Trump promoted a doctor. Watch what she said about demons / Trump occasionally spends a few days staying generally on script, by his standards. But the president's traditional behavior always come back.

WHITE HOUSE

‘He just needs to win 60 percent of the next 100 days’

Trump occasionally spends a few days staying generally on script, by his standards. But the president's traditional behavior always come back.

By MERIDITH MCGRAW

07/28/2020 09:34 PM EDT

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/28/trump-new-tone-385709

Donald Trump’s “new” tones are perpetually faltering.

After a week in which the president was more willing to stick to a script, to temporarily eschew some of his more fact-challenged medical statements and to keep many of answers to reporters’ questions uncharacteristically succinct, Trump’s more typical behavior is starting to show through.

In the last day, he again chided governors who were slowing economic reopenings amid a nationwide coronavirus surge, and he returned to promoting flawed information about hydroxychloroquine, MAGAworld’s preferred Covid-19 drug, even as top public health officials debate its efficacy. Tuesday night, Trump characteristically doubled down, defending his decision to trumpet misleading claims from a doctor who has also alleged alien DNA is used in medical treatments and vaccines are disseminated to prevent people from being religious.

“I thought she was very impressive,” Trump said. “She said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her."

The swinging pendulum of Trump’s tone represents the latest instance of Trump pulling back on his frequent tactics — pushing evidence-deficient claims, interweaving political attacks with policy announcements — only to revert within days. It’s a trend that spans back to his campaign days, but it has been particularly apparent in recent months as the pandemic and nationwide protests have rocked the country.

In March, after downplaying the virus for weeks, the president suddenly adopted a more somber tone, only to days later predict a grand reopening by Easter. Later, in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, the president first said he acknowledged the pain felt by Americans over the death, but then days later called for the “domination” of people protesting police violence.

While Trump’s critics inevitably roll their eyes each time Trump reverts to form, his backers say that as long as he avoids the more egregious fumbles — like retweeting a video of a supporter yelling “white power” — his off-the-cuff style will continue to be a political tool.

“If once in a while he goes off on a tweet storm about Dr. Fauci, OK,” said a person close to the White House, referencing the president’s occasional attempts — including on Tuesday night — to discredit Anthony Fauci, one of the government’s most respected voices on the coronavirus. “He just needs to have more days like we saw in the last week and a half than not. He doesn’t need perfection, he just needs to win 60 percent of the next 100 days.”

The attempt to get Trump relatively on message comes as coronavirus cases surge across the United States, with major spikes in Arizona, Florida and Texas. Meanwhile, the death toll from the disease has kept climbing, topping 147,000, and renewing concerns about protective equipment and hospital space.