US President Donald Trump tipped his hand about how he plans to make up for the loss of the roaring economy that formed the foundation of his reelection campaign — rhetoric laced with racial overtones and a new and unfounded conspiracy theory he dubbed “Obamagate.”
On a tragic day that US deaths from the coronavirus pandemic hit an unfathomable 80,000, Trump revived his wild news conferences that had been shelved two weeks ago apparently because they were damaging his political prospects.
His appearance in the White House Rose Garden was notable for his refashioning of his reelection campaign mantra that reflects a realization that his hopes for a “rocket”-like relaunch of the economy have been dashed by massive job losses.
Trump’s original slogan, “Make America Great Again,” was snappy enough to fit on a red baseball cap four years ago. He had been running in 2020 on a chest-puffing “Keep America Great” platform. But his new catchphrase “we will transition to greatness” next year shows how he will now have to sell the promise of a painful economic restoration — a case made all the more difficult after his own erratic management of the pandemic.
The President’s apparent mission Monday was to stifle an impression that the White House is in disarray after the discovery of several cases of Covid-19 in the West Wing. Trump stood against a backdrop of Stars and Stripes and misleading signs reading, “America is leading the world in testing” — which just isn’t true in tests per capita.
