I wrote today about the political danger to the administration of seeming to dismiss coronavirus fears:

Although Trump struck a mostly better tone in his news conference after returning from his trip to India, he’s been a chief offender, wanting to downplay the virus for fear it will continue to suppress the stock market.

This is exactly the wrong approach. The moment doesn’t call for market-reassuring Trump, but threats-aren’t-getting-past-our-borders Trump, not Dow 30,000 Trump, but drawbridge-and-moat Trump.

Everything should be geared toward to overreacting now, when the threat in the U.S. is still in prospect, than later, when circumstances may be beyond anyone’s direct control.