On Facebook, Trump apologists are posting angry rebuttals to complaints about the administration’s incompetent response to the Coronavirus pandemic. You can’t blame a president for a disease! This could have happened during any administration! Your criticism is just an example of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Etc.
(I like to think of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as an accurate description of the Dear Leader’s mental state, but I assume that isn’t what his base intends it to mean…)
Although it is absolutely true that no president can control the timing or severity of a pandemic, a paragraph in Dana Milbank’s column Thursday in the Washington Post actually, factually, described many of the ways in which the Deranged One has made this pandemic much worse for Americans than it should have been.
Milbank neglected to mention what was by far Trump’s worst decision; in his zeal to undo anything and everything his black predecessor had done, early in his administration Trump eliminated the team Obama had charged with preparing for pandemics–and he didn’t replace them, despite several warnings that such a pandemic was likely.
There was also no mention of Trump’s inexplicable–and unforgivable– refusal to accept test kits offered by WHO.
Milbank did remind readers that Trump has depleted the government of scientific expertise–something I’ve repeatedly blogged about. He also noted that the President has done “little to heed warnings to prepare for a pandemic”– a needlessly gentle way of describing Trump’s hostility to people who know what they are talking about, and his absolute refusal to listen to anyone about anything, expert or not.
Milbank says that Trump blocked Congress from conducting meaningful oversight. That actually might be unfair; Trump is so inept when it comes to dealing with Congress, he could not have blocked oversight without the slavish assistance of Mitch McConnell (aka the most evil man in America) and the Congressional GOP. But Milbank is clearly correct about Trump’s repeated efforts to cut funding for public health and medical research, and about the way in which the chaos and constant turnover in the administration has eroded competence.
His reckless stimulus legislation during an economic boom and his badgering of the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates left few fiscal and monetary tools to stop the ongoing economic panic. His constant stream of falsehoods misled the nation about the threat of the virus and contributed to a delayed, haphazard response. His administration badly misjudged the impact of the virus and was claiming until just a couple of weeks ago that it would require no additional government spending.
Milbank is also correct when he asserts that the bungled handling of the virus is exactly the sort of mismanagement that should disqualify Trump from reelection. But tell that to the bigots and crazies who support him.
Apocalyptic narratives – whether of societal collapse, biblical rapture, or race war – are the central way that the a spectrum of far-right movements draw in followers and resources. These narratives use fear to draw followers closer, allowing leaders to direct their followers’ actions, and maybe fleece them blind.
The article details the responses of people and groups on the fringes of politics and sanity–Alex Jones, the survivalists, the televangelists hawking “sure cures,” and Trump’s biggest fans, the Neo-Nazis.
Farther out on the neo-Nazi right, in the Telegram channels where “accelerationists” – who seek to hasten the end of liberal democracy in order to build a white ethnostate – overlap with “ecofascists” – who propose genocidal solutions to ecological problems – groups are openly talking about how to use the crisis to recruit people to terroristic white supremacy.
And of course, the far-right is feverishly concocting conspiracy theories about the causes and origins of the virus–theories that scapegoat immigrants, minorities and liberals. (Alex Jones, for example, claims that Covid-19 is a human-made bioweapon, produced by the Chinese government to bring Trump down.)
Most Americans are responding to this unprecedented challenge with generosity and kindness–looking in on neighbors, buying gift certificates from closed restaurants to provide owners with some much-needed income, sharing credible information and comfort. Then there are are the Trump apologists–those simply refusing to hold him accountable for the government’s delayed and incompetent response, and those inventing theories that absolve him of responsibility while further endangering the rest of us.
Maybe it takes a pandemic to show us who we are.
Oh Lordy! Now you got me started.
About those tests. When this mess ends, and hopefully sooner than later, I want to see a public investigation of how the CDC decided to develop its own tests for the virus and not use one already available. I want to know who all was in on that decision. I want names! I want to know what company got the contract from the government to make the tests. I want to know the connection between that company and the Trump Administration.
The Trump Administration has lied and lied and lied about this crisis from January to the present. The daily Trump Reality Show continues those lies. Meanwhile from coast to coast the medical establishment begs for supplies, governors beg for a national plan, and the people beg for the truth.
There’s gonna be hell to pay!
Excellent Sheila!
The sad thing, you have folks out there discussing the ineptitude of our current leadership, and when one of the apologists gives them blowback, they fold like a cheap suit! Somehow, there is a fear of that confrontation, or a misguided sense of liberal compassion which to me personally, the latter seems unlikely.
This thread ties in nicely with yesterday’s ” Paradigm Shift” thread, bad actors using social media and its accoutrements to “Mind Meld” with Trones, (Trump drones) giving them talking points and the authorization to attack any and all naysayers. Trones have been Trumpnotized to gospel lies all things Trump, and with religious fanaticism, attempt to verbally and even physically shred opposition.
Trump’s timeline concerning coronavirus is disturbing and yet accurate, check out this link and let your memory recall, LOL! https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/timeline-trump-covid19-responses/
And then, Trump fumbles as mentioned in the above link, then he contacts North Korea’s moon faced Hitler to offer American help for the approaching epidemic. Kim, has his own cure, execution! The 1st known carrier of coronavirus was executed in North Korea.
It’s possible that could be hyperbole, but considering his murdered his family members and including his uncle and half-brother, is it incomprehensible he is assassinating/murdering infected citizens?
But why is Trump lapping at his heels? Because? I’m actually at a loss!
And, as the bungling continues, Mitch McConnell keeps trying to slip his poison pills into emergency legislation. The latest was paying back the money that gets doled out! Everyone assumes it’s just for corporations and businesses, but this is a way to get his claws into Americans social safety net, after all, just of couple of weeks ago, he was saying there needed to be reductions in social spending to pay for the massive debt the GOP has run up because of their corporate tax welfare bill! So instead of making the corporations pay their fair share, they want the regular working man to pay the corporations unfair share, plus, their own unfair share, what hypocrisy!
Where is coronavirus when you need it, Tooter Turtle is probably too evil even for a virus, LOL! I don’t know if McConnell is the puppet master, or the puppet (Trone) but like they say, when Tooter Turtle gets in trouble, he calls on his wing man Mr. Wizard (Trizard) to start throwing spaghetti at the walls and turn down the heat on him! Trizzle Trizzle Trazel Trone time for this one to go home!
EVERYTHING TRUMP TOUCHES DIES. No truer words were ever penned. Now, he working his ass off to destroy our Constitution. WE the people MUST stand up to him and his idiotic acolytes.
As mentioned before, there is an equally psychotic ex-FBI agent who is all Trump all the time. He thinks he controls the conversation. He pushes back at EVERYTHING. Why? Because he is compelled to. His madness is profound and his projection of that madness typifies the Trump-ites and their inside-out corruption.
Can the election come soon enough? Will Trump cancel the election because of the virus? Will he refuse to leave office when he loses? Stay tuned, America, the worst is yet to come.
With regards to the “accelerationists,” every human being on the planet is descended from a woman (designated as Mitochondrial Eve) who lived in East Africa about 200,000 years ago.
Every single person on the planet.
I would suggest TDS also stands for trump delusional syndrome, its what his cultish followers have that lets them think he is actually competent and accomplishing anything worthwhile. Putin certainly got his money’s worth when he helped elected the orange fool.
I wonder every day what Tony Fauci is thinking as he stands behind 45 and listens to him dole out his praise of himself, his lies, and his ideas to stop the virus. I know he later gets to correct the jackass, but can that possibly make up for the damage to his own soul?
“There’s gonna be hell to pay!”
Theresa; we are paying now as we watch the leaderless government react to something they do not understand and cannot control by panicking and drain this country’s assets with their TRILLION dollar “help” solutions. In reality Trump is bankrupting this country as he bankrupted several of his personal business ventures. And, just as happened with his personal bankruptcies, he will not be financially responsible for this outcome.
The 1929 Stock Market crash came about due to a panicked response to shaky financial conditions in this nation. The panicked reaction in the 1930’s to the Oklahoma dust bowl resulted in thousands losing homes, farms, businesses and lives as banks bought them out at pennies on the dollar then drove them out. As I commented yesterday about the American reaction to shortages and outages and loss of lives during WWII; Americans worked together to help each other and the government to survive till that wartime Pandemic ended. Trump declared himself a War President and enacted the War Production Act but stopped short of taking action to use the power he has claimed throughout his term using highly questionable tactics and ignoring democracy, Rule of Law and violating the entire Constitution of the United States. Instead he is raiding our tax coffers to save himself.
We can no more count the ways he has failed this nation as president than we can count the lies he has told while failing and we are now facing the unknown; a deadly disease the international medical world is struggling to understand. Most of the Americans who are now in dire need for financial help are in this situation due to his deconstructing entire departments of government designed to aid those in need to survive and now he is ordering the government to bail his ass out during his multiple daily presidential lying campaign speeches he calls “coronavirus updates”.
FOLLOW THE MONEY AND VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO – IF THE S-O-B ALLOWS THE ELECTIONS TO HAPPEN.
Vernon,
“Can the election come soon enough? Will Trump cancel the election because of the virus? Will he refuse to leave office when he loses? Stay tuned, America, the worst is yet to come.”
You’re overly optimistic.
All you can do now is stay “cool” and keep taking the “shots” if you can. Next Sunday won’t feel like this Sunday, that’s for sure. You can no longer rely on society for your EQUILIBRIUM, you’ll have to find it within yourself. American Survival 101.
As John pointed out, we don’t have to wait for history to be unkind to Trump, we get daily pressers to demonstrate his bungling of this pandemic from day one.
And apparently, Trump does not know that we have video of his comments which the media is using to document his comments. The denial system within Trump’s Ego is amazing, and his followers suffer from the same chattering mind masturbations.
The DOJ has asked Congress for powers to detain and arrest any person they see fit and hold indefinitely.
Who is advising Trump on Hitler’s playbook?
The monies flowing to Oligarchs has come at record speed while the dollars to help citizens and small businesses has been dragging on for days and weeks. Capitalism and the free markets at their finest.
#Priorities
We have one week to start moving in a positive direction. If we can’t, God help us?
Todd,
“Who is advising Trump on Hitler’s playbook?” No one. He reads it every night before he is “tucked” into bed.
Friends of Sheila – enough already, blurb after blurb, day after day, week after week – virus or no virus, just complaining about the, at best 30% of Americans who support what The Duck and his like are doing.
There is surely a path between today (after the virus) and “revolution”. Much can be done that would be supported by the 70%…better education, better healthcare, fixing infrastructure (creating many jobs), making taxation fairer and on and on. If the ultrarich and big corporations don’t like it, let them go to Russia…
Let’s use November to send a resounding message and take back our country for the positive, not just out of fear and loathing of what we have today.
Lester,
Admit it. You don’t want a confrontation.
I am very glad I am retired from health care at this moment in time. Our systems are failing to protect health care workers. There are not enough masks, protective gear to protect those who are caring for people infected with COVID 19.
I heard a woman on TED saying we will have more pandemics in the future. She stated that unless we create public health infrastructures that are effective in every country, we will not be able to quickly contain future pandemics.
Maybe we should start right here in our own country. Public health nurses are very poorly paid, and they are the ones who serve communities of poverty and rural areas. That is, in my opinion, a reflection of how little we value those our fellow citizens in those communities.
Those without health care insurance and those who lose their health care insurance due to the loss of their jobs( NPR just reported on a woman who is soon to deliver her baby whose husband just lost his job and their insurance) will suffer greatly. This supports the argument for universal health care coverage.
Marv,
When I was in college in the 60’s in the South, I took a class in the “Sociology of Race”. The wise professor said something like this about the hardcore racists (who then, likely were 60% or more of adults): “They are obsessed in their ways…they will not change…but, they will eventually die out.” And that happened, and now they might be 20%.
The ardent followers of The Duck are mostly old and white and will die out. Yes, they will continue to vote reliably, but they can be slowly and peacefully drowned out from our society over time by diversity, fairness and justice from the better angels.
Todd, LOL, no doubt! We got the video! Or have.
Like I had mentioned in previous posts, I have cousins can’t get enough orange juice. They drink that orange juice morning noon and night. Even if the orange juice taste bad, even if the artist uses rancid, even if the orange juice turns out hazardous to one’s health, they swill it like it’s nectar of the gods! They will even talk about how terrible the juice is, they like the color, but the flavor, EHHHHH. And even know they espouse about keeping your Social Security and Medicare, some of them are on Medicaid also, and they like it by the way, some have gotten food assistance, and they’re worried the GOP will take this away, but that’s just the aftertaste, the orange Messiah is where it’s at. All of that vitamin T!
I guess orange must be very alluring, because it takes precedent even over their own best and self interests! I know that bigotry must be a big part of it, but, they’ve never missed treated my wife or my children! Of course they knew what would happen if they did.
I guarantee you there is some sort of Trumpnotization, some cultish crossroads deal with the devil! The short crazy man with the broom handle mustache, he was the Donald’s teacher. Even after his death he Hitnotized, his pupil. All Germans weren’t bad folks, but that little evil man, controlled them with his personality, or he made a deal with the devil at the crossroads. He was very much into the occult! Whether one believes in that stuff or not, there is no question he was a devil, a Satan. In his lust for power, he meddled in things he shouldn’t have. And those things definitely got control of him. It’s the same with the Donald, except he idolized his little Satan.
The quest for power is intoxicating, and sometimes things fall a specific way, and the inmates end up being in charge of the asylum. And like Barack Obama said, elections have consequences, and here we are! You saw how difficult it was to extricate these former evil Messiah’s, does anyone think it’s going to be easy to extricate our own evil Messiah? He is now well aware, all he has to do is claim martial law, and he can do what he pleases. How much of the military is behind him? That might be the only thing holding him back right now, but this pandemic could be the perfect opportunity for a dry run, he could then issue orders and directives to see who might consider them questionable and who toe the line. Those who give him blowback will be gone, those who toe the line will be promoted. Then he will have control. Then welcome to the 4th Reich!
So, I would have to agree with Larry on his perspective, and it’s not good!
Sorry I met Lester not Larry, sorry Lester! Sorry Larry
Lester,
“When I was in college in the 60’s in the South, I took a class in the “Sociology of Race”. The wise professor said something like this about the hardcore racists (who then, likely were 60% or more of adults): “They are obsessed in their ways…they will not change…but, they will eventually die out.” And that happened, and now they might be 20%.”
This isn’t the sixties. I thought your professor said “…..they will eventually die out.” I guess the election of Donald Trump represented the “hardcore racists dying out.” We must be living in different worlds.
Here is a list of The Trumpet’s comments from last January. https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/trumps-statements-about-the-coronavirus/
The Trumpet’s who are on Face Book vigorously deny, that The Trumpet ever downplayed the Corona Virus. Even when confronted with facts, they revert to “fake news” from “Liberal Sources”. The Trumpet’s simply cannot or refuse to resolve What the Trumpet said in the past vs the way the Corona Virus has played out.
The Trumpet’s who regularly posted about the Stock Market hitting new highs are silent, or they see the effects of the Corona Virus as method to bring The Trumpet down.
After denying and doing nothing about the Corona Virus, his press conferences now try to portray himself as a “Man of Action”.
Some one must have told The Trumpet he was losing control over the situation by remaining silent or “Happy Tweeting” and now he wants to take center stage. It is all a part of the Con Man Act.
Most Americans who voted in 2016 voted for HRC as the media had forecasted. Most people who post regularly here were appalled when Trump “won” the election anyway. We speculated before it was proven that it must have been a conspiracy. We said in our opinion the country would not survive his rein. The results of 2018 were clearly a mandate away from the Party of Bragging and Blame. The rein of Trumpence and McConnell has been every bit as incompetent and corrupt as we predicted it would be. The country did not survive the GOP.
Yet, because we know now our elections are not secure or democratic we continue to worry that the minority will somehow win again.
What are we worried about exactly?
We know full well that those who caused this are unable or unwilling to learn in any way but through entertainment media by celebrities. They explain everything in terms of conspiracy theories because they assume that what they learned from celebrities has to be right despite the evidence. They are lost to productive society and death is the only solution to eradicating their stain on our history.
I think that we can and will move on from this tragic chapter. Our home may be in ruins, our institutions may be in desperate need of major renovation, but I don’t see that a majority of Americans are not capable of digging in and doing what has to be done because we learn from experience rather than entertainment.
This war was every bit as bad as we thought it would be but let’s now focus on our victory.
Pete – thanks for the hopeful note. Twelve years ago and still moving my heart…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM&fbclid=IwAR1btZJotYklYWm6SkvqFRxzaCZK5f1qhOlKG9NebSywR2Q36AdCxDbKI5A
One of the problems we have today is the confluence of situations. We are having a plague, economic and political situations simultaneously and, in my judgment, are overreacting to their combined effects. While their combined effect is unique in our history, how to deal with each one is not. Trump does not have all power – not yet – though he (via Barr) is trying. There are still legislative and judicial departments with which Trump has to cope, and in their absence there are still the streets and pitchforks available in the defense of democracy. I think we underestimate “the power of the people” in such connection and the fact that, as Lincoln noted: “Sovereignty rests in the hands of the people.” (However, I here note that such power unless exercised is useless.)
Thus I think that Trump will not become a dictator, will not call off elections (though he may try), and will not succeed with his other dictatorial designs. Now is the time for each and every one of us to come to the defense of our democracy, our most important asset held in common, and assert our sovereignty by resisting through thick and thin Trump’s flailing attempts to play Hitler, through disease and recession, ignorance and cult chat etc. It is time not to be scared but rather to be resolute and (if at all) overreact in favor of defense of our democracy, as we did following Pearl Harbor in a war in which I participated.
We have the power. Let’s use it.
John,
“But why is Trump lapping at his (Kim Jong Un) heels? Because? I’m actually at a loss!”
If I were set upon turning the USA into a dictatorship with me as numero uno, I would be worried about the inevitable counterattack from those dastardly democracy lovers and their patriotic generals. And I would see no better way to defend against the counterattack than aligning myself with the strongest dictators out there.
Here’s what I posted on Facebook, “What seems to be lost on all the sheeple who support tRump is the fact that lots of real people died because of his denial of the urgency of preparing for the coronavirus. They say OMG you shouldn’t be politicizing this! It’s a crisis. Yes, it is indeed a crisis. And, one that is immeasurably MORE damaging than it had to be because himself denied it. Remember his we only have 15 cases soon to be zero? I talked to a gal yesterday and her comment was that her biology brain just doesn’t understand how tRump and his followers could have NOT taken this seriously. But, then, she said the most sad part. She had to talk to her grandparents and explain all their misconceptions. Misconceptions they had from watching Fox News. The numbers are staggering when you compare the Democrats who took this seriously versus the Republicans. Why? Because of disinformation from the president. If this doesn’t make you think about your support for this wicked, mega loser, I just plain don’t know what will. Please do NOT be a sheeple. Do not blindly follow him. He has once again lied to you. And, this time it killed people. Oh, and by the way, I’m pretty damned certain his denial killed more people than Benghazi ever did. So, stop your pouting about politicizing. Start figuring out just how badly you’ve been misled. Then, in November let’s get rid of this jerk! Here’s an article with some great links. I hope you read it and think about what Sheila says!”
Good point Larry…
Absolutely!
You have to understand that many Trumpers actually do feel bad about their decision to sell out their principles to back all things Trump. That’s why they use terms like “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” They want to tear down of those of us who refuse to give up principles, integrity and intellectual honesty to jump on the Trump Train.
It’s not stopping at Recession.
It will be/is a Depression.
The die is cast; it just hasn’t stopped rolling.
Presidential news conference, Peter Navarro, the chief toady and gobbling bootlicker, our leader was purposely using a light hand, LOL!
All of this stuff they’re supposedly rolling out now, should have been done in January at the latest. Not rolled out in March but “done” in January!
There is nothing like locking up the chickens in the coop after the weasel killed them all, our weasel is responsible for great angst and grief in our country, watch them start printing money like they’re doing in the EU right now. all of these countries want to use the dollar, there’s only so many dollars to go around, the feds are claiming to using unique tools to fund central banks around the world with dollars, so unless they’re growing I’m on the money tree, they’re going to start printing dollars! Dollars that are backed by nothing! I would think that’s kind of dangerous, that’s a good way Los Angeles to have inflation go through the roof a question and money ending up not being worth a roll of toilet paper.
Stupid is as stupid does, stupid stupid stupid stupid!
Sorry, I had the radio up too loud, you can remove Los Angeles
And growing money on the money tree,
Sheesh!