Posted on 03/17/2020 3:40:15 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON - He called on the country to come together. He warned of pain to come. And he deferred to the nations public health experts while at least momentarily putting aside petty squabbling.
After weeks of trying to play down the risk posed by the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump struck a new, more urgent tone on Monday as he delivered a sobering message to Americans grappling with a new reality that will dramatically alter their lives for months to come.
Trumps more somber tone came as he addressed the public at a White House briefing and made a direct appeal to all Americans to do their part to halt the pandemics spread.
Gone - at least for now - were Trumps do as I say, not as I do handshakes that had continued even after health experts admonished people to avoid contact and practice social distancing. Also gone was the rosy talk aimed, in part, at propping up reeling financial markets.
The shift was informed in part by a growing realization within the West Wing that the coronavirus crisis is an existential threat to Trumps presidency, endangering his reelection and his legacy. Trump has told advisers that he now believes the virus will be a significant general election issue and he took note of the clear-eyed, somber tone used by his likely general election foe, Joe Biden, in Sundays Democratic debate.
National crises are times of testing for presidents, and after days of shrinking from the urgency, Trump approached the moment with newfound gravity.
For all of that, though, Trump was still Trump. He said he would award himself a 10-out-of-10 rating. And on Twitter, he was still needling a longtime political foe, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has called for a more assertive federal response.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
In that article I said "Here's my prediction: Starting Monday Rush and President Trump will change their tone completely. Rush especially will acknowledge the threat and shift toward optimism about getting through it and working together to defeat it."
It’s been years and no, I haven’t been following the thread :-)
See post #s 42 and 43 for additional hints. That’s the best I can do. :)
Partisan Media Shills update.
And that with only a few dozen dead. Remember ‘09-’10 Swine Flu when over a thousand were dead before Obama took any action?
Teach them the 3-square and fold method; conserves it nicely and gets the job done.
From predominantly AFRICAN countries? That will NOT amuse the Chinese!
I’ve been wondering that myself.
FYAP!! I’m listening to Trump’s press conference right now. Listen to these media jackals trying to get Trump to trip up or say something that could help them spread more panic. It’s not just a cliche. The media really is the enemy. They could be trying to build confidence and educating people on how to stay safe and reduce spread but no.
Why do we publish fake news lies here? I forget.
Oh now I remember - we are gathering intel - so we can know how the enemy thinks. Right.
Johnson
:)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.