring them to justice.
6
We can't believe anything Trump says. If members of the Senate have any surviving ethics, they need to work with the House to circumvent the POTUS and initiate an aggressive response to this emergency. And if thery have no surviving ethics after kowtowing to their king, perhaps the thought of no surviving voters will inspire them.
1
The president is so incurious as to not understand what is written for him. Could not anyone ask, what about American tourists and workers abroad? The misstatements are not excusable. Kushner's, his wife and the PYT just added again, are not helping matters. The (R) own this stain on our nation, They had their chance to rid him and did not. History will laugh at the whole group.
3
So far Trump has got away with saying that up is down and black is white, and people have believed it because they want to believe it. Now it seems he has finally collided with reality. Even though we are in a very bad situation in Europe right now I am almost more worried about the US because of the leadership (or lack thereof). I cross my fingers that the Corona situation will not escalate further in the US, but in any case it is evident that there can be terribly high costs associated with electing an incompetent president. Please do your utmost to ensure that a better president will be elected. On the positive side it should be very easy to find somebody better.
3
The only thing Trump is certain of is to slow walk the availability of testing. This allows him to continue to report low numbers of those who have contracted the virus. Of course, that means that many more people who are contagious are walking around in grocery stores and shopping malls. But, hey, Trump likes the numbers where they are. And apparently he has the right to do a lot of things people don't even know about. Sure, people sick and dying but it's all about him. In November, just get us off crazy.
7
Trump is really better suited for his earlier roll as a haggler from the side lines, rather than as the leader of our country.
3
Voting has consequences. We got what we wanted - incompetence. In full display. If it can be rationalized and talked away (or blamed on Obama or the Democrats or the Iranians or the Chinese or the Never-Trumpers or the America-Haters or the immigrants, or the caravan from Mexico, or a combination thereof) by the concerted effort of administration, Fox News, Liambaugh and alteri remains to be seen.
2
Let’s face it. Trump never intended to work at being a great president; he would make people believe in his greatness using his craft as a showman. He had no plan to govern, only to incessantly campaign, tweet, bully, and bluster. He conjured a crisis at the border, diverting our attention and huge sums of money to his vanity wall. Now we face a real crisis, and he is powerless to tweet it into submission and unable to offer credible assurances to the nation and the world – a reality that is now painfully obvious as markets offer a resounding vote of “no-confidence.” His Potemkin presidency is just that: and empty façade which is now crumbling … .
5
Just when will he stop blaming President Obama for his shortcomings? This crisis may not have become so severe had he not turned down the huge number of testing kits from WHO. He says our numbers are low. Of course they are low only because people can't get tested, thanks to him.
Everyday he contradicts himself; his scope is so limited. He looks like a deer staring into the headlights.
Our country cannot afford to let this highly incompetent person speak (albeit incoherently ) about anything as vital as the Coronavirus. He has no conception of what this issue is all about. He will go down in history as not only the worst President we've ever had, but how he dealt with this pandemic.
6
"Trump Struggles to Unify a Nation on Edge".
Struggles? That suggests he is willfully trying to do something. He is not. He was/is lying about the virus because he "doesn't want so see the numbers go up" (counted, not go away). He was dragged in front of the cameras to deliver what came across as a hostage video.
It is well known by non Trump cult members that he possess no empathy, has no soul. Well folks that was on full display. Oh he's in "Presidential" mode at a rally where he gets to trash talk everyone he doesn't like but give him a serious subject as the virus, well the stable genius has no clothes.
5
I hope all of the Trump supporters see him for what he is and has always been, incompetent. Four more years of Trump is four too many. Please stop the insanity. The American people have had enough. My husband said we are moving to Canada if he gets re-elected.
3
Personally I don't mind dying as long as I know the stock market goes with me after having it rule my life for 65 years. Adding the relief realized from the absence of this constant media barrage of nattering nabobs of negativism makes it a no brainer. NBC news interviewed a Coronavirus "survivor" last night describing her three days in hell and she was absolutely plump and giddy. Hardly at all like those in the shadow of the Grim Reaper I'm used to seeing sitting all around me in the Oncology waiting room. I get that mass hysteria breaks the monotony of most peoples boring lives and living through our own "great plague" makes us all the next Greatest Generation but lets get real. And Joe's speech yesterday, seen again at home last night in full and in HDTV, what a rambling spiel of wishful thinking and admonition better than any backseat driver could deliver.
The article mentions more than once that leadership is coming from governors and mayors, etc., not from the White House. There is another potentially powerful source of leadership: Joe Biden.
He and his team ought to change the character of his presidential campaign into a shadow government (without calling it that). Biden should name publicly high profile advisers to form a shadow cabinet covering CDC, FDA, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Treasury etc. They will find no shortage of "resistance members" in those agencies more than willing to provide the information Trump and Co. are suppressing.
With rallies off the table, Biden should take every opportunity to appear in print tv and on the web to provide the kind of facts, guidance and reassurance the country needs.
This crisis and Trump's yawning credibility gap call for precisely the kind of calm, authoritative, honest presentation that is Biden's strength.
2
So now we’ve seen Trump in real crisis and, to borrow from his vocabulary, it’s a disaster. State and local officials realize it and the best of them will forget about getting and help from the White House. And Kushner? Why should he worry? He’s had tenure from his first day on the job.
7
Isn't this the exact reason why daily press conferences were/are so important? When was the last time we had a press conference, where administration policies could be expanded-upon and dissected.
8
So per the article, the markets still can fall another 15%, before leaving our 401Ks exactly where they were at the time of the 2016 election. What will be missing will be a stable economy, a capable government, good jobs prospects and a President who cares about anyone but himself.
8
Almost as destructive as faulty information and empty hype has been the relentless emphasis on how perfectly President Trump has performed. Tributes to him by Pence during key presentations undermine any belief in America receiving accurate guidance.
12
@Sara
Those tributes have only grown more ridiculous because the truth has been laid bare. They always were ridiculous but now everyone can see clearly what lies they are.
1
You know that things are going to go from bad to terrible when trump’s go-to reaction in a crisis is to appoint jared kushner to solve it. More likely jared is expected to figure out how to profit from the predicament.
7
What is being demonstrated here is that the intuition required by a solo businessman to thrive and increase his notoriety while avoiding the costs of his failures, shifting the burden to his creditors, is not - definitely not - good preparation for leading the USA, let alone the free world.
3
There have been other U.S. Presidents who were challenged by national health crises.
Roosevelt (polio), Kennedy (smoking) and Reagan (AIDS -- although belatedly) all made important contributions to ameliorating these deadly health problems
Hopefully, Trump will not prove to be the exception.
Although he has bungled the opportunity to get ahead of the coronavirus, he still stands a very good chance of contributing
greatly to our understanding of mental illness and obesity.
7
“If I need to do something, I’ll do it,” the president told reporters on Thursday. “I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about.”
This quotation is the essence of Trump’s philosophy. He doesn’t know what to do, and then makes irrational, unilateral decisions that won’t work. The only thing he wants is to get credit for solving the problem, when in reality he must yield the decisions to experts and the local decision makers. DO NOT encourage this president to make more decisions. Encourage him to keep quiet.
8
Presidential addresses in times of crisis require the President to be truthful, to assure the nation that all resources are being marshaled to address the crisis, and to tell citizens what they can do to assist in the crisis.
Trump managed to do none of the above in his address to the nation.
And he continues to lie about testing. The failure to test has allowed infectious but asymptomatic people to freely mingle. And to set horrible examples in terms of social hygiene.
He is demonstrating an absence of leadership, leaving it to the states and cities to fill the vacuum.
PS. To Jared: If you agree to undertake a responsibility, you accept the successes... and the failures. Stop the excuses.
6
Not only was Trump's speech ineffective in striking a balance between calming and informing the public, it was undercut by Trump's tweets and the army of spin doctors running around explaining what the President really meant but didn't say. The speech showed once again that Trump is not very good at using the teleprompter. He should learn how to avoid a monotone and how to express emotion and empathy--"message I care," to quote Bush the Elder. Whiie Trump's speechwriters usually produce a better speech than when Trump unfurls one on the fly, the duo of Jared Kushner and Steve Miller should be replaced by persons with a soul. Peggy Noonan is a conservative, but she wrote some great speeches for the Gipper. If Trump continues to speak--not something I recommend--he should get someone from National Review who can write.
3
CNN has a graph of the markets through Thursday. It shows the precipitous drop between CoB Wednesday and the opening bell yesterday. That's exactly when Trump "reassured" the nation. One might be tempted to say at this point Trump reached his level of incompetence, but we have yet to see that he ever achieve a level of competence.
6
Adding to the difficulty of containing the coronavirus here is the fact that Trump disbanded the US Pandemic Response Team two years ago.
6
“I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about." This one sentence alone illustrates how trump manages to make things worse:
"I have the right..." suggesting because it is his "right" he will do things whether others agree or not
"a lot of things... " what things???
"that people don't even know about" Why don't we know about them?? How bad are they??? Are you going to let us know?
At the end of this sentence I am ten times more confused and concerned than at the beginning. Trump being trump.
10
People thought Trump's business "acumen" would be an advantage in growing the economy. Sure, he cut taxes on the wealthy and cut programs for the disadvantaged and cut regulations to increase profits for business. But government is not a business. It is an entity for the people by the people. Trump's ham-handed and narcissistic and xenophobic attempts to turn everything into a boon for the economy will finally bring him down. I hope, I pray.
3
One should stop criticizing the government and administration which are doing their job as best as possible. There is no place for politics only for common sense and the enemy is not Trump but the coronavirus. On a lighter note- if Trump could tweet to God he would probably tweet:“almighty God. In every speech I end with God bless America. America is me so God bless Trump 2020. Something to muse about in these dark days.
1
This guy.....This guy is just so unworthy of his office. It is always always always about him. And it's always bluster, first and foremost. Does he think his refusal to get tested, and his refusal to avoid shaking hands is going to impress Covid 19? Always with the weird references to some vague stuff he could do...
“If I need to do something, I’ll do it,” the president told reporters on Thursday. “I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about.”
Knowing trump, he's going to declare a national emergency and martial law, maybe delay the election just a little. He already said he had the right to do that which the constitution forbids, and Mitch muscled it to the barest of majority to acquit him, so why wouldn't he?
It's not as if republicans are going to turn down the chance for one-party rule when it's soooo close now.
5
One should stop criticizing the government and administration which are doing their job as best as possible. There is no place for politics only for common sense and the enemy is not Trump but the coronavirus. On a lighter note if Trump could tweet to God he would probably tweet:“almighty God. In every speech I end with God bless America. America is me so God bless Trump 2020. Something to laugh about in these dark days.
1
Question: How does one hide one's incompetence?
Answer: Simple; by not allowing measurement of how one is doing one's responsibilities.
It is hard to see how the most technologically advanced country on the globe cannot perform at the level of China, South Korea, or even Iran.
Testing is the most basic, and the same time most critical, indicator of how things are developing. If we don't know how many are tested; how many of those tested are actually sick; and, how many of the sick ones are recovering, how does one can measure the effectiveness of any strategy being used or any medication that becomes available?
204
@Eddie B. His incompetence has been in full view since 2016.
15
@Eddie B. Basic, yes, but truth doesn't serve the "president's" self-interests, which are the most base, and the only thing that matters.
10
@Eddie B.
Is it possible that we're not the most technologically advanced country? From education to healthcare to infrastructure, we're actually not world leaders in many things. Global connectivity is finally disabusing us of many delusions. Half the country has shed their regard for justice and transparency. Maybe this virus is the alarm we need.
18
All of this has me thinking about how very fragile our supposedly civilized society is. For example, schools can't close, because where are children going to go during the day, when both parents are working? If restaurants are empty, how are servers and kitchen staff going to pay rent and bills? If cultural events are being canceled, how are the artists, management, and crew who depend upon these events for income going to survive? Same for conferences, museums, and any other operation that depends on in-person participation. With colleges closing, students who rely on work-study jobs are losing their incomes, too. Very few families have enough savings to last for more than a month or two without a paycheck. We have no social safety net for emergencies like a pandemic. Sure, you can expand unemployment assistance, but unemployment assistance is useless for the millions of people who work as "independent contractors" or freelancers or are otherwise self-employed, because the system doesn't take us into account. Well-heeled readers of the Times may be more concerned about ordering hand sanitizer and advising the rest of us to stay at home, I realize, but for those of us in the trenches, the problem is that we are seriously in danger of not having homes to stay in if we are not being paid.
34
@Allison
Jobs have literally dried up on the phone here. I hope not to be evicted come the end of next month. A pay roll tax will not help me but I'm not a bank just an american trying to them bills.
4
@Allison I'm a reader of the Times and am not well-heeled. It sounds like you aren't, either.
@Travis: The two major projects I had on my calendar for this month have both been canceled. Where is my income going to come from this month? No idea! Oddly enough, my landlord, insurance company, utility companies, credit card companies, etc., will still want their money next month, same as usual.
1
This Covid-19 situation can bring down Trump's presidency at a crucial time. His campaign advisors would encourage him to go out and directly meet his supporters; shake as many hands as possible. The best way to calm down the panic stricken masses is to demonstrate the integrity, focus and high character that are the hallmarks of this great, historical, MYTHICAL leader.
8
@MG,
Yikes. Shake as many hands as possible?
“Mythical leader”? We wish he were only a myth. And a demagogue is not a leader, but an inciter.
I hope your post was sarcasm.
1
Every action and inaction by this man makes complete sense when viewed through the agenda of what Putin would wish for to destabilize this country. Think about that.
18
Respectfully, the title is wrong. A "struggle" implies an attempt to achieve.
Trump is making no attempt to unify the nation. In fact, as always, he divides the nation.
The title should be: "The President as Bystander: Trump FAILS to Unify a Nation on Edge"
35
Every day I am thankful for Dr. Fauci’s honesty and efforts to get this Administration to act. He deserves a Medal of Honor for his longstanding service to our country.
29
@J. I think trump will reward himself a Medal of Honor instead... well, trump does deserve a medal - a Medal of HORROR!
What is Jared Kushner’s level of expertise with pandemics and matters of public health? Why should anyone listen to him?
Trump has had three years to establish himself as a leader and a person worthy of trust, and he has failed miserably. Coronavirus, an apolitical adversary, shows us every day that Trump has nothing positive to offer the nation or world, the markets crater each time he speaks, and in fact presents a danger to everyone.
35
@Lynn in DC - How could you question Jared Kushner's competence? Didn't he solve the middle east problem?
"A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own."
H. G. Wells
Wells understood the likes of Trump, who will always be the first one in the lifeboat while screaming in anger the entire time.
20
We need something a little lighter for today to get thru all of this.
With all of the activities canceled, and late night off the air there is only one possible outcome.
A spike in births, nine months from now.
7
The only thing he and this horrible administration can do to unify and calm most of the country is resign. or at least quarantine and cut themselves off all media outlets and keep their hands off any decisions that need to made. They can get unemployment benefits.
15
@Robert,
You can’t collect unemployment benefits if you resign.
@Jerry Engelbach
You have a point. But if you quit for cause it is another matter. And if it is because to stay endangers national security and well being (everything they say and do does that) I think a grateful nation can wave that requirement.
The only way DJT will take this serious is if his golf outings are disrupted.
17
If hopefully Vice President Pence makes some progress in starting to contain this killer-virus it will be interesting to see President Trump's reaction. He'll probably get jealous and replace him on the ticket in November.
5
Trump has no inclination to unite the country. His lies, his vicious attacks on President Obama and Democrats, and his partisan divide and conquer approach won’t bring anyone together.
10
Ive watched this several times. The man has serious issues. What is he really saying. Does he know?
10
@David I agree. I think he is showing signs of Alzheimer's. Honestly.
1
Republicans--- flag the flag but please don't vote. Your history of voting in bad presidents proves your judgements are terrible. You voted in Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Trump, all who had major scandals within their administrations. Democrats had one who lied about a sexual affair, Trump has lied thousands of time (in 31/2 years), many which are much more serious than Clinton's lie. So flag the flag but please don't vote. You are no good at picking presidents.
16
How does he try to unify a nation on edge? By blaming his wildly popular predecessor, of course! Way to unify people!! It would be wonderful to have a REAL leader like President Obama during this scary time in our country....someone who doesn't lie as often as he breathes.
Once again, Trump proves that he is nothing but a cheap wannabe.
17
Great, so now it’s Dr. Ken Barbie Kushner! I feel so much better!
Is this the same Dr Ken Barbie Kushner that settled all the problems in the Middle East? Another republican Dr. Kissinger, how lucky we are!
13
When are you folks going to tell the truth? How about this for a different headline: "Trump continues to lie and mislead the public." It is criminal that he continues to put so many at risk with his utter failure at leadership. If you can't tell it straight to the American public now about this incompetent president, I am guessing you never will
14
Remember Trump is the guy with the draft deferment for bone spurs courtesy of a friendly neighborhood podiatrist during the Vietnam War. That was Plan B --- he had run out of student deferments. Self-preservation and avoidance in the face of shared threats are inborn traits. The only place this man has ever lead any group is to stuffed chairs in restaurants for drinks and steaks.
11
Rex Tillerson was right.
14
Too lilttle, too late Mr. POTUS.
You've exploited division and falsehoods since before you were "elected" and now you want us to come together and believe what you and your "experts" tells us.
Too little, and way, way too late.
8
After a lifetime of creating and benefiting from divisiveness, Trump is neither inclined nor capable of uniting the country. True to form, he's on Twitter this morning, blaming former President Obama for the spread of novel coronavirus. A tiger can't change its stripes any more than a pathological liar can stop fabricating.
4
In European news they are talking about C-SPAN (don't know what that is) having the cameras continue rolling after the speach was over and capturing some interesting footage. Any news on that from NYT?
2
Google
Struggles ? Get it right! .... mishandles and fails are what is true.
2
Fox News is still saying the Covid-19 is a hoax and there is nothing to worry about. They should lose their charter for endangering the health of the nation.
7
Incompetent partisan liars do not a government make.
5
A WWE clown jester is and will always be a clown jester.
He is way over his head.
What qualifications did he ever have to make us believe he will guide the nation through this pandemic?
A TV showbiz creature.
He doesn't even read his daily briefings.
Just ship him to FL and keep him there.
Pence is doing just fine.
4
Trump is not trying to unify the nation. Why does the NYT keep normalizing his behavior?
8
What Trump seems not to realize is that if he gave us useable facts, offered real solutions, and showed empathy, that would be good politics as well as good policy. People would say, "We have this serious crisis and our president is helping us get through it." Instead, he is behaving like a petulant child, placing the full burden on state and local government officials to coordinate responses.
262
@CH He would if he could, but he can't. He is not capable of empathy. I actually feel sorry for the guy, knowing (from personal experience) how cruel his upbringing must have been in order for him to be so narcissistic. Little Donald was born just as loving and open-hearted as any baby. You have to LEARN to be so awful; to feel emotional reward when you insult and blame, and to feel burning rage when you're questioned about anything at all. Tragic.
So his heart is a cinder of resentment and personal interest, which translates to money. His lack of character makes him unworthy of the office he holds, and his trashing of his oath, daily lies and petty actions make him an enemy of his own constitution.
Although he hasn't kept his promises of bebest healthcare, bebest infrastructure, nor bebest scandal-free governance, he IS keeping his promise to his base, that of white supremacy /nationalism. Permission to openly hate on not-thems. Anger that the white men who have ALWAYS had power are being required to share it; not politely asked and entitled to deny.
So trump will not give facts and empathy, because he cannot. The republican party (and Putin) have selected him as the front guy for their aim of one-party rule in America. A power grab. It suits trump, who gets validation that his hateful bigotry is power. Suits Putin, who has reaped incredible geopolitical gains just by whispering in trump's greedy ear. And Oligarch wanna-be's Mitch/Elaine, Betsy, Pompeo, Rudy, etc. Ugh.
19
Trump is incapable of showing genuine empathy for anyone other than himself. Case in point - the thousands he left stranded on a ship off the California coast because he feared the increased numbers of infections would reveal the fraud in his numbers. His speech the other night did not give solid information, and it did not instill confidence. In fact, it did just the opposite. It was a self serving blame game delivered by a wooden shell of a man who proved he has no business holding the reins of power.
22
@CH So many people say what you are saying; you're right, but it isn't going to change anything. If there is one thing you can be sure of with sociopaths, it is that they cannot change. It is like asking a person blind from birth to tell you what colors are in a painting. They just cannot do that. Sociopaths have brains that are different and are unable to be social and empathetic as most humans are able to be. They cannot do this. It is a sad fact, but this is why you keep such people away from real power or responsibility.
20
Leadership. Leaders of people. Leaders with people. EMPATHY. Models of characters. Confidence builders. Managers and delegates. Organizational leaders. Reliance on expertise. Decisive. Communicatorsm Systems thinkers. Team developers. Pronoun "we" heard more often than "I." ........... Coaches, principals, county executives, superintendents, sports Teams leaders, Mayors, Governors, Student club presidents......... This president? NOT A CLUE WHAT LEADERSHIP IS AND HOW TO MANAGE. .....And it is CRIMINAL that he has downplayed, dismissed, and ignores experts and the crisis.
14
President Trump has never, including now, struggled to unify the nation. Every day is another opportunity to divide and conquer.
Even a deadly virus is useful.
Trump only cares about Himself first then his 'base' of 'real' Americans.
Has anyone investigated why (even to today) there is a complete failure to provide and test people for the virus? Is this intentional in order for Trump to have his low "numbers" he so craves?
Seriously, there is a reason Trump has ordered the secrecy surrounding the administration and all of it's efforts to combat the Covid19 virus. The reason is NOT to avoid panic.
Trump does not have the public's interests as his focus.
10
when trump speaks, his lack of humanity, ignorance of facts, and abundance of lies result in chaos and markets plunge. That’s interesting because everything he does is aimed at calming and boosting markets rather than focus on the underlying problem. In this case, it’s the contradiction of experts in regard to the pandemic.
Last night, he didn’t speak. Organizations and state and local governments acted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. I’ll miss the sports tournaments but I won’t complain about taking immediate action in the best interests of everyone! Central banks in other nations are taking actions made possible by the fact that they hadn’t squandered their financial firepower.
Lo and behold - US markets are limit up today. But who knows how long that will last. The danger is far from over.
I bet that if charts were prepared, they would show a strong correlation between trump and destruction of institutions.
trump said he didn’t have to act presidential. he’s living up to that promise.
9
Struggles to unify a Nation on edge? The President has driven the Nation into what has become for him the very familiar ditch with methods that appear to have been consistent throughout his career, whatever that might be described as, and has obviously been thrown totally out of his element what with not being able to "grift" the virus away. Even Fox News can't twist it up.
Even the most vanilla attempt by any news agency to appear somewhat surprised by what is happening seems almost comical. It's all just massively out of control. When 3 of the 3 top people involved: trump, hannity, and kudlow are essentially reality tv people who, at this time, are playing President, top adviser, and top economist, in what world should we be expecting anything less than Laurel and Hardy with Curly or Moe along for the ride?
15
I feel more comforted by this administration then ever before. The way the President "grabbed" this virus by the horns and kept it from getting over the wall has astonished even his most ardent supporters. The bright side of all the media attention aimed at COVID19 is that I haven't had to hear about climate change in almost a week!
2
The speeches delivered yesterday by Sanders and Biden were strong presidential speeches that you would want from a leader in a crisis. Sanders had the speech of a lifetime. I am not a Bernie supporter.
Trump fidgeting with his hands the entire time reminded one of a small boy doing something he didn't want to do, and was so full of misstatements as to be unwatchable.
12
Trump's goal is to further Trump's goals; that's it. He cares nothing about anyone else. His only concern is getting reelected and COVID-19 is a nasty roadblock toward attaining that goal. So he thinks denying, minimizing, rationalizing, and flat out lying about its severity will make it all go away and he can get reelected. The problem with this theory is that COVID-19 won't go away and doctors and scientists are contradicting him whenever he minimizes the situation. People aren't believing his lies so they are even more frightened and have no guidance from the person we normally look to in a terrible crisis. It's a snowball effect.
COVID-19 has exposed in tremendous relief the glaring social problems America has. The bar for "free" testing is so high not enough tests are being done so infected people are walking around spreading it to others. People who are infected can't afford to be treated. They don't have sick leave from work so they can stop infecting others like Europe does, so they continue working because they can't afford to take off, thus infecting even more people. Why? Because pumping trillions of dollars into the stock market is so much more important we "can't afford it." Coronavirus might actually be a blessing in disguise. Maybe workers will finally get the medical care and sick time they should have had for decades. it will save us money in the long run, and we deserve it.
9
Trump is a very American type of guy and absolutely representative of the people who champion enterprise in this country - first and foremost they care about money. And power. Not the power to make America the best possible country in the world for for all its citiziens. But power to make money. Nothing else matters as much. Until it does... and then they are caught flat footed. Trump isn't to blame for this. The Ivy League Schools are. They are incubators for people who function like Trump. Trump would like to be friends with the coronavirus. And if the coronavirus had hands to shake and money to make, they would be doing it all day long.
5
Why is Jared trying to find answers to the most immediate pressing problems? How about experts in public health and epidemiology, not the Boy Wonder?
10
Not only is Trump the Great Divider for his inability to unite the nation he divided in the first place, I also blame Fox News and right-wing talk radio. They are as much to blame for divisive disinformation as Trump's lies and attacks on his "enemies," real or imagined.
9
This president has two settings when dealing with public: lie or suppress. Now the world is facing life or death issues and it’s the same as it ever was. I eagerly await a cogent explanation and defense from his cult following of this woefully poor example of leadership. Oh yeah, my bad: Judges. Deep state. Obamacare. Emails. “Religious freedom.” Burisma. <>
God bless!
5
Trump's best course of action would be to shut his mouth and let the people who know what they are doing handle this. But that is impossible for him.
5
The article is titled, The President as a bystander: Struggles to unify a nation on edge.
Donald Trump has never done anything to unify America!
8
Having just read the chilling article about worst case scenarios prepared last month by expert epidemiologists, a report that surely Trump has known about, I am aghast at the depths of his incompetence and lack of leadership. He and his team have failed totally to proactively prepare our nation to combat the coronavirus, ramp up our woefully short medical supplies and support, and propose obvious measures to help Americans affected by this epidemic. His actions thus far are too little, too late, and many of us will pay a devastating price for his stupidity.
To The NY Times: thank you for your in-depth reporting on coronavirus. Your journalism will literally save lives, something the man in the Oval Office cares nothing about, as evidenced by his robotic, error-filled speech to the people.
6
Last night, the UN in NY confirmed its first case of Covid19 after a Filipino diplomat notified fellow diplomats in the late afternoon, yet the UN is still open today.
3
In general the idea of “trump as a bystander” might make sense with many of his gaffs, but in this case he’s an instigator and obstructor... Not only is he useless as a leader, he’s been obstructing and hampering any serious attempts to identify the severity and scope of this crisis as well as compounding the problem by downplaying it and outright disagreeing with experts in a bid to save his re-election chances.
Judging from what the equally criminal republicans have allowed him to get away with, he’ll never face any consequences for this behavior, but I’m sure any other lesser official would be held accountable for such actions.
This is the kind of person the republicans pawned off on this nation... to hold on to their jobs, to appease their benefactors, to keep the graft money flowing and pack the courts with conservative judges, they protected a man they know is incompetent, ignorant, uncontrollable and dangerous.
The risk to the nation was worth the benefits to themselves.
And they were happy to take that risk because none of them thought it would ever touch them.
This is entirely on them... they squandered every chance they had to make a responsible decision, to make an honorable stand... but instead they chose to prop up this fraud and his inept administration.
6
Trump has failed up his whole life. He isn’t up to the challenge and needs to get out of the way of people who are. Thank u Nancy P. For being there for the American people when we need a smart caring responsible adult in the room.
7
The Emperor has no clothes. Perhaps he had shorts and a shirt before but now his mental illness, lack of morals and cowardice are on full display. In a stunning, garbled and bizarre speech, a man who appears drugged showed us how ill prepared a reality show actor is when faced with actual reality. If one is paying attention, one can discern the sudden increase in cases across the country with the passing of time. And therein the disaster lurks. We now have a 'real estate mogul', his family and some sycophants trying desperately to hang onto the biggest grift they have ever created. I feel sadness and sympathy for those who may die while the Trump family tries to make a buck on sick people. Stay well, friends.
5
Every Republican who does not vote to remove this dangerous man, whether by article 25 or rebooting to impeach, should be imprisoned as accomplices to the crimes he is committing by his inactions. As a prominent politician said, there is blood on his hands. Will Republicans permit more?
2
This is the first real test of Trump's presidency, and he is failing miserably.
Leaders need to lead. He is still trying to act like this an "us against them" construct. That's all he knows. But it's opposite what is needed by our nation, and the world, right now. We need leadership, healing, facts, information, guidance.
On Wednesday night he called Covid19 a "foreign virus." That about sums up his total lack of understanding of the situation. It's ironic that a virus, a scientific fact, a truth, is what is finally showing all of us just how inept Trump is.
4
His 'advisors' are still blind to his inability to calm anything? These are people who have a lifetime of his narcistic behavior, only seeing what will benefit him, yet they still don't realize how flawed he is.
2
This President is hopeless. He cares noting about America's health and only about the political impact, therefore, he lies.
3
All you need to do is watch Trump when the camera kept running after his abysmal White House address.
https://twitter.com/knoweyedentity/status/1237910275946405888
The equivalent of Melania's "I really don't care, do U?" coat.
But hey, as NPR reported yesterday, a Pew survey shows that white evangelicals see Trump as "Honest" and "Morally Upstanding".
These people are as delusional, unthinking, and callous as Trump is.
5
A thanks to both The NY Times and The Washington Post for giving us hard hitting detailed news regarding this pandemic.
Well worth the price of the subscriptions.
Because as we all well know we can’t count on the administration to tell us the truth. A sad commentary on our White House.
6
In less than 3 1/2 years Trump, with the help of congressional Republicans, has turned a great nation into a banana republic and that might be an insult to banana republics.
3
Forget Trump. He's already shown himself to be a worthless liar.
But where's Mitch and his gang while all of this is going on? They've been virtually invisible since the end of the impeachment debacle. Are they afraid to stick their necks out and see what is going on? Do they think that all of this is a "hoax"?
Or is this finally the event that they take advantage of to get rid of "Dear Leader", without needing to show their intentions to the public. Give him enough rope, and he will hang himself? Interesting.....
2
unity is a tough concept for an egoist
3
Concerning that Trump primarily relies on the words of Stephen Miller and the counsel of Jared Kushner, two politically motivated neophyte hacks, to craft his messages to the American people. Would be preferable he not speak and graciously defer to the physicians and public health personnel that have been on stage with him. A real leader knows when he should step aside and let the experts communicate their knowledge and concerns.
8
Trump says he has "the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about.” Really? I'm old enough to remember when President Obama didn't have a right to nominate Justice Scalia's replacement to the Supreme Court because "it was an election year."
This two sets of rules thing has GOT to stop....
30
Jared feels hes being treated unfairly? That would be funny if it wasnt so dang sad. I think hes being treated too fairly by half.
15
Let's be totally clear. There should be no doubt that Trump has always been a figurehead president who has relished the trappings of office. He has awakened each day to unfathomable amounts of "executive time", remains ignorant to national and world issues, and envisions himself as emperor-in-chief with imperial powers who governs by fiat Twitter proclamations. That Congress has chosen to allow this heartless and soulless individual to assume such dictatorial powers and defend his doing so is an assault on our democracy. He is already blaming the Obama administration for his gross handling of this national emergency. It is only a matter of time before he insinuates that it is an attempt by Ukraine to meddle in the elections. Gerald Ford was wrong. Our long, national nightmare endures at the expense of how many lives... from neglected kids at the border to Puerto Rican Americans after Maria to Covid-19? It makes me want to cry.
23
President Trump clearly demonstrated his ineptness. He's operating on the spur of the moment without being knowledgeable. Canceling flights from Europe should be reversed immediately. If not - it should be expanded to all countries. The UK doesn't have the virus? Really!
This was his chance to be a leader and he failed.
17
UK is the only country in Europe where Trump owns golf resorts. What a coincidence!
1
@NorthStar
Oh, how could I forget - that explains it....
I started stocking up three moment Trump first addressed the nation 2 weeks ago. Every time he speaks, I grow more nervous. Unfortunately I didn't pull my money from the stock market 2 weeks ago. Everyone is taking a hit... except the beneficiaries of that trillion dollar taxcut.
6
Even for his harshest critics, trump's incompetence never fails to exceed all expectations. It is impossible to set the bar low enough for this man.
15
Vice President Pence assured the American people 45 "Has no higher priority than the health, safety, and well-being of the people of this country." Remember what they were doing when the pandemic began. The Vice President wined and dined at a POTUS campaign fund raiser. 45 enjoyed another round of Mar-a-Largo golf. Their concern for the American rings like faux crystal wine goblet; it looks like crystal, but its not, and there is no ring sound, no matter how much water is in the bowl.
16
trump has neither the tools nor the talent.
It just shows that reality tv isn’t real at all. This reality is something trump can’t handle.
I know a sitting president can’t be charged with a crime, but don’t his actions suggest that he is guilty of negligent homicide? And his minions are accessories.
It’s unfortunate that I have no trouble believing that he feels no responsibility for his actions.
He’s living up to his statement that he wasn’t planning on acting presidential.
3
I have to disagree with the headline. He isn't struggling to unite anything. He's still tweeting about how back Obama was and calling people names. We do not have a national leader at this point, and that is a shame. It isn't a question of liberal or conservative. He's just selfish and shallow.
9
Remember how Pelosi, Schiff and Nadler called Trump a king and despote? Now when our President provides over-all support for local decision-makers and gathers the best experts in epidemiology to advise on best approaches NYT liberal "journalists" say Trump is not leading strongly enough. The best decisions are made by local leaders in touch with their communities and doctors with their patients. NOT Washington bureaaucrats.
@Peter
1. And what “overall support” for localities would that be? Not allowing the use of World Health Organization testing kits? Pooh-poohing the seriousness of the problem? Dismantling agencies that are responsible for responding to just this sort of thing (including local assistance)? Falsely claiming that anyone who wanted a Coronavirus test can get one? Yes, I see how supportive Trump is.
2. The “best experts in epidemiology” are contradicting what Trump says.
3. Blaming things on “Washington bureaucrats” is so tired and worn out. The problem now is that Trump’s bureaucracy is comprised of meritless hacks whose sole “qualification” is their slavishness and toadying to Trump.
4. What’s a “despote”?
The president's goofy, clumsy, conduct, captured by TV cameras before and after his last prime-time address, contained one single, clear, message for the US public and, indeed, the entire world: This man does not have any idea what it means to be the President of the United States of America; but he is trying to play one when TV cameras are on.
Unfortunately, he has never been more than a third-rate actor. Thus, the best one could expect from him is a third-rate presidency.
10
"Trump struggles to unify a nation on edge" You have got to be kidding! Our Dear Leader's regime is based on division and blame. He has never demonstrated a shred of interest or ability to unify America and never will.
10
Trump lacks the intelligence, empathy, morality, and humility to deal with this, or any, crisis he himself didn't create.
9
When the President rotely read his speech from the teleprompter, he very easily could have referred to Dr. Fauci. This morning he said the travel ban from China was an early excellent decision and the ban on travel from Europe equally so, because the continent was the "new" China.
Had Trump referred to such a well-respected authority as having given him guidance on the imposition of the ban for cogent public health reasons, ---would he have drawn the criticism he has for his partly inane remarks and presentation?
Would the stock market have tanked to the degree it did?
Cannot his senior advisors Jared and Ivanka convince our President that experts exist in the non-real estate world?
That giving knowledgeable people credit and respect can be helpful in the administration of a government?
3
@OC
Really? Trump giving credit to anyone else? Besides which, the people like Dr. Fauci are contradicting Trump at almost every turn. And Good Lord, just having Jared and Ivana, two of the most vapid and in-way-over-their-heads individuals as advisors about anything more than the color of the curtains, is madness.
This is about SO much more than giving credit.
@Billyboy Of course he wouldn't give credit but had he??
The next two last paragraph may have been poor but pure sarcasm
This what 3.5 years worth of lying does to a nation. When we needed to believe in the President, we cannot.
10
re: his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who considers the problem more about public psychology than a health reality
Time is kinda compressed these days. Now that Ivanka has been exposed and [what does Kushner call Trump?] is adverse to being exposed, all this comes close to their family too. But I suppose that is where the similarities to most American families end.
I wish I had a President who could guide me and my community through this thing.
3
@Duckpuddle F
Instead of doing something the Trumps think: PR will solve the problem
I just know it deep down, but when Trump leaves office they are going to find so much carnage left behind from that administration we will be paying it for years. Every day he's in office is a really bad day for America.
16
We live in the most hyper-partisan media atmosphere in our lifetimes...in an election year. Is it really surprising half the country cannot get behind the President, on any issue, given more than half the voters rejected him in 2016?
@J House Because he hasn't proven himself to be a leader.
Every cabinet member Donald Trump chose was selected for their willingness to dismantle and hobble the agency they will lead. That is why we are unprepared for this pandemic - those decisions - each unqualified cabinet selection was voted in by a complicit irresponsible republican senate.
Our world class institutions should be filled with scientists and our most experienced, educated Americans -
Donald Trump and republican senators have failed us for their personal gain.
12
“I alone can fix it.”
— Donald J. Trump, the world’s funniest comediam
13
... and 63 million of our fellow citizens believed him
He's used his political capital over the last 3+ years dividing the nation; how could he possibly unify us now?
15
the job of leadership is to teach, not tell what you think people want to hear. It is a sad job of leadership during this crisis.
5
Mr Pence is right, there has been a lot or irresponsible talk about a major crisis. The problem is that most of the irresponsible talk and irresponsible action comes from a White House that is in either a deep state of denial or a President that is so callously focused on his own ego (and declining re election odds) that he refused to take the action necessary and allowed the virus to get established and now threaten the lives of perhaps many thousand Americans. A true leader would have set aside political tribalism and order immediate and wide spread testing weeks ago that would have identified the extent of the crisis and where and to take steps to contain it. Didn't happen, did it? A true leader would allow the medical professionals and experts take charge of the response to combating the virus. Quite the opposite it seems! A true leader would have taken immediate action to protect the economic life of the country from individuals to industries. Instead he confused the matter and sent the economy into a tailspin while making the US a pawn in the oil price war between his buddy in Saudi and his buddy in the Kremlin. This was Trump's great challenge and opportunity to prove his leadership ability and he has failed wallowing in a swamp of wishful thinking and recriminations. Business as usual I guess.
9
Perhaps the most responsible thing that the press can do is refuse to cover any of Trump's words about the virus, just ignore him, don't report ANYTHING he says in relation to it.
2
Nobody should be surprised, he's dealing with the problem exactly as he said he would, dumping it in Pence's lap. In Trump's mind, he's the one the public should be looking to for actual solutions. It wasn't as if he took the job in order to lead the nation, just make you think he is.
He made that clear in 2016 when he offered one of his classic deals" to Kasich, "you accept the VP nomination and I'll let you be responsible for domestic and foreign policy." When asked what he would be doing, since all policy is either domestic or foreign, his reply was 'making America great again.'
Anything beyond his junior Nuremberg campaign rallies, tweeting, and finding every way to funnel taxpayer dollars into the bank accounts of Donald Trump and his family is an inconvenience.
I will probably go to my grave before getting a sensible answer to the question of how his supporters failed to recognize such an obvious con job.
10
President Trump has spent the last four years insulting and denigrating Democrats, the Media and our traditional allies. he has intentionally divided the country to serve his own political purposes. Above all he has engaged in fear mongering and demagoguery. All this despite warnings that one day he would need the support of those whom he is so contemptuous of. The need now is for unity and calm leadership based in facts and evidence. In other words, the opposite of Trump. All the qualities he completely lacks.
And one more thing to consider. As bad as this crisis is now, it will get ever so much worse and coincide with the height of hurricane season.
President Trump is struggling now but he ain't seen nothing yet. Nor have we.
12
We need a leader, of course, but the less this man says the better off we’ll probably be.
3
So here are two writers who have, in the past, written extensively about Mr. Trump and his so-called Russian collusion. One of them actually won a Pulitzer Prize for it. Both of them "investigated" for a long time the whole Russian collusion within the Trump campaign and presidency. Never once, not ever, did either conclude what we now know is the truth, that the origins of the so-called collusion were born of severe and shocking illegality. Not once did they ever write that Mr. Trump and members of his campaign were targets of an illegal effort by the administration of the FBI and other entities. Both writers never wrote the truth about those horrible events. Now, here they are, again, analyzing and presenting their writing about important events. I, for one, find their past too disgusting to trust them now. For example, they never openly apologized for misleading the American people. There is s serious breach of trust with them. Such a serious and dangerous event in our country demands that this paper no longer present the writings of those who have a flimsy relationship with truth.
3
@Len
Oops, I hit “recommend” instead of “reply”. Speaking of flimsy relationships with truth, does that include the proud utterer of thousands of proven falsehoods himself?
ps - your idea of “illegal” differs from the one your own favorite Justice Department has. Read up on it sometime.
A very nice tour d'horizon of what it is like within the President's compulsive mind. No catastrophe can be so great as to dislodge its impregnable isolation from reality.
3
When will Trump be tested? When will we learn the result?
3
When we're kids, we're told not to tell lies. President Trump apparently was not. He cannot tell the truth. He lies that we all can be tested for the virus. We cannot. He lies that everything is under control. It is not. He puts VP Pence in charge of managing the crisis. He lies just as well. The only issue our president has is confronting Dr. Fauci's truth-telling. No doubt he'd like to. But he cannot.
4
Now we all get to experience the narcissictic incompetence that led to all those business bankruptcies - this was the genius who lost money running a casino remember. For the past month we have lost precious time with Trump insisting that this was a media induced hoax intended to derail his election. We have heard misinformation, outright lies, a confused and xenophobic address to the nation and been regaled with Trump's hunches (because of course, he had an uncle that worked at MIT!). Mike DeWine (Governor of Ohio) is an old-school Republican with whom I don't always agree, but he is competent and trusts health and scientific experts to guide the response. With Trump we see the new iteration of the Republican Party - ignorant of fact, prone to conspiracy theories and suspicious of expertise. The contrast could not be more stark and the consequences now are deadly.
4
Trump is finally experiencing the stark and dangerous difference between reality TV - and reality. Life has gotten a little too real for the man who thinks his director can call for a re-shoot.
4
The absence of testing in this country has created a crisis on monumental proportions. Given the dire predictions the only rational decision is to lock in place and shut down every activity that exposes us to further infection. The fault for this fiasco lies directly at the feet of this president. He needs to resign or immediately be removed from office (via the 25th amendment) as his incompetence and its disastrous effects are now manifesting as a national crisis. He is in a serious state of mental decline as should be obvious to anyone who has watched his latest national broadcast on TV.
5
The good news is that the gloves are off. It's one thing to criticize the man who is the greatest threat to the planet in all of human history; it's quite another to ridicule him. There's no way Trump can recover, and the Republicans' Senate majority is threatened.
That's also the bad news. What does the Mob do with an aging Don that is affecting their bottom line? Whether or not we are religious, we should all be praying that the Republicans do not slip the President a little coronavirus.
1
I want to know something I haven't seen answered yet. So you get the virus and you get flu like symptoms. How long does it last? If you don't die which most people won't .. what happens?.. Do you get better? Do you just have cold symptoms for a long time? Older people and people with weakened immune systems are the most vulnerable. What about everyone else? How about it ???
2
I was under the impression "I alone can fix everything."
2
Those in contact with Trump and Ivanka are positive with the virus.
Let’s play a game called deduction.
6
The man cannot even correctly pronounce the word "industry'. Perhaps that's the leas5of his problems, but it doesn't instill confidence, and reflects poorly on his intelligence.
1
Pearl Harbor was caught off guard in 1941 because of lack of clarity in orders from DC and reconnaissance planes were never in the air patrolling to defend the island. In the case of Covid-19, the world was telling us to ramp up testing massively, even offered testing kits and Trump said no, said "it'll all go away like magic.". Matt Gaetz wore a gas mask as a sick joke, Fox "News" mocked the danger. and here we are today, schools closing, we're weeks behind in testing, Trump admin. still lies to America about our testing capabilities and sporting events are being cancelled and the market is doing hoola-hoops. Trump botched it Titanically and now we're paying a higher price... Because we purposefully didn't send our reconnaissance planes.
3
Mr. Trump simply does not have the ability — or really, the desire — to evince any kind of “we’re all in this together” attitude.
His entire political life has been one of divisiveness and lies.
This has left him with zero credibility, except for those slavishly devoted to him.
Rallying the country will have to come from elsewhere.
6
No one believes Trump. He lies all the time ex. Passengers arriving from overseas are tested. Nope. He has no credibility. No one trusts him. He’s not a leader. The best thing to do is send him on a tour of his golf courses. And put someone in charge who we can believe in. Maybe Romney.
3
My impression when Donald said “I have a lot of powers many people don’t even know about” was that 3 1/2 years into the job Donald is still being told or reminded of the powers of the office.
1
Trump’s robotic delivery of his speech the other evening, proved beyond doubt the most important traits for a president. Intelligence, compassion, empathy and trustworthiness. Non of which he is even remotely familiar with.
Being able to read well, wouldn’t hurt either.
12
This is the most serious health crisis in over a century. We need better than this.
11
Yesterday, I read comment after comment after a NY Times column from people who had just returned from travel in Europe, several of whom came back from Italy and France. Every one said there was zero screening; nobody taking people's temperatures or asking if they had symptoms. I also heard a piece on NPR from Brownsville, Texas. People legally crossing the border from Mexico to work stated that they, and everyone around them, were simply asked to produce their papers to show they were legally allowed into the country to work. Again, no screening, no thermometers, no questions about symptoms, etc. How is it possible that TSA and Border
Control Agents are not screening people who are entering the country? Banning travel for Europe is too little too late, but was likely proposed as a grandstanding "bold action" which might play well with the electorate. Trump and his Administration should spend more time figuring out what will work to slow the spread of the virus, and provide effective treatment, and less time worrying about how this crisis will impact the election. Ironically, he is hurting himself more by first denying the virus ("a Democratic hoax"), and now minimizing it due to concern that the economic impact of the virus will hurt his re-election prospects.
2
Republican Presidents, in my opinion, often fail in times of crisis.
President Bush stepped up after 2011, but instead of targeting those who attacked us, he went after a whole country, Afghanistan, and we are not finished with that yet. History shows Afghanistan has never been beaten by outside forces, and we were no exception. But, we spent a lot of money on defense (Republicans benefit from business love offerings), but we lost a lot of our people while doing it.
Trump failed to implement his job of governing the US Agencies that are suppose to protect our health, welfare and safety. Instead, he has implemented ways to transfer the wealth of the nation to himself and the wealthy. The last Tax Cut was a prime example of that.
Now we are in a health crisis, and the Agencies and people who could have helped mitigate and manage the damage are missing in action.
Our health and welfare administrative positions were sacrificed as financial offerings to make the Republicans, and Trump in particular, even more wealthy.
5
“Mr. Trump and some of his advisers view so many issues through the lens of political warfare — assuming that criticism is all about point scoring”
Of course he does, because he is all about points scoring. The health of the American people? Not do much.
5
As we watched the President’s monotone and mechanical reading of that speech , it reminded me of how a child reads, pronouncing the words, but without any comprehension of their meaning, as he announced a nonsensical travel. It was disturbing and confusing. We’re in our own.
9
Sorry Mr. President, it is not the economy that needs help, it is the people that are getting sick more and more by the day. The money should be put into mobilizing testing and care for those who are getting sick. Help the sick become well and get back to work, and the economy will cure itself.
7
Trump refused free testing kits from the WHO because his family owns stock in a medical test manufacturer. Fortunately, his chances of a second term seem to be rapidly diminishing.
11
My greatest fear is that Trump is going to see all these major events, institutions of American life like sports, being cancelled and get it in his head that he can use the pandemic as an excuse to "postpone" the election.
The statement “I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about" is chilling.
9
Trump's always been intent on dividing us, not uniting us. Why would a national health emergency be any different?
My concern is that Trump, clearly someone who realizes his peril, will use this national tragedy to further corrupt and seize control of our democracy.
Once again, he has Fox News and the entire Republican Party providing him cover.
7
The lack of leadership coming out of Trump is chaotic at best. This is a total train wreck. His legacy will now be defined by this and it's going to be pretty. The only good news coming out of this is that we likely will have Biden in the WH by this time next year. Leadership is a skill. He clearly does not have it nor does Trump really care about anyone but himself. Hope his base is happy with what they are seeing.
4
@Anita - Unfortunately his base is happy with what they are seeing - and they are ready to vote for him in November. Scary.
At this point, it is clear for all to see and hear how thoroughly incompetent Trump is. Anyone who supports him is responsible for what happens next.
10
Trump's understanding about the coronavirus is just like his understanding about everything else, non-existent.
He continues to ramble on with out a clue as to what he's talking about and that can only make people feel afraid that the entire government is doing nothing.
We have good doctors and scientists but they're not being put out in front of the public to ensure us that this virus can be beat.
Trump hates to be a looser, but in this case he is.
7
The most significant proactive responses to the threat and and spread of the virus have come from the private sector. The most factual information has come from the public servants rather than those elected to and appointed by this administration. These non-political people have shown that America is still a great country and don't have to divide us based on politics, national origin, ethnic identity, religion color of our skin or sexual orientation. We only need to clean out our upper drawers of this administration to move forward. I hope this happens soon.
2
The bubble locks in igfnorance. but will be no baddier to the virus.
I'm surprised he didn't blame the Democrats...It was just a panic, then you put the DEM in it ... it becomes a panDEMic.
The pre and post address hot mic moments shows that he still thinks this is just a reality TV show.
3
The NYT article about the 2 young Chinese health professionals,
Deng Danjing and Xia Sisi is a heart wrenching but excellent story that brings home the human toll that can be paid. Along with the young doctor who originally blew the whistle in Wuhan, it made me think purely anecdotally, that their youth did not shield them. I wonder if being close to the start of the epidemic as well as being in very close proximity to patients brought them calamity. 2 of the 3 paid with their very lives. My question is, why do 80% shrug it off and why are many symptomless? I am right in the target group being over 60 and having an immune deficiency. It is quite possible that soon you will cease to get my insufferable pontifications in the NYT. If it happens I had better get some thoughts and prayers from some pro life evangelicals. Thanks in advance. I don't mind dying but I resent that such an intimate event might have anything to do with Mr Trump. I was hoping so much to be around to see him voted out of the Oval Office.
8
Why do we keep banging our heads against the wall? Trump is what he is, a whiny, narcissistic con artist. He lacks the character, intellect, empathy and mental stability to guide us through this crisis. His numerous deficiencies have been evident since day 1 so why is anyone surprised he is incapable of rising to the task?
I try hard to listen to Pence, who unlike his boss exhibits competency and humanity, but when he frequently interjects comments solely to stroke trump’s ego, I can’t reach for the remote fast enough.
3
Could this be the moment when the child’s voice of truth is heard at last “But look! The Emperor has no clothes!”?
3
Kushner says he was “merely helping out” ? Yet he was “seen as in charge as the president’s chief speechwriter, Stephen Miller, wrote, and the communications office of the West Wing left out of the discussions”. That says volumes about the dysfunction and incompetence of the administration. Ignorant incompetent pretend leader being cosseted and fed his lines by people entirely unqualified to “help out”, let alone have JOBS in the WH, while anyone who actually knows something is pushed aside or ignored. How can this guy seriously be planning to run for re-election?
7
Of course, President Trump struggles to unify the nation. Look what the Democrats and their BFFs in the media have been doing to Trump since the day he beat Hillary Clinton for the Presidency. Don't play like you don't know what I mean. Even in this time of pandemic the attacks continue. Why? All for political advantage and a relentless quest to get rid of the man you hate simply because he took away the power you had when your party was in the White House. I am 76 years old and, in my lifetime, I never seen anything that has come close to what is being done by a political party and the press to a duly elected President. Now during this pandemic China, who started the pandemic has just threatened our country with turning off the drug supplies that we need to stay alive. How did our country manage to be so stupid as to allow about 80 of the manufacture of drugs we need to survive to China? There is one thing I know for sure. I wasn't Trump that man you hate. Trump ran on bringing manufacturing back to the United States and has been trying to convince our great corporations to do just that. Even his hated tariffs were designed to do that. When the news gets out that China threatened to withhold our drug supply, I can't wait to see how quickly the left will blame Trump. It is disgusting what the left is doing only to be outdone by China.
2
@NYChap
Trump is completely incompetent. People with any level of sense can see it and are nearly pointing it out to the poor folks who are dependent on Fox&Friends and Limbaugh to tell them what to think. If you are one of them, I suggest crawling back into your cult bubble.
I am literally sick of the Trump apologists.
1
There is not a thing Trump can do to please Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman.
1
“A person close to Mr. Kushner said his views were being misinterpreted, and that he was focused on trying to find answers to the most immediate measures to mitigate the virus’s spread.”
A person “close” to Mr. Kushner, huh. Just happens to get a good word in for him in the midst of this full-scale crisis. Access journalism does us no favors.
1
Trump (Con Don) is more than a bystander. He is an obstacle.
4
Did the President say something?
Amazing how fast we are able to enter a Post-Trump Era.
Trump is not "struggling" to unify the nation, as your headline suggests.
He is LYING to the nation, and citizens refuse to accept his lies.
It's really quite simple: one you use the L-word, Maggie and Peter, reporting the Trump presidency becomes a lot easier!
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Trump could unify the nation (at least the thinking part of the nation) by resigning and taking his clowncar cabinet and advisors and VP with him and allowing Nancy Pelosi to take over. Instantly faith in government would be restored by a smart woman who would surround herself with competent people and would bring the medical and scientific experts foreward to guide the nation out of this health crisis mess created by the lying, criminal, ignorant, incompetent Trump.
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Trump is a Born-Divider and it is more than impossible to unite the Americans . He reminds me of Nero who was playing flute when Rome was burning down. In this serious crisis moment, he is a clownish. Hannity and Rush Limbaugh think that coronavirus is a left wing conspiracy. The FOX TV and the right wing talk radio will blame Clinton and Obama for this virus. American leadership is absent to face this Pandemic.
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