Trump is handling coronavirus so badly, he almost makes Johnson look good

[muriel_volestrangler]

What accounts for this disconnect between the government’s record and the public’s high regard for those responsible? Put another way, why isn’t Boris Johnson in more trouble?
...
All of these factors have helped insulate the government from the flak that would otherwise be coming its way. But there’s one more, perhaps less obvious explanation – and it relates to judgment by comparison. We don’t need to wait for a full statistical analysis to know that Johnson has not been the worst world leader in this crisis, because we can declare a winner in that contest right now.

Each day Britons wake up to ever more jaw-dropping news from across the Atlantic. Last week, it was Donald Trump advising Americans to inject bleach. On Friday, it was his claim to have seen evidence that coronavirus was developed in a Wuhan laboratory, a claim denied by his own director of national intelligence. The shocking images of protesters wielding assault weapons storming into the state assembly in Michigan on Thursday night are hardly a surprise, given that Trump himself was tweeting “Liberate Michigan!” a matter of days ago, cheering on those who are demanding their states defy the advice of Trump’s own White House and prematurely end the lockdown that has so far proved to be the only way to stop the virus.

However bad Johnson and his government of conspicuously few talents is, we know they’re not that. They can at least show a modicum of human empathy for those who’ve lost loved ones, a feat that continues to elude Trump. They have at least – eventually – united behind a coherent “stay home” message, rather than undermining that advice at every turn. They are not hawking quack cures and endorsing deranged conspiracy theories. They do not seem willing to countenance mass death in the insane belief that it will help them win an election. It’s a low bar, but these are low times.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/01/donald-trump-coronavirus-boris-johnson-failures-president

[UTUSN]

1. I was ready to pounce - thought you meant LBJ

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. "Herd Immunity" Johnson?

Well, I guess he *did* abandon (or discard) that idea, so I guess that counts for something. Plus, he had his own brush with it too, so he had firsthand experience with it. That probably helped drive it home for him.

[DBoon]

3. Trump has accomplished the impossible

Making Boris Johnson appear competent