As noted many times here and elsewhere, Trump’s role in preparing for and fighting the virus has been, in a word, inglorious. He minimized the threat in a vain hope to maintain confidence in the markets; when the crash came anyway in spite of his gaslighting and sales talk, he was nowhere to be found. The Fed and state and local officials have taken the lead in the battle, not him.
That’s about to change, if you believe Fox News. Trump and his friends have already completely flipped the switch on the narrative. Instead of calling it a small and easily manageable problem, the virus will be now viewed as an existential threat, and Trump will be portrayed as the tireless leader of the crusade against it. He will also take full credit for the Trump Bucks that will inevitably be showered on the electorate, even though it won’t happen without the cooperation of House Democrats who, unlike Senate Republicans, care more about their country than their political future.
If there is one thing Trump thinks he knows, it’s that he can always lie himself out of a tight spot. It’s up to us to make sure he doesn’t get away with it this time by preserving, remembering, and publicizing the real record on the virus.