Only in the face of journalists — and therefore without being accompanied by his or her respected advisor in immunology Anthony Fauci that he was accused of being too “alarmist” — Donald Trump has remained relatively sober.
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21 July 2020 11h13
Updated at 22h28
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In difficulty, Trump changes the tone and recognizes the gravity of the situation
Francesco Fontemaggi
Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON — struggling in the polls, soon 100 days of the presidential election, criticized for his handling of the coronavirus, Donald Trump has attempted Tuesday to retake control of the acknowledging the gravity of the health crisis.
“This will probably, unfortunately, get worse before they get better. I don’t like to say this, but it is like that”, said the president of the United States at the White House, where he returned for the first time since late April with press conferences on the COVID-19, called to become regular, as at the height of the pandemic.
“In recent weeks, we have seen an alarming rise of cases in many areas of our South,” he added, referring to the “large fire” and even a “very difficult situation” in Florida, a State ruled by one of his close allies, where he was scheduled to be held in a month, that convention is supposed to start the final stretch of his campaign.
After an improvement towards the end of the spring, the epidemic has flared up in the country, already the most grief-stricken in the world with 141 883 dead. The number of cases exploded to over 60 000 per day for a week, for a total of 3.89 million since the beginning of the pandemic — and the daily deaths are also rising again — over 700 per day average.
The situation is particularly worrisome in Southern States, such as California, Florida or Texas, often forced to impose restrictions against the grain of the déconfinement.
So far, Donald Trump had tried at all costs to turn the page of the COVID-19. In a hurry to revive the economy as well as its campaign for the presidential election of 3 November, he was accused of being in denial in the face of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
But after a meeting missed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June, in front of an audience sparse, the progression of the epidemic, it was not possible to continue with the large public meetings he likes.
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You will never hear this on the Fake News concerning the China Virus, a goal that by comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well – and we have done things that few other countries could have done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2020
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Change of strategy
During this time, her democratic opponent Joe Biden, who never moves yet as carefully on the ground, is considered more competent to cope with the multiple crises that pass through the United States.
It widens the gap in the polls: if the election were held today, he would win hands down, according to voting intentions.
Change of strategy for the president.
If Donald Trump has touted his management of the virus, maintained that he would eventually “disappear”, and hailed with enthusiasm the progress towards a vaccine, he also for the first time clearly recommended the port of the mask.
“We are asking everyone to wear a mask when the remote person is not possible,” he started, coming out of his pocket his own protection, he has not yet endorsed in public only once, on 11 July, several months after the beginning of the pandemic.
“That you like the masks or not, they have an impact”, he pleaded, as he is accused of having himself fanned the embers of the resistance by defending up to now the “freedom” of individual in the matter.
He even went so far as to “beg” youth to avoid”crowded bars”, a tone alarmist abandoned for several weeks.
In his own camp, a republican, a number of governors in the first line to tackle the disease and many elected officials are grappling with parliamentary elections, and delicate in November called on the president to evolve on the mask, and, beyond that, to build the fight against the epidemic a priority.
Only in the face of journalists — and therefore without being accompanied by his or her respected advisor in immunology Anthony Fauci that he was accused of being too “alarmist” — Donald Trump has remained relatively sober.
Unlike the endless “briefings” in the spring, he has mastered the length of his press conference, which lasted less than half an hour.
Especially, it has not transformed into a gathering of campaign or rant anti-Biden, as he had done in mid-July during an intervention, officially devoted to China.
To do this, if you can’t beat the bleachers, it left Twitter, where he has accused Tuesday the “radical left,” to provide for “big tax increases”.
But Donald Trump has done in promising to hold such press conferences ” quite often “, and should also cover “other topics, including economic ones”.
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Strong Stock Market Numbers. You want to see them dive? Vote for the Radical Left with their BIG Tax Hikes!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 21, 2020
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EIGHTH DAY TO MORE THAN 60 000 CASES IN 24 HOURS
The United States has, for the eighth consecutive day, registered more than 60 000 new cases of contamination coronavirus in the space of 24 hours, according to the count Tuesday at 20: 30 (eastern daylight time) from Johns Hopkins University.
The 68 524 new infections are seen on a day relate to more than 3.89 million the total number of positive cases in the country since the beginning of the pandemic, which appeared in December in China before spreading into the rest of the world.
The COVID-19 has also caused the death of 961 people in the last 24 hours, for a total of 141 883 deaths, according to the university based in Baltimore, whose balance sheets are reference.
By far the most affected country in the world in absolute terms, the United States, after having experienced an improvement towards the end of the spring, see them for several weeks, the epidemic is starting to increase again, particularly in the south and west of the country. AFP