The president’s backdown in fighting with schools about their reopening marked the latest in a long line of failed red lines for Trump.
President Donald Trump has strong views on just about everything. Until he doesn’t.
He ordered states to reopen in the spring, only to extend national social distancing guidelines. He insisted he would have the Republican convention at full size, only to scrap much of the event. He suggested the election should be delayed, only to reverse course and declare it should actually be held early.
And, in recent weeks as parents, teachers and local officials debated how to teach America’s 50 million public school students this fall, he threatened to withhold federal aid from districts that failed to offer in-person learning. But instead of fighting the many districts that defied him, he scaled back his combative rhetoric and toned down his demands.
As America has battled the coronavirus for the past five months, Trump has fought everyone else as he pushed his own contentious plans — governors, mayors, lawmakers, judges, even his own administration officials — before later reversing course, backing away from his initial stance or simply moving on to the next issue and declaring victory. Sometimes, the people he’s fighting have confronted him. Other times, they refused to engage.
Both supporters and critics say Trump wants to appear as if he is taking charge — even when he clearly lacks the authority to act — as he scrambles to find anything to latch onto while facing sinking poll numbers months before the election. He often changes his mind after he faces backlash or further weighs the politics of his actions
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/02/trump-schools-reopening-coronavirus-389493