During his virus briefing/press conference on Thursday, President Trump formally announced his “Opening Up America” plan. He spoke in general terms about the phased plan, which will slowly open up the American economy, always stopping to ensure that the virus does not rear up again. He made clear that the states would take the lead in determining the timing for initiating each phase based upon the facts on the ground in that state.

Having introduced the plan in general terms, Trump stepped back to allow Deborah Birx to spell out the details. Aside from the fact that Dr. Birx is an excellent communicator, Trump was signaling that the plan was medical in origin and intended to keep people safe, rather than being driven by Trump’s political and economic goals.

You can read the entire plan here, but the general outlines are as follows: The plan sets out three phases, with each progressively lessening government’s hold on people’s activities. The states will enter into each new phase after each state meets a series of benchmarks tied to declining rates of infection. 

For individuals, the plan contemplates that Americans will continue social distancing and personal mitigation. The plan also echoes what’s been going on in Sweden. There, at-risk individuals shelter in place, with the remainder of the population functioning normally. The restraints on at-risk individuals will continue through stages one and two. Public health officials from all jurisdictions (federal, state, and local) will monitor and test people, and respond to hot spots. In essence, America’s public health system, from the CDC on down, will act in a way consistent with the system’s general mandates and usual functioning, without the ad hoc madness.

At least on paper, the plan is well thought out and reasonable. It shows a healthy respect for American federalism, with the governors setting the pace for their state and the federal government acting as needed for support. It also requires the governors to show the political courage needed to free up their states. The plan does not allow them to sit on the side-lines while accusing Trump and his administration of doing everything wrong.

Naturally, the leftists in the mainstream media hated the plan. Moreover, despite Trump’s manifest effort not to politicize the plan, the media instantly politicized it. For them, the fact that Trump respected federalism rather than testing how far he could push his powers under the National Emergencies Act, is proof that Trump's a loser. Thus, the New York Times, on the front page, rather than talking about the plan’s substance, has this headline: “President Backs Down From Confrontation Over Reopening States.”

The Washington Post’s response, by Amber Phillips, perfectly represents the media’s inability to analyze anything objectively. For the media, everything is a war to the death against Trump.

The article opens with Phillips assuring the reader, “Here’s what you need to know from Thursday’s briefing.” However, the article tells the reader almost nothing about the plan’s substance. Instead, it attacks Trump and pokes speculative and stylistic holes in the plan:

1. Trump lost the game of chicken over when to reopen states

This wouldn’t have been a battle if Trump hadn’t made it one, specifically by coming out Monday and saying he had “absolute” power with regard to reopening the economy. That’s not the case, and New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) threatened legal action if Trump tried to tell states such as New York to reopen before they were ready. 

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2. Officials did not confirm whether there will be enough testing to execute this plan

You cannot reopen a business if you don’t know which employees have or have not had the coronavirus. And on Thursday, White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx said testing is making great strides, but neither she nor others affirmed that the United States would have the capabilities to test millions of people per day over the next few weeks, both for who has the coronavirus and who had the coronavirus and may have immunity.

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3. Trump props up people protesting social distancing in states like Michigan

“They seem to be protesters that like me,” Trump said of the people who gathered in several states this week to protest stay-at-home orders. Indeed, many protesters were photographed wearing Trump campaign hats and carrying Trump campaign signs.

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4. The new normal is not going to be normal

The guidelines gave no timeline for when states should think about reopening. The measure is declining infections and death rates, and no public health expert can say by what date that will start happening for the nation, let alone individual states.

If Americans want to know how life will unfold in the next few weeks, they’ll have to look elsewhere. The modern American media does not exist to inform Americans; it exists to indoctrinate them.