Trump can't stop recycling. So let's roll the tape to four years ago.

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     March 19, 2024 As I shared with you yesterday, Donald Trump doesn't seem to be making much of an effort to win the election beyond the usual routine. Instead, the former president is resurrecting, nearly verbatim, the racist and inflammatory remarks that once shocked us. (Trump's claim that Jewish voters who vote for Democrats "[hate Israel](" this week was effectively a [copy-and-paste job of this comment](.) All this recycled material had me wondering today: What exactly was this dude doing four years ago? Luckily for me, Mother Jones was diligently keeping tabs. [Let's roll the tape](: Trump [tells Woodward](, "To be honest with you, I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic." When asked if he’d made time to speak about the virus one-on-one with Fauci, the [president says](, “Honestly, there’s not a lot of time for that, Bob.” • California Gov. Gavin Newsom issues the first statewide [stay-at-home order](. • In a press briefing, Trump suggests the FDA has approved the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment. (It hadn’t.) [He says](, “It’s shown very encouraging—very, very encouraging early results. And we’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately.” Also: “If things don’t go as planned, it’s not going to kill anybody.” These remarks might specifically deal with the early days of the pandemic. But the same themes of today apply: irrational defenses of bad policy, [disregard for science](, eerie flippancy. Set that against Trump's lazy approach to campaigning right now, it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume that he would rely on this exact script should a pandemic unfold tomorrow. What do we have to lose indeed. —Inae Oh Advertisement [Fighting Mad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Trump Can’t Afford to Post Bond in His Fraud Case]( The former president owes New York $455 million. He might have to start selling his assets soon. BY RUSS CHOMA MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   An important update on our finances We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals—and we can’t sustain coming up short on [donations]( month after month. It is [impossibly hard]( in the news business right now, and the [crisis]( facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. Neither is Mother Jones. Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and [joined forces]( with the Center for Investigative Reporting, which creates the amazing podcast and public radio show [Reveal]( and other investigative projects. It’s going to be hard making it all work, and we simply can’t afford to fall behind our fundraising targets month after month. If you can part with even just a few bucks, [please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today](. And thank you so much to everyone who recently has. We’re grateful. [Donate]( [Trending] [Trump considers adding Paul Manafort—a "grave counterintelligence threat"—to his campaign.]( BY DAVID CORN   [If Trump wants to curb Medicare fraud, why did he free this fraudster from prison?]( BY MICHAEL MECHANIC   [Firms that once called themselves "sustainable" are now "greenhushing"]( BY KILEY PRICE   [Lawmakers are finally taking action to prevent kids from being warehoused in psych hospitals]( BY JULIA LURIE Advertisement [Fighting Mad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Inside the movement to ban lab-grown meat]( Across the nation, right-wing legislators have set their sights on the sale of protein cultured from animal cells. BY WYATT MYSKOW AND LEE HEDGEPETH Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755