Trump’s campaign was tanking. He was down in the polls, even in battleground states. He gave the worst presidential debate performance in history. His previous campaign manager, Brad Pascale, was arrested by police and committed to a psychiatric institution and the current one, Bill Stepien (formerly of Chris Christie’s bridgegate staff) tested positive for Covid-19. On top of all that, people are voting early in droves, many of them by mail-in paper ballot in spite of the Trump’n’GOP massive scare campaign and DeJoy’s heavy-handed vandalism of the USPS.
You can just bet someone on the Trump campaign staff said, “We need a f*cking miracle to revive this f*cking campaign!”
Then, miraculously, they get a miracle: Trump’s miracle recovery from Covid-19.
Whether or not you believe in miracles, the way this episode unfolded was noteworthy. It was like watching a card sharp turn up a run of cards to reveal, in its proper sequence, the highest score of the game. But there was a good deal of sleight of hand going on in this game.
Let’s revisit the sequence of events and see if we can peel away the revisionism coiled around actual reality.
Hope Hicks tests positive for the coronavirus Wednesday and the news leaks out the next morning. That triggers a rapid series of events: an outpouring of concern from thousands of well wishers, all Trump fans. Across all media (not just Fox Noise) there’s a united front of sympathetic reporting with concern expressed not so much for Hope Hicks but for Trump’s health.
Very early the following morning — at 1am ET in fact — it’s announced that Trump (and Melania in small print) have also tested positive for Covid-19. That’s an odd time to release this news. Surely they received their test results on Thursday afternoon (yes they did) so why the delay? Were those eight or nine hours needed to map out a plan for how this news and succeeding events should be handled? Controlling the flow and context of information has always been important to both the White House and the Trump campaign, and never more so than now.
The first part was a given: reaction to the news. Enter from the right wing a massive outpouring from well wishers, lots more sympathetic reporting and even greater concern for Trump’s health and immediate future. Trump would’ve loved all the attention now it was turned from Hope to him. Trump’s Twitter account tweets out that he and small-print are doing fine and will get through this together.
Note the wording here: “get through this” — that’s a tell. I’m not sure who typed that tweet but they know how to use language. This is a turn of phrase used when calamity strikes. The seed it plants in the mind is: the situation is dire and it will take considerable strength to overcome it.
Not that this level of melodrama is unusual in the Trump Error White House; it’s pretty much their modis operandi.
By early afternoon Trump is reported to be showing worrying symptoms: a cough, elevated temperature and a drop in oxygen level. For comparison, small-print’s symptoms are very mild as she helpfully explains in a tweet. This contrast is useful because it serves to highlight the greater severity of Trump’s condition so that it commands the media spotlight. Exit small-print who’s no longer needed.
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Up to this point, public reaction falls into three general categories: the mistrusting, most of whom don’t believe Trump has Covid-19; the wait-and-see neutrals; and a third group which, for a number of widely varying reasons, do believe he returned a positive test. The make-up of these groups will change as events unfold.
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Early that evening — before sundown so there was plenty of daylight still — Trump is shuttled off to Walter Reed Medical Center “out of an abundance of caution.”
The mistrusting group immediately increases its number. The White House, they point out, has a world class medical unit with all the latest equipment and access to every possible type of medication plus at least three ventilators. If Trump is well enough to walk to Marine One, in a suit and tie I might add, he is not experiencing any kind of emergency that the WHMU couldn’t handle with ease. “Out of an abundance of caution” is not a reason in and of itself to fly Trump to hospital.
Sure, the early intervention medical treatment Trump received could’ve been administered at the White House Medical Unit but going to Walter Reed was so much better, especially for someone who craves public attention.
It is good optics.
Even if Kayleigh McNinny herself announces that he’s been admitted to the White House Medical Unit, no-one sees him go there. If he’s flown to Walter Reed, everyone sees it. It’s breaking news replayed on evening shows, late shows, morning shows and social media. From the campaign’s point of view, blanket coverage like this is gold.
On Saturday morning, Dr Sean Conley, flanked by nine other doctors who apparently had nothing better do at the time than to put in an appearance, briefed reporters on Trump’s condition. Via CNBC:
“At this time the team and I are extremely happy with the progress the president has made,” Conley said. “Thursday he had a mild cough and some nasal congestion and fatigue. All of which are now resolving and improving.”
Well that didn’t sound too bad at all, quite upbeat in fact — and not at all what the campaign would have wanted to hear. They needed Trump to be on the brink. It’s not going to be much of a miracle — and that was their goal — if all he’s recovering from is a mild cough and some nasal congestion.
Enter stage right... On camera in front of a group of reporters holding recording devices, an anonymous Mark Meadows stressed that Trump was far worse than his doctors were reporting. More from CNBC [with additions in brackets]:
“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” [an anonymous Mark Meadows] told the White House pool, a small group of reporters who travel with the president [and are hanging around outside Walter Reed in hopes of getting exactly this kind of story!]
More good optics! Meadows never looks comfortable in a suit and with his mussed gray hair and habitual worried expression, he’s the perfect vessel to deliver words of doom.
But Trump isn’t playing (he never did play well with others) or maybe he just forgot the plan. He tweets out:
The White House and Trump campaign do not taking Donnie’s professed wellness lying down! They know they’ll need to get out in front of this, to make an announcement that uses the word “facts” a lot which means blonde-haired Kayleigh McNinny, Press Secretary, will need to be benched.
Enter seriously-brunette Alyssa Farah, Communications Director.
I kept Molly Jong-Fast’s comment in because the woman knows of what she speaks.
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By this time many in the wait-and-see group are no longer neutral. They accept that Trump did test positive, but their bullshit detectors are going off and the more they see in the media and hear from the White House, the louder their alarms ring. They join the ranks of the mistrusting many of whom now believe Trump really does have Covid-19 but sense that something is off somewhere, and the group is now collectively known as the skeptical.
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After the seriously-brunette appearance of Alyssa Farah, the optics ball is back in the campaign’s court.
But the skeptical were just getting warmed up. From CNBC:
The briefing raised new questions about when it was known that the president was sick. Conley told reporters on Saturday that Trump was 72 hours into his diagnosis, which would indicate it was made before early Friday morning, which is when Trump announced his positive test.
...
The White House sought to clarify the timeframes, saying that Conley meant day three and not 72 hours. Conley later issued a memo
Indeed he did and the skeptical pounced on it.
Dr Conley was also criticised for failing to convey the full seriousness of Trump’s illness. The skeptical were all over his response.
Hah! Nicely done, UsH!
Sunday arrives and what better day of the week to show off a miracle recovery!
We begin with the medical update via the Daily Mail:
On Sunday, the president's doctors said that he could be discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center as early as Monday as Trump's top physician detailed he was given a steroid and put on oxygen as a treatment for COVID-19.
'Our plan for today is to have him to eat and drink, be up out of bed as much as possible, to be mobile,' Dr. Brian Garibaldi, one of the doctor's on Trump's team, said. 'And if he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course.'
Discharge after just four days? That was unexpected — especially to those who had Trump on his death bed and were now wondering how Pence was going to fare in the next debate with Biden.
But how is Trump really? Ah ha, there he is, making an upbeat video and really looking quite well. He’s waffling on about having a surprise for all the fans who have come to the hospital to cheer him on. They all just turned up spontaneously and… hmmm? What’s that?
Of course it was organised. Trump’s surprise for them had to be planned too. A motorcade doesn’t just turn up spontaneously in case Trump wants a ride around the hospital grounds so he can wave to his fans.
Oh yeah it’s great optics — see how how amazingly well he looks after just three days! And they’re talking about discharging him Monday! Cue the chant “it’s a miracle!” and the campaign staff nod and smile. They’ve worked hard to spin this one.
And just as they must have been congratulating themselves, Trump’s doctors mention that he’ll be on dexamethasone for a few days...
How will we know the difference? Trump is already residing in delusional bubble. Can he be anymore crazy?
M’kay...
Ooops! Looks like that miracle recovery overwound itself and now it’s spinning out of control in all caps at the rate of a tweet a minute. No wonder Walter Reed want to discharge him as soon as possible! No-one would want this level of batshit crazy careening like a pinball around their hospital! Let the White House deal with him.
I’ve a feeling October has a heap more surprises to serve up to the White House and Trump campaign staff. A narcissistic nutter that’s flipped out of his mind is going to be hard to contain. I wonder how long it will be before they pack him off to Walter Reed again because they can’t cope?
Meantime, strap yourselves in everyone, we’re likely to be in for a bumpy October. Hopefully it will be a relatively entertaining one for us and positively catastrophic for the republicans. One thing seems pretty certain: their “miracle man” narrative is going to be short-lived!