Everyone piles on after Donald Trump takes pathetic swing and miss
When Joe Biden ventured out in public while doing the right thing by wearing a mask, Donald Trump did what he always does in these situations: he tried to paint Biden as somehow being in the wrong, in the hope of making Biden tepid about his mask-wearing. Instead Biden used a photo of himself wearing a mask as his profile picture, making clear that he’s not going to cower on this.
It’s left Donald Trump without a clear path forward on the issue. If he starts wearing a mask now, he’s admitting he was being a jerk by not wearing one before. If he goes quiet about it, most of the media will continue to point out that he’s in the wrong by not wearing a mask. And if he keeps pushing the issue, he’s putting himself on the wrong side of polling that says the vast majority of Americans think wearing a mask is the right thing to do.
So instead Trump is trying a new, and weird, tack. Late on Wednesday night he tweeted a photo of Joe Biden wearing a mask, and added “He looks better!” Let’s just say that Trump’s weird attempt at sarcasm didn’t go over well. The negative replies came fast and furious, making clear that Trump’s jab at Biden was a stumble on Trump’s part.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report