“I know it’s something of a cliché, but I honestly consider my employees to be close, tightly knit, utterly devoted cadre of loyal followers who take my every word as absolute authority,” said the executive, claiming the bonds he shared with his workers weren’t unlike those of a fanatical commune of brainwashed zealots. “We’ve got all the typical Manson Family dynamics. I’m the paternal figure who keeps his subordinates in a stupor of exhaustion and confusion in order to make them particularly malleable to his twisted whims…”
America has never had a president so subservient to the leader of another nation, particularly one who is viewed as an adversary by most of our citizens. But at every opportunity that has arisen, Trump has sided with Putin and Russia rather than American intelligence agencies. Prior to Trump’s ascension to the presidency, the Republican Party was virulently anti-Russian, seeing Putin and his military as our main enemy. Since Trump has been in the White House, the GOP has turned around completely, perceiving Putin and Russia as good guys who we should try to get on our side.
I am not saying that Trump could have prevented the pandemic. What I am saying is that forthright action, based on science and not wishful thinking, would have mitigated a lot of it.
What did Trump do in response to Covid-19? He first ignored it for nearly two months. When it couldn’t be ignored anymore, Bunker Boy went on TV daily, turning what was first put forth as a source of information into a daily airing of Trump’s grievances and a full-on display of his tendency to act like a spoiled toddler. His daily briefings were so full of lies, half-truths and insanity that most networks stopped airing them. [1]
His actions, such as they have been, have been based on magical thinking (the virus will go away in the heat! it’ll disappear in April! We’re doing a great job!). When it comes to taking measures that people can do in order to reduce the spread of the virus, wear masks and practice social distancing, Trump has turned those measures into yet another culture war. As in everything else, Trump saw the pandemic as way to turn his base against other people.[2]
A different president, even one as inept at George W. Bush, would have attempted to lead, to get Americans to act together for the benefit of the country.
