Thousands of Americans contract COVID each day -- but Trump is focused on poll numbers: analysis

In an analysis for CNN this Wednesday, Stephen Collinson writes that President Trump has shown himself to be "so unequal to a tragic national emergency."

"Hundreds of Americans are dying daily and tens of thousands are getting infected from a once-in-a-century virus," Collinson writes. "States and cities are closing down again, threatening to trigger a ruinous new economic slump. Doctors and nurses lack sufficient protective gear as they battle the deadly pathogen. And with testing swamped by waves of disease, one top official is warning of the 'the most difficult time' ever for US public health this winter."

But the pandemic doesn't seem to be at the forefront of Trump's mind, according to Collinson. Instead, Trump wants to talk about election polls and his long-promised border wall.

"What is needed from Trump and his administration is a plan to tackle the most relentless national challenge since World War II, consoling words to memorialize the 136,000 Americans who are already dead and the thousands destined to follow, and the rhetoric to summon the will to triumph over this invisible enemy," he writes.

Read the full analysis over at CNN.