'We need the Wall!': Trump twists coronavirus fears to push his own agenda

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

'We need the Wall!': Trump twists coronavirus fears to push his own agenda

President uses public health concerns to fuel his argument for travel bans and cuts to interest rates, Medicare and social security

Maanvi Singh in Oakland
Wed 11 Mar 2020 10.00 GMT
Last modified on Wed 11 Mar 2020 10.05 GMT

As the threat of the coronavirus in the US grew and markets reeled amid growing uncertainty, Donald Trump on Tuesday promoted one of his signature policy proposals. “We need the Wall more than ever!” he tweeted.

Trump has sought to downplay the severity of the public health crisis. And he has capitalized on the panic and disruption in some American communities to push for many of his longstanding campaign promises, including stricter border security, travel bans, tax cuts and lower interest rates.

Trump’s response to the coronavirus threat has been consistent with his reaction to everything else, said Max Skidmore, a professor of political science at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and author of Presidents, Politics, and Pandemics. “He has a certain agenda and is adapting reality to confirm to that,” Skidmore told the Guardian.

In past weeks, Trump has repeatedly offered a fortified border wall as a solution to contain the disease. “The Democrat policy of open borders is a direct threat to the health and wellbeing of all Americans,” he said at a rally in South Carolina. “Now, you see it with the coronavirus.”

But the number of reported cases in Mexico is far lower than the number of cases in the US and there is no evidence that migrants traveling across the border have transmitted coronavirus to anyone in the US. ...

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/11/donald-trump-coronavirus-politics

[C_U_L8R]

1. One Thousand versus Seven

That stupid wall is just as stupid as its stupid fucking creator.
There is no threat from Mexico... especially from the seven sick people presently there.

[mwooldri]

2. Wall? To keep Mexico safe from the USA?

Hahahahahahaha... Plus walls don't work.

[Newest Reality]

3. Wouldn't a

Wouldn't a gigantic, hermetically sealed dome from coast to coast and border to border be a better idea?

I am sure we can get the virus to pay for it. I mean, what could it cost? A few billion-trillion-dollars is nothing when the deficit doesn't matter.

BUILD THE DOME! BUILD THE DOME! BUILD THE DOME! NOW!

[pwb]

4. It protects Mexico from our sick.

They love it.

[procon]

5. But it's no different than a bad cold or the flu,

and there's only a handful of cases that are going to disappear like a miracle. So why do we need a wall?