I did a half serious/half speculative conspiracy theory
post last week saying the left was worried that Trump would escape blame by letting the local authorities handle their own response, while he coordinates the feds. I'm starting to think the media reaction we're seeing means scenario #3 happened.
Everyone is recognizing that the painful restrictions on them weren't being put in place by Trump or the feds; they're being enacted at the state and local levels. NYC gets shut down by Mayor de Blasio, not Trump. CA calls for "sheltering in place", lets criminals go free, and is on the brink of martial law... but it wasn't Trump declaring martial law. Places like TX, where the populace is more likely to get angry at such restrictions, are getting angry at the governor, not Trump.
The small business owners who have to shut down and lay off people are doing it because of an order from the mayor, not from Trump. Primaries and elections aren't getting cancelled by 3rd Term Dictator Trump, they're getting cancelled by the Democrats--except when they aren't, which makes the party look even worse.
Meanwhile Trump is calmly talking about how great the country is, expressing hope for potential vaccines, co-opting Yang's handout gimmick, and blasting some reporters whose sole complaint is that he isn't whipping up panic. Sure, Twitter's going to sperg over every press conference, but they're meaningless.
Whether by design or by accident, he's arranged things so all the restrictions that directly affect people's lives falls will be the responsibility of others, while he is now the only major positive voice being heard at all.
The left is going nuts because he turned
the entire country into one big demonstration of why blaming him for everything is stupid. All the mayors and governors who snipe at Trump are forced to show they can do better. All the Congresscritters who screech about how impractical his policies are, suddenly seem unable to pass anything better. It's put up or shut up, on the national scale. The left is gibbering incoherently, flailing at the basic job of governing, while Trump suddenly decided to start looking somber and Presidential in contrast.