Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

White House Deceptions Don’t Help Trump

No one knows how ill the president really is. That doesn’t help his cause.

October 5, 2020 at 11:46 AM UTC

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Ill advised.
Photographer: Alex Edelman/AFP

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My immediate reaction to President Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis on Thursday was to urge the administration to practice full disclosure and avoid factual mistakes. The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty had the same response, writing: “Starting right now, Americans must demand briefings from the medical personnel — presumably military doctors — treating the president. The medical team should make public the specifics of Trump’s symptoms, test results, vital signs and his treatment regimen.”