If there is any justice in this world, February 28 will remembered as the day the Trump presidency ended. Staring down the prospect of a pandemic that has already killed thousands around the world and brought the Chinese economy to a standstill, Donald Trump declared at a rally Friday night that the coronavirus is a “hoax”; at a news conference today, he said that he had actually been referring to what the Democrats are saying about the virus, which is a distinction without a difference. Against a deadly reality that requires a concerted and rapid federal response, our president put forth a grotesque and self-serving lie about the danger this disease poses, transforming a real-world emergency into a conspiracy to deny him re-election. In doing so, he endangers us all, no matter your party affiliation, gender, race, or citizenship status, and confirms his basic unfitness to hold office. His dereliction of duty will haunt him going forward, and into the 2020 election.
Fearing the effects of the coronavirus on his re-election first and foremost, the president is clearly obsessed with the economic downside rather than the human cost of the disease. This is not subtext with him; it is what he unmistakably communicates with every tweet and every appearance. Earlier this week he was denying that the virus would have much impact in the U.S., and told us that the stock market looked pretty good to him. Now, just a few days later, he’s reached the absurd endpoint of his regime of propaganda, attempting to persuade the American people that the virus is nothing to worry about.
Just a few hours ago, he continued along in this vein, speaking about the first American death from the coronavirus. He told reporters that, “healthy individuals should be able to fully recover [. . .] So healthy people, if you’re healthy, you will probably go through a process, and you’ll be fine.” The president can’t even bring himself to say people will get sick, only that they will “go through a process,” as if we are all automatons to him; nor does it seem to occur to him how worrying his words might be to someone who is not healthy, including those suffering from illness or seniors, who together number in the tens of millions in the U.S. alone. But he cannot acknowledge that many millions are at risk because he fears for his re-election — and apart from, this, of course, he is fundamentally incompetent and completely unmanned by the current crisis.
His insane ideas are being echoed by other members of the administration, who amplify the cuckoo message in an attempt to make state propaganda overwhelm necessary facts. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to say if the virus was a hoax, while White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney simply opined that Americans should ignore news about it. Meanwhile, outside the White House, right-wing commentators are spreading the fiction that it is a story concocted to bring down the president.
By elevating his election concerns to the highest priority and attempting to hold back the tide of reality, Donald Trump and his henchmen are all but ensuring that Americans will die from his recklessness. There is certainly a federal effort underway that takes the reality of the virus as a given, but the president’s contradictory words disarm Americans who need to take this virus seriously. Beyond this, his appointment of Vice President Mike Pence to head up the effort is evidence that he does not take this fight seriously, given the Vice President’s horrible record with mishandling an HIV outbreak in Indiana while he was governor. And the federal effort is left scrambling and playing catch-up due to the defunding of the CDC and pandemic response teams that the Trump administration has pushed over the last few years.
In one awful swoop, this disease is rendering defunct the president’s America First attitude and the GOP’s decades-long war against national healthcare. Though the president may try to blame Democrats for open borders that have somehow allowed the (hoax) virus to enter the country, the reality is that migration has nothing to do with this pandemic. If anything (and leaving aside the Chinese government’s authoritarian incompetence), it’s the basic interconnectedness of our world that is helping it spread, including tourism and international businesses. Rather than being an argument for closing ourselves off from the world, something like the coronavirus is more evidence that in the contemporary world, international cooperation is the order of the day if we are to beat back threats like pandemics and climate chaos.
Our fundamental interconnectedness within our borders is also why the coronavirus may well blow up the GOP’s decades-long war against health care for all. Over the past few days in particular, I’ve read many people who note that our lack of guaranteed health care becomes a mortal threat when a disease like the coronavirus threatens. I’ve seen the U.S. described as almost a hothouse for a pandemic, as millions will put off going to the doctor, while millions more who lack sufficient sick leave will go to work when they should remain at home, and in this way ensure the virus’ spread.
At this point, we are wholly reliant on the people surrounding Trump and the federal bureaucracy to steer us away from disaster. Unfortunately, at this late stage, Trump has culled all but half-wits, sycophants, and white supremacists from his inner circle, which means that we will need to place our faith in the competence of officials like those at the Centers for Disease Control to make the right decisions going forward. This situation will also place added responsibility on state officials to compensate for the lack of leadership at the top of the governmental hierarchy. And whatever pressure our members of Congress can place on this presidency, be it through oversight or publicizing its shortcomings, will be badly needed in the days ahead.
At the local level, we’re going to need to double down on our care for each other and help each other stay informed and safe. This will include a rigorous and sustained pushback against the lies emanating from this White House about the coronavirus and the unforgivable effort to lull Americans into complacency on behalf of Trump’s re-election campaign. This means not passing on the president’s lies, but it also means not passing on false information about the spread of the coronavirus that foments panic rather than building understanding. Don’t forward on or post stories reflexively; check sources, and use your common sense.