Government and public health officials in the U.S. have begun discussing when to reopen society, but as social distancing directives persist and school and business shutdowns wear on, Americans indicate their mental health will suffer before their physical or financial health does. CONT. Megan Brenan, Gallup Read more »
What Americans think about President Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic
In this special edition of the podcast, with Brookings Senior Fellows Bill Galston and Elaine Kamarck discuss President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, his administration’s response, and public opinion on that response. Also, what effect will the crisis and response to it have on the election in November? Galston […] Read more »
Trump Has a Gut Feeling About What Covid-19 Means for 2020
Evidence of President Trump’s mishandling of the current Covid-19 emergency has been building steadily. Most recently, The Washington Post on April 4 (“The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged”) and The Times on April 11 (“He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure […] Read more »
The myth of rural America’s protection from the coronavirus
Louisa County, Iowa, sits across the Mississippi River from Illinois. The county seat is Wapello, population 2,000. There are about 28 people for every square mile of the county, putting it in the 27th percentile of counties nationally for population density. It’s big and open. It’s the sort of place […] Read more »
Campaigning in a ‘Half-Speed Economy’
In this period of disorientation, few things are almost universally accepted. One of them is that the U.S. is headed into a recession. … Beyond the typical questions of how deep and how long the recession will be, there are questions of how lives will be changed by this extraordinary […] Read more »
Reputations of leaders in crises
Leaders frequently forge their reputations in crises. In normal times, competition for the public’s attention is fierce. Crises, by contrast, put leaders at the center of our focus. Almost every eye is firmly fixed on them. … In the midst of World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s approval […] Read more »