Winning the Presidency when one is a Democrat usually involves at least one of the following two Issues:
1. Economics
2. National Security
Economics is straightforward. Voters want a good economy where they can make money to feed, clothe, and house themselves and their loved ones. The more American voters that think that a Democrat can help the economy better than a Republican can, the more Americans will vote for the Democrat. National Security includes things like protecting the nation in times of war, as well as protecting the nation from other threats such as domestic and international terrorism. In my book, it also includes protecting the nation from domestic and international crime.
Of the Democrats who won the Presidency in the last 100 years, which includes FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton, and Obama, every one of them was considered to be at least roughly equal to their competitors on the issue of the economy. In no case did their competitors have a decisive advantage on the issue of economics. In cases where the Republican had a decisive advantage on who the voters thought was better on the issue of economics, such as Reagan in 1980 and 1984, the Republican always won--always.
This is why Donald Trump is so obsessed with getting people back to work, even though there is a deadly pandemic. This is because Republicans know that few things kill a Democratic candidate's chances at the Presidency more than the Republican having a decisive advantage on economics. Donald Trump genuinely does not care how many people die if America goes back to work. He has spent his whole life only caring about himself and, to a much lesser degree, caring about those people who he considers to be close to him--or that can do something for him.
However, until things are safer, that is until America has more testing, a national contact tracing system, more PPE for front line medical workers, a lot more American citizens wearing masks when they leave the house, and on and on, people are going to be reluctant to do things like go shopping and attend large sporting events. As long as people are reluctant to do these things, the economy will continue to suffer. The sad fact is, Donald Trump has been simply refusing to do those things that will make America safer and that would bring the economy back, such as encouraging his own supporters to wear masks. By not doing these things, he is condemning America to a a poor economy as well as a lot more sickness and death.
Donald Trump could have been a hero by working to save America from a deadly disease. Instead, even to this day, his Administration has done less than the bare minimum needed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been so bad because instead of putting an epidemiologist in charge of his response--someone who is independent and will do what needs to be done--he has put in charge of his response Mike Pence and Jared Kushner.
Unfortunately for America, these are two people who Donald Trump has spent the past three years training to not even cough unless he gives them permission, and who he has spent the past three years training to be incapable of thinking for themselves. So these two people, as well as Fox News, the rest of the Vast Right-Wing Media Network, and Trump's supporters all look to Trump for clues on how to act instead of consulting their own minds, their won reasoning ability, and their own common sense. If Trump is not going to wear a face mask, well these lemmings/sheep/cult members are not going to wear one either (unless, of course, he tells them specifically to wear a mask in his presence).
This is not a sensible response to a pandemic. Instead, this is more like a Hans Christian Andersen story where all of Trump's supporters pretend that the President is always right, no matter how many people get sick and die. We even had one of the Donald Trump's own sons going on national media and telling America that COVID-19 pandemic is all just a hoax and will magically disappear the day after the election, as if the Democrats actually had the power to both create a worldwide pandemic, and to also magically make that pandemic go away right after an election.
Here is what we might want to keep in mind--Donald Trump is completely refusing to do the one thing that would most improve his chances of winning reelection and most help both American citizens and the American Economy--making the full and complete effort to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. When he loses in November, his loss, as well as the loss of all of those American jobs and all of those American lives, will be completely and totally on his shoulders. What every Democrat who has won the Presidency in the last 100 years has known is that you win the Presidency by convincing voters that you can do a better job taking care of them and helping them to live better lives--whether that is by preventing them from losing their jobs, stopping them from getting sick, or stopping them from dying.
In the history of American politics, no one has ever deserved to lose an election more than Donald Trump, because no one who has ever run for any American elected office has ever failed American citizens so badly. It is not even close.