Stay tuned for a message from Facebook after the show. Good Wednesday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing. And I'm Jake Sherman. Have you seen The Big Lebowski? Walter, played by John Goodman, is not a big fan of Donnie, played by Steve Buscemi. During one of their famous bowling scenes, Walter says to Donnie, you have no frame of reference, Donnie. You're like a child who

wanders in in the middle of a movie. Donnie in this case seems awfully similar to Donald Trump.

His tweets Tuesday about the COVID relief talks seem like he's awaking from a months-long slumber,

unbriefed by his advisors and unaware of his surroundings joining the fray.

Trump pulled out of the talks at 2.8 p.m. because the nearly one trillion

dollar difference between Republicans and Democrats, which many had been privately suggesting he

do for some time. Then at 954, he suggested Congress passed 25 billion for airline payroll support,

$135 billion for paycheck protection, and a $1,200 stimulus bill for all Americans.

Man, what a strategy. If you think you've heard this before, it's because you have.

Republicans have been suggesting standalone bills for months. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has even said

she would pass a standalone airline relief bill, one of her chairman tried last week, and the

GOP blocked it.

If Trump had pushed for this a month ago, when Congress was in session, it may have had a

chance of being successful. This comes toward the middle of a befuddling week for Trump.

He tested positive for COVID-19 and landed in Walter Reed Medical Center. His doctor has given a series of

murky news conferences, which have at times been undermined by the president himself or his AIDS.

He took a ride around Walter Reed to visit fans, which has been widely portrayed as irresponsible.

He left the hospital Monday and made a point of taking his mask off as he got to the

White House. Then he said people shouldn't feel like COVID dominates their lives. Tell that to the

207,000 people who have died. 17 of his aides have COVID. Top aide Stephen, is the most recent to test positive, and the

joint chiefs are quarantined. Okay, this is the last time we'll do this, we think. The substance

of why COVID relief talks fell apart. The two sides were a trillion dollars apart. Republicans

...