Trump wavers between reality and election fiction with eye on his legacy

(CNN)President Donald Trump had an eye on his legacy as he strode to the microphone in the White House Rose Garden Friday and touted the administration's "unequaled and unrivaled" efforts to help produce a coronavirus vaccine through Operation Warp Speed. Then, for a brief moment, he seemed close to acknowledging the reality that his presidency is almost over.

"I will not -- this administration will not be doing a lockdown," Trump said, speaking for the first time in a week as coronavirus cases in the US shatter records and hospitalizations are surging. "Hopefully whatever happens in the future -- who knows which administration it will be -- I guess time will tell, but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown."

It was a fleeting shift in tone suggesting that the reality of President-elect Joe Biden's substantial win is seeping into Trump's psyche even as he and his advisers publicly deny it.