1) Trump& #39;s deranged new conspiracy theory about the FDA and his new plasma announcement reveal his political weakness. They again show voters that nothing he says about coronavirus between now and the election should be given a shred of credibility. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/24/trumps-ugly-new-conspiracy-theory-only-underscores-his-weakness/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...

2) Liberals have a tendency to ascribe magical powers to Trump. He& #39;ll pull a last minute magic trick to win once again. A vaccine! A new treatment!

But the starting point here should be that nobody believes a word he says about this topic anymore. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/24/trumps-ugly-new-conspiracy-theory-only-underscores-his-weakness/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...

3) Trump has thoroughly corrupted the government and subverted the national interest to his own unscrupulous ends for years. It& #39;s been a defining feature of his tenure.

This will color anything Trump says about coronavirus between now and Election Day:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/24/trumps-ugly-new-conspiracy-theory-only-underscores-his-weakness/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...

4) Trump& #39;s convention will be a festival of lies about coronavirus.

But 64% don& #39;t believe Trump on this topic. That& #39;s also really high among groups he needs: Seniors, college educated whites, even non-college white women.

That& #39;s a huge problem for him:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/24/trumps-ugly-new-conspiracy-theory-only-underscores-his-weakness/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...

5) So this new announcement isn& #39;t Trump displaying Houdini-like powers. It& #39;s a display of serious weakness. It illustrates for voters how deeply he& #39;s corrupted the government and why nothing he says now about the virus should be believed.

Full case here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/24/trumps-ugly-new-conspiracy-theory-only-underscores-his-weakness/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...

6) CODA: Substantively, what the FDA did was highly irregular. But voters surely grasp at this point that Trump has corrupted the government from top to bottom, and that he subverts the national interest to his own relentlessly.

See this from @jrovner: https://twitter.com/jrovner/status/1297646060035342345">https://twitter.com/jrovner/s...