Washington Free Beacon founding editor Matthew Continetti said Sunday that President Donald Trump is finding his footing on how to talk to his base about the coronavirus.
"Trump's political strength is to define himself against the cultural or educational elites in this country represented by the media. So I expect him to do more of this to solidify his base in the coming months," Continetti said during an appearance on MediaBuzz.
Continetti discussed a news conference clash between Trump and a Yahoo! News reporter who later apologized to the president after making a false claim about coronavirus testing in the United States.
Continetti added that while Trump will keep clashing with the media, the White House will also look to "shift toward a more positive message" on the coronavirus.
"The daily coronavirus briefings brought a lot of bad news and there is a lot of bad news in this country right now, but President Trump always, I think, wants to think positively and that's why he's always talking about possible cures, he's talking about reopening the country," Continetti said. "This new shift allows him to get more sure-footed on his messaging, which he wants to be more optimistic even though he needs to confront the pretty dismal realities of both the virus and the economy."