An optimistic president is looking forward to Fourth of July celebrations on the Mall and promising air displays above American cities, while his scientific advisers are urging caution, with warnings that COVID-19 could return in the fall when cases of flu burden hospitals.
The different approaches at the heart of the White House response to the coronavirus pandemic were on full display during Wednesday’s daily briefing.
It began with an effort to discredit a Washington Post report that quoted the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying a second wave of infections in the fall could be worse than the current crisis.
President Trump introduced Dr. Robert Redfield, saying he had been “totally misquoted.”
“I think it’s really important to emphasize what I didn’t say: I didn’t say that this was going to be worse,” said Redfield. “I said it was going to be more difficult and potentially complicated because we’re going to have flu and coronavirus circulating at the same time.”
When questioned by reporters, he said his quotes were accurate, but the headline, which omitted mention of flu, was at fault.
It set up a diplomatically worded tussle on the briefing room podium about the risk of a serious wave of COVID-19 in the fall or winter combined with a seasonal increase in flu cases. On one side was the optimist-in-chief.
“We will not go through what we went through in the last few months,” said Trump. “It may not come back at all.”
But his effort to find an ally in the form of Dr. Deborah Birx, his coronavirus coordinator, fell flat when he asked: “Wouldn’t you say there’s a good chance that COVID will not come back?”
“We don’t know,” she said, emphasizing instead the need for robust testing and containment strategies. “The great thing is, we’ll be able to find it earlier.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious diseases expert, was more emphatic later. “We will have coronavirus in the fall,” he said. “I am convinced of that.”
It is a reminder of the early weeks of the coronavirus response when the president repeatedly played down the risks of the emerging disease, suggesting that the first handful of cases would soon be reduced to zero.
The scientists at the daily briefings have frequently urged caution when Trump has tried to offer the nation hope. For example, when he described the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible “game changer,” Dr. Fauci told journalists the evidence was merely anecdotal.
And so it was on Wednesday. As his advisers warned that the virus would return in the fall, Trump tried to deliver a more optimistic message that included air shows and a repeat of last year’s Fourth of July pageant on the National Mall.
“On July 4th, we’ll be doing what we had on the Mall, as you know. We’re going to be doing it. Last year was a tremendous success,” he said.
However, when questioned about the safety of spectators, he admitted that social distancing would likely have an impact, with people staying 6 feet apart and diminished in number.
He also unveiled plans for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy Blue Angels display teams to hold air shows over cities. The idea, he said, was to pay tribute to front-line medical workers and ensure people remained vigilant.
“This is a tribute to them, to our warriors, because they’re equal warriors to those incredible pilots, all of the fighters that we have for the more traditional fights that we win.”
The idea for Operation America Strong came from military officials, he said, although the idea of deploying a crowd-pleasing air spectacular at a time of national crisis could not be more Trumpian.
Even when he was asked about the state of the national debt, Trump turned it around to leave the briefing on a positive note. It was vital to spend to rebuild, he said, adding that markets had rebounded on Wednesday, and he was in a more confident mood than even a couple of days ago.
“The world feels that we are really leading a path of optimism. The European Union is having a lot of difficulties,” he said.
“But we’re going to be back, and we’re going to be back stronger than ever.”
