CSI: American Carnage (April 21, 2020)
WASHINGTON – It seems to me, says Chuck, that the president faces some difficulties as he, you know, tries to counterpunch and gain the upper hand. He loves his daily briefings — that we know. He’s like a billy goat on a slide when the cameras are on him. Joining me now are Bret Stephens from the New York Times, and our own Claire McCaskill, former senator from the great state of Missouri. Bret, let me start with you, over the weekend, in the past, your newspaper, the venerable New York Times, reported that during the course of the campaign, the presidential campaign, the president’s words will be used against him. How do, let me, say, how do we think about that? Will the president’s words, which are what he speaks with, can they be used effectively to, for the Democrats, can they undermine the president’s position? Bret says, Chuck, the president is in a formidable place. His surrogates are virtually everywhere while the president delivers his roundhouses every evening from the White House briefing room and that’s the way they want it, it seems to me, they want the president, and don’t forget this is a president that likes to speak forcefully, out there. Chuck says, Claire don’t the president’s words deliver his message? Claire says, Absolutely right Chuck. That’s the problem for most people. They rally round the president, like always in a time of crisis, but then they step back and consider. Any year is not a great year for a pandemic, you know, but in a presidential election year a global pandemic presents some pitfalls. The question, as always, is how will it play in November. Chuck says, Bret? Bret clears is throat. He says, Yes, the president has some minefields to navigate. The landscape is difficult and he’s made some missteps that have caused him some imaging and messaging difficulties. The president’s team has some complex decisions to make. Chuck says, Yeah, for Biden too. He can’t get out there and feel the voters. That’s a major impediment for him going forward. Bret says, And there’s the China problem, don’t forget, Chuck. The president’s team wants to show that Joe Biden’s softness on China is a major vulnerability. Claire says, Getting back to the president’s words, Chuck, let me just say that the president’s team has been preparing for them to be used to attack him, but talking to some of my old friends in the Senate, and I’ve known them for many years, the other side, the president’s people, believes they can contrast his history favorably with that of Joe. Don’t forget, Joe’s been around for decades and his positions can be found lying around everywhere. Yes a pandemic poses difficulties, Bret, but the polling shows that most people may think the president was slow to act, but they agree he’s doing a good job handling the coronavirus thing right now. Chuck says, Let me bring in Steve Kornacki at the big board. Steve, what can you show us. Steve waves his clipboard and says, Thanks Chuck, it’s very interesting. If you look at the middle of the country, if you look at the heart of the president’s heartland, he may be having some issues. Let’s look at Claire’s old state of Missouri. They’ve loosened up the testing and you’re starting to see an uptick of infections. You remember, you had to be hospitalized or seriously immobile before they’d test. That’s been loosened up a little, so now it’s up to the health professionals to make that decision, once the state is able to get a test kit up and running. How does this all play out in the polls? We don’t know. But the president’s team is quick to point out that the virus is largely concentrated in poor communities of color, St. Louis, for instance, where the president’s popularity has never been great to begin with. I spoke to some Republican operatives on the ground in St. Louis who told me that they believe the deaths of many poor voters presents them with some opportunities, you know, in the voter suppression area. We are awaiting some polling results. Chuck says, Fascinating. Thanks to the great Steve Kornacki. We’ll be back after these brief messages. – Tuesday, April 21, 2020