Watching Mike Pence’s daily virus task force briefings one could assume that Dr. Fauci is US president. Trump is only there for entertainment, trying to win every point with reporters-American Greatness, Jason Fertig

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“If one knew nothing about who the elected leaders of the United States were, watching these daily White House coronavirus task force briefings would suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci is the president.…These press briefings do not help the president look effective in his role….Speaking in Twitter language, #MAGA is done for the time being.” 

4/13/20, “Stop the Press (Conferences)," Jason Fertig, American Greatness 

“If one knew nothing about who the elected leaders of the United States were, watching these daily White House coronavirus task force briefings would suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci is the president and Donald Trump is his press secretary. While many of President Trump’s detractors might prefer that situation, the 2016 election did not end that way. 

The patience of many Americans with these daily task force press briefings is growing thin. There is only so much one can take of unelected bureaucrats publicly answering the wrong questions…. 

The game plan, according to the task force, is to “inconveniently” press pause on American life until there are practically no COVID-19 cases or there is a vaccine [which may never happen, for example there still is no HIV vaccine], then hit play and return to normal. The press lobs softball questions at them each day. President Trump follows with some lip service towards rebuilding the once multi-trillion dollar American economy before engaging in his daily sparring matches with journalists. 

Lost in this process is that while we don’t like to hear of anyone tragically dying of COVID-19, the head coach of America [supposedly Trump] needs to respond to the actual game we are playing—the overall health of the United States. This “health” encompasses physical, mental, and economic health. 

Hyperfocus on any one of those to the detriment of the others will not result in the team winning games. At its worst, it will result in factions fighting with each other as each side deems its claim to “health”  more conducive to winning, because a decline in any of those variables can be attributed to an increase in deaths. 

President Trump is the head coach. Regardless of what is going on behind the scenes, these press briefings do not help the president look effective in his role. 

A leader can never overcommunicate to his people in a crisis. President Trump needs to start talking directly to the people again. He needs to focus on being real with the citizens, like he was on the campaign trail, instead of just trying to win every point with reporters. 

Citizens are willing to sacrifice if they know the game plan. Indefinite house arrest in a society founded on liberty is not a long-term strategy. There was a time when reporters better represented the citizenry and would ask such questions, but that’s not happening in these press briefings. The reporter whack-a-mole act will grow old even among Trump supporters, as more weeks pass without the ability for them to earn an income. 

President Trump owns both the virus response and the financial effects of the response. He is responsible for Dr. Deborah Birx’s admission of how COVID-19 deaths are reported. He cannot escape that unless he wants to resign and pass it off. The media will hold him responsible for everything negative. Some reporters likely already have written their stories blaming him for the first COVID-19 death post-reopening, and are just waiting to fill in the victim’s name. Full acceptance of these realities needs to be built into any strategy. 

While President Trump can point to successes in dealing with COVID-19, his team is losing the game of the country’s overall health. The more we lose, the longer the rebuilding process. Teams don’t often stick with that same head coach or general manager through the rebuilding process, as a head coach often takes much of the blame for the failure to effectively coordinate resources. 

How the president chooses to take responsibility for the COVID-19 response will determine if he is to be considered a 21st-century Herbert Hoover. Speaking in Twitter language, #MAGA is done for the time being. Will it become #MAGDA—Make America the Great Depression Again, or (as Rush Limbaugh said) #MAHA—Make America Healthy Again?”