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Trump to take pandemic victory lap in TV ‘town hall’
WASHINGTON, May 3, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Donald Trump will wrap himself in the
mantle of America’s arguably greatest president with a television extravaganza
Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial meant to leave the coronavirus crisis behind
and relaunch his election campaign.
The businessman Republican is doing poorly in most polls ahead of the
November presidential contest with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who
remains shuttered in his Delaware home.
Trump faces criticism for his bruising, divisive style during a time of
national calamity, and is accused by some of having botched the early response
to the COVID-19 virus.
Worse, the previously booming US economy, which was seen as a golden ticket
to his second term, is now in dire straits due to the nationwide lockdown.
But with officials saying the viral spread has begun to taper, Trump is
itching to declare victory and get back on the campaign trail.
That audacious shift begins Sunday at possibly the most hallowed monument
in the country — the statue of Abraham Lincoln, who led the country through
civil war, urged reconciliation, and was assassinated in his moment of
triumph.
Trump, who calls himself a “wartime president” and the coronavirus an
“invisible enemy,” will appear there for a two-hour Fox News “town hall,”
taking questions from the usually friendly network’s hosts and from voters
appearing by video.
The memorial is only just beyond the White House fences, but in the next
few days, Trump will break months of self-quarantine with long-distance trips
to the key electoral states of Arizona and Ohio.
It’s a play that will emphasize Trump’s massive visibility advantage over
Biden and, the White House hopes, rewrite the public relations script after
gaffes including the president’s suggestion that coronavirus patients ingest
disinfectant.
– Patriotic sales pitch –
Lincoln took the gamble in 1861 that only war could preserve the United
States by ending slavery and restoring the nation’s ideals of freedom — and
he won.
Trump often compares himself favorably to the 19th century national hero.
Retweeting a fan’s gushing endorsement Sunday of Trump as a great friend of
African Americans, the president replied: “So true, although Honest Abe wasn’t
bad. Thank you!”
Now Trump wants to extend that claim to great leadership by asking voters
to put behind them the tragic events of the last months and to focus on his
promise of “spectacular” economic recovery.
The virus — which has killed more than 66,000 Americans — continues to
inflict havoc against a background of mass unemployment, trillions of dollars
in emergency government aid, and worries about a second viral wave after the
summer.
But Trump, tapping his salesman’s optimism, says the nightmare will end
soon.
“We built the greatest economy the world has ever seen,” the president said
last week. “And we’re going to do it again. And it’s not going to be that
long, OK?”
To underline this patriotic self-confidence, he announced a series of
flyovers by the military display team, the Blue Angels, including one over
Washington, DC, on Saturday.
– Fanning the flames –
Despite Trump’s eagerness to get the economy — and his re-election hopes –
– moving, medical experts warn premature reopening could bring a disastrous
resurgence.
On the other side, the president is pressured by many ordinary Americans
whose livelihoods are under dire threat.
Faced with these conflicting tensions, he has increasingly sided with
Republican leaders who advocate re-opening as quickly as possible.
As the decision on whether to reopen becomes ever more politicized, Trump
has encouraged street protests against the lockdown.
Tweeting that protesters should “LIBERATE” states and calling demonstrators
in Michigan — who included armed and camouflaged militia members — “very
good people”, he is staking out electoral territory.
And while he pushes the patriotic themes inside the country, Trump is also
amping up criticism on China, where the virus originated, as a foreign
opponent.
Beijing, he told Reuters last week, “will do anything they can” to stop his
reelection — an accusation likely to be repeated often.
BSS/AFP/MMA/1555HRS