It is an odd moment to surrender to coronavirus. Right and left, conservative and liberal — all parts of the US spectrum embraced the language of war. The metaphor was clearly too glib. Downgrading the fight now would be like George Washington taking a vacation after crossing the Delaware.
Mission accomplished only works when there is a vaccine, which is at least a year away. Yet large parts of the country, including Donald Trump, are taking victory laps.
Little surprise that Anthony Fauci, the most trusted face of American science, is no longer pictured anywhere near Mr Trump. His last televised White House appearance was in April. This week Dr Fauci said the pandemic was “not close to over yet”.