This is no way to run a public health agency — but in the Trump era, with an election on the line, it’s business as usual. It both generates public confusion and damages the credibility of an authoritative voice. But for the Trump campaign (and FNC, Breitbart, …) destroying confidence in credible sources is a means of abetting confusion, and that is a deliberate strategy.

(Image of Donald Trump flanked by HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield from March 2020 Bloomberg video.)