[terry]

By the way – I don’t believe Trump had the authority to order states to tell people to shelter in place.  Anymore than he had the authority to order states to open up their economies.  You no doubt remember when he made that comment and was blasted for it. As he should’ve been.

No, Trump didn't have the legal authority to order "shelter in place." But he had the platform to exercise leadership. The President is in a unique position. He's the guy with the bully pulpit. He could have used his position to drive home the risks, to explain the difficulty of beating the virus, and to call for sacrifice. He could have used his influence to convince the public and the governors that "shelter in place" was a necessity. He could have issued guidelines pushing for "shelter in place" well before most states or counties actually imposed it. He could have given the governors political cover to impose restrictions. He could have got out in front of the virus, shaped public opinion, and exercised leadership. Instead, Trump insisted on denying the risk, misrepresenting reality, and telling people the virus would just go away.

There was a brief period of time in mid-to-late March when it looked like Trump was finally taking the virus seriously. He finally seemed to admit the risk and the possible range of fatalities. He issued federal guidelines for "15 Days to Slow the Spread." The recommendations in those guidelines were weak, but better than nothing. It seemed that Trump had woken up to reality at last. Trump's approval rating moved up a couple of points during this time, possibly because it looked like he actually might start acting the way a President ought to act.

But Trump's awakening to reality was short-lived (as was the bump in his approval ratings). Soon he was back to denying the risk, spreading misinformation, and insisting that all was well. Instead of supporting the states' efforts to fight the virus, he largely left them to fend for themselves, and in some cases actively tried to undermine their public health measures. He made masks into a political statement rather than a common-sense public health precaution. A failure of leadership.

[terry]

By the way – I don’t believe Trump had the authority to order states to tell people to shelter in place.  Anymore than he had the authority to order states to open up their economies.  You no doubt remember when he made that comment and was blasted for it. As he should’ve been.

No, Trump didn't have the legal authority to order "shelter in place." But he had the platform to exercise leadership. The President is in a unique position. He's the guy with the bully pulpit. He could have used his position to drive home the risks, to explain the difficulty of beating the virus, and to call for sacrifice. He could have used his influence to convince the public and the governors that "shelter in place" was a necessity. He could have issued guidelines pushing for "shelter in place" well before most states or counties actually imposed it. He could have given the governors political cover to impose restrictions. He could have got out in front of the virus, shaped public opinion, and exercised leadership. Instead, Trump insisted on denying the risk, misrepresenting reality, and telling people the virus would just go away.

There was a brief period of time in mid-to-late March when it looked like Trump was finally taking the virus seriously. He finally seemed to admit the risk and the possible range of fatalities. He issued federal guidelines for "15 Days to Slow the Spread." The recommendations in those guidelines were weak, but better than nothing. It seemed that Trump had woken up to reality at last. Trump's approval rating moved up a couple of points during this time, possibly because it looked like he actually might start acting the way a President ought to act.

But Trump's awakening to reality was short-lived (as was the bump in his approval ratings). Soon he was back to denying the risk, spreading misinformation, and insisting that all was well. Instead of supporting the states' efforts to fight the virus, he largely left them to fend for themselves, and in some cases actively tried to undermine their public health measures. He made masks into a political statement rather than a common-sense public health precaution. A failure of leadership.