President Trump puts on a brave face when talking about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, but things are reportedly pretty different behind closed doors.
Vanity Fair reports that Trump — a self-professed germaphobe — is "melting down over this." Perhaps not shockingly, he's focused on the media, in particular, one person close to the White House said. That reportedly includes him telling aides last week that he was concerned journalists would purposefully contract COVID-19 in an attempt to infect him on Air Force One.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Colossal Biosciences and the dire wolfThe US bioscience firm claimed it had genetically engineered new dire wolves after 10,000 years of extinction
-
6 hotels offering fun and unexpected amenitiesThe Week Recommends Have a butler walk your dog and a guitar sent to your room. But not have your guitar walked.
-
Crossword: April 10, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Low-cost airline faces backlash after agreeing to operate ICE's deportation flightsThe Explainer The flights will begin out of Arizona in May
-
Could Trump's tariff war be his undoing with the GOP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The catastrophic effects of the president's 'Liberation Day' tariffs might create a serious wedge between him and the rest of the Republican party
-
Ukraine nabs first Chinese troops in Russia warSpeed Read Ukraine claims to have f two Chinese men fighting for Russia
-
IRS chief resigning after ICE deal on taxpayer dataSpeed Read Several IRS officials are stepping down after the tax agency is forced to share protected taxpayer records to further Trump's deportation drive
-
Musk and Navarro feud as Trump's trade war escalatesSpeed Read The spat between DOGE chief Elon Musk and Trump's top trade adviser Peter Navarro suggests divisions within the president's MAGA coalition
-
Voting: Trump's plan to overhaul electionsFeature Trump signed an executive order requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship and cutting federal election funding for states that use mail-in ballots
-
Offseason elections spell danger for the GOPFeature Democrats flip Wisconsin's Supreme Court Seat despite Musk's influence
-
Jewish communities are wary of Trump's push to punish antisemitismIN THE SPOTLIGHT While the White House expands its effort to criminalize actions it deems harmful to Jewish Americans, not everyone in those communities are on board with the president's purported assistance.
