Trump allies believe the president is starting to right a troubled campaign, giving him a fighting chance of winning reelection after a week in which he struck a new tone on the coronavirus and delivered clear messages on law and order and China.
For weeks, plunging polls, desperate economic headlines, and a growing coronavirus death toll have alarmed aides who became increasingly frustrated by the president’s pursuit of petty grievances.
That changed with a series of coronavirus briefings, action on law and order, and his decision to abandon increasingly futile plans to hold part of the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida.
“This was his best week in months,” said John Fredericks, radio host and advisory board member of Trump 2020.
But for veterans of his turbulent presidency and chaotic 2016 run for power, the question is how long the reset will last.
Allies had become increasingly worried that President Trump was underusing his best asset to defeat Joe Biden: the presidency. A Rose Garden strategy, incorporating executive orders and other actions, would be the best way to put pressure on Biden and his lack of visibility.
A string of one-on-one TV interviews had pivoted toward self-pity, accusing everyone from administration scientists to tax authorities of treating him unfairly.
“They treat me horribly, the IRS, horribly. It’s a disgrace, what’s happened,” he told Fox News earlier this month.
And some outside groups complained that mixed messages — such as a recent Rose Garden event to trumpet action against China that was overshadowed by a rambling address filled with political attacks — made it difficult for them to amplify Trump’s agenda with TV and digital campaigns.
“Is he going to campaign on his handling of coronavirus?” asked one Trump world insider last week. “That is the sort of thing we need to know, and we just don’t.”
Their mood is better this week, after three briefing room appearances by the president in which he outlined plans to open schools in the fall and announced his decision to abandon an attempt to hold part of the convention in Jacksonville. Each day, he took a limited number of questions, avoiding being dragged into the sort of bad-tempered exchanges he relished in the past.
On Wednesday, he announced he will “surge” federal law enforcement officers to Chicago and other American cities.
And on Friday, he signed four executive orders designed to lower prices of prescription drugs, including a measure allowing the importation of cheaper medications from countries such as Canada. The promise to tackle drug prices was a key part of his 2016 appeal to the less well-off.
A policy adviser, who previously criticized Trump for failing to focus on key themes, said the week was a success.
“He hit the key pillars of trade, immigration, law and order, and China. All of it held together by China,” he said. “Much better.”
It follows a shake-up at the campaign. Last week, Bill Stepien, a veteran Republican operative, replaced Brad Parscale.
Supporters said that was not the key difference.
Fredericks said: “I don’t think it matters one way or another what Stepien does. I don’t think it’s a panacea.”
“I think the panacea is the president taking action and then the campaign being able to effectively take what he does and turning it into a coherent and consistent message.”
A source close to the White House said: “Trump is always at his best when his back’s against the wall, and I think he realized his back is against the wall.”
Doug Deason, a major Trump donor, said he was pleased to see the change in tone and said much of the credit was down to figures such as the acting Director of the Domestic Policy Council Brooke Rollins.
“I thought he was a little bit vindictive, and he’s backed off that,” he said of Trump’s earlier tone. “He’s got a great team around with him,” Deason said. “When he listens to his team, he does well. When he listens to Brooke Rollins and Jared Kushner and Kellyanne Conway and Mike Pompeo, he does well.”
“When he starts going off on his own, he doesn’t do so well.”
