Things are not going well for President Trump.
A slew of national polls show him trailing Joe Biden, the United States’ coronavirus death tolls has marched past 120,000, and the President can’t do much other than shrug off all the bad news — or avoid it altogether.
Even a town hall Thursday evening in Wisconsin with Fox News host Sean Hannity —a home-field advantage for the president — failed to give Trump a boost to his mood.
When Hannity asked the president about his second-term priorities, Trump avoided the question and simply stated that “talent is more important than experience.” He added that he didn’t arrive in Washington with much experience four years ago but now knows everybody in the capital.
Asked what his top priorities for a second term are, Trump can't name a single thing pic.twitter.com/fF6xXaDAy0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2020
In a lengthy and difficult-to-discern stream of consciousness, Trump then railed against former National Security Adviser John Bolton, whose book about the Trump administration has dominated headlines over the past week. But Trump’s response had nothing to do with the original question Hannity asked.
“You make some mistakes. Like, you know, an idiot like Bolton. The only thing he wanted to do was drop bombs on everybody. You don’t have to drop bombs on everybody. You don’t have to kill people,” Trump said.
Hours after the interview, Trump took to Twitter just before midnight to reignite a losing PR battle over his failures to manage the coronavirus pandemic. He declared that only “embers” remain from a crisis that has already claimed the lives of more than 120,000 people in the United States and continues to spread like wildfire with daily records for positive cases set in places like Arizona, Florida and Texas.
Coronavirus deaths are way down. Mortality rate is one of the lowest in the World. Our Economy is roaring back and will NOT be shut down. “Embers” or flare ups will be put out, as necessary!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2020
His comments that minor “flare ups” would be snuffed out come as the European Union prepares to impose a travel ban on American travelers to EU countries due to the American president’s failures to manage the crisis.
During the Fox town hall, Trump also appeared resigned to a loss to Biden in November, arguing that he may suffer a loss because “some people don’t love me.”
“The man can’t speak,” Trump said, jumping on conservatives’ criticism over the former vice president’s speech patterns. “And he’s going to be president because some people don’t love me, maybe. And all I’m doing is doing my job.”
"He's gonna be your president because some people don't love me, maybe" — Trump sure sounds resigned to losing to Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/UQTrzJVSXR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2020
The president also peddled a weak attempt at self-aggrandizement, referencing affection from a friend who he says tells him all the time that he is “the most perfect person.”
New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik commented on Twitter that the TV event, which Poniewozik called “complete propaganda,” may have done more harm than good.
Events like this Hannity-Trump interview are complete propaganda. But I’m also not sure they do Trump any actual good other than reassure him that someone still loves him. It’s starting to feel like palliative care.
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) June 26, 2020
Even the reliably conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board concluded that Trump needs a new nickname for Biden: “How does President-elect sound?”
