Did Trump do the right thing when he lied about the coronavirus?

[Dill]

(09-10-2020, 01:11 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I think there's an argument to be made, but it flies out the window when he responded by calling reactions to it overblown, told the public it was no big deal as states sought to respond to it, and attacks efforts to enact basic precautions. 

There's a difference between keeping national security threats you're handling from the public and keeping information about public health a secret, especially when you need the public to cooperate to stop it.

It's also hard to suggest he's trying to prevent mass hysteria when he has a track record of lying to create fear and panic and when we didn't see mass hysteria in the nations impacted months before we were. 

This.

But I should add that there are times when national security threats, like ongoing Russian interference in US elections, should also be made public. Here again Trump has "kept the secret" as best he can to avoid the mass hysteria that might follow.

On the other hand, Trump has not been good about protecting national security when it involves keep classified information classified.