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A friend of ours who voted for President Trump sent us a note recently saying that she had stopped watching the daily White House briefings of the coronavirus task force. Why? Because they have become less about defeating the virus and more about the many feuds of Donald J. Trump. (4/8)

President Trump was right this week to sharply criticize the inexcusable conduct of the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic and to threaten to cut U.S. funding for that United Nations organization. The U.S. contributed over $400 million to the WHO last year – far more than any other nation. China contributed $44 million.WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attacked Trump on Wednesday. “If you don’t want many more body bags, you refrain from politicizing it,” Tedros told reporters. (Gordon G. Chang, 4/9)4/9)

A few days ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci called for a nationwide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. “I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” said the country’s leading expert on infectious disease, although he did acknowledge “the Trump administration’s hesitance to encroach upon local authorities.” Many Americans share the good doctor’s confusion. Why won’t President Trump use his authority to issue a national stay-at home order? Or use his influence to persuade governors to do so? And, above all, why did President Trump downplay the threat of the coronavirus and refuse to act on the advice of his experts while there was still a chance of containing the virus and saving tens of thousands of American lives? (Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, 4/9)

The election chaos in Wisconsin on Tuesday sent a clear message: The nation can’t afford a repeat in November. Poll workers, many of them vulnerable senior citizens, and voters were forced to risk covid-19 infection to participate in American democracy, with scandalously long lines at the few polling places that were open in some areas. Gov. Tony Evers (D) had issued an executive order to reschedule the election, but Republicans fought against it and the state’s Supreme Court blocked it.Republicans also attacked a sensible proposal by Evers to essentially turn the election into one conducted by mail, with absentee ballots sent to every registered voter. President Trump has lately chimed in with criticism that mail-in balloting is “horrible,” “corrupt” and invites “fraud.” (John Hickenlooper, 4/8)

It was one of many days that U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus hit a new peak, but President Donald Trump seemed determined to maintain a positive tone. “It’s a beautiful day in Washington, D.C., and we’re getting better every day,” the president told last Friday’s daily briefing on the virus that has crippled the nation. “You’ll see bad things and then you’re going to see some very good things.” Two days later, Trump was even more optimistic. “We see a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. But earlier Sunday, the government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on CBS’ Face the Nation, “We are struggling to get it under control.” (Carl P. Leubsdorf, 4/9)

On Feb. 28, when the first person died of the novel coronavirus in the United States, the virus launched its “surprise” attack on America. This is not a drill. This coronavirus is a parasite, and we are its host. President Donald Trump is learning, albeit slowly, that in a pandemic, you can’t warp reality with bluster and lies and ignorant assertions that suit your political interests. You can’t gaslight a virus. It doesn’t care — it just replicates. And the way the virus replicates is through humans, no matter who we are or where we live. (Charlie Walch, 4/9)

As the coronavirus spreads around the world, U.S. officials who downplayed the risk have repeatedly blamed China’s fake data and deceptive practices for the outbreak. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said in March that poor information from China has “put us behind the curve.” Last week, several House Republicans sent a letter to Pompeo stating that “misinformation from China over the past several months has severely crippled global action to combat the global pandemic.” (Jeremy L. Wallace and Jessica Chen Weiss, 4/9)

Americans typically hate being told what to do. Autonomy and individualism are hallmarks of the US Constitution and are embedded in our national culture. We take pride in being unique, in doing the impossible, in being a leader. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders and followers across the country share a sense of anxiety and uncertainty. The way we approach leadership today will define our place in world history.Leaders must know how to follow. (Jason Pradarelli and Gerard Doherty, 4/8)

In the United States, the current “ball of confusion” starts, of course, with President Donald Trump. Careening from hope to fear, mutating from Neville Chamberlain one moment to Winston Churchill the next, spewing an endless stream of useful and useless information — Trump is the worst leader for the worst time. (James Rosen, 4/8)