2020 Watch: Can President Donald Trump reclaim control?

 coronavirus outbreak has grounded 2020 presidential race — but t ended it. What we’re watching heading into a new week of what we used to call campaign trail: Days to next set of primaries (if Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming don’t reschedule): 12

Days to general election: 225

NARRATIVE

Call it Bully Pulpit Rule: terms of any incumbent presidential election start at White House. Donald Trump, whose chief political skill always has been media domination, seems ready-made for that. Republican president also has an opposition party stuck in neutral. Joe Biden is Democrats’ minee-in-waiting, but Bernie Sanders remains in race, with official end in sight.

Yet with all that going for Trump,  COVID-19 pandemic finally has presented former reality television star with a very real crisis. leader of free world, matter how many White House briefings he gives, cant simply define, overwhelm or intimidate a deadly communicable disease as if it’s a conventional political opponent. And t even an American president can dictate how world ecomy responds. Trump has all advants of incumbency. w, he’s forced to confront pitfalls.

BIG QUESTIONS

Can Trump find his presidential footing?

president has been consistent about pledging action to confront coronavirus but inconsistent in his follow-through.

He’s called himself “a wartime president” and said he’s invoking Defense Production Act, yet re’s evidence administration has directed private sector production to meet shorts in medical supplies including gloves, masks and ventilators.

He’s backed idea of an ecomic pack approaching $2 trillion, including direct payments to a large swath of Americans. Yet president doesn’t seem to be a central figure in negotiations.

Trump has allowed Dr. Anthony Fauci to become a household name. But president disagreed openly with federal government’s top infectious disease expert during nationally televised briefings. Trump has plenty of opportunities to shift from reflexive cheerleader to commanding executive, but he doesn’t appear to be re yet. re is little evidence his political base will punish him for his response. But that chunk of electorate alone can’t ensure his reelection.

Can Democrats break through coronavirus cacophony?

A quasi-national quarantine has Biden grounded in his Delaware home.

But he told dors on a Sunday telephone fundraiser that he’s remade his recreation room into a television studio and that he planned, beginning late Monday morning, to give first of what will become regular briefings.

Sanders is using online addresses to try to stay in news. most recent one was a Sunday evening effort that included several guests, tably Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

National party leaders are taking ir crack at it, as well. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and ors are holding a tele-conference Monday to mark 10th anniversary of Affordable Care Act becoming law. 2010 health insurance overhaul — and Trump’s efforts to gut it — were expected to be a defining issue of fall campaign. But see Bully Pulpit Rule above. ne of those Democrats is president.

When will Biden officially launch his search for a vice president?

Biden on Sunday evening teased at a way he could make headlines, telling dors he’d “start that vetting process” for his running mate “very soon, meaning in a matter of weeks.”

Biden indicated he’ll look at “six or seven people.” If he’s giving dors those kinds of details, it’s almost certain that wheels have started turning inside campaign. Biden’s already committed to picking a woman. Even amid a pandemic, any movement in 2020 veepstakes will put Biden in headlines.

What is Sanders’ next move?

Vermont senator kws he won’t be Democratic minee. But at 78, Sanders also kws this is his last round in presidential spotlight. And coronavirus outbreak presents him a new justification for his call to remake American ecomy and political system.

He offered a window into his thinking during his online event Sunday night. “In this unprecedented moment in American history, we must act in an unprecedented way,” Sanders told supporters who watched livestream.

He repeated his longstanding ideas ( a single-payer government insurance system ) and added some new specifics. He called for payments of “$2,000 monthly, every month, every man, woman and child until crisis is over.” But he never took a shot at Biden. He sounded more like a senator discussing Capitol Hill business than a presidential candidate.

What voting changes are next?

re’s growing pressure for states to expand vote-by-mail systems, both for upcoming primaries and for v. 3 general election. Oregon and Washington state already use mail voting for everyone. But re are logistical, psychological and political barriers in or states. Several have delayed primaries, but re are plenty of signs that COVID-19 threat will t have abated by end of primary season. And it’s virtually impossible to push back general election. date is set statutorily by Congress, but Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, is locked in by 20th Amendment to Constitution.

FINAL THOUGHT

t long ago, Trump made clear he wanted 2020 to be about his stewardship of ecomy, a validation of his promise to “make America great again.” From start of his campaign, Biden also invited a referendum on Trump, arguing that president threatened very “soul of nation.” With seven months and change until Election Day, it’s clear: Both men will get ir wish.