The View Offers Trump (Qualified) Credit for Coronavirus Tone Shift: ‘Nice to Know He’s Caught Up With the Rest of the Country’

After Tuesday’s sobering press conference on coronavirus, the hosts of The View gave President Donald Trump some credit, though qualified that his shift in tone was belated.

Trump’s tone shift on coronavirus was notable on Tuesday, compared to his previous comments on the pandemic, with CNN’s Jim Acosta remarking, “I think he gets it.”

Whoopi Goldberg said this morning, “It’s nice to know that he’s caught up with the rest of the country because while everyone has been, you know, at home trying to cope with all of this, we have been aware that it’s going to be a tough time ahead. Is this the honest account that we’ve needed to hear from him from the start?”

Sunny Hostin said there’s clearly been “this constantly shifting narrative coming out of the White House,” bringing up the president’s aspirational Easter timeline and saying, “I think perhaps now we’re hearing from the administration the gravity that we needed to hear from the administration probably in January or February.”

“I’m happy in a sense that we’re hearing that gravity, but I think we needed to hear it a long time ago,” Hostin added.

Guest co-host Sara Haines agreed it it was good to hear the “more serious tone” from the president:

“It’s easy to get wrapped up in it, in the anxiety, the fear, the numbers, and so there was a little moment of gloom that all these people, even if we all act perfectly, they were quoting numbers of, you know, over six figures, over 100,000, that even if we all behave perfectly, we will probably see pass, and my heart went to just the deaths themselves, but also that so many people are dying alone. That really broke my heart because the one thing you hope when you pass or someone you love passes is that it’s easy, it’s pain-free, and that you’re by their side. So hearing that kind of brought the human level to me. It was very heavy. It also reminded me that in the beginning in our household, we kept saying, it doesn’t matter if we can’t figure this out. Hopefully it will be a limited run. Now as we see, you know, a month, two more months, we’re kind of feeling the heat of figuring out how to run our household successfully and be the best version of ourselves for the kids while also, you know, informing them in age appropriate terms. So it’s a lot. I think today is one of those days where I’m feeling a little heavier about all of it, but I was happy to hear a serious tone because I think that’s lining up with the facts.”

Goldberg said Trump should be getting across that seriousness to people like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Congressman Devin Nunes.

You can watch above, via ABC.

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