Washington \u2013 President Donald Trump is set to once again take center stage in the government\u2019s coronavirus response after a White House debate over how \u2026<\/b>
\nWashington \u2013 President Donald Trump is set to once again take center stage in the government\u2019s coronavirus response after a White House debate over how best to deploy its greatest and most volatile asset \u2013 him \u2013 played out in public as his poll numbers falter.
One week after a campaign shake-up, the plan is for Trump to again become a regular public presence at the podium starting Tuesday as confirmed coronavirus cases spike nationwide.
Trump advisers have stressed the urgency of the president adopting a more disciplined public agenda in an effort to turn around his lagging poll numbers against Democratic rival Joe Biden.
\u201cI think it\u2019s a great way to get information out to the public,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, saying he hopes to discuss progress on vaccines and therapeutics. His once-daily turns behind the White House briefing room podium largely ended in late April after the president\u2019s off-the-cuff suggestion that injecting toxic disinfectant could help treat the coronavirus.
In another sign of recalibration, Trump belatedly tweeted a photo of himself in a face mask Monday, calling it an act of patriotism, after months of resistance to being publicly seen in the coverings \u2013 deemed vital to slowing the spread of the virus \u2013 as a sign of weakness.
White House aides said the format, venue and frequency of the president\u2019s forthcoming appearances haven\u2019t been finalized. And it wasn\u2019t clear whether he would field questions or share the stage with others, including Vice President Mike Pence and Drs. Deborah Birx or Anthony Fauci.
But it all pointed to an apparent course-reversal. Trump for months had heeded aides who pushed for him to all but ignore the virus and instead focus on the economy and more politically advantageous terrain.
Trump will use the briefings \u201cto speak directly to the American people about the federal government\u2019s coronavirus response and other pertinent issues,\u201d said White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews.
The return to briefings has been championed in the West Wing by senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, who advocated publicly last week that Trump should return to the podium to more clearly highlight steps toward economic recovery but also create a stage to display leadership by addressing Americans\u2019 concerns about COVID-19.
\u201cHis approval rating on the pandemic was higher when he was at the podium,\u201d Conway said Friday, in a tacit admission of what is largely unspoken aloud by Trump aides: that he is behind in both public and private surveys. \u201cIt was at 51% in March. And I think people want to hear from the president of the United States.\u201d
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be daily,\u201d she added. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be for two hours. But in my view, it has to be.\u201d
In addition to discussing medical developments, Trump also was expected to focus on his advocacy for schools to reopen for in-person education, following his threat to try to withhold federal funds from those that stick to remote education.
Other Trump aides have for months pushed the president to keep a lower profile on the virus response and instead champion the economic recovery and other issues with a clearer political upside. That camp, led by chief of staff Mark Meadows, has attempted to plot out something close to a traditional messaging strategy for Trump to contrast him with Biden on policy issues.
In the last week, they\u2019ve organized White House events highlighting Trump\u2019s efforts to support law enforcement, talk tough on China and roll back regulations, all while sharply criticizing Biden. And Trump himself has teased forthcoming moves on immigration and health care.
Meadows was among the most forceful White House aides in pushing Trump to end the once-daily coronavirus briefings more than two months ago after the president mused about injecting disinfectants as a cure for the virus. It sparked state medical warnings against the potentially deadly move.
The daily briefings were scrapped soon after that misstatement, fulfilling the hope of aides who saw them dragging down the president\u2019s poll numbers, particularly with older voters.
But the president himself had not abandoned the idea of reviving them in some form, telling aides he missed the early evening window in which he would dominate cable television ratings. Tellingly, when he announced Monday that the news conferences could return, he did so with an eye toward its time slot.
The view in Trump\u2019s circle is that the president needs an alternate means to reach voters with his trademark rallies largely on hold because of the coronavirus. The president voiced frustration in recent days about his inability to hold a rally, blaming Democratic governors in battleground states for not waiving COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings.
\u201cI want to get out there and do the rally as soon as we can,\u201d Trump said Saturday on a call with Michigan supporters. \u201cBetween COVID and your governor\u2019s restrictions, it really makes it very difficult, but we\u2019ll be out there eventually. But in the meantime, we\u2019re doing it telephonically.\u201d
But there are few states that don\u2019t have rising COVID-19 cases or stringent restrictions.
Even in states where Republican governors may be willing to lift restrictions, campaign advisers worry about surging infection rates that could dissuade supporters from attending a rally. A rally slated for New Hampshire, which has a low COVID-19 rate and a Republican governor, was scrapped in part because of fears of low attendance.
Instead, the campaign and White House are attempting to create alternate methods of holding events that could drive media coverage. Trump has recently taken to delivering more politically themed speeches from the Rose Garden and, in a recent trip to Florida, held an unofficial event at U. S. Southern Command and a campaign event with Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants. More trips of that nature are planned in the coming weeks.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.<\/p>\n