In fairness, even for the highly practiced, it’s not particularly easy to endanger oneself, one’s allies, one’s nation, and one’s democracy in a single photo op. So let’s give Trump some credit for going full Mussolini as he departed the hospital, gasped for air during a photo op, removed his mask, and entered the White House where he compared Covid-19 to the seasonal flu. On one hand, thanks to Obamacare, a broke American who doesn’t pay taxes can still get health care. On the other hand, imagine you’re in a hospital waiting room saying goodbye to a loved one via an iPad this week, as the leader responsible for its continued spread is making a mockery of Covid-19.

+ “He is in the midst of an active coronavirus infection—and so, in the coming days, there’s a good change that he will pass the virus on to others who work at the White House, which has now become a viral hot zone.” The New Yorker: The Recklessness of Trump’s Return to the White House. And, from The Atlantic: The president’s behavior threatens the very employees charged with taking care of him.

+ Among those employees are those who have made peace with the idea of taking a bullet for the president. (They shouldn’t be victims of friendly fire, nor should their families.) NYT: For the Secret Service, a New Question: Who Will Protect Them From Trump?

+ “Il Duce—’the Leader,’ the name called out by the crowds in the videos—was a short, balding, unattractive man. But he prepared himself carefully for public appearances, showing a camera awareness ahead of its time.” Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic: The president knows what Mussolini knew: Some audiences crave images that offer false reassurance and over-the-top displays of power. (Or making the connection between Il Duce, and Il Douché…)

+ Facebook removed and Twitter flagged a post from President Trump in which he falsely claimed that COVID-19 is less deadly “in most populations” than the flu.

+ The White House won’t say when Trump’s last negative coronavirus test was.

+ NYT: White House Is Not Tracing Contacts for ‘Super-Spreader’ Rose Garden Event.

+ There are a lot of articles in this section, but they all tell the very same story. A president and an administration that seem determined to continually endanger the American people while doing absolutely nothing to protect us, our democracy, or our role in the world. The vaccine for this will be available to every American on November 3.