Thread by @ASlavitt

COVID Update July 17: There’s a question as to how long Trump can suspend his departure from the facts & reality.

I don’t know the answer but, like it or not, the next several hundred days matter a great deal in the path of the virus. 1/

There is a virus ripping through the country & 2 views: 1 is that it’s not a big deal & being trumped up. The other view is that Trump catalyzes the damage by his negligence.

Neither view makes room for the fact that Trump has a possibility of acting to improve the situation. 2/

Forget which view you subscribe to, you can unify in your view that this is a thread you can hate & think is naive. Pleased to be of service. 3/

So to repeat— Trump’s supporters think he doesn’t need to do anything. And non-supporters think he won’t.

And while the Congress & the governors & indeed the rest of us can do SOME things, it sure would be nice if Trump did...well I will get to that. 4/

So far the response from Trump has been denial & deflection, disassembly (a d word for lying). I’m open to other “d” words as it’s Sesame Street’s letter of the day. 5/

The run of the mill propoganda has stepped up 1/2 a level. From “it’s a hoax” to hiding data, to denying the reality to blasting Fauci.

Other actions are more harmful. Encouraging people not to test or wear masks. Knowing that 18 states are in trouble & hiding that.6/

And the facts can be spun, explained, squinted at, turned upside down, cherry picked, wherever, but things are bad. The White House has leaked report at how bad it is. So they know.

It says 18 states on fire. More out of control. 70,000 positives & massive amounts untested. 7/

It’s possible that as many 1/500 people are now getting infected every day on many days— if you try to account for untested people. We join Brazil, South Africa & Russia with high out of control spread. 8/

Most people will recover. Some won’t. And some will stay sick. The burden falls on people who work hard for a living, live in close quarters, already have illnesses & are already the subject of discrimination.

So even if you don’t think you will die, the spread is horrible.9/

So what might cause him to take action, if anything?
And what action might he take if he did anything? 10/

What causes Trump to act?
-Death toll— no, too easy to deny the cause
-Rising case counts— no, that’s just testing
-People he knows getting infected— guess not
-Re-election— not his strategy

One obvious answer: warmth toward his fellow man.

No I meant the stock market. 11/

What kind of action might he take?

I’m not talking about anything grand.

I’m talking the kind of action that’s about equivalent to slapping on a mask over his chin & lower lip for 30 seconds to show he did it. That’s the type of action. 12/

So here’s some suggestions that might be in the ball park for Trump to take. 13/

1. Shut the hell up. This is in the just stop making it worse category. Tempted to tell people not to get tested? Don’t. Feel like having your goons bad mouth Anthony Fauci? Don’t. Push dish soap or Goya beans as a cure? Stop.

Degree of difficulty: 9
Importance: 3

14/

2. Say stuff. Yes, it’s the opposite of the first one. But stuff like, I don’t know, “be careful” of “try to socially distance.” Not super-punchy stuff, but at least some of his supporters might pay attention.

Degree of difficulty: 7
Importance: 3 15/

3. Don’t push the FDA to approve vaccines or treatments before we have clear data. Some restraint around the scientists would allow a vaccine to be here when ready & people to trust it.

Degree of difficulty: 6
Importance: 10 16/

4. Promote contact tracing & start taking accountability for testing & PPE.

Just kidding.

Unless forced to by Congress. See this from @SenSanders & I today. 17/

https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1284105557742432261

5. Reconvene the Task Force. You may he thinking what good does that do? But it is beyond my imagination not to have people working the problems all day long.

Degree of difficulty: 5
Importance: 4

18/

6. Don’t create more hot spots. I know the bar has been lowered a bit, but it would help if he didn’t actually light matches & spread the fire with his rallies.

Degree of difficulty: 7
Importance: 7

19/

7. Stop adding salt to the wounds. If he does none of the other 6 things, if he stops using the pandemic to hurt kids or export immigrants, kind of a win.

Under pressure, he walked back his international student deportation plan.

Degree of difficulty: 6
Importance: 8 20/

7 simple things. I don’t have broader ambitions. These would be small but important. Over 100 days left until the election. And if he were to lose, another 2 1/2 months in charge.

With cases doubling every 2-3 weeks, that’s a lot of time & too people to write off. 21/

So, call me crazy but if reality gets worse & we march into Fall, I don’t want to give up on this idea that we get him to partially act.

It won’t happen by itself. It will mean making noise when he stops publishing data & creates schemes like the one to export students. 22/

Thread finishes

https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1284232756352872448?s=21

https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1284232756352872448