Correspondent in Washington
Reality eventually caught up with Donald Trump. On Sunday, looking unusually serious, the American president announced that he would extend the period of restrictions until April 30, and that his intention to lift these measures for Easter had only been a hope. Citing statistical models, Trump explained that the peak in mortality should be reached within two weeks. But above all, he recognized for the first time that the toll of the Covid-19 epidemic could be very heavy. "If we stay between 100,000 and 200,000 dead, we will have done a good job," he said, explaining that the toll "could have amounted to 2.2 million deaths, perhaps even beyond if we hadn't done anything . "
It took him several weeks to admit that the epidemic had imposed an unexpected turn on his presidency. Trump had to accept the existence of this "invisible enemy" , whom he cannot chase away by changing the subject, or by blaming his opponents.
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