Trump face-plants in the homestretch

Most Americans — about two-thirds — are still concerned about the coronavirus. More than 80 percent of voters in every critical battleground state except Iowa tell researchers that they wear a mask in public "all or most of the time." Reminder: Masks are unpleasant for everyone, but conscientious Americans are doing it anyway. A September survey found that 83 percent of Americans are still practicing social distancing — an anodyne euphemism for the incredibly painful practice of isolating yourself from friends and family indefinitely. Even if these numbers are off by 15 points, you're still talking about a campaign openly leaning in to behavior that is disapproved by supermajorities of the American people.

How does the Trump campaign think all of this mask-free pageantry and reckless endangerment looks to voters who have suffered and sacrificed for eight long months in an effort to stop the spread of the virus and to spare themselves and their loved ones illness and death? To the parents who have worked around the clock with kids at home, living the same nightmare day over and over? To the millions who have lost someone close to them or who have survived the ordeal but nevertheless suffered the debilitating effects of COVID-19? To the multitudes of essential workers and health-care professionals putting their lives on the line to keep society functioning? The Trump campaign is not only sloughing off their sacrifices but also contributing to a spiraling third wave of the virus that threatens to make this winter a horror show for everyone.

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This three-pronged strategy of political suicide and public health disaster came together seamlessly Tuesday night in Omaha, Nebraska. Before stranding thousands of his hapless followers in the cold, ink-black darkness outside of the airport, the president babbled on for two minutes about this inscrutable non-scandal ("Vice President Biden was directly involved and personally involved in establishing corrupt business dealing with China and getting money for it" and then repeatedly made fun of the media for covering the coronavirus: "But you notice the fake news now, right? All they talk about is COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. And we've made such progress it's incredible."

Is the president on meth? Nebraska is a virus hotspot. The country is setting records for daily cases while hospital systems groan under the weight of new COVID patients and every sensible American is trying to figure out how to survive a long winter without flinging themselves into the nearest body of water.