President Trump deferred to the experts on extending the coronavirus guidelines that have kept large parts of the economy under lock and key — something he does often even though it is contrary to both his “drain the swamp” reputation and charges from Democrats and pundits that he acts on a whim.
After Trump suggested Easter as a possible date by which social distancing could be relaxed to get people back to work, media reports implied he was being reckless. Trump was making the pronouncement “despite health experts warnings,” read a headline in the Wall Street Journal. He was in a “tug-of-war with experts,” said the Washington Post. Trump was considering “reopening economy against experts’ advice,” according to NBC News.
When Trump announced this week that he was actually following the experts’ advice, he was then pressed on whether he had erred by considering a different course of action at all. “Mr. President, given that you’re announcing that you’re extending these guidelines, was floating Easter a mistake, do you think?” a reporter asked at Monday’s coronavirus White House briefing. “It was just an aspiration,” Trump replied, in keeping with how Republican operatives told the Washington Examiner his Easter remarks should be interpreted.
“The president took the responsible step for the safety of the country, and I do not think he did it with politics in mind,” said Republican strategist Christian Ferry. “The president’s base has shown that they will consistently stand by him as the pandemic evolves and White House messaging changes. Handling the crisis is paramount to politics, and saving lives must come before the economic concerns.”
Sources close to the White House pointed out that as much as Trump likes to generate television ratings, it is significant he has shared the spotlight with experts such as Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, as well as Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump campaigned on draining the swamp in 2016. He has railed against the “deep state” and the political establishment since taking office. He has publicly questioned assessments of the intelligence community. He has floated ideas outside of expert consensus on Twitter, at rallies, and in White House briefings. On the coronavirus alone, advisers like Fauci have been put in the awkward position of having to correct Trump’s factual assertions in public.
But when forced into uneasy alliances with either experts or the Washington elite, Trump has often taken their advice despite misgivings, even when their counsel contradicts his campaign promises or clear preferences.
“The best leaders build winning teams around them, which Donald Trump has always done in business and as president,” said a source who has worked closely with the Trump administration and campaigns for several years. “That couldn’t be clearer from the way he showcases the talented professionals and business leaders that are advising him. He draws information from a vast array of qualified sources and continually seeks more and more data to inform his decisions.”
On foreign policy, Trump campaigned on ending “endless wars” and shrinking the U.S. military footprint. He sparred with his initial secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, and replaced two consecutive national security advisers — H.R. McMaster and John Bolton — at least in part over substantive disagreements. He also parted with Defense Secretary James Mattis. Yet Trump has, however reluctantly, continued and in some cases escalated the interventions he found misguided as a candidate.
In 2017, Trump announced he was sending additional troops to Afghanistan. “My original instinct was to pull out — and historically, I like following my instincts,” he said. “But all my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office — in other words, when you’re president of the United States. So I studied Afghanistan in great detail and from every conceivable angle.”
Trump similarly adjusted his approach to Syria despite a widely criticized retrenchment from the northern Syrian border with Turkey, and he altered his Iraq policy to reflect military advice he had received that was contrary to his skepticism of foreign interventions.
The president has also listened to the Republican establishment. Instead of seeking funding for the border wall or a bipartisan infrastructure project when he took office, he pursued priorities he shared with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and then-House Speaker Paul Ryan — Obamacare repeal and tax reform. Sometimes, this worked politically — McConnell delivered for Trump on Brett Kavanaugh and impeachment — but on issues like Obamacare, it did not.
Though obviously impatient with the economic slowdown imperiling his reelection campaign, Trump said he would listen to the experts on an Easter reopening before his decision was announced. “Every decision we make is grounded solely on the health, safety, and well-being of our citizens,” he said in a coronavirus briefing. “This is a medical crisis: This isn’t a financial crisis.”
