White House allies have become exasperated with his dominance at coronavirus task force briefings, a daily rundown of testing and public health updates that Trump has transformed into a performance-art version of his freewheeling — and sometimes conspiracy-filled — Twitter feed…
Trump has resisted such advice for weeks, viewing the daily briefings as an ideal venue for him to connect with his supporters and perform his favorite tricks. In the absence of campaign rallies or other outlets for his message, Trump has used the briefings to needle his political opponents, smack reporters and air grievances about previous White House occupants, including former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Even after campaign aides briefed him on a series of unsettling polls about his appearances, Trump continued making the case privately that his sky-high television ratings would help him trounce Biden in November, according to two people familiar with the president’s thinking. His logic failed to take into account the reality that not every American who tunes in to the nightly briefings will ultimately vote for Trump in the fall, especially suburban and female voters whom White House advisers have long worried about.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member