It is almost time for the daily briefing from the White House coronavirus task force.  For those working from home or working shorter hours, as their business has declined, the briefings are a welcome chance to get calming, reassuring, and thoughtful information.  They are a stroke of genius, demonstrating the leadership of V.P. Mike Pence, his organizational skills, and the professionals he has assembled.

Donald Trump uses Twitter to circumvent the press.  This tactic and aggressive rallying propelled him to victory over Hillary Clinton.  Rallies are not possible now, as social distancing has ended active public campaigning for the presidency.  Joe Biden has been reduced to pitiful video appearances on The View (Tuesday) and pronouncements regarding the coronavirus (Monday) lasting only a few minutes.  Bernie Sanders has virtually disappeared.  Donald Trump appears daily at the briefings, which sucks up all the oxygen involved in this issue.

Earlier in the year, the press argued that V.P. Pence and Trump do not respect science.  The briefings prove the lie of that statement.  Every day, one or more academics or scientists appear at the podium.  Though there may be nuanced statement differences between Trump and the doctors, essentially only the media see significant daylight.  Recently, Dr. Fauci publicly disavowed rumors of strong disagreements with the president.  The briefings have gone a great distance to reassure the public, with rising poll numbers for the president on this issue (55–60%).

The task force was established on Jan. 29.  Many members were added as needed, and Pence assumed leadership on Feb. 26.  On Jan. 31, the president declared a national health emergency.  As cheerleader-in-chief, Trump often gives positive personal thoughts.  The academics tend to be more circumspect in their statements, but then professionals usually are. 

The citizenry needs hope.  People do not get that from NYC mayor Bill de Blasio, who paints the most negative picture, as he claims he must tell the truth.  The NYC metropolitan area is now the epicenter of the viral spread, with rapidly increasing numbers of infected persons.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo has decried the lack of social spacing within the denser portions of the state by a relatively small number of people.  Cuomo does not want to segment upstate and downstate areas; he probably fears that NYC residents will move to other areas spreading the virus.  Already, Florida is quarantining visitors from the metro N.Y. area to that state for two weeks.

Frustration at the growing numbers prompts unnecessary and destructive complaints from Cuomo regarding ventilators and medical supplies.  The governor did not order these materials in the past for critical situations.  This cannot be blamed upon federal agents.  Governors have much control over health care facilities, but they limit costs to the state, which creates critical shortages in crises.  The virtual town hall held by Fox News and the briefings are the way to correct the record falsely pushed by the anti-Trump media.

The briefings allow the public to see repeated harassing questions the press poses to Trump.  As time has proceeded, Trump has occasionally softened his responses to these negative questions.  The public can't miss this.  For the squishy middle, this may alter Trump's unfavorability, which will help his re-election.  Trump's boasting about progress may annoy some, but task force professionals provide helpful information that reassures.  It is rare to hear or read any criticism of the professionals in the media.

On Tuesday, Trump indicated a timeline with some desire to begin opening the American economy.  This encouraged the stock market with a one-day record rise of over 2,100 points on the Dow.  Whether we can start this process by Easter (or mid-April) can be argued.  But investors were elated that our leadership are aware of the damage the shutdown has caused.  If the Congress can reach agreement on legislation to help individuals, businesses, and localities, then more investors will feel that the damage can be limited.

We must balance the public health issues with the economic issues.  The task force briefings go a long way to ensuring that the public health professionals understand the balancing process.