For weeks, the Trump administration was criticized for the appearance of not taking the spread of the coronavirus as a serious threat. After it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, White House officials began responding in a more appropriate manner. Since last week, President Donald Trump has reveled in the use of military rhetoric and taking on the trappings of a ‘wartime president.’

This includes constant repetition of the phrase “we will win.”

“I want all Americans to understand: we are at war with an invisible enemy [the coronavirus], but that enemy is no match for the spirit and resolve of the American people,” Trump tweeted yesterday. “It cannot overcome the dedication of our doctors, nurses, and scientists—and it cannot beat the LOVE, PATRIOTISM, and DETERMINATION of our citizens. Strong and United, WE WILL PREVAIL!”

This analogy raises the concern that individuals will misunderstand the crisis. The United States is not at “war” with a nation-state. It is beset by a virus—a naturally caused, unthinking affliction that cannot be intimidated by “determination.” Even patriots can get sick.

This language has real-world effects. Recently the federal government refused to provide the total number of coronavirus testing kits in its possession for reasons of “national security”—as if “the enemy” would know our strength and respond.

Trump is not the only one adopting this kind of rhetoric. “The crisis we face from the coronavirus is on a scale of a major war, and we must act accordingly,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, whose campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination remains active. “The number of casualties may actually be even higher than what the armed forces experienced in World War II. In other words, we have a major, major crisis and we must act accordingly.”

“Tackling this pandemic is a national emergency akin to fighting a war,” agreed former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee.

Nor are the current cast of politicians the first to invoke this imagery. Since the end of World War II, where supreme power was invested in the federal government with full control over the economy and people’s daily lives, numerous politicians have used the “war” terminology to describe their own programs. This includes the War on Poverty (a human state of being that is both relative and permanent), the War on Drugs (a direct consequence of which was the militarization of the U.S. police force), and the War on Terror (a not-always-defined military tactic).

The irony of the situation is that like his immediate predecessors, Donald Trump is already a wartime president. U.S. forces are currently engaged in armed conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and multiple parts of Africa, while simultaneously waging drone wars in several other countries.

Hunter DeRensis is the senior reporter for the National Interest. Follow him on Twitter @HunterDeRensis.

Image: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the coronavirus response daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY.