President Donald Trump speaks during press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House, Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It’s like we’re living in bizarro world, isn’t it? If you have followed politics at all since 2016, you know that the left has been in full “Orange Man Bad” mode, constantly criticizing – and lying about – President Donald Trump.

But over the past few weeks, several high-profile Democrats have publicly praised the president for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, despite having castigated him only days before. Even members of the corporate press have acknowledged the effort the Trump administration is putting into mitigating the impact of the virus.

Most recently, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) lauded Trump’s leadership through the crisis. In a recent Twitter thread, the lawmaker called the president’s reaction to the outbreak “Incredible and the right response in this critical time.” She continued, “We should never let politics get in the way of good policy. This is a great start and hope others will be part of a united front to push for good policies.”

Rep. Ayanna Pressley also weighed in on Twitter. “Unprecedented times require unprecedented leadership and we are seeing that in our country right now,” she tweeted. “I have faith that we will survive this as a nation and build together.”

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough took some time on his show to urge his viewers to support President Trump in his effort to curb the spread of the virus. While acknowledging that he has often been a vocal critic of the Trump administration, he said, “we have to do everything we can do to make sure this president succeeds” in dealing with the coronavirus.

CNN’s Dana Bash expressed similar sentiments. During a recent broadcast, she stated that the president is “being the kind of leader that people need, at least in tone, today and yesterday.”

But it gets even better.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is no fan of Trump, also chimed in, praising his response to the pandemic. He said, “I think the president was 100% sincere in saying he wanted to work together in partnership, in a spirit of cooperation.”

Last but not least, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has frequently clashed with the Trump administration, had nothing but positive things to say about the president’s coronavirus response:

“We had a private conversation, but [Trump] said, ‘We’re gonna do the right thing, and you have my support, all of our support, logistically and otherwise.’ So before he made those statements publicly, I had a private conversation with him around 4:30 West Coast time. And he said everything that I could have hoped for. And we had a very long conversation and every single thing he said, they followed through on.”

So what gives? Is there something in the water? Does President Trump have these people’s loved ones locked up in a basement somewhere? Or is there more to this?

Is it possible that the progressive left has finally learned that constantly bashing Trump does nothing for their political agenda? Not likely. While it is certainly likely that at least some of the individuals on the left singing Trump’s praises are sincere, there can be no doubt that the majority are merely keeping up appearances.

It seems probable that many of those who are complimenting Trump currently are trying not to appear as if they are politicizing the virus. Of course, this seems odd considering the fact that up until a week ago, they are criticizing every action Trump took in response to the pandemic.

Prominent leftists in government and the press claimed he wasn’t taking it seriously. They lied, claiming that Trump called the outbreak a “hoax.” When the president took action and imposed travel bans on China, Iran, and most of Europe to prevent the spread of the disease, they claimed it was an ineffective solution. Hell, they referred to him – and anyone else who referenced China when discussing the virus – as virulent bigots.

As stated previously, some on the left are likely sincere in their praise of the president. But I’d bet dollars to donuts that most of the will dial it back up to full “Orange Man Bad” mode shortly. After all, why would they let this crisis go to waste?

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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