Conservative Newspaper Editorial : Coronavirus is exposing Trump's unsuitability to handle a crisis
The Washington Examiner is a solidly conservative newspaper. In this editorial they acknowledge that Trump is not fit for office.
Every honest person in this country knows he is not fit for office. Why is the Republican Party allowing him to run for another term.
Where is the outrage?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Dipping into the greatest hits from his impeachment defense, Trump said of the CDC tests that have run into significant problems, “the tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect, right? This was not as perfect as that, but pretty good.”
When it came to the matter of testing, Trump also lied, and revealed staggering ignorance. In the face of questions about the disastrously slow rollout of testing in the U.S., Trump insisted, “Anybody that wants a test can get a test. That’s what the bottom line is.”
That is not remotely true.
President Trump’s bombastic style has served him well through many stages of his political career, but as the coronavirus spreads rapidly throughout the United States, it is exposing how deeply unsuited he is to deal with a genuine crisis that he can’t bluff his way through.
It’s one thing for Trump to insist he had a “perfect” phone call and have all his Republican minions fall in line. It’s another thing to downplay a growing epidemic as more and more Americans get sick.
On February 26th, Trump patted himself on the back for the relatively low number of cases in the U.S. “You have 15 people, and the 15, within a couple of days, is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done," he said . By March 5, he was tweeting that the U.S. had “only 129.” Just a day later, he said there were 240 cases, portraying this as a low number relative to the seasonal flu.
Sunday morning, he avoided stating any number in touting , “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!”
As of this writing, Johns Hopkins has tracked 428 cases in the U.S.
When Trump was elected, many of his critics feared that he could talk the U.S. into a nuclear war. Those fears have not been realized, as Trump has proven generally averse to military conflict, actually more averse than many of his predecessors. He’s also overcome a number of scandals through a combination of relentless attacks on the media and his political enemies, and overreach among his opponents in both camps. But this is something different. Trump will be judged on his handling of the spread of a virus. And the outcome will be clear no matter how many things he makes up, no matter how confident he pretends to be, and no matter how many insults he heaves.
If anybody was hoping that Trump had the ability to rise to the moment, his comments upon touring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should disabuse them of that notion.
Trump, speaking from the facility with a red “Keep America Great” campaign hat, found time to praise the ratings of his townhall interview on Fox News. He declared, “I don’t watch CNN because CNN is fake news.” He attacked Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who is dealing with the most deadly coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., as a “snake.”
Dipping into the greatest hits from his impeachment defense, Trump said of the CDC tests that have run into significant problems, “the tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect, right? This was not as perfect as that, but pretty good.”
When it came to the matter of testing, Trump also lied, and revealed staggering ignorance. In the face of questions about the disastrously slow rollout of testing in the U.S., Trump insisted, “Anybody that wants a test can get a test. That’s what the bottom line is.”
That is not remotely true. There have been many stories of people’s futile efforts to try and get tested. Last Thursday, for instance, a registered nurse exhibiting symptoms in quarantine after having cared for a coronavirus patient, wrote of her difficulty obtaining a test even after it was okayed by a local health official.
Here in Washington, DC, where the first case was announced Saturday, health officials said they had the capacity to test 50 people a day. There is currently restrictive criteria for who can get tested.
South Korea, in contrast, has set up drive through centers, where individuals can get a sample taken in a few minutes without getting out of their cars, and get results back within a few days. This is exactly the sort of outside the box innovative solution that one would think a guy who ran as a practical businessman type would want to encourage or at least look into. Instead, Trump said “they’re not testing. They’re sampling people in other countries.”
When a reporter interjected that those samples are then being tested, Trump said, “No, no — excuse me, there’s a difference. I heard what he said. They’re sampling people. It’s a drive-by. They give samples. Now, can we do that? Yeah, we can do that, but that’s not effective like what we’re doing.”
The lack of adequate testing may be keeping the numbers of identified cases artificially low in the U.S., but they are also preventing public health officials from being able to identify areas of outbreak early enough to take steps to mitigate the spread. The more that we can make the spread of the virus more gradual, the easier it will be to make sure that we have enough medical capacity to treat the cases of those who require hospitalization. From what we saw in China, the fatality rate is heavily correlated with how overwhelmed the medical system becomes.
But the most stunning part of Trump’s press conference came when he said that, despite the recommendation of health officials, he was reluctant to let Americans off of a cruise ship with 21 infected, because it would increase the reported numbers of cases. He said he would defer to the vice president, and there is now news that the passengers will be let off .
Yet it was quite revealing into Trump’s thought process that he said, “I would rather — because I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship. That wasn’t our fault, and it wasn’t the fault of the people on the ship, either.”
Trump appears to be more concerned with numbers that might make him look bad in the short-term, then he is with actually taking the most prudent measures to save lives over time.
The current crisis is revealing what many critics feared in a potential Trump presidency. He simply has not shown an ability to break out of his typical antics, and treat the moment with the seriousness with which it deserves.
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How does this delusion that Trump might or should be re-elected persist?
How this person allowed to disgrace America every day?
What is wrong with us?
Ted Cruz self quarantines after contact with coronavirus carrier
WASHINGTON/WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said on Sunday he will quarantine himself at his Texas home this week “out of an abundance of caution” after brief contact 10 days ago at a gathering of conservatives with someone who has since tested positive for coronavirus.
Cruz was among the U.S. conservative politicians and activists who gathered just outside Washington last month for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which met this year under the theme “America vs. Socialism.”
Like Trump said during his CDC visit, "It was a perfect phone call with President Zelensky!" That should instill confidence in everyone.
Is it November yet? This is the longest year ever.
You know that Trump is in trouble when he losses the Washington Examiner.
Lose? Just how did he lose them.
I'm sure they want to make a buck off the TDS crowd also.
You mean off people who want actual facts.
Jesus H Christ. Trump is an ignorant buffoon - he is incapable of grasping facts, which is why he hates them so much.
He proves time and again he only cares about himself.
Yet some people still cannot see it.
He has been many things, but the gall he showed saying this whole thing is to undermine his reelection with the recession this virus will cause displays mega gall.
The word 'outrage' has for the past three plus years been used so often and is so deserved it has lost it's meaning or effectiveness. In short, Trump has relegated the word to the dustbin of the 'yawn'.
As far as 'The Corona Virus' exposing Trump's unsuitability to serve in the office he currently inflicts, the virus itself has not revealed anything new about Trump's unsuitability. Had there been half as much scrutiny on Trump's business dealings of the past decades as there were on Hillary's emails there never would have been a Donald J. Trump as we now know it.
Only in the minds of people who give him that power.
Unfortunately the Trumpian base gives him that cover and the rest of us are either to decent, afraid or patriotic to treat the Trump in the same manner he treats everything and everyone else.
If Trump is re-elected I do not know what will happen to this country. If he does not get re-elected what façade the Trump stood on will evaporate faster than any than any political ideal this nation has ever seen.
And-----I bet a hundred to one that Melania, with son in tow, will return to Slovenia before the next president is inaugurated.
It's probably good for all of us that he appears to have simply handed the thing off to VP Pence. He's definitely more concerned about what people are saying about the outbreak and about his performance relative to it. What we're seeing is the typical salesman pitch that everything is great.
The thing is, he probably doesn't need to go to the trouble. Haters are gonna hate no matter what, but the reach of the virus at this point is not his fault. It's not Trump's fault that the virus spread in secret for weeks before anyone realized it. I doubt very much there is anything he could have done to prevent the virus reaching the stage it has.
But because he is so worried about criticism and praise, he keeps saying ridiculous things like the virus will be gone or that we'll have a vaccine in a matter of weeks, or even that we could test 320 million people whenever we wanted. No reasonable person would actually expect for those things to be true. Unfortunately, not enough people in the media have the sense to roll their eyes and move on. They have to cover this stuff as if it were actually meaningful.
Do you want people to "roll their eyes and move on" for five more years?
You don't think people ever should roll their eyes at the shit Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders says?
No, I don't want people to do that, but there are times where you need to face reality instead of just screaming at the sky.
I know exactly what the reality is. The reality is that Trump is not psychologically, intellectually, or morally fit to be president of the United States.
C'mon, your asking an awfully fckn lot of a president
So, what ****do Biden or Sanders say? Healthcare? Freer elections? Americans receiving a better portion of the prosperity? Or is there something else?
It is on you. Take it. What you got?
You really need me for that? I mean, Google is your friend, but I don't mind helping a little. It's too fun.
Sanders? How about "free everything" with no way to pay for it? How about Sanders extolling the virtues of the Soviet Union, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, and Venezuela? He spent his whole adult life deliberately avoiding becoming a member of the Democratic Party until he realized it was the only way he could be elected president.
How about Biden telling black people Republicans want to put them back in chains? Or praising Obama for being articulate, bright, and clean? Or that you can't go to 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have an Indian accent? Or that poor kids (i.e. people of color) are just as bright and talented as white kids? How about Biden saying Democrats would "choose truth over facts?" Or bragging about all the good work he got done with segregationists?
It goes on forever.
That is a pitiful sum to put against Trump, and you know it.
Who said it was the sum? I'd call it an abstract. An intro. In movie parlance, a teaser trailer. As I said, it goes on forever. Do a little work yourself.
But that wouldn't allow him to dress up as a walking campaign ad and make utterly moronic statements at the CDC while the 'experts' chuckle and grin at his side.
Trump NEEDS his daily dose of 'it's all about me' and not even a life threatening global virus is going to keep him out of the spotlight.
No, the only thing that seems to go 'on forever' is Trumpian smear and lies.
Is that your way of asking for more stupid shit that Biden says? Is that your way of asking to hear about the oppressive policies and practices of the dictators Sanders endorses? Or did you try that Google thing yet?
Pardon me, but your slip is showing and the record is stuck on a skip.
It is meaningful, he is the president of this country who sounds like and acts like a 2 yr. old.
He is an embarrassment to the office of the presidency.
He should just keep his mouth shut, but we all know he can't do that..he's the typical hey mom look at me child.
It would be nice if it were meaningful, but if you're looking to this president for accurate guidance, you might be dumber than he is. No offense intended. And maybe we should be skeptical of any politician, but I just kind of assume that he's full of crap on stuff like this. I think it's foolish to assume otherwise.
If he's "full of crap" on a matter of an epidemic with serious potential to sicken a lot of Americans, how can there be an argument that he should be re-elected ?
But yet people do,
Things that that are what his rhetoric brings.
I’m pretty sure people mistrusted government bureaucrats long before Trump came along.
First, Obama was full of crap on the details of stimulus spending and healthcare and yet he was re-elected.
Second, Trump isn’t running against all of humanity or against the platonic ideal of politicians. Elections are always a choice between Windbag A and Windbag B.
Trump is not a mere windbag. He is a pathological liar.
But we get, it, you dont care.
America is pretty fucked.
But whatabout Obama? /s
So do I, but that doesn't mean I actual want or appreciate that fact about the sitting President. I very much want a capable President who I don't have to assume is full of shit, and I especially don't want a President who erases any need for assumption and proves he's full of shit every time he opens his mouth.
When there's a Democrat in the white house all I hear from Republicans is nonstop whining about the Democrat not acting the way a President should act or doing things a President shouldn't be doing. But as soon as it's a Republican no matter how bad they are all I hear from Republicans is how none of his unethical, inept, ridiculous and blatantly false statements matter because "all politicians lie" and "it doesn't matter how unpleasant they are or how many times they were accused of sexual assault as long as they are getting things Republicans want done!". GOP hypocrisy truly knows no bounds.
We? You got a mouse in your pocket? Anyway, it's pretty evident you don't get it at all. You're just here to put people down who don't agree with you 200%.
It seems to know leaps.
America is pretty well fucked with the communist sympathizer or with the guy that has dementia.
But we get it, you don't care as long as Trump isn't reelcted.
By early fall we will most likely be in a global recession. Smartest thing for the gop to do right now is to remove trump and see if Pence can beat Biden.
Why do that? Trump is leading us in the right directions. Biden or Sanders would still have to take weeks to get up to speed on this outbreak. Besides, Pence is overseeing all the different parties and groups of experts who are looking to find the answers and provide the materials to get a handle on this virus.....which is still not as lethal as "the flu". Best not to change horses in midstream as the saying goes. That would simply produce mixed signals and total confusion.
You know that there are 2 months between the election and the inauguration right?
If Pence is doing such a great job, he should be able to hand over the reins with no issues. The very idea that Pence is irreplaceable is ridiculous.
False.
Hahahahahahahah, you're killing me here !!!
Seriously? Trump wanted the cruise ship passengers to die on-board to keep the "numbers" from increasing. The guy is a sociopath.
Well, he got his wish. A passenger on one of the ships died. Happy now Trump?
Actually, the mortality rate for coronavirus is higher than that of the flu.
And of course it's not as lethal yet. Flu season started months ago and the coronavirus only recently got here. Duh.
Well after just watching Gov. Cuomo, I can see how someone should present the situation and problem solve. NYS is now making their own hand sanitizer to stop the price gouging and is selling it at cost. He explained that most people will not die from this, but it is more contagious than the flu. Its life span on surfaces is up to 8 days. He also said that really only people underlying conditions' biggest worry is pneumonia, which is the same thing with flu. It's just the high contagious rate that is the issue.
Now I actually get it.
I listen to Brian Kilmeade in the car when I go out for lunch. He and his dumb friend were talking about the corona virus and how most people that contract it will by asymptomatic...so go to work, People!
That's not the issue, Stupid Man on the Radio. The issue is Typhoid Mary walking through the crowd sneezing or coughing into her hands then touching stuff. The asympto person may not get as ill but they sure as hell are going to pass it on to someone who WILL get very ill and probably die because they have an underlying health condition.
These people only worry about themselves. They never think of who they could affect.
I would hope that he would disabuse people of the notion that they even need hand sanitizer. Washing your hands with soap and water is far more effective. Hand sanitizer is fine if you don't have immediate access to soap and water, but it is not necessary. Also, many of the sanitizers out there have such low alcohol content that they are largely useless.
From Cuomo during the news conference:
So it looks like NY has that covered too.
It would be a lot more useful if they taught people how to make their own sanitizer and take care of their own hygiene. You think people won't try to sell "free government hand sanitizer?" Think again.
I guess that's the difference in political philosophy. I look for government to empower people so they can achieve success in ways that work best for them. Others think government should just solve all peoples' problems for them in government's own limited way.
For those who want to make their own:
Please proceed.
NY is SELLING their hand sanitizer.
But of course what would 'work best for them' can't possibly be NY manufacturing hand sanitizer and selling it at cost to empower people by ensuring that the vast majority of their population had it available to them.
Sheesh.
Is that true? How horrible. Bernie Sanders would never approve. Even so, it won't keep people from buying it and then selling it for 10X the price on Ebay.
at taxpayer cost.
You don't seem to know what "empower" means.
Is something bothering you?
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There was more than one reason why Perrie was impressed with Cuomo's statements.
In the same press conference, Cuomo stated that NY would be policing price gouging.
Next?
The recipe to make your own I posted is higher than 75%
I used to use 91% IA at work for about 20 years. I had to use udder cream to keep my fingers from cracking.