Ex-Bush aide has chilling theory about Donald Trump's coronavirus strategy

[Quixote1818]

LEE MORAN
Apr 29th 2020 10:09AM
An ex-speechwriter for former President George W. Bush on Tuesday argued that President Donald Trump is sacrificing the lives of other Americans to the coronavirus crisis in a “desperate” bid to save himself politically.

In a thread on Twitter, David Frum claimed reports the White House is now pivoting its pandemic messaging to the economy showed Trump is “consciously choosing to risk higher virus casualties” in the second quarter of 2020 “in hope of jolting the economy into revival in Q3 to save his re-election” in November.

“It’s a desperate gamble to save himself by sacrificing others,” wrote Frum, who is now a senior editor at The Atlantic, warning: “It’s also not very likely to work.”

Frum noted in a later tweet how “many leaders would be daunted by the human costs of Trump’s desperate re-election plan.”

More: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2020/04/29/ex-bush-aide-has-chilling-theory-about-donald-trumps-coronavirus-strategy/24142457/

[Mike 03]

1. KICK

and rec.

[KPN]

2. Well, duh!!!! Nice that he spoke up and pointed out the obvious though.

[mercuryblues]

6. I had the same reaction, well almost

No shit Sherlock was my 1st thought.

[Towlie]

9. Right! He makes it sound like the radical idea of some lone, obscure, person. It's common knowledge!

[PCIntern]

17. Also Frum wrote:

After considering several facts which have come To my attention, some of which through clandestine avenues, I have come to the conclusion that water is wet.

[Towlie]

18. ... or as the Talking Heads put it:

"There is water at the bottom of the ocean"

[DownriverDem]

29. Except

trump is killing his own voters. How is that going to work?

[uponit7771]

36. The calculation is more PoC voters in urban areas die off than MAGA Suckers.

[Newest Reality]

3. I would add...

That the ultracrepidarian cockwomble has made dictatorial President for life references all along.

He is not just desperate about the election, but about that intent. If you look at his behavior carefully it is evident. So, basically, he wants a Trump Family Dynasty. What would you expect from a malignant narcissist?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. There is some thought

that he is grooming Ivanka (or Don Jr.) to take over the Presidency in 2024 (assuming he wins re-election), so that he can continue to ensure that any investigations of him are squelched and that he stays out of jail. We need to stop the cycle this year, so that the Trump crime family dynasty can't even be allowed to take root.

[Newest Reality]

7. Yes.

I agree, as I am sure everyone does here.

No doubt about it. Trump has to go or we have a very terrible future ahead as a country. That's a fact.

[malaise]

5. Duh!

This is hardly rocket science

[Bleacher Creature]

8. I'd be really cautious about assuming that he has some sort of long range plan.

He has zero attention span and operates from crisis to crisis. Hell, that's why he refused to take this seriously in January and February, when he was so worried about any downturn in the stock market, even though such downturn never would have come close to what actually happened.

[Towlie]

11. True, there's always Hanlon's Razor.

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

[ramen]

28. I am with you there.

I don't think there is a plan in place. I think he is just a moronic, demented, malignant narcissist who waddled into power at exactly the wrong time. There is not a strategic part of him that I have seen yet.

[gratuitous]

10. As obvious as Frum's comments are

He's not making them to tell us on the left what we already know. To the extent he's burning off any credibility he has in conservative circles, though, his remarks might make better sense there, and actually encourage more people to hop off the Trump train as it careens toward Shonash Ravine.

We are at the point of the movie where the criminal mastermind, in a desperate chase to escape the law, begins tossing minions over the side to lighten the load and go faster.

[KPN]

13. THGat's a good point. He's speaking to the choir here.

[crickets]

32. +1

[uponit7771]

37. +1, great metaphor

[dalton99a]

12. Trump had no compunction about cutting off medical treatment for his nephew's sick baby

Does he really care about old people?

[Danascot]

14. Yes but also

He's cruel and a sadist and he gets his jollies from seeing people suffer and die, even his supporters.

[SWBTATTReg]

15. It is kind of odd timing that (1) rump moved away from NY, one of the epicenters of the CV,

and that Barr asked for unlimited powers to hold detainees indefinitely, w/o getting in front of a judge, etc.

It sounds like they knew that the CV was coming in advance, otherwise why take these steps?

[NotHardly]

16. If you think Trump is anything other than a Figurehead w/ figleaf of authority...

you are not understanding what has been happening to American democracy, decency, and a whole hell of a lot of money while citizens die and Republicans/Corporations loot this country.

[gab13by13]

19. I think his strategy will backfire,

unless he rigs the numbers more so than he is doing now. Florida just got caught not reporting Covid-19 deaths.

What's he going to do to stimulate the economy, force people to take cruises, fly on airplanes, eat at restaurants, go to movies and plays?

Unless people feel safe they aren't going to return to normalcy.

[relayerbob]

20. His "Hail Typhoid Mary" pass nt

[IronLionZion]

21. Pro-life

Typical republican strategy of human sacrifices so rich executives can get richer

[Midnight Writer]

22. I have to agree with the "Duh!" posters.

[usaf-vet]

23. Just how low will this idiot in the WH go? How low is to low for the GOP cultist?

Here is another low mark IMHO

The White House Gift Shop is selling coronavirus commemorative coins now
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142482483

Who gets the profits from that evil venture?
Follow the money.

[bucolic_frolic]

24. People, go back to work and die for America and for Trump's reelection

[dlk]

25. Lest we forget, when someone has no conscience, they can do anything

We are seeing this in real time every day.

[Javaman]

26. more death won't equal more cash.

at the end of the Nuremberg Trials, a psychologist that was interviewing the nazi's summarized his interviews and research with this quote, "a monster is a person without empathy"

we have a monster in the white house.

[True Blue American]

43. As one who was ashamed he voted for

Trump put it,” We have a crazy man running the train!” He is voting straight Democratic this year, along with 5 others in his Focus Group! All life long Republicans.

[Jamastiene]

27. That sounds exactly like something Trump would do.

Sounds just like him.

[bubbazero]

30. A Good Firm Grasp of that which is FUCKING OBVIOUS

Ex speechwriter for Bush,..yea, that'll lend credence to your startling insight. Welcome to reality FRUM.

[BaronChocula]

31. Another way Trump gets normalized

Smartypants like Frum who want desperately to sound like smartypants contrive theories behind "Trump strategy" when the most obvious explanation is that there is no strategy. We will think Frum is smart when he stops assuming Trump has the attention span to execute a single plan.

[BrightKnight]

33. They want to cull the herd ASAP so they can change the subject nt

[flibbitygiblets]

34. Tragically, the economy would have done better if there were a national coordinated response

Instead lives and fortunes will be lost. Because trump.

[uponit7771]

35. Red Don could care less if more people died than was supposed to, he'll blame the governors

[pmtrindade]

38. The worst part is I believe this is accurate

[Hermit-The-Prog]

39. Also on huffpost; link ...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ex-bush-aide-donald-trump-coronavirus-strategy_n_5ea9393ec5b6123a176494a1

[Amaryllis]

40. No understanding of cause and effect. People can't buy goods or services if they are dead.

[Grasswire2]

41. Trump's rolling the dice, all the chips down....

....and hoping nobody remembers that his casinos went bankrupt.

[struggle4progress]

42. "I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed. I never ever sleep I just lay in my bed

dreamin of the day when everyone is dead"