For President Trump to win a second term in the White House, strategists in both parties agree voters must have the perception he successfully managed the coronavirus outbreak and its economic fallout. But that first means a pitched battle with supporters of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden to define success.

The White House press has more than once asked Trump and his subordinates why he deserves reelection given the COVID-19 death toll. One reporter pointed out that coronavirus deaths had exceeded the 58,000 fatalities the United States suffered during the Vietnam War. Later, as that figure approached 100,000, another asked press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to identify “the number of dead Americans” the electorate should “tolerate” as it heads to the polls in November.