there might also be the historical parallel of Herbert Hoover. Slow-walking at every stage, hoping it'll just go away, pretending it's all media hype, pretending it's the states' job, resisting the use of federal powers and authority...

There's a possibility that people will just be fed the fuck up with incompetence. And Donald Trump is manifestly incompetent, as even his supporters will grudgingly admit. FDR ran on competence and on a plan of action that just made sense after a year of telescoping failures. Joe Biden is no FDR, obviously (and for the record, Bernie Sanders is even less), but if I allow myself some unwarranted optimism about human nature, the contrast with the 'no drama Obama' years might help us.