Donald Trump’s latest press briefing is already off to a disastrous start
New polling shows that 65% of Americans think Donald Trump has been too late in his response to the coronavirus crisis, and just one-third of Americans trust what Trump is telling them about the crisis. Accordingly, Trump tried to boost his credibility at the start of his press briefing today – by tapping into the credibility of someone else.
Trump invited General Semonite to speak during today’s briefing. Semonite is in charge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers effort to build field hospitals in major cities to help with the coronavirus crisis. He’s become a popular and respected figure thanks to his enthusiastic and no-nonsense television interviews.
When the General spoke on stage today, he focused on how certain buildings have been converted into hospitals, and tried to keep it non-political. He then took a question from a reporter, and answered it respectfully. But somewhere in there, Trump interrupted the General and demanded that he begin talking about the border wall with Mexico instead. It was incredibly inappropriate, jarring, and stupid.
When General Semonite was done, he tried to leave, but Trump asked him to stick around for the rest of the briefing. Semonite responded that he had to get back to building hospitals, and he promptly left the stage. That’s right, he basically told his Commander-in-Chief to get lost, because he doesn’t have time for Trump’s deranged antics. Semonite came off well today, but Trump ended up looking like the complete idiot that he is.
