During President Donald Trump's daily press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, CNN's Jim Acosta asked Trump about Trump's previous claims that the virus was under control. In response, Trump said, "I knew it could be horrible. I knew it could be maybe good." He went on to say that he "didn't want to be a negative person," but felt the need to be "a cheerleader for the country."

This would be outrageous enough by itself. But it comes on the heels of numerous instances in the public record that show Trump directly hampered the nation's response to this pandemic.

• Disbanding a unit of the National Security Council dedicated to watching for signs of pandemics
• Ignoring multiple intelligence reports warning about how bad coronavirus could get
• Lining out a post for a CDC expert who was tasked with detecting outbreaks in China
• Publicly dismissing this disease as no worse than the flu

It cannot be stated enough. The president of the United States effectively told the American people that he had reason to know how bad this outbreak could get--and willfully downplayed it in the name of keeping things positive. This is simply intolerable for a president, regardless of party.

There are only two ways for Trump to even begin to atone for this. He must either resign at once, or give up his bid for reelection. One or the other. He has proven not just beyond reasonable doubt, but beyond ALL doubt, that he cannot lead.