Last night Donald Trump delivered a nationally-televised address to the nation on the coronavirus. It was a disaster. And he followed-up today with an equally bad press conference.
- Following his speech, Trump’s administration had to clarify facts about his travel ban on multiple occasions.
- Trump’s failure to calm fears, tell the truth, and get his facts straight last night resulted in the stock market’s free-fall today.
- Today Anthony Fauci told Congress that the country is failing in its attempt to test for the virus.
- Less than an hour later, Trump said that “testing has been going very smooth…if you go to the right area you get the test. We are very much ahead of everything.” This, of course, is not true.
- Also today, the president said that all Americans coming back to the country from Europe were being tested for the coronavirus. That is not true. Some of these travelers are getting screened, but they are not getting tested for the virus at the airport.
The criticism of Trump’s handling of the virus is coming from some unlikely places.
After a briefing with senators, conservative Republican Jim Lankford of Oklahoma said, “We couldn’t get a good, clear answer on when we are going to get commercial testing out there, labs that can get faster responses.” He said that the president’s claim that anyone who wants a test for the virus can get it is incorrect.
Here is Trump’s court journalist (at least among evangelicals) David Brody of Christian Broadcasting Network:
On Friday March 6th, @realDonaldTrump said, “Anybody that needs a test gets a test.”That is 100% FALSE. Full stop. He was wrong then and it’s wrong today too. Many American citizens want a #coronavirus test right now but can’t get access to one. This is a MAJOR FAILURE. @POTUS pic.twitter.com/fvAUqQzf1f
— David Brody (@DavidBrodyCBN) March 12, 2020
Trump’s speech did not go well. But that did not stop some of the court evangelicals from praising it:
Here is Robert Jeffress:
President @realDonaldTrump delivered a strong, pitch-perfect address to the nation tonight! Thank God for a leader like Donald Trump at a time like this.
— Dr. Robert Jeffress (@robertjeffress) March 12, 2020
Dallas-area megachurch pastor Jack Graham was comforted by the speech.
The President brought a clear and calming address to the nation tonight. His confidence is comforting. We should all be Americans and support one another. America will beat this and God will help us overcome
— Jack Graham (@jackngraham) March 12, 2020
And here is Trump’s boy wonder Charlie Kirk:
RT if you’re thankful Donald Trump is in charge tonight during this China Virus outbreak and NOT Joe Biden
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 12, 2020
As I said in another recent piece, the court evangelicals will never criticize the president. He holds them and their public faith captive.