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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNicholas Kristof: Trump Is Feeding America's Coronavirus Nightmare
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/opinion/trump-coronavirus.htmlTrump Is Feeding Americas Coronavirus Nightmare
Its going away only in the presidents delusion.
By Nicholas Kristof
Opinion Columnist
June 24, 2020
President Trump says the coronavirus is fading away and pats himself on the back for a great job on CoronaVirus that saved millions of U.S. lives.
Its going away, Trump said Tuesday at a packed megachurch in Phoenix where few people wore masks.
Thats what delusion sounds like. We need a Churchill to lead our nation against a deadly challenge; instead, we have a president who helps an enemy virus infiltrate our churches and homes. Churchill and Roosevelt worked to deceive the enemy; Trump is trying to deceive us.
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We dont know for sure, but the post-peak experience from New York and Europe as well as from street protests, offers some guidance: If people wear masks, distance as much as possible and avoid mixing indoors, it just might be possible to keep the virus in check.
Instead, our president refuses to wear a mask and brings people together indoors to cheer his newest proposed strategy, which in his words is slow the testing down. After aides rushed to say he was joking, Trump denied that, saying, I dont kid. He amplified in a tweet: With smaller testing, we would show fewer cases!
Yes, and by ending cancer screenings, we would reduce cancer rates. By locking hospital doors, we would reduce hospitalizations. And if we stopped issuing death certificates, Americans would achieve immortality!
Thats the kind of strategizing that has led the United States, with 4 percent of the worlds population, to experience one-quarter of the deaths worldwide from the coronavirus and instead of fading away, its surging.
captain queeg
(10,081 posts)I suppose its ego at the root? I used to think he knew he was BSing and just figured, screw the rubes. But I think hes so removed from reality he believes it himself. When reality knocks in the door, like in Tulsa, all his handlers go into overdrive to cover his poor hurt feelings. Theres never an effort to just say, I guess you were wrong.
brush
(53,726 posts)And it's hurting us, the shoulder-to-shoulder rallies, no masks, the statements that the virus will just go awayinsanity. And with the number of deaths his failure to institute a national testing/isolation/treatment/contact tracing policy has resulted in, it's criminally insane IMO. Tens of thousands of people died who didn't have to die, would've have died with a humane, non-sociopath person in the WH.
And Moscow Mitch and the boys keep letting this train wreck careen from event to event and reek havoc on the nation. Infections are spiking in several states back to April numbers because he won't advise and lead by example such a basic pandemic strategy as wearing a mask.
Initech
(100,027 posts)And then once he's gone we can start tackling Coronavirus, but we're not getting out of this while he's in charge.
Johnny2X2X
(18,967 posts)He made so many mistakes, but if all we could change is that Trump would have supported mask wearing from the start we'd be close to where most of Europe is right now instead of on the way back up.