As he looks to catch up to Joe Biden, President Trump should adopt Boris Johnson’s new example of coronavirus humility.
In recent days, the British prime minister has adopted a more conciliatory tone as to whether his government responded correctly to the original virus outbreak on British soil. It’s a question that has been asked repeatedly in the context of Johnson’s early effort to address the virus with herd immunity. The government then abandoned that strategy after scientists advised that it would result in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Johnson suggested, “We didn’t understand [the virus] in the way that we would have liked in the first few weeks and months.” He added, “And I think, probably, the single thing that we didn’t see at the beginning was the extent to which it was being transmitted asymptomatically from person to person.” But the Conservative Party leader was also clear that history might record him less than auspiciously in his leadership at the start of the crisis. “I think it’s fair to say that there are things that we need to learn about how we handled it in the early stages. … There will be plenty of opportunities to learn the lessons of what happened.”
Trump could and should learn from this example.
While it’s certainly true that the incumbent president has a rather uncomfortable relationship with humility, the president’s 2016 election showed that he possesses a streak of electoral genius. He still has a shot in this election. But with Biden leading all the national polls and most swing state polls, Trump needs to rediscover that genius with speed. Showing a greater degree of humility on his handling of the coronavirus would accomplish two things.
First, it would offer an adjunct to Trump’s recent and positive decision to start wearing masks in certain scenarios. It would also match well with the president’s correct decision to dramatically scale back the Republican National Convention. Taking further similar actions would show voters that Trump puts public protection before his own ego. This might earn Trump a second look from independents who believe the president’s arrogance predisposes him to be a poor crisis leader.
A show of humility would also play to the notion that Trump is a president who has learned from his experiences. Considering the more absurd moments of Trump’s term in office; his repeated suggestions that Joe Scarborough is a murderer, demanding treason charges against his political opponents, and his wild Twitter temper tantrums, for example, Trump might find that a new, calmer approach would do him some electoral favors. This is not to say that Trump abandon his go-for-the-jugular impulse, but simply to suggest that he temper that impulse to a recognition of public concern. Again, the public are scared and want a leader they believe has their back first and foremost. The public will also be predisposed to give Trump credit for any humility in that it is so strikingly discordant with his normally arrogant temperament.
Trump regards Johnson as a friend and political ally. It’s time he looked to the prime minister’s coronavirus evolution.
