President Donald Trump is earning some rare praise from one of his favorite political punching bags, CNN.
After a White House press conference on the coronavirus outbreak on Tuesday, CNN’s Dana Bash noted that Trump’s tone regarding the coronavirus outbreak seems to have changed over the past few days. And, she offered a word of praise for the president.
“This was remarkable from the President of the United States,” Bash said, adding, “This is an important thing to note and to applaud from an American standpoint — from a human standpoint.”
She added, “He is being the kind of leader that people need, at least in tone, today and yesterday. In tone, that people need, and want, and yearn for in times of crisis and uncertainty.”
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Dana Bash just called Trump's tone "remarkable" and the kind of leadership we need during a crisis and said his recent pivot was "pretty incredible." pic.twitter.com/kXx2Uv0L4m
— jordan (@JordanUhl) March 17, 2020
Bash continued:
“It is so important to hear him strike that tone of calm and of understanding of how incredibly dire this is.”
Her comments come as Trump has taken a more somber tone regarding the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Many have noted that until late last week, Trump appeared to take an overly optimistic approach to the outbreak. He suggested that the virus would “go away” and seemed to be reluctant to take more aggressive action.
And, on March 9, Trump appeared to downplay the risk posed by the coronavirus by comparing it to the seasonal flu.
This was Trump eight days ago. https://t.co/1xVFAYbzws
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 17, 2020
However, in recent days, Trump has struck a more serious tone. At a press conference on Monday, Trump urged younger Americans to stay home and avoid going out to bars or restaurants.
“It’s important for the young and healthy to understand… they can easily spread this virus, and they will spread it indeed, putting countless others in harm’s way,” he said.
Additionally, he suggested that Americans avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.
Bash said that Trump’s change in tone was “pretty incredible.”
For his part, Trump said on Tuesday that he did not think that his tone had changed on the coronavirus, “I didn’t feel different.”
“I’ve always known this is a real — this is a pandemic,” he added. “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
