‘An Unmitigated Disaster’: Washington Post Deep-Dive on Trump’s Covid-19 Response Paints Harrowing Picture of Denial, Dysfunction

Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

The Washington Post released a massive review of Donald Trump’s leadership on Saturday, and it describes the administration’s pandemic leadership as a hodgepodge of science denial, national strategic dysfunction, and a feedback loop designed to keep the president appeased.

The paper interviewed 41 administration officials and others “directly involved in or briefed on the response efforts” who offered brutally frank opinions on how Trump’s administration managed the health crisis throughout the summer. One official called the Trump presidency “an unmitigated disaster,” and many others shared that consensus as they provided insight on the administration’s efforts to strategize against the coronavirus and (more-so) the problematic political messaging for the president.

A great deal of the deep-dive focuses on White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, reporting that he has repeatedly impugned the statements of doctors Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx. The Post provided an anecdote where Birx warned about the health risks of holding the Republican National Convention celebration in Jacksonville, and Meadows scoffed at her assessment with “Oh, if Doctor Birx says it.” Trump inevitably said the convention was cancelled.

The piece also reports that Meadows frequently monitors Fauci’s engagements with the media, telling the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director to “stay on message” and not offer policy suggestions whenever he or Birx diverge from Trump. Meadows also reportedly scrapped regular meetings with health professions in favor of meetings with “politically oriented aides” where their focus is “more on how to convince the public that President Trump has the crisis under control, rather than on methodically planning ways to contain it.”

As the Post explored the parallels between Trump’s poll numbers, his insistence on touting his performance, and his actions over the last few months, the piece reported the president’s aides “have concocted a positive feedback loop for the boss.” This “potemkin village,” created by Meadows and others, is meant to alleviate Trump’s fears of losing re-election by providing him with right-wing media commentary and misleading data that comports with his glowing assessment of his own performance. These data charts were reportedly displayed when Fox News’ Chris Wallace pressed Trump on the pandemic’s mortality rate in America.

From the article:

A senior administration official involved in the pandemic response said, “Everyone is busy trying to create a Potemkin village for him every day. You’re not supposed to see this behavior in liberal democracies that are founded on principles of rule of law. Everyone bends over backwards to create this Potemkin village for him and for his inner circle.”

The report goes on to say that as health experts were sidelined from discussions on anti-coronavirus messaging and policy conversations, Trump allowed others to make decisions on how to fight the virus, all while seeking advice from friendly voices. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham reportedly “paid regular visits to the Oval Office to discuss hydroxychloroquine,” and the Post also had this story on how Trump hosted a biopharmaceutical executive pitching a possible coronavirus cure:

The president recently hosted Andrew Whitney, a biopharmaceuticals executive on the board of a company called Phoenix, who met in the Oval Office with Trump. Whitney, who has a limited health background, pitched Trump on a botanical extract called oleandrin as a treatment for the coronavirus, according to two senior administration officials with knowledge of the discussion.

One official said Mike Lindell, a Trump booster and the chief executive of MyPillow — who stars as pitchman for his product in advertising on some of the Fox News shows Trump watches — helped arrange the meeting. Since then, Whitney has personally made overtures to senior leaders at the Food and Drug Administration, including its commissioner, Stephen Hahn, in an effort to get the agency to approve oleandrin as a treatment for the coronavirus.