“If he’s telling the world it’s OK to get back to your life, at some point he has to get back to his life,” said a Republican who speaks to the president.

But while Trump tries to signal he is resuming his version of normalcy, the country is far from achieving a semblance of normalcy. Hundreds of coronavirus deaths are still being reported in the U.S. daily. Twenty-one million Americans are out of work. And protesters continue to demonstrate, demanding major policing reforms after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Still, three people familiar with the situation said Trump expects to be criticized whether he remains inside the White House — he’s already been accused of “hiding” inside while protests take place just outside the gates — or travels out of Washington, so he doesn’t see a reason not to go. And he contends that the protests, many of which lack social distancing, will make it more difficult for Democrats to criticize him.