Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser
Oct. 5, 2020
By Bill McCann
After news spread last week that President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania, and others in the Trump orbit tested positive for the coronavirus, I read that almost exactly four years ago presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fell ill with pneumonia. Her opponent, Donald Trump, responded with snide remarks and a TV attack ad suggesting she was weak and physically unfit for the job.
Last week, former Vice President Joe Biden responded by sending the Trumps well wishes and suspending his negative ads against Trump. That’s what a decent person with empathy does. After pondering it, I wanted to empathize with Trump too. I certainly didn’t want to see him get seriously sick or die. The country is experiencing enough Trump-generated confusion and turmoil surrounding the election. A bad health outcome for Trump would likely make that turmoil worse.
But Trump makes it downright difficult to have empathy for him. For one thing, his horrific behavior at last week’s debate is still rattling in my brain. Also, for eight months he has downplayed the virus, lied to the American people about it, and pretended it would soon disappear. His inaction and lies have cost lives. He has continued to flout and mock common-sense protective measures like mask-wearing.
Trump also has continued to hold rallies and other events, with attendees often not wearing masks or keeping safe distance. In doing so, Trump has ignored medical experts and the science behind them. He attended several events last week, including a New Jersey fundraiser with deep-pocket Republicans. He attended that event even though his close adviser, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for the virus and he knew he may have been exposed, according to the New York Times. Not surprisingly, CNBC reported, attendees subsequently were “freaking out.” Trump’s constant attempts to keep the virus out of the news have now backfired bigly. The virus is again front and center, where it should be.
I’m no conspiracy monger, but the first thing I thought after hearing Trump tested positive was he might be faking it in a desperate attempt to garner sympathy to get reelected. I wasn’t alone. Social media were full of similar thoughts by folks who aren’t into crazy conspiracies either. It’s no wonder people had doubts. Millions of us rightly have come to mistrust the president, his White House spokespeople, and his entire administrative leadership.
We got the message from the first day of Trump’s presidency – when his minions lied about the size of his inaugural crowd – that we were in for a long four years of distortion and falsehoods. We’ve heard so many lies so many times it’s tough to keep track of the truth. Trump’s staunch supporters keep swallowing those lies no matter what. Will they continue to argue that masks are useless, and the virus is a hoax? Will they continue to believe whatever comes out of Trump’s mouth, no matter how inaccurate? Probably.
The hard facts are that more than 35 million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease, according to the pandemic tracker Worldometer. More than 1 million people have died. The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases and deaths – more than 7.6 million cases and roughly 214,000 deaths. Most people recover but unknown numbers have had extended illnesses. Last week, while Trump was traipsing off to events unmasked, U.S. authorities reported more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases and more than 5,000 deaths. It’s not a hoax, folks.
Meanwhile, I hope the president learned his lesson. I hope he has a complete recovery. I’m looking forward to Joe Biden beating a healthy Trump on Nov. 3 and restoring honor and sanity to the nation.
