The Memo: Trump grapples with credibility gap in crisis

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The Trump administration’s credibility problems are coming home to roost in the middle of a growing national crisis, now that President Trump has been hospitalized with COVID-19.

Washington and the wider world were aflame with gossip and conspiracy theories Friday as it became apparent that Trump’s condition was more serious than had first been acknowledged. He left the White House in Marine One, bound for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, shortly after 6 p.m.

Attempts to steady the ship of state by the White House were not successful. Much of the blame for that lies in an apparent attempt to underplay the health challenges the president faces, and the administration’s longer record of misleading statements on a multitude of topics. Continue reading.