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Where Things Stand: Trump Makes A Pandemic Political

This is your TPM mid-morning briefing.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a graphic from a study he says names the United States as the country most prepared to handle a pandemic during a news conference and meeting with Af... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a graphic from a study he says names the United States as the country most prepared to handle a pandemic during a news conference and meeting with African American supporters in the Cabinet Room at the White House February 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. The president talked about the economic advances African Americans have made under his administration, about the government's response to the global coronavirus threat and how dishonest he thinks the news media can be to him. He did not answer reporters' questions about the S&P 500 taking its worst loss in almost nine years. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS

February 28, 2020 10:52 a.m.

And why wouldn’t he?

As stock markets plummet — the Dow Jones has plunged the most since the 2008 recession in recent days — and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticize President Trump’s handling of the spread of the coronavirus, the President is looking for someone to blame for his negative press. Up until this week, Trump had barely mentioned the spreading pandemic and when he did, his tone — as it often is in situations that require delicacy — was deaf.

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