[Genuine Realist]

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.

Trump's behavior since the point in time that the medical community reached a consensus that C-!9 was no ordinary seasonal flu )approximately March 1st)  has been beyond despicable. The opposition criticized him for unresponsiveness, to some extent unfairly, but unfair criticism is the heat that comes in the Presidential kitchen. Rather than shake it off and get on with the business of addressing the most serious national crisis since World War II (no exaggeration), he goes - as always - eyeball to eyeball with them, belittling them AND the C-19 crisis, thereby endangering both lives and the economy.

So now in June we have a public that is divided on the means and ends, an inevitability in American politics when the government exercises authority as drastic as SIP - but one in which the President should - must - be a unifying force. Trump. however, has made his way on deliberately divisive confrontational politics, and knows no other way. The result is a completely disastrous Administration that will be mercifully gone in November. Then maybe we can begin to pick up the shattered remnants of the political dialog. If the New York Times went bankrupt on the same day, it would be proof of the existence of God. But that's too much to hope for.

The fact that the case against Trump in the early stages (when everyone was trying to figure this thing out) makes the case against him once the clinical data did coalesce to critical mass all the worse.

[Genuine Realist]

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.

Trump's behavior since the point in time that the medical community reached a consensus that C-!9 was no ordinary seasonal flu )approximately March 1st)  has been beyond despicable. The opposition criticized him for unresponsiveness, to some extent unfairly, but unfair criticism is the heat that comes in the Presidential kitchen. Rather than shake it off and get on with the business of addressing the most serious national crisis since World War II (no exaggeration), he goes - as always - eyeball to eyeball with them, belittling them AND the C-19 crisis, thereby endangering both lives and the economy.

So now in June we have a public that is divided on the means and ends, an inevitability in American politics when the government exercises authority as drastic as SIP - but one in which the President should - must - be a unifying force. Trump. however, has made his way on deliberately divisive confrontational politics, and knows no other way. The result is a completely disastrous Administration that will be mercifully gone in November. Then maybe we can begin to pick up the shattered remnants of the political dialog. If the New York Times went bankrupt on the same day, it would be proof of the existence of God. But that's too much to hope for.

The fact that the case against Trump in the early stages (when everyone was trying to figure this thing out) makes the case against him once the clinical data did coalesce to critical mass all the worse.