A Joke?

Many of this president's "jokes" go over my head. I simply don't get the joke. It's kind of like your uncle telling an off color joke he thinks is very funny. It sounds more like something a bit frightening that he really believes. It's not funny.
Obviously, testing more for Covid-19 will result in more positive numbers. If he wanted to tell that "joke", he could have followed up with something representing leadership in solving a nation wide problem. His attempts at treating this virus like it isn't really a big deal are not working. It didn't just go away in April.
The number of deaths from this virus are still rising. In just three and a half months, those numbers have far surpassed any recent flu epidemic. At this rate, we will be close to 500,000 in one year. And, yes, the media is reporting about it. This is the story of the century. Pretending it's not big is irresponsible.
The virus is not this president's fault. This would have come to our doorsteps with any president. The mixed messages about this virus, and the administration's response to it, are his fault. The human cost in terms of lives and economic impact are not a joking matter. The lack of a nationwide strategy and consistent messaging are making this situation worse.
He could have sounded less irrational if he would have said "All joking aside, this didn't go away in April like I and others believed it would..." Then he should have followed with some indication of a leadership role in coordinating an effort to get things under control. He should have offered some form of leadership in a call to action for all of us.
Instead, his staff have been scrambling to try to explain his "joke" while he's not indicating that he actually meant it as a joke. Most of us see it as more pathetic than funny.
It's impossible now to sell the notion that the media is over reporting this. Many of us know people who have tested positive. We know people who have family members who have died from this. We know people who are serving on the front line and have been overwhelmed for months as they care for sick and dying people.
Meanwhile, many of us are experiencing the economic impact. People are concerned and not spending money because they don't have money to spend or because they fear un-necessary exposure. Consumer confidence is what drives an economy. Consumers are not confident right now. The economy won't recover until they are.
Less testing doesn't sound like a joke. It sounds like a dangerous way to approach a problem. Washington, we have a problem.