Why Trump's pandemic policies are so messy

A police officer works a road closure during a rally calling for an end to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic outside of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, April 22, 2020. /AP

**Editor's note: **Sun Chenghao is an assistant research professor at the Institute of American Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Despite the ongoing pandemic in the U.S., the Trump administration still unveiled the plan to reopen states in phases.

Compared with previous ambitions, the guidelines for "Opening up America Again"outlined three phases for the country to gradually lift lockdowns on social and economic activities.

Trump also eased the tough tone of the previous days when he toldgovernorson a conference call, saying that some states with low coronavirus number couldreopen theireconomieson May 1, with the caveat that states should go at their own pace.

The conflictingrhetoric from Trump,no matter an urgent call for an immediate reopen or a gradual one, ismainly due to the economic and political pressure he faces.

On the economic front, Trumpwas once most proud of his economic achievement, but now itis greatlyhit by the pandemic.

First, the overall U.S.economy will fall into recession. Morgan Stanley predicts a 30percent drop in U.S. second quarter GDPand Goldman Sachs forecasts a deeper recession than the 2009 crisis.

Second, the pandemichas extremely severe impact on U.S. industries and sectors. As various states have implemented social distancingpolicies, some sectorshave been hit hard, including art, entertainment, sports, accommodation, retail and transportation.

Third,the number of unemployed people in the pandemic hasfar exceeded the official data. The Labor Department's March jobs report reveals that the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.4percentand the economy lost 701,000 jobs, breaking a more than nine-year streak of job gains.But the Brookings Institution suggests an unemployment rate of 5.3percentfor the week ending March 21 and 8.8percentfor the week ending March 28.

President Donald Trump watches as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, April 22, 2020. /AP

Onthe political front, Trump's election prospectis closely intertwined with the COVID-19 crisis.

As the pandemiccontinued to spread, Trump's approval rating declined sharply. Though at the beginning of the crisis, Trump's approval rate surgeddue to the "rally-round-the-flag effect,"with the deteriorating situation, the public gradually lose their patience and the approval rate slippedfrom the highest point of 47.3 percentto the current 46percent, although the release of the reopenplan has slightly increased Trump's approval rate.

However, some states are still quite dissatisfied with Trump's reopenplan.

The governors of New York and California have formed alliances with neighbors to coordinate their own easing of COVID-19 lockdowns that they claimed should be based on data and experts, rather than opinion and politics.

Meanwhile, Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and other stateshave witnessed "fire Fauci!" protests, demanding that stay-at-home ordersbe ended as soon as possible.

Such chaos reflectsthe current divisions of thecountryin the fight against the pandemic crisis.

First is the debate within the federal government.

From beginning to end, the Trump administration failed to reach an agreement on the pandemicprevention and control policies.In the early stage of the outbreak, a group ledby Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Servicesand Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other medical experts suggested early implementation of social distancingmeasures, whilethe economic team in the White Housearguedthat premature intervention wouldlead to disorder in the U.S.economy, which would finally impactTrump's campaign in a negative way.

The two factions are still wranglingover when to reopen the economy, releasing conflictingsignals and leaving the public confused.

Second is the splitbetween the federal government and the state government.

Due to the lack of necessary medical materials in the early stage, Trump not only askedstates to take care of themselves, but also competedwith the states in a bidding war to get medical equipment to combat the pandemic.

Because the federal government does not have the right to interfere in the social policies of states, Trump's tough demands at firstthat states should reopen economyhave also been rejected by many of them.

Now, despite the federal government's phased plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions, Trump's rhetoricon social media inciting people in some states to protest stay-at-home orderswill undoubtedly further intensify the conflictsbetween the federal and the state.

The third is the rift between the two parties.

The outbreak of the pandemichappened to catch up with the peak of political polarization in the U.S.after Trump took office.

As Sanders, Warren and former U.S. President Obama have all endorsed Biden, the Democratic Party has achieved unity and bashedTrump on his inefficient polices on combating COVID-19. After Trump announced to put a hold on WHO funding, it triggered strong criticism from the Democrats.

The criticism has put pressure on the White Houseand the best way for Trump to respond is to ease the social distancing policies and put the U.S. economy back on the normal track, but the hasty measures might in turncause greater healthy risks and more vehement partisan fights.

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