Houston’s largest paper begs Trump to do ‘something resembling leadership’ as he visits COVID-stricken Texas

In an op-ed published at the Houston Chronicle this Wednesday, the paper's Editorial Board welcomed President Trump back to the Texas as he prepared to visit an oil rig in the state. The Board also had a special message for Trump: do better.

"When you visited Dallas back on June 11, Texas was leading the stampede to reopen for business, spurred on by Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive plans and your administration’s false assurances that the outbreaks were 'under control,'" the Board writes. "At the time, the United States had reported a little more than 2 million confirmed cases and almost 114,000 deaths. Texas was reporting about 85,000 cases and 2,000 deaths. Seven weeks later, as Air Force One descends on the Lone Star State, the United States has more than 4 million cases. America is closing in on 150,000 dead — nearly the population of Midland."

Now Texas has almost 400,000 confirmed cases and nearly 6,000 deaths thanks to the coronavirus.

According to the Board, Trump can't afford to take the state for granted in 2020. That's evidenced in the decreasing confidence Texans have that Trump is up to the task of leading the nation "out of the canyon that you and your administration have helped dig."

"One important thing you could do on your visit, Mr. President, is to make an unequivocal commitment to improved testing, social-distancing and getting your followers in the Republican Party to give up their rebellion to Gov. Abbott’s face-mask order," the Board writes. "We are almost certain you won’t, but that would be a good start to something resembling leadership."

Read the full op-ed over at The Houston Chronicle.