Finally some leadership from the White House
The politicization of mask wearing in the United States (and some other places) will go down as one of the stupidest collective moments in modern history.
Trump has been slowly pivoting on masks for a few weeks but what the US needs to turn the tide against the virus is strong leadership on mask wearing. I've been writing for awhile that Trump wearing a mask would be an economic tailwind.
Late yesterday Trump wore a mask in public for the first time in a visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Other good news on Saturday was a leveling in cases in some hot spots. It's way too soon to say the coast is clear but Florida and Texas may be starting to turn the tide. We're going to need a few more days of data but the weekend effect generally makes Mon/Tues strong so that's another reason for optimism to start the week.
What would be really helpful is Trump wearing an mask outside of a hospital and strongly endorsing them, but this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for the US and risk trades.
Now we just need to get him to wear it properly:
The next two big political battles are going to be the next round of stimulus, and reopening schools. US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was on CNN today saying the rule should be that kids go back to school in September.
Leadership works:
