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Ever since the coronavirus exploded outside of China at the end of January, Donald Trump has treated the public health crisis as a media war that he could win with the right messaging. But with cases now documented in 34 states and markets plunging, Republicans close to Trump fear his rosy assessments are fundamentally detached from reality in ways that will make the epidemic worse. He is trying to control the narrative and he cant, a former West Wing official told me.

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The problem is that the crisis fits into his preexisting and deeply held worldviewthat the media is always searching for a story to bring him down. Covid-19 is merely the latest instance, and hes reacting in familiar ways. So much FAKE NEWS! Trump tweeted this morning. He wants Justice to open investigations of the media for market manipulation, a source close to the White House told me. Trump is also frustrated with his West Wing for not getting a handle on the news cycle. Hes very frustrated he doesnt have a good team around him, a former White House official said. On Friday he forced out acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and replaced him with former House Freedom Caucus chair Mark Meadows. Trump thought the virus was getting beyond Mick, a person briefed on the internal discussions said. Trump has also complained that economic adviser Larry Kudlow is not doing enough to calm jittery markets. Last week Kudlow refused Trumps request that Kudlow hold an on-camera press briefing, sources said. Larry didnt want to have to take questions about coronavirus, a person close to Kudlow told me. Larrys not a doctor. How can he answer questions about something he doesnt know?

Trump found a willing surrogate in Kellyanne Conway, but Conways dubious claim on Friday that the virus is being contained only made the P.R. situation worse.

Trumps efforts to take control of the story himself have so far failed. A source said Trump was pleased with ratings for the Fox News town hall last Thursday, but he was furious with how he looked on television. Trump said afterwards that the lighting was bad, a source briefed on the conversation said. He said, We need Bill Shine back in here. Bill would never allow this.

Trumps press conference on Friday at the CDC was a Trumpian classic, heavy on braggadocio and almost entirely lacking a sense of the seriousness of the crisis. I like this stuff. I really get it, Trump told reporters, his face partly hidden under a red Keep America Great hat. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors say, How do you know so much about this? Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I shouldve done that instead of running for president. At another point Trump compared the situation to the Ukraine shakedown. The [coronavirus] tests are all perfect. Like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect, he said.

By now many of the presidents advisers are numb to this kind of performance. Theres very little that fazes anyone now, a former official said. But one person who spoke to the president over the weekend saw the press conference as an ominous sign. Hes just now waking up to the fact that this is bad, and he doesnt know how to respond.

As Trump pushes a nothing-to-see-here message in public, sources said hes privately terrified about getting the virus. Donald is a famous germaphobe. He hates it if someone is eating nachos and dips a chip back in after taking a bite. He calls them double dippers, a prominent Republican said. Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg recalled Trumps response to the last major outbreak in 2014. When I worked for Trump, he was obsessed with Ebola, Nunberg told me. (One Mar-a-Lago guest disputed this and said Trump was handshaking with gusto this past weekend. He was acting like the opposite of a germaphobe, the source said.)

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Hes Definitely Melting Down Over This: Trump, Germaphobe in Chief, Struggles to Control the Covid-19 Story - Vanity Fair