‘The Show’ Comes First for Trump

Washington Post: “The novel coronavirus has decimated the economy, turned hospitals into battlefields, and upended the daily lives of every American. But in Trump’s White House, certain symptoms remain: A president who governs as if producing and starring in a reality television show, with each day a new episode — and each news cycle his own creation, a successive installment to be conquered.”

“Facing a global pandemic, Trump still seems to lurch from moment to moment, with his methods and messages each day disconnected from — and in some cases contradictory to — the ones just prior. The pattern reveals a commander in chief unsure of how to defeat the ‘silent enemy,’ as he has labeled it.”

“Instead, Trump has focused on his self-image — claiming credit wherever he believes it is owed, attempting to project strength and decisiveness, settling scores with critics, boasting about the ratings of his televised news conferences, and striving to win the cable news and social media wars.”