....are not impressed with Trump's b.s. on corona virus, to wit, the
conservative National Review:

"In a serious public-health crisis, the public has the right to expect
the government's chief executive to lead in a number of crucial ways: by
prioritizing the problem properly, by deferring to subject-matter
experts when appropriate while making key decisions in informed and
sensible ways, by providing honest and careful information to the
country, by calming fears and setting expectations, and by addressing
mistakes and setbacks.

"Trump so far hasn't passed muster on any of these metrics."

That's it. That's the problem.

What we've seen from Trump since the start of this coronavirus crisis
has been a relentless focus on himself and how he is being perceived by
the public rather than a prioritizing of the broader common good.

To borrow a phrase from my friend and colleague Chris Cuomo, a public
health emergency like this one requires putting the "we" before the "me"
-- and with each passing day the President makes clear he is either
unwilling or unable to do that.

On Wednesday morning, for example, Trump tweeted this:

"Vanity Fair Magazine, which will soon be out of business, and their
third rate Fake reporters, who make up sources which don't exist, wrote
yet another phony & boring hit piece. The facts are just the opposite.
Our team is doing a great job with CoronaVirus!"

The article in Vanity Fair that Trump is referring to is, ironically
enough, focused on the fact that Trump has, from the start, viewed the
coronavirus primarily as a media story -- the real danger of which is
what it could do to peoples' perception of him in an election year.

"The problem is that the crisis fits into his preexisting and deeply
held worldview—that the media is always searching for a story to bring
him down," wrote Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman.

Trump himself said as a much at a rally in South Carolina at the end of
last month. "Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus," Trump
said. "They have no clue, they can't even count their votes in Iowa.
This is their new hoax." He later clarified that he was not calling the
coronavirus a "hoax" but rather the "action that [Democrats] take to try
and pin this on somebody."

Even in that clarifying quote, you see the problem. Trump wants to make
sure he doesn't get blamed for this. That's his central focus. That the
public knows he didn't cause the coronavirus.

Which, if you are sick with the virus or in self-quarantine and worried,
or just in the general public and anxious about the pandemic (who
isn't?), that doesn't provide much comfort. What we all want from our
leaders in moments like these is, well, leadership. Tell us what we need
to know to effectively combat this virus and keep as many people in our
society as safe as possible. Spend more time coordinating with members
of the other party on an effective response and less time insisting they
are perpetrating a hoax.

Trump, unfortunately, has never shown a capacity to see beyond himself
to the broader public good. Instead, he has stayed relentlessly focused
throughout his life on doing what is best for him and those close to him.
While we've know this about him for a while -- it was certainly evident
during his campaign for President -- the coronavirus outbreak has
brought Trump's me-before-we worldview into sharp relief. And it's not a
good look.

https://is.gd/rXtsFo