Of the countless number of lies Trump has dispensed, he reached a new low on Tuesday at his press conference when he told reporters, “This is a pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
This absurdity is on a thread of Trump’s denials of the COVID-19 threat. At the first reports of the menacing disease, he said, “We have it totally under control.” This was in January when he dismissed it as no more than “one person coming in from China.”
“We’re pretty soon going to be at five cases,” Trump said a month later when the first reported cases occurred in the country.
Then a little later, still apparently not convinced of the danger, he told the world about the virus, “It’s going to disappear one day.” That may be true, but he has no idea when that will happen, just as he has no comprehension of so much that falls within the realm of science.
In March, Trump said again that he was not concerned about the outbreak even as he stood within breathing room of three dignitaries from Brazil who later tested positive for the virus. Only after repeated questions about his own vulnerability given the contacts with others carrying the disease, did he finally relent to taking the test, which he claims came out negative.
Given the welter of lies that have cascaded from his mouth and his Twitter account, can we believe he actually was tested and that the results were negative?
One thing we know for sure, as Trump finally is moved to do something about the virus and propose a stimulus plan that could amount to more than a trillion dollars, is the harm his administration has done. Don’t forget, even before the virus began its ravage, Trump had fired the U.S. pandemic response team in 2018 presumably to cut costs.
Now, with the promise of $1,000 checks to some Americans, he’s hoping to save face, make amends, and make a down payment on votes in November, if the election cycle makes it that far.
We are not surprised that rather than making matters better during this crisis, Trump has exasperated the situation, first by neglect, then by denying it, and then seeking someone to blame, stating he was not responsible for the scourge, one he continues to call a “Chinese virus.”
Trump may not have created the virus but his term in office has brought its own set of terrible plagues, and if anything would disappear along with the virus it would be him.
You know our mantra—Make America Great Again—Trump Must Go!