It is clear to me that for Donald Trump to speak candidly and frankly about the state of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic would be tantamount to admitting defeat … and admitting he was wrong to boast about the fantastic job he and his response team had delivered.

Medical experts are telling us that the pandemic is getting set to sweep into areas of the country not yet hammered by its misery. The Sun Belt has felt the virus’s wrath; so has the Pacific Coast; same for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Now it’s the Midwest’s turn to face down the coronavirus dragon, or so we are being told.

Dr. Deborah Birx, one of Trump’s pandemic task force response members – and an acknowledged expert on infectious disease – has issued dire warnings about what lies ahead for the nation. Trump’s response? He calls her “pathetic.” Good ever-loving grief, dude. Get a grip. She is the expert. You are not!

Trump’s aversion to admitting failure or to acknowledging a mistake is well-known. It’s his modus operandi. He fires off rebukes and epithets to those who surround him, those he enlists – ostensibly – to assist him in putting down crises. This is what he has done to Deborah Birx as well as to Dr. Anthony Fauci, another world-renowned infectious disease expert.

I am at the point now of giving up on Donald Trump ever being able to discuss with us the gravity of the crisis that continues to unfold. It continues to spread its tragedy. It has killed more than 155,000 Americans. It has sickened more than 4 million of us. Some of those infected happen to be friends of mine and even some members of my family. I do not feel comforted one tiny bit by anything that flies out of Donald Trump’s mouth.

Nor do I ever expect to hear anything approaching an honest assessment of the battle we are waging. Why? Because Trump has wrapped himself tightly in a blanket of false delusion.