First it was on, then it was off, then it was suddenly back on again. No, we're not talking about the latest episode of The Bachelor. Trump's daily coronavirus briefing was originally on the books for Monday, then canceled, then suddenly rescheduled over the span of several head-spinning hours.
Though Trump had mused Sunday about canceling the daily briefings altogether because they just weren't "worth the time," Trump ultimately just couldn't cede the limelight. The draw of telling millions of Americans to ingest disinfectant during a live briefing was simply too powerful for Trump to pass up. And once again, Trump delivered a bevy of attack-ad worthy moments that will leave Republican lawmakers both aghast and increasingly fearful for their prospects in November.
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Among the highlights was Trump once again shirking any responsibility for his actions as leader of this country during a global pandemic. When he was told that Maryland reported an increase in people ingesting disinfectant following his spitballing session last week, Trump responded, "I can't imagine why. I can't imagine why." When the reporter immediately followed up with, "Do you take any responsibility?" Trump simply said, "No, I don't."
Asked about the potential that the second quarter will mark the greatest decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since the Great Depression, Trump assured reporters a “recovery” was on the way, taking full credit for the once-roaring economy that was mostly built on Barack Obama's watch.
"They were just telling me inside, and it’s fact, I built the greatest economy—with the help of 325 million people—I built the greatest economy in the history of the world," Trump boasted, personifying the classic saying: Born on third base, thinks he hit a triple. But it was big of Trump to give a shoutout to the American people while trying to claim sole credit for an economy he's now destroying.
Finally, Trump was asked both the best and last question of the press conference: "If an American president loses more Americans over the course of six weeks than died over the entirety of the Vietnam War, does he deserve to be reelected?"
Trump quoted original projections of perhaps 2.2 million deaths (which was always a worst-case projection if the U.S. did absolutely nothing at all), then predicted: "We're probably headed for 60,000, 70,000." Apparently no one's told Trump we've already topped 55,000 deaths this week and will almost surely surpass 60,000 by week's end. Trump noted that even one death was too many—he was very clearly briefed on Washington Post reporting that after blathering on for 13 total briefing hours, he had only dedicated 4.5 minutes to expressing condolences for coronavirus victims. But ultimately Trump said: "I think we've made a lot of good decisions" (repeated twice) and "I think we've done a great job" and (again, because he was briefed) "one person is too many."
After that question, Trump lost his appetite for more inquiries and ended the briefing immediately.
But in short, yes, Trump thinks he deserves reelection no matter what, he takes no responsibility for any death and destruction he’s caused, yet he takes full credit for building the greatest economy in the history of world. Trump 2020: All credit, no blame.
Here are some of the key moments:
