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A metrics-obsessed White House struggles to define success on coronavirus

Even beyond the death count, there’s widespread reluctance to articulate what a positive outcome would be.

President Donald Trump stepped into the Rose Garden for a news conference Monday and stood between two enormous signs that graced the West Wing colonnade.

“AMERICA LEADS THE WORLD IN TESTING,” the signs read.

While that’s not accurate — on a per capita basis, the United States ranks 26th in testing — the public relations push on coronavirus testing highlights one of the White House’s greatest vulnerabilities: a president who is obsessed with metrics and numerical indications of success has few good numbers to point to. Continue reading.

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