When 9/11 happened it helped W. Bush politically b/c he was a serious leader in grave times and the country rallied around him. Instead of accepting the gravity of the situation, showing courage, and accepting the challenge that COVID has brought, he's continuously downplayed the severity of it from Day 1 and has actively undermined efforts to bring the virus under control....efforts that have been largely successful in the rest of the world where people believe scientists.
There is a reason all the current hotspots (per capita) in our country right now are in red states, despite the fact that those states have less dense populations, which should help them. Trump has made what should have been a uniting moment divisive, and the country and economy are suffering b/c of it.