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The Rundown: The American people will decide in eight months whether to re-elect President Donald Trump, and the coronavirus has not only tested his leadership, it brought to a halt the economy he planned to run on.

For those reasons, nearly eight in 10 of Florida Insiders believe the world pandemic has hurt Trump’s bid for another four years.

“The lack of preparation has been baffling,” one Republican said. “It does not inspire confidence when a major national crisis seems to be fumbled so badly. Trump and his off-the-cuff approach and loose association with facts has not helped at all.”

The Tampa Bay Times surveyed 160 of Florida’s most plugged-in politicos — former elected leaders, campaign operatives, activists, lobbyists, fundraisers and other experts from both parties — about the coronavirus for our monthly Florida Insider poll. More than half gave the Trump administration a D or F on its handling of the coronavirus crisis to date. Only 8 percent said he deserves an A.

“The virus isn't political,” a Democrat wrote. “MAGA country will be infected too, and they'll finally see how ineffective the Trump administration is.”

In places like Florida, health officials don’t know how many people have the virus because not enough people have been tested.

Not passing the test. Some crises present an opportunity for leaders to rise to the occasion. But many Insiders said it has instead exposed the most troubling of Trump’s tendencies.

“Trump spent valuable time calling the virus a hoax and a Democratic plot,” one nonpartisan Insider said. “In doing so, he lost time when governments, businesses and people could be preparing.”

Lately, Trump has heeded advice from experts and taken steps to reduce travel and stop the spread. But he’s also trying to rewrite history, claiming, “I’ve always known this is real.” PolitiFact rated that Pants on Fire.

As one Republican put it: “You can’t ‘fake news’ away coronavirus.”

Another Republican said the effects are still being felt from the early response, when Trump downplayed the virus as a “very little problem” that would swiftly subside. Trump “dangerously persuaded thousands of Republicans that coronavirus is an over-hyped scare tactic fueled by Democrats and the deep state,” he wrote. “I still hear that all the time from Republicans, even as Trump finally started acknowledging the seriousness of the pandemic.”