Day 1,189: Trump: Coronavirus ‘might not come back’ in the fall; Fauci: ‘We will have coronavirus in the fall’

During Wednesday’s daily circus of a coronavirus press briefing, as he is wont to do, Donald Trump refused to let the experts handle the discussion about the science behind the disease.

Trump spoke like he was a foremost authority on contagious diseases with actual trained professionals standing right next to him. Trump declared definitively, “If [the coronavirus] comes back though, it won’t be coming in the form that it was. It will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain.” He also added that, in his opinion, the disease “can never be like anything that we’ve witnessed right now,” while repeatedly using the awkward phrase “embers of corona.”

When pushed, Trump said coronavirus “may not come back at all.”

Then, less than 40 minutes later, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told the nation the cold, hard truth. The government’s leading expert in infectious diseases, with Trump standing less than the recommended six feet away, unequivocally stated: “We will have coronavirus in the fall.”

No “embers,” no pussyfooting, just facts from someone qualified to give them. When Fauci said that coronavirus wasn’t going anywhere, Trump’s swaying immediately stopped, as if he was stunned by what Fauci was acknowledging.

When it comes to the science, Trump would be far better suited to let the experts speak for him. Americans have a right to know the truth about the risks to their health and safety. But Trump’s own ego is far more important to him than anything else.

1,189 days in, 273 to go

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