President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office Wednesday, less than a week after he tested positive for coronavirus. Still presumably infectious, still shedding the deadly pathogen, he simply did not care that he's exposing more White House staffers. A top economic adviser would not say whether the president has been wearing a mask; this after nearly two dozen staffers have tested positive. Also currently in quarantine: almost the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In arguing why Donald Trump must not be reelected, we've previously noted why it's impossible for this administration to either hire or retain quality people.
But this is Donald Trump, it doesn't end there. Trump himself is an active volcano, a destructive vortex of instability.
The man who cites a surging stock market as a signature achievement triggered a 600-point plunge Tuesday by tweeting that he had directed his representatives to "stop negotiations" on further coronavirus economic relief _ until "after the election ... after I win." With the markets panicking, Trump did a U-turn and hours later said he would sign bills, albeit only those focusing only on airline relief and stimulus checks.
Some see such impulsiveness and blame the COVID or the previously untested drug cocktail he's taking. But even at his healthiest and clearest-minded, Trump is insanely unpredictable. Over five days in April, Trump veered wildly, first asserting "total" authority to open the economy, then deferring to governors, then tweet-bombing Democratic governors to "LIBERATE!" their states.
In negotiations over gun laws, immigration, the budget and countless other matters, his words have whipsawed all over the map, making the White House impossible to work with.
Trump has no discipline, no clear worldview and no strategy to govern. We just can't have four more years of this.
