<em>The Atlantic Daily</em>: Still No Plan

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It’s been more than 100 days since the first reported case of the coronavirus in the United States, but Donald Trump still doesn’t seem to have a plan. Instead, the president, my colleague David A. Graham points out, is returning to the “breezy language” he employed “in the earliest days of the pandemic” and holding on to “a blithe faith that the disease will simply disappear of its own accord, without a major government response.”

Here are three more observations from our newsroom’s White House watchers:

He appears to be at a total loss. “His plans have often been derided by skeptics as unwise, unrealistic, or simplistic,” David, who’s covered the president’s responses to an assortment of natural and political crises, notes. “This situation is different, though: Grappling with a multifront crisis, Trump seems to have no plan at all.”

He’s attempting to graft his own vulnerabilities onto his 2020 opponent. “In TV ads and public statements, [Trump and his allies are] arguing that Biden couldn’t revive the economy, defeat the virus, or stand up to Chinese leaders, whom Trump now blames for the outbreak,” our White House correspondent Peter Nicholas reports. “The message sets up a conspicuous irony.”