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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump Is Trying to Pretend He Took Coronavirus Seriously All Along
By any objective measure, Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus crisis has been a failure. After hamstringing the governments ability to respond to pandemics like the one were now facing, he ignored warnings for months, failed to take timely, adequate action beyond cutting off travel from China, and offered empty assurances to the American people that the situation was totally under control. Only after the virus dramatically upended American life has he taken any action at all, and even then its been woefully inadequate: states and hospitals remain in dire need of resources; his leadership has amounted to attacking the press, brushing off responsibility, and casually mocking a 73-year-old senator in quarantine; and he is now poised to undo whatever limited progress his administration has made by pledging to restart the nations economy before the coronavirus even hits its peak in the United States.
And so, with an election on the horizon, the president and his allies are attempting to craft a new narrativethat he has taken the threat seriously since day one; that he has taken decisive, effective action; and that anyone who tells you otherwise is fake news. They want to try to control that narrative as much as possible, a Republican who speaks with Trump regularly told Politico Tuesday. Its irresponsible to do anything else. Rather than actually do the uphill work of meeting a public health emergency head on, Trump and his allies seem to be shifting gears to create a new reality in which they already haveeven as experts warn that the worst is yet to come, particularly without drastic government intervention. Were doing tremendous work, Trump said in a video on Monday.
For now, the messaging seems to be working. Last week, an ABC News/Ipsos survey found that 55% of Americans approved of Trumps handling of the coronavirus crisis, up 12 percent from the previous weekeven as the number of confirmed cases mounted and the death toll in the U.S. multiplied. In a new poll Monday, 61% of respondents said they believe Trump is taking strong enough action to curb the spread of the virus.
How long that bump might last is another story. As cases in the U.S. increase exponentially, the country is on a steeper trajectory than just about any other. At some point, even Trumps most devout supporters will likely be personally impacted.
Link to tweet
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https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/trump-trying-to-pretend-he-took-coronavirus-seriously-all-along?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=pol&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_mailing=thematic_ballot_03252020&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9f8cb24c17c6adf0e5d24&cndid=25394153&utm_term=Thematic_Ballot_Subscribers
riversedge
(70,253 posts)lpbk2713
(42,761 posts)Everyone else thinks he's full of shit.
Moostache
(9,897 posts)India...1.3 BILLION people, hundreds of millions living in squalor and horrific conditions to begin with...if this thing takes hold there and get a head of steam, there's no telling what comes next...or how the thing might be able to mutate in such an immense human petri dish...
It is also beyond distressing to see the USA curve starting to outpace Italy, China and Spain because that is coming by Easter not some kind of miracle 'reopening'...
EDIT - WTF?!?!? 61% of respondents think Trump is doing enough? HOW? By recommending or allowing right wing nut bags to recommend killing the elderly or intentionally infecting the young? I give up already...with that many people responding positively to Trump I have to wonder if the sample was taken form White House staffers on background...there CANNOT be that many stupid Americans...there can't be, right???
The Magistrate
(95,248 posts)Usually the 'rally round' impulse is much more powerful. A normal President would have approvals on the order of two or three to one in a crisis like this. Nor does the 'rally round' impulse last long. It is colder than I normally will go, Sir, but the plentiful corpses impending will see to that.
"As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so shall you be."
underpants
(182,843 posts)Thanks
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Or maybe a better choice of words batshit.