In the face of his administration's bungled response to the virus that's killed over 60 thousand Americans, President Donald Trump's poll numbers have been grim. In addition to a steadily rising average disapproval rating, Trump's handling of the virus response fell from 49 percent to 39 percent in just one month.
The polls for the 2020 election against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden aren't giving the Trump campaign much reason to hope either.
While any stable leader would examine their own actions and alter course, Trump is blaming the news on his campaign manager, Brad Parscale.
The New York Times spoke to multiple people who witnessed Trump bellowing into the phone to Parscale and even threatening to sue him, though this appeared to be an empty threat.
The call came just days after Trump made the startling speculation that injecting disinfectants could be a potential cure for the virus, since these disinfectants were effective at killing it on household surfaces.
According to the Times:
"Trump lashed out at Mr. Parscale and said it was other people's fault that there have beenfluctuations in a race they had all seen as his to lose just two months ago. At one point, he said he would not lose to Mr. Biden, insisted the data was wrong and blamed the campaign manager for the fact that he is down in the polls, according to one of the people familiar with the conversation. Mr. Trump even made a threat to sue Mr. Parscale, the person said, although it did not appear to be serious."
It's unlikely that this comes as a surprise to anyone who's observed Trump since his 2016 campaign and subsequent presidency. He frequently kicks the blame to anyone but himself, with his favorite targets being the media, the Obama administration, Democrats, and even officials he himself appointed.
Trump has consistently shown a refusal to take responsibility.
People knew whose fault the numbers were.
What a mess.
For a deeper look into Trump's ineptitude, check out A Very Stable Genius, available here.
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