President Trump resumed his coronavirus briefings after a more than two-month hiatus to deliver what for him is a startling warning: The pandemic is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Appearing before reporters in the White House briefing room, he asked people to wear masks when they cannot socially distance and urged young people to avoid crowded bars where the virus could spread.
It marked a striking change in tone after weeks in which officials emphasized successes in manufacturing personal protective equipment and ensuring the availability of ventilators while playing down surging numbers of cases as “embers.”
“It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better,” said Trump, “something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the way it is.”
For months, Trump has offered an optimistic view. He has said cases will go to zero, that the virus will simply disappear during the hot summer months, and that any increase was simply down to more testing. But that stance was drawing increasing ridicule as the number of new cases hit record levels last week.
Trump had initially billed Tuesday’s event as a briefing by his coronavirus task force. But in the event, he appeared alone.
It came after internal White House discussions about how best to take control of an issue that was likely to overshadow the election. Returning to the podium offers a way to deliver presidential messages and steal a march over presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is maintaining a low profile.
But it comes with risks.
Briefings held almost daily through March and April were abandoned after Trump clashed with reporters, hyped unproven treatments, and delivered mixed messages — such as issuing guidance that masks be worn while saying that he would not wear one himself.
While the sessions attracted high television ratings, public health professionals said that, at times, the Trump Show got in the way of delivering the updates and advice needed by viewers.
On Tuesday evening, Trump delivered a clearer message.
“We’re asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask,” he said. “Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact, they’ll have an effect, and we need everything we can get.”
He even said he was getting used to wearing one, pulling a mask from his pocket to demonstrate that he was carrying it with him.
“I will use it, gladly,” he said.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and a frequent critic of Trump’s coronavirus response, said he welcomed the way the president called for the vulnerable to be protected and his warning that the crisis was not over.
“That’s probably some of the first times I’ve ever heard him say things like that,” he said. “He also said we need a national strategy, which is absolutely what we need.”
However, he said the president still tended to put a rosy tint to his assessment.
“The disappointment is that he’s still not addressing the surge across the South, the exhausted ICU staff,” he said. “There was still an attempt to obscure what’s really going on with the deaths and the permanent disabilities.”
For example, the president repeated his false claim that the United States has a lower fatality rate than “almost everywhere else in the world.”
And he tried to remind viewers that hope was on its way.
“The vaccines are coming, and they’re coming a lot sooner than anybody thought possible,” he promised.
The first American vaccine could enter final-stage testing next week to see if it is safe and effective, one of a number of candidates being developed around the world.
Trump ended his appearance after about 26 minutes — a brief, disciplined episode by his standards — but not without sparking a Twitter frenzy before he left. He could not resist straying off topic when asked about Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite charged with procuring underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein.
“I haven’t really been following it too much, I just wish her well,” he said.
