Amid a tide of criticism, the next day Trump came up with an explanation that was understandably dismissed out of hand, but not appreciated for how alarmingly revealing it was. “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you,” he said when asked about it, “just to see what would happen.”

That explanation was the kind of lie so preposterous on its face not even Trump’s staunchest allies bothered to defend it. But let’s imagine for a moment he was telling the truth, because that would be even more appalling.

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If you believe him, it would mean that the president of the United States, at a briefing meant to inform the public about a deadly pandemic, decided to play a trick by suggesting that people might inject themselves with deadly poison — and somehow, this was supposed to be a trick on reporters, not on the gullible people who might follow his advice. How reassuring.

But some people did at least consider whether they should begin chugging Lysol. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said, “We had hundreds of calls in our hotline here in Maryland about people asking about injecting or ingesting these disinfectants.”

If we had a different president, daily briefings on the pandemic and this unprecedented economic crisis could be an excellent idea. At a time of enormous suffering, fear and uncertainty, they could offer the public something valuable, even vital.

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Another president could use the briefings to give Americans important information on the progress of the pandemic and efforts to mitigate it. He could provide guidance on what people should and shouldn’t be doing as they try to keep themselves and their families safe. He could offer sympathy and support, to assure us that he and the rest of his administration understand the pain and grief and fear so many of us are feeling amid a pandemic that has already killed nearly 55,000 of us.

And he could inspire and unite us so that we feel that we’re meeting this challenge as one nation, and that we will get through it.

But that’s not what we’ve been getting. The Post’s Philip Bump and Ashley Parker analyzed 13 hours in which Trump has spoken during his coronavirus briefings:

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The president has offered little in the way of accurate medical information or empathy for coronavirus victims, instead focusing on attacking his enemies and lauding himself and his allies. ... Trump has attacked someone in 113 out of 346 questions he has answered — or a third of his responses. He has offered false or misleading information in nearly 25 percent of his remarks. And he has played videos praising himself and his administration’s efforts three times, including one that was widely derided as campaign propaganda produced by White House aides at taxpayer expense.

At every objective the president’s briefings might have accomplished — information, guidance, empathy, inspiration — they have been an abysmal failure. Even the experts he brings with him struggle as they have to spend a significant portion of their time cleaning up whatever appalling thing he just said.

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Meanwhile, hospitals around the country continue to suffer shortages of essential protective equipment, and most shocking of all, there is still no coherent strategy from the federal government to ensure that there are enough coronavirus tests available to allow us to get control of the pandemic, more than seven weeks after the president said, “Anybody that wants a test can get a test.”

Trump was apparently so angry at an article last week in the New York Times reporting on the enormous amount of time he spends watching TV that the White House arranged for a piece in the much friendlier New York Post on Monday detailing how he works so hard that sometimes he barely has time for lunch. Imagine! Yet somehow, this grueling schedule he supposedly keeps has allowed him up to two hours a day to rant at journalists in the briefing room about how they aren’t complimenting him enough, after which he’ll spend time furiously tweeting about his TV ratings and poll numbers.

So here’s a suggestion for the president: If he thinks the briefings are “Not worth the time & effort!,” why not give us all a break? Let the experts speak to the media, and he can use all that time on something more productive.

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At a time of crisis, the country wants leadership and reassurance from the president, but Trump is plainly incapable of providing it. So the best thing he could do is to leave us alone.