In last night’s first Coronavirus briefing in months, Donald Trump did not invite any of the medical experts from the Coronavirus task force to speak, he insisted this be all about him, that the virus would soon disappear, and that he has been doing a heckuva job. It was mostly the same from Trump, with a few exceptions, where he fought against his instincts and spoke in a subdued and more sober manner, kept the press conference to around half an hour, was appropriately grave — saying that it would “get worse before it gets better” — and he actually encouraged folks to wear masks.

I want to be clear here: Trump delivered the press conference that his more sane political advisors insisted he deliver, and he will almost certainly undo every coherent statement he might have made by day’s end. But it is important that Donald Trump finally encouraged mask use, because Trump’s refusal to do so is, in part, why 70,000 people are being infected a day, and 1,000 people a day are dying. I can’t find it now, but there was a tweet going around yesterday showing some Trump supporter mocking Biden a few months ago for wearing a mask, and then saying this week that Trump was lookin’ good in his. Trump supporters are horrible human beings, but if they’re wearing masks, they’re less likely to kill the rest of us, and the only way they were ever going to wear a mask is if their overlord gave them the A-OK to contribute beneficially to the nation’s public health. (That said, the second someone suggests that Trump is “finally” doing what Biden has been doing since the beginning, Trump is going to reverse position immediately).

In any respect, all of it was moot in the end, because no one is going to remember anything from that press conference anyway except these four words: “I wish her well.”

Holy shit how do you fumble this?

On Ghislaine Maxwell: "I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years especially since I lived in Palm Beach and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is." pic.twitter.com/65Z7ncwPg0

— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) July 21, 2020

Football players peacefully kneel:

Trump: “Sons of bitches!”

Ghislaine Maxwell gets charged with sex trafficking of children:

Trump: “I wish her well.”

— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) July 21, 2020

I wonder how the #QAnons are going to spin this one. “I wish her well, frankly”. pic.twitter.com/0eStDmk5eA

— AJ Will Resist (@Ajblivits) July 22, 2020

Trump on child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell:

“I wish her well.”

Trump on the 144,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 on his watch:

“It is what it is.”

— God (@thegoodgodabove) July 22, 2020

For those following: The correct answer to the question about whether Maxwell will turn in powerful men should have been “I hope that she cooperates fully so all those who have abused women and children are brought to justice.” Not “I wish her well.”

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) July 21, 2020

She has the goods on him. He is signaling “please don’t talk.”

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 22, 2020

These journalists are just the worst. I cannot put it any other way. It’s lazy, lame, inaccurate, and oh the Prez shouted out his sex trafficking lady friend.
I’m not surprised, but they are
The. Worst. https://t.co/qwoHwYfq9C

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) July 22, 2020

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.

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