Mediaboss Marketing

A space ship could land on the White House lawn or a war could break out with Suriname. But absent that, two compelling national narratives are hurtling us toward Election Day COVID-19 vs. culture and COVID-19 is winning hands down.

Both issues are powerful, each a winner in the right hands. But President Donald Trump is bungling both, and former Vice President Joe Biden is content to sit back and watch.

The culture war should be a slam dunk for Trump politically. Masked mobs (ideally) are tearing down monuments and dumping them in rivers. Beloved national symbols are being desecrated with eggs and spray paint, and an atmosphere of chaos is descending on cities, with shootings up and police response times down. The average person doesnt like that.

The situation begs for steady, law-and-order conservative leadership, but instead of focusing on the lowest hanging fruit the crime, the destruction of a Frederick Douglass statue in Rochester, attacks on Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Christopher Columbus monuments to name a few Trump attacks NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag at its race tracks and African American driver Bubba Wallace for questioning why a noose was hanging in his garage. From a purely calculative perspective, its political malpractice.

But thats what Trump does. He inexplicably opens himself up to charges of supporting white supremacism when there are legitimate conversations to be had about hooliganism and preserving cultural heritage. Handled correctly focusing on the objectively egregious and letting southern states self-determine what stays and goes through legal processes Trump could be driving a winning cultural message through Election Day. Its a message that talks to me, and I cant stand the guy.

But theres this little thing called COVID-19 to contend with, too, and on that Trump has totally dropped the ball. Hes acting as though the virus doesnt exist, and thats more than malpractice. Its political insanity.

Nothing is more important to voters than their health, and its crazy to think their attention can be drawn away from an imminent life-and-death issue like COVID-19 by sleight of hand. Tweets that once distracted voters from unfavorable Trump news cycles are powerless while this virus runs rampant. Trumps change-the-subject tactic, moreover, makes people feel he doesnt care about them. COVID-19 was raging in Tulsa, but he had to have his vanity rally. Now hes planning to drag the Republican National Committee to virus-raged Florida for his nominating convention.

Is there a single political adviser left in Washington that he listens to?

Go inside New York politics.

By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.

With COVID-19 alone Trump should be leading Biden comfortably. Why? Because the adage you dont change horses midstream normally applies. As gross as it sounds, public emergencies are an enormous political opportunity for those holding executive office. The public is scared and dependent on leaders like at no other time. An executive who takes the reins even if he errs is rewarded, worshipped even. Ask Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Trump simply let the reins go and hoped for the best.

Those advising the president to focus on American culture are half right. Done carefully, it will drive voters into his camp. But things arent happening in a vacuum. The worst pandemic in a century is spreading virtually unabated across the United States, while other countries are tamping it down. Trump needs to acknowledge that and take charge if he wants a second term.

COVID-19 trumps everything until its behind us. Only a fool would think otherwise.

William F.B. OReilly is a consultant to Republicans.

William F. B. O'Reilly is a Newsday Opinion columnist. He works as a corporate and political communications consultant. He works with clients on the Republican side of the aisle.

Read the rest here:
O'Reilly: COVID-19 trumps the culture wars - Newsday