Coronavirus: Donald Trump lashes out at own lockdown to liberate ratings

Donald Trump has threatened to shut congress and claimed total authority over America’s governors, without constitutional basis.

Donald Trump conducts a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing at the White House in Washington at the weekend. Picture: AFP

In the past few days, Donald Trump has threatened to shut congress and claimed total authority over governors of the US, without constitutional basis.

The President has insulted reporters, calling the CBS White House correspondent, Paula Reid, “disgraceful” and accused The New York Times of writing “fake stories”.

Such rhetoric, while unimaginable in any other president, has become expected from Mr Trump. But he broke new ground with what appeared to be a call for popular insurrection.

Tweets encouraging Virginia, Minnesota and Michigan to “liberate” themselves were a reference to anti-lockdown protests that have broken out in those states , as libertarians, gun-lovers and Trumpian conservatives have poured onto the streets. Each of the states has Democrat leadership but they are following shutdown recommendations issued by the Trump administration.

He appears to be encouraging citizens to defy his own orders.

When asked about the tweets, Mr Trump responded that some states were being “too tough” and that “elements of what they’ve done is too much”.

As ever, liberals responded with outrage. “Levying war against the United States is article III’s first definition of treason,” said Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor. “Inciting armed insurrection comes awfully close. Watch out, Mr President. You’re playing with fire.”

In the face of more than 39,000 US deaths from COVID-19 and 22 million new unemployed, Mr Trump is clearly not shying away from the divisive, belligerent politics that has sustained him over the past four years. It is quite the opposite. The daily press briefings, whose stated purpose is to inform and reassure the American people, have at times become a form of campaign rally.

“Trump is a master at casting enemies,” said Charlie Sykes, a conservative radio host.

“Knowing what plays to his base, what buttons to push, what scapegoats to pick.”

The call for liberation casts the President as a cheerleader for American prosperity, desperate to reopen the economy, while the nanny state Democrats insist on keeping things closed.

Amid the turmoil, Mr Trump’s electoral poll numbers remain steady. He is still a coin toss away from being re-elected in November. And at 43 per cent in the latest surveys, his approval rating is roughly where it has been for the whole of his presidency.

“It’s another reminder of how utterly polarised our politics has become,” said Sykes. “There is a base that is absolutely unshakeable. They will either ignore Trump’s worst behaviour or many of them will applaud. What a lot of people regard as shocking and inappropriate is catnip for many of his supporters.”

Others view the situation rather differently. When Mr Trump attacks and derides reporters in the briefing room, some Americans see a brutish megalomaniac acting without constraint or decency. Many more, however, see an enthusiastic supporter of the US coming under relentless attack from a snooty media elite, who have been crusading against him from day one.

“If you like President Trump, you love the press conferences; if you don’t like President Trump, you probably hate the press conferences. It’s that simple,” said Jason Miller, chief spokesman for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“If you’re a supporter like myself, you’re laughing. You’re sitting down for dinner with your family and watching the briefing. It has replaced the baseball. This is the American entertainment we have in the strange year of 2020.”

The briefings command serious ratings, attracting an average audience of 8.5 million, rivalling The Bachelor — as Mr Trump has happily observed. He operates on the basis that attention is power and at the moment he has the stage while Joe Biden, his presumptive rival in 2020, is relegated to the sidelines. Much of his gunslinging bluster is just that: bluster. If he tried to shut congress, override the governors or throw federal resources behind an insurrection, many of his supporters might be alarmed. But they tend to take their President seriously, not literally.

The Sunday Times