Thread by @juliettekayyem

Thread on WH Homeland #coronavirus guidance and Trump extending it to April. The focus on the WH dynamics — concerns about polling, new modelling — almost always ignore the content of that guidance, making it seem like Trump’s change has any significance on the ground. Nope. 1/

Too much reporting suggests that the change Trump made means we are ready for the fight. It is true, his failure to extend deadline would have been a signal to his base. But the extension is nothing but the status quo which is no national standard at all. 2/

We are still not under any national standard with a unified plan. No United States. Instead we are seeing an apparatus move into the vacuum left by Trump. It’s called the “fail-safe” in disaster management. I explain here. @TheAtlantic
amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/60…
3/

Now look at and read the guidance. whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…

I took a picture (no comments) because visuals tell everything. 4/

See that dark blue text at bottom. That is the only text, hidden in dark like a footnote, on real social distancing (schools etc) and then leaves it to states and employers with “evidence of community transmission.” Evidence? Hah. It’s a punt, guidance removed from reality. 5/

Trump wants it that way for reasons that are beyond analysis anymore. But it’s more evidence that Trump wants the pretense of leading without actually doing so. The news commentary about the extension gives him the benefit of the doubt. Don’t. 6/

He has, I continue to believe, made himself irrelevant to the task at hand. More will die than need to because of his leadership from the start. Others fill the vacuum, giving us hope. Trump won’t change. And you’ll be more hopeful, not less, if you accepted that too. 7/7