Trump has been unable to shift away from boosterism, from pretending that everything is great on his watch, even in a pandemic 1/ nytimes.com/2020/05/21/opi…
What's remarkable is that this isn't just a crime, it's a mistake. During the brief period when it seemed as if Trump might be taking Covid-19 seriously, his approval surged, only to collapse as he reverted to type 2/ abcnews.go.com/Politics/black… 
Ezra Klein finds it puzzling that conservatives, who are usually more fearful than liberals, are so dismissive of the coronavirus. Applies to Trump, too: remember his talk of "American carnage" in an era of <20K homicides per year 3/ vox.com/2020/5/21/2126…
But I think there's a simple answer: Trump and those like him are fear mongers when that provides an excuse to punish people, especially nonwhites. They don't want to hear about risks that require self-discipline 4/
Final point: Trump may want to ignore the coronavirus, but the public may not oblige. Georgia has reopened, but its residents aren't going out and spending 5/ politico.com/news/2020/05/2…
OpenTable reservations still down 85% from a year ago 6/ opentable.com/state-of-indus…
