[Genuine Realist]

I mean, imagine we are fighting a war and the President is constantly undermining the generals fighting it.  If Fauci no longer has the President's confidence, then the President should fire him, as is his authority and install someone who does.  I would disagree with it, but it certainly his right to have people who he trusts.  Instead, the President is undermining Fauci's authority, which seems designed to scapegoat Fauci and other public health experts.  As others have said on this board (including a couple people who are skeptical of reflexive anti-Trump messaging), this is reason enough to oppose him.


BC

Totally agree. It makes no sense at all to call someone incompetent yet retain them in the position. Trump wants COVID-19 to be "easy". It isn't easy,  it is a real bastard, as Fauci has stated. Trump can't fire Fauci, as Fauci is too popular. Trump can't jusr do waht Fauci suggests, as it would require admitting that Trump was wrong about the virus being "easy". So instead, we have cognitive dissonance at the POTUS level. Hopefully, that will change soon, but when it does, the virus will still be a bastard and we will still have a long fight ahead.

It's going to cost him the election (among other things).

What is astonishing is how unnecessary it all was. All you have to do to be effective is to behave Presidentially, basically saying 'there, there', expressing confidence in solutions and backing your scientists. There is even space for sensible political comment, against those governors and mayors who are more conservative than scientific consensus (Cody?) or whose orders have an arbitrary element. (Whitmer)

But Trump couldn't do it. His narcissism betrayed him. A classic example of one of Murphy's Laws, that nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

[Genuine Realist]

I mean, imagine we are fighting a war and the President is constantly undermining the generals fighting it.  If Fauci no longer has the President's confidence, then the President should fire him, as is his authority and install someone who does.  I would disagree with it, but it certainly his right to have people who he trusts.  Instead, the President is undermining Fauci's authority, which seems designed to scapegoat Fauci and other public health experts.  As others have said on this board (including a couple people who are skeptical of reflexive anti-Trump messaging), this is reason enough to oppose him.


BC

Totally agree. It makes no sense at all to call someone incompetent yet retain them in the position. Trump wants COVID-19 to be "easy". It isn't easy,  it is a real bastard, as Fauci has stated. Trump can't fire Fauci, as Fauci is too popular. Trump can't jusr do waht Fauci suggests, as it would require admitting that Trump was wrong about the virus being "easy". So instead, we have cognitive dissonance at the POTUS level. Hopefully, that will change soon, but when it does, the virus will still be a bastard and we will still have a long fight ahead.

It's going to cost him the election (among other things).

What is astonishing is how unnecessary it all was. All you have to do to be effective is to behave Presidentially, basically saying 'there, there', expressing confidence in solutions and backing your scientists. There is even space for sensible political comment, against those governors and mayors who are more conservative than scientific consensus (Cody?) or whose orders have an arbitrary element. (Whitmer)

But Trump couldn't do it. His narcissism betrayed him. A classic example of one of Murphy's Laws, that nature always sides with the hidden flaw.