Coronavirus poses new challenge to Trump's re-election bid

[webfact]

Coronavirus poses new challenge to Trump's re-election bid

By Steve Holland and Joseph Ax

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the U.S response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic during an address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 11, 2020. Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump faced one of the gravest threats of his political career as the coronavirus pandemic spread, leaving fellow Republicans to worry that the White House's response and the hit to the economy would harm his re-election prospects.

 

U.S. stock market indexes that Trump has touted throughout his term as evidence of his success plunged into bear market territory on Thursday - a day after he tried to calm Americans' fears with an Oval Office address that promised economic stimulus and a 30-day travel ban for Europeans.

 

Some Republicans worried that the measures were too little, too late for an administration that for several weeks minimized the risk of the COVID-19 respiratory disease caused by the virus that has killed at least 39 Americans.

 

"The president's early downplaying and politicizing of the virus hurt his credibility and will make people question the administration's readiness from now until the day this passes," said Mike DuHaime, a Republican strategist who ran Chris Christie’s gubernatorial campaigns in New Jersey.

 

"The president's greatest strength has been the economy. If the stock markets continue to tank, and real people begin to hurt financially, it will hurt the president politically."

 

Trump emerged triumphant last month after his Senate acquittal in a Democratic-led impeachment drive, ready to ride high on a strong economy as a crowded field of Democratic candidates bickered over who was best to take him on in November's general election.

 

The narrative quickly changed. Moderate Democrats in the past two weeks have consolidated their support behind former Vice President Joe Biden over liberal Senator Bernie Sanders. They are betting that Biden can draw support from across the party, as well as from suburban moderates and disaffected Republicans.

 

Biden seized the chance to offer a contrast to American voters with his own coronavirus speech on Thursday. He lambasted the administration's handling of the crisis while seeking to portray himself as a steady, experienced hand in the face of a public health emergency.

 

"I'd rather be Joe Biden than Trump right now," said a Republican official close to the White House. "A month ago, Trump is looking at Bernie Sanders and a strong economy and rising favourability after impeachment. Coronavirus cannot have a positive impact."

 

Trump's re-election campaign defended the president's actions and in a statement accused Biden of trying to "capitalize politically and stoke citizens' fears."

 

The growing threat from the coronavirus forced Trump on Thursday to reverse course and suspend his large campaign rallies.

 

"The safety, security and health of the American People is President Trump's top priority right now," the Trump campaign said in a text.

 

'ADVERSARIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TRUTH'

Noting that Trump had called the disease a "foreign virus," Biden warned against "xenophobia" and said the coronavirus "does not discriminate based on national origin, race, gender or ZIP code."

 

Biden laid out his own plan for dealing with the outbreak, including emergency paid sick leave for workers and widely available free testing for the virus, saying the number of tests should number in the "millions, not the thousands." The Trump administration has been criticized for failing to produce enough tests to meet demand.

 

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden on Thursday lambasted Republican President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus outbreak, accusing him of having an "adversarial relationship with the truth" and ignoring scientific advice.

 

"This virus laid bare the severe shortcomings of the current administration," the former vice president said in his 20-minute address from his home state of Delaware. "Public fears are being compounded by pervasive lack of trust in this president fuelled by an adversarial relationship with the truth."

 

Sanders, who has vowed to remain in the race despite lengthening odds, also bashed Trump's handling of the crisis. He called for stronger action by government agencies to halt the spread of the virus and measures like paid sick leave and unemployment compensation for those affected.

 

"During a crisis we must make sure that we care for the communities most vulnerable to health and economic pain," Sanders told reporters in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.

 

A Trump supporter and fundraiser said the coronavirus outbreak had been politicized, like every issue in the United States.

 

"The battle lines are drawn," said Jim Worthington, a health club executive in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. "If you like Trump, you think he’s done all the things right, like cutting off travel to China. If you’re a Democrat, you think the opposite.

 

"I think he’s been ahead of the issue, and the media has really overhyped it," Worthington said, adding that he thought the virus should be taken seriously.

 

The crisis has reshaped the contours of the presidential campaign. Democratic officials announced on Thursday that Sunday's televised debate between Biden and Sanders would be moved to Washington from Arizona.

 

Officials had already decided not to allow an audience into the debate hall, citing contagion concerns.

 

Biden, Sanders and Trump have all cancelled campaign events in recent days after warnings from public health officials about holding large-scale gatherings. Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio hold Democratic nominating contests on Tuesday.

 

Biden's campaign on Wednesday converted planned rallies in Florida and Illinois into "virtual" campaign events and on Thursday said that all campaign staff would begin to work from home beginning Saturday. Sanders' staffers will also work from home, reaching out to voters online instead of holding large events or door-to-door canvasses, his campaign said Thursday.

 

One Republican strategist said Trump's handling of the coronavirus was hurting him now but that it was too soon to gauge its impact on his long-term political prospects. Reuters/Ipsos polling from March 9-10 showed 55% of Americans disapproved of Trump, while 40% approved, largely unchanged from the past year.

 

“A few weeks ago, the president’s supporters were very dismissive of the virus. Today, they are being very silent,” the Republican political operative said. “It’s a supply chain issue, and he’s the supply chain president. When he says we have test kits on the ground and we don’t, that’s a real problem."

 

(Reporting Steve Holland in Washington and Joseph Ax in Princeton, New Jersey, additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw, Susan Heavey and Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-13

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[Kelsall]

Yet another "This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump" stories.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Kelsall

[Tug]

20 minutes ago, Kelsall said:

Yet another "This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump" stories.

Well he certainly is bungling the response to the covid 19 and the stock market has been slaughtered so yea he’s failing the test big time rite now do his people vet what he says off the TelePrompTer or are they so cowed to let him say what he says him saying all trade with Europe suspended for 30 days is #1 not true and an epic blunder for a potus to say when trying to calm a nation and international commerce blindsiding our allies abroad lies about testing he’s pathetic naaa he’s doing it to himself 

[bkk6060]

I mostly like Trump, but I do no think he has done a great job so far with this.

And, he seems low energy and unengaged.  Not sure if he still thinks it is not a big deal, he is sick, or what.

Just not showing much leadership at this point.

[lannarebirth]

3 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I mostly like Trump, but I do no think he has done a great job so far with this.

And, he seems low energy and unengaged.  Not sure if he still thinks it is not a big deal, he is sick, or what.

Just not showing much leadership at this point.

Because you can't bullshiit a virus.

Edited March 12, 2020 by lannarebirth

[geriatrickid]

The USA has bungled its response to the pandemic and it reflects directly on the President because he was giving false assurances that all was under control and that testing was available to anyone who requested it. He has kept repeating this deceit despite the fact that test kits are still rationed and that clinics and hospitals cannot access them. 1 Million kits were promised to health facilities by the end of last week. Those test kits never arrived. I too thought they would be delivered.

 

Months ago, WHO offered test kits that were approved & accepted by 60+ countries. The test kits were developed in conjunction with experts primarily drawn from health care advanced countries including the USA.  The USA declined and said it would organize its own test kits with the for profit sector. Fair enough and one would expect that the USA would manage that. The private sector has delivered in the past and has worked well with the government previously. Not this time.

 

In the absence of national leadership, vital weeks were squandered with mistake after mistake made. The deficiencies of the US health system are on display for all to see now as Dr. Fauci admitted before Congress that the USA does not have the national infrastructure with which to administer testing even if it wanted to and hasn't addressed that issue either.  The USA is  turning to draconian measures now because it has no means of identifying  parts of its country where there are large numbers of  infections.  No testing is leaving state health officials blind. The CDC is demoralized and rudderless with an increasing number of health professionals frustrated. The USA is filled with an abundance of skilled competent professionals but they have been handcuffed by an administration reluctant to commit to the needed response strategy.

 

It is inexcusable that so many errors and blunders have been made. As the infections grow, hospitals will fill. The outcome could be worse than in Italy because the USA has fewer hospital beds per person than Italy. It doesn't have the health professional to patients ratio that Italy has either. (And the USA is not alone in that regard, because countries like the UK & Canada are even worse and in some respects just as clueless.) This could have been avoided. Instead, the USA has lost a good month in preparing for the pandemic. The public will  appreciate the severity of this crisis when they start seeing  people dying and when it hits the red states hard. And yes, it will those red states hard because they have some of the most dire health care facilities.  Watch what happens in Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia.

 

There is no excuse for this. It's a third world response and the US administration must get those test kits into the field now. Hand the task over to the US military logistics  specialists if need be but get the  test kits  delivered and  in use. Let the health specialists do what they need to do without the  concern for political spin that is crippling the response.

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by geriatrickid

[lannarebirth]

3 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

The USA has bungled its response to the pandemic and it reflects directly on the President because he was giving false assurances that all was under control and that testing was available to anyone who requested it. He has kept repeating this deceit despite the fact that  test kits are still rationed and that clinics and hospitals cannot access them. 1 Million kits were promised to health facilities by the end of last week. Those test kits never arrived.

 

Months ago, WHO offered test kits that were approved & accepted by 60+ countries. The test kits were developed in conjunction with experts primarily drawn from health care advanced countries including the USA.  The USA declined and said it would organize its own test kits with the for profit sector. Fair enough and one would expect that the USA would manage that. The private sector  has delivered in the past.

 

In the absence of national leadership, months went by with mistake after mistake made. The  deficiencies of the US health system are on display for all to see now as Dr. Fauci admitted before Congress that the USA does not have the national infrastructure with which to administer testing even if it wanted to.  The USA is  turning to draconian measures now because it has no means of identifying  parts of its countries where there are large numbers of  infections.  No testing is leaving state  health officials blind. The CDC is moribound, rudderless with an increasing number of health professionals frustrated.

 

It is inexcusable that so many errors and blunders have been made. As the infections grow hospitals will fill and it will be worse than in Italy because the USA has fewer hospital beds per person than Italy. It doesn't have the health professional to patients ratio that Italy has either. (And the USA is not alone in that regard, because countries like the UK &  are even worse.) This could have been avoided. Instead, the USA has lost a good month in preparing for the pandemic. The public will  appreciate the severity of this crisis when they start seeing  people dying and when it hits the red states hard. And yes, it will those red states hard because they have some of the most dire health care facilities.  Watch what happens in Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia.

 

There is no excuse for this. It's a third world response and the US administration must get those test kits into the field now. Hand the task over to the US military logistics  specialists if need be but get the  test kits  delivered and  in use.

 

 

Excellent post. While I am generally against inappropriate use of military personnel I think that's just what needs to happen now. As you say, their logistics are unparalleled and they have the ability to cut through one hell of a lot of red tape.

[cmarshall]

The question is whether the Dems can make the truth stick in the face of the powerful Republican spin machine.  

[sirineou]

This whole thing came as a surprise to trump. It's not like it was happening anywhere else in the world for 4 months. 

[JimmyTheMook]

17 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I mostly like Trump, but I do no think he has done a great job so far with this.

And, he seems low energy and unengaged.  Not sure if he still thinks it is not a big deal, he is sick, or what.

Just not showing much leadership at this point.

 

Just like Biden he is an old white goat who has not had a good erection in years, let alone a good lay so unless within a few months time Moses himself parts the proverbial Red Sea allowing the markets to rebound and COVID-19 subsides - he's done.......

 

 

[heybruce]

Trump set us up for failure on this a long time ago:

 

" In 2018, the Trump administration fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command, including the White House management infrastructure. In numerous phone calls and emails with key agencies across the U.S. government, the only consistent response I encountered was distressed confusion. If the United States still has a clear chain of command for pandemic response, the White House urgently needs to clarify what it is—not just for the public but for the government itself, which largely finds itself in the dark."   https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/31/coronavirus-china-trump-united-states-public-health-emergency-response/

[Lacessit]

The US election IMO will pivot on whether Americans can absorb the pain of a bear stock market. It's hard to think of an election which did not have the hip pocket nerve to the fore.

[metisdead]

Some offensive posts and the replies have been removed. 

[Chomper Higgot]

Trump’s a great guy when you want a President to say or do outrageous or offensive things to upset lefty liberals or if you are amused by name calling.

 

 

But that’s not what’s needed now.

 

 

There’s a virus stalking Americans, lives are being lost, people are afraid for themselves and for those they love. The stock market is tumbling, life savings and genuine fears for the economy.

 

What’s needed is a leader who speaks the truth to the American people, somebody with integrity and credibility.

 

Trump’s charade of lies and play acting fall way short of what Americans need right now.

 

His incompetence, his dismissal of expert advice and his earlier vandalism of of firing the Pandemic Response Team and cutting funding to the CDC are having tragic life threatening consequences.

 

Trump is not up to the job, he needs to go.

 

[Chomper Higgot]

I can’t wait to see his approval ratings in the months to come.

 

 

[geriatrickid]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I can’t wait to see his approval ratings in the months to come.

I fear that it will come at a cost: The suffering and hardship of millions of Americans and the needless deaths of thousands, some whom are our most vulnerable.

 

[Paul Henry]

It will all end OK.Trump has an uncle who is a medical genius and has pass the genes onto Trump who will wave his magic wand and banish the virus to those <deleted> house countries where the sick robbers and rapists come from. Potus will panic when he or other high up republicans get the virus (I am not wishing this on anybody) Being the coward that he is,he will deny reality and continue with his lies and misrepresented facts Until it hits close to home. It was  his financial cuts that put the USA behind the rest of the world.

[cmarshall]

15 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

Potus will panic when he or other high up republicans get the virus (I am not wishing this on anybody) 

You're a better man than I.

[GalaxyMan]

1 hour ago, heybruce said:

Trump set us up for failure on this a long time ago:

 

" In 2018, the Trump administration fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command, including the White House management infrastructure. In numerous phone calls and emails with key agencies across the U.S. government, the only consistent response I encountered was distressed confusion. If the United States still has a clear chain of command for pandemic response, the White House urgently needs to clarify what it is—not just for the public but for the government itself, which largely finds itself in the dark."   https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/31/coronavirus-china-trump-united-states-public-health-emergency-response/

And he's doubling down, still calling for a 15% reduction in the CDC budget allocation. Talk about eat up with dumb! ????

[Boon Mee]

3 hours ago, Kelsall said:

Yet another "This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump" stories.

Exactly. 

As if there's an option? 

Joe Biden? 

Hillary Clinton? 

These Doom-merchants think that this Wuhan Flu is going to bring Trump down? 555 

 

MAGA 

[PremiumLane]

3 hours ago, Kelsall said:

Yet another "This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump" stories.

I am sure you will blame it all on the 'deep state' and say the virus was made up... cos Uncle Donny messed up once again, you need to make excuses for him

[Eric Loh]

This editorial chronicled Trump’s mishandling the crisis in order to avoid a political fallout. Instead, his action has put the country in danger and will cause him the re-election.

 

it was reported that he was briefed by his Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar about the virus as early as January but he had trouble getting Trump’s full attention. Trump commented that Alex was pushing him to insert himself into a controversial political issue. 
 

Trump’s WH aides who shared the broad right-wing view were also to be blamed for trying to keep the issue off the president’s agenda. 
 

Any advise by health experts were overruled by Trump who fear the impact on the economy and try to save his re-election. 
 

He is not much different from the CCP shielding the virus in Wuhan when it first happened in December. 

 

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/were-watching-trumps-probable-election-demise-in-real-time.html

[J Town]

No concern. The Democrats are beyond ridiculous, shooting themselves in the foot again and again. Biden, a gentle fool exhibiting signs of early onset dementia doesn't stand a chance.

[Berkshire]

2 hours ago, GalaxyMan said:

It's strange and even perverse to think that we might look back on Covid-19 with gratitude if it helps to get rid of Trump. ????

The thing is, Trump could have easily used this crisis to help his standing.  He could have shown decisive, bi-partisan leadership.  He could have been the President that many of us hoped he would be, even if we didn't initially support him.  But he's just not capable.  He's a spiteful little man who thinks he can con and lie his way through the presidency.  He almost pulled it off....almost.   

[sukhumvitneon]

As if low energy Biden (99% for certain to be the DNC nominee) has anything at all going for him.  As much as I hated Hillary, she was at least sharp and on point during the presidential debates in 2016. Biden by comparison looks like a tired, lethargic old man on the debate stage. 

[lannarebirth]

13 minutes ago, J Town said:

No concern. The Democrats are beyond ridiculous, shooting themselves in the foot again and again. Biden, a gentle fool exhibiting signs of early onset dementia doesn't stand a chance.

Could be, but at least he will be surrounded by technocrats rather than sycophants. Nowhere near perfect but a vast improvement.

[J Town]

22 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

Could be, but at least he will be surrounded by technocrats rather than sycophants. Nowhere near perfect but a vast improvement.

But he has to win first, and that's just not gonna happen.

[welovesundaysatspace]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

As if there's an option? 

You could put a monkey there. Anyone would be more competent than Donald Dumb. 

[atyclb]

4 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

Because you can't bullshiit a virus.

 

 

priceless

[Jonnapat]

5 hours ago, Kelsall said:

Yet another "This is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump" stories.

Sure hope so