Recklessness could cost US president dearly
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s reckless disregard for the lives of others unsurprisingly plays very poorly. The latest CNN poll (taken before he left Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre late on Monday) finds “69pc of Americans said they trusted little of what they heard from the White House about the president’s health, with only 12pc saying they trusted almost all of it”.
In addition: “Disapproval of the president’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak stands at a new high in the survey, with 60pc saying they disapprove. Additionally, 63pc say his own infection is unlikely to change anything about the way that he handles the pandemic.”
As one might imagine, Trump gets especially poor marks from groups with whom he has been struggling to gain traction all year: “Among women, 72pc say Trump acted irresponsibly. That stands at 66pc among those 65 and older as well as among independents, and 65pc among whites with college degrees.”
As a result, Trump’s overall job approval is down to 40pc; his disapproval is up to 57pc. Other polls echo the overwhelming distrust Trump provokes. A Morning Consult/Politico poll finds that 63pc of voters say he didn’t take enough precautions, while less than a quarter say he did. Overall, “our latest daily tracking of the 2020 race finds [Democratic presidential nominee] Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by nine percentage points – 52pc to 43pc – his largest margin since late August”.
That’s due, in large part, to his rising appeal among women. With just four weeks to go, Trump’s election position is getting worse. FiveThirtyEight has his national average margin inching above eight points. In states that Biden needs not win, such as Arizona, his lead is substantial (eight percentage points in the recent New York Times/ Siena poll.)
It is easy to imagine the perception of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus getting even worse and his deficit against Biden even larger. As noted, these polls do not reflect Trump’s Monday tweet telling Americans – after watching more than 209,000 of their countrymen die from Covid-19 – that they should not let the disease “dominate” their lives.
Nor does it reflect Trump returning to the White House in a highly contagious state. And it does not reflect his Evita-like display on the White House balcony, nor his removing of his mask before re-entering the White House.
We already know that at least 30 people in Trump’s orbit have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and there are likely to be more. With each confirmed case and – God forbid – death, Trump’s blithe disregard for others’ health will look worse. With more cases, the White House’s refusal to level with its own staff about when Trump last tested negative, or even the number of those infected, will seem even more cruel and inexplicable.
Moreover, the Trump team seems intent on mocking others for taking life-saving precautions. Now we hear that vicepresident Mike Pence is mocking senator Kamala Harris for taking a sensible step to protect herself during the vicepresidential debate. Senior Biden adviser and former Ebola response coordinator, Ronald Klain, tweeted his dismay: “The head of the WH Task Force on Covid should be busy getting plexiglass into countless workplaces and shops to keep workers and shoppers safe – not belittling its use.”
Pence’s comments convey the very attitude that is pushing voters away, yet the Trump campaign feels compelled to double down on reckless rhetoric. Biden hardly needs to run ads anymore. Trump is the best possible voice to persuade Americans that he does not care one bit about those around him, let alone the whole country. (© Washington Post)