Trump aides reportedly think he'll 'face a harsh judgment from voters' after COVID-19 diagnosis
Voters were already going to repudiate Trump on November 3rd...
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Trump's strategy of COVID denial is defeated by COVID
4:49 p.m. 
Damon Linker
Through last spring, Donald Trump was all over the map on COVID-19. First he moved to restrict travel from China to halt the spread of the virus. Then he downplayed the danger while knowing the risks full well. Then he relented and treated it seriously for several weeks. Finally, growing impatient and worried about the consequences of the pandemic on the economy and his prospects for re-election, he made a fateful decision. From mid-May on, the message from the White House has been constant and clear: The worst is over, it's time to open things up, let's get back to normal.
That was the authentically Trumpian response. As Andrew Sullivan writes in his weekly column, Trump "has spent years at war with reality: living in delusions, perpetuating fantasies, imagining hoaxes, constructing conspiracies, accruing debt, rewriting history constantly as self-serving myth." No wonder he thought he could will away the virus, too. But of course, the belief that one can remake the world in order to conform to one's needs and hopes is what children do. As Sullivan also notes, "at some point, reality was going to get personal in return."
And so it has — with Trump himself coming down with COVID-19 right as he heads into the final month of the presidential campaign. But not only him. Republicans throughout Washington and across the country have followed the president's lead, refusing to wear masks, mocking those who do, throwing parties, going to public events. This includes the large, maskless event held at the White House last weekend to announce the president's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. That may well be where Fr. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, picked up the virus, along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and possibly many others.
But that was nearly a week ago. Since then, Trump traveled to Cleveland for the presidential debate on Tuesday, then to Minnesota for a rally on Wednesday, and finally to an indoor fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday — the last of these after presidential adviser Hope Hicks had already tested positive. Trump himself tested positive later that night. As Jeff Greenfield put it in a tweet Friday morning, "the fact that Trump and Company knew of Hicks' condition and just pressed on with their plans is almost unfathomable, until you realize how much they had invested in downplaying the pandemic." Damon Linker
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Trump was already set up to lose by ten points...
He's a regular Typhoid Mary. Now Kellyanne Conway has tested positive for Co-Vid.
pretty sure KAC has had a communicable disease specialist on retainer for decades ...
His campaign manager just tested positive for Co-Vid also.
bummer. bwah ha ha ha ...
Plus four people at another 'president' super-spreader event at the White trash House when they named that phony lying bitch for the Supreme Court.
Classic misogyny on full display.
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You always try to mansplain misogyny. The woman did lie and she sure isn't a good representation of what we look for in a lifetime SCOTUS appointment. The entire nomination event was the superspreader of the year, and a lot of people think there are far more positives than they say. Don't believe Pence is negative. And Tessylo was spot on.
Bullshit. Prove it by simply QUOTING me "mansplaining" mysogyny if you insist on spreading that manure around.
Sure, and I am Barack Obama, too.
I think he has an incredible opportunity. He could do daily video streams with the public, keeping America up to date on his and Melania's progress. He could spend the next few weeks being transparent, brave, and calming, and it would engender a lot of sympathy in the electorate.
Will he do something like that? I kind of doubt it.
Donald Trump is not morally, intellectually, or psychologically fit to hold office in the United States of America. Nothing can change that, and certainly not him doing daily video streams of his "recovery".
Seems to me Tacos! was referring to a marketing initiative. Marketing does not change the product (or the person), it simply presents same in the best light (even if it must misrepresent the truth).
I can see this idea of Tacos! having a positive effect on Trump's campaign. That is, as long as Trump is making a quick recovery. If not, then it would have the opposite effect.
I think that, no matter what, by Trump getting Covid it just highlights his utterly abominable leadership regarding the entire pandemic...
Of course.
Unfortunately it seems there will never be a shortage of people trying to give Trump another chance.
I agree.
I would guess that if he doesn't recover quickly, it won't matter because he won't be physically able to function as president.
I would add "physically" to that list, as I've been reading medical scientific reports that the virus can have lasting effects upon the lungs and heart and probably other organs as well.
It would punctuate his failure to deal with the pandemic. With Trump (in this hypothetical) being so personally hurt by the virus, those who were trusting that he had this under control will have a bit of a crisis. In the big picture, this would send a convincing message that Trump's handling of the pandemic and all the consequences thereof (all negative to each individual in the USA) was poor — incompetent, misguided. This is an election loser. The electorate, in these cases, goes with the other party.
IMO of course.
Not just "IMO", but in a lot more educated opinions.
Trump will emerge from this stronger than ever. Probably able go back to WH late Monday
A Hillary Clinton administration couldn't have done any better. The anti-Trumpers can't even explain what they did wrong, as several vaccines are in final trials right now. Admittedly off to a shaky start, as most great endeavors and scientific breakthroughs are.
But it really wasn't....and the majority of the people don't agree with your negative assessment
If you can't find all of the information that definitively shows Trump's terrible mishandling of this pandemic, you are turning a blind eye, its all out there. You are welcome to refute it all if you can, but pretending Trump isn't the worst leader dealing with the pandemic won't cut it. From his LIES about it from day one to today. He didn't do anything recommended by his own CDC. He continues to lie about the disease. He doesn't mask or stop huge public events. He LIES about it. He can't be trusted and everybody knows it except his fellow magats. Who get infected. I could go find all kinds of citations for his mishandling, but why waste time when you don't care to know? Not going to indulge that. Oh, did I mention he lies about it and spreads misinformation? And even though I didn't mention his lack of leadership from the beginning (schlepped it off on govs, no planning, not enough help, actually competed with and STOLE PPE from states!), its all part of his mishandling.
Where on Earth do you get your information? The majority of citizens have disapproved of Trump’s handling of the pandemic for months.
Donald Trump has already been put on the best slide path to success befitting a person of unique status in 'merica! However fit and fine he may feel in a week or so, he does have (chronic) underlying health conditions, and now COVID-19 is another on the list. He is not a well-man and nor is his wife, Melania. We have a Covid-19 crisis presently in the seat of this nation's power.
Perhaps he's referring to the majority of white supremacists and white nationalist fascists who worship Trump as their dear Leader.
Vague and ambiguous blah-blahs are NOT convincing
It takes no time to Google the polls on Trump's handling of the pandemic. Go ahead, try it. Your position contradicts the polls. Thus, I ask again, where do you get your information that the majority of the people approve of Trump's handling of the pandemic?
Based on your repeating the Trump party line, the vague and ambiguous blah-blahs have convinced you.
Just who you think "the people" are?
Just 38% of registered voters are Republican and only 79% of them approve of his performance.
That translates to just 30.8% of eligible voters Greg.
Throw in 4.2% of independents and Dems
and his support for Pandemic Handling is hanging between 35% and 43%.
He has never had even a slight majority who approved of this mess.
That is fucking terrible.
Yes he could.
I have seen a few people have a religious conversion, walk away from lives of alcohol or drugs or violence and proceed to lead model lives.
Well maybe "few" is an exaggeration - I've seen three.
So sure - he could.
No he couldn't. If he started having religious visions he would ignore them until they went away.
his last religious vision was the top of paula white's head in the oval office ...
Fucking seriously? Are you honestly THAT in denial about who Trump is? Dude, admitting you were wrong is not weakness, it is a strength.
Denial? I think you misread or misunderstood my comment. Perhaps you didn't read it all the way through.
You are correct, I didn't read the last line. My apologies sir.
I fucked up.
It will remind people of his arrogance and cockiness. As he and Melania receive "the finest in elite care fit for a king and queen." Then, your gaze will be returned to the dire straits and consequences of the millions struggling in 'common quarters' hospitals and medical centers. No, Donald Trump and all those in his entourage facing this scourge has become a participant in the game of Covid-19.
I think that the voters' judgement of Trump, and his enablers in the Senate, who are also starting to test positive for Covid-19, is going to be very harsh.
I find it quite disgusting that knowing that he had been exposed to the virus he went ahead with a fund raiser in NJ. I wonder how those people feel about it today.
I heard that they did not notify the Biden campaign about being exposed. I heard it in passing so I don't know if that is true or not at this time.
Hear, hear. Total disregard for the health and safety of others.
SOP for that POS
It really does show his total disregard for the safety of others. Think about the military personal around him both enlisted and officers. The people that did the food and drink serving at the fundraiser. NONE of them were warned and they went home to their families.
In more ways than one, this is a total disaster for a hell of a lot of people.
Nah. The only 'harsh judgement' Trump will get from voters are the voters that already knew he was incompetent, amoral and possessed autocratic tendencies.
Sadly - Facebook tells me that those I know who support Trump have not changed their minds - such as they are.
they should be encouraged to attend a trump campaign event.
Especially if the doors are locked... from the outside.
Correct.
If Trump gets re-elected after all this we should roll up this country and drop it at the bottom of the ocean.
I am moving.
We might find quite a few borders closed to American political refugees.
Who the hell can the Canadians stop?
Give it a try - I suggest swimming across the Detroit or Niagara Rivers, but don't do it too close to the falls.
They could build a wall - heck - Mexico might volunteer to pay for it.
I was thinking of just kinda wandering across and saying I am lost.
Pretty sure they already have, with the Trump stamp of approval lol.
Is that true?
Believable at least.
No one cares what you think.
Oh, no!! Whatever shall I do now?
Stop being such a [deleted] and go out an watch the polls. Don't worry about your vote, who gives a shit since it is all rigged.
I never worry about my vote, as I feel that it is a stupid waste of time to do.
I'm sorry you feel it is rigged.
I guess I'll put you down as a non-voter then.
I consider non-voters opinions to be less valid than voters' opinions.
By the way, I am not in the least retarded....as implied in your IM.
The IGNORE feature is your friend.
Where is Trump's new expert on COVID, Dr. Scott Atlas with his vast expertise in pandemics he should be front and center explaining all this to the American public? /s
Alas Atlas is at-a-loss.
“I thought it was extraordinary inappropriate for him [Atlas] in a press conference like that to contradict the director of CDC as opposed to saying ‘you know, it is a complicated issue and I think I’d like to sit down and discuss this with the people from the CDC’,” Fauci said. “And then what has happened, he’s a smart guy, no doubt about it, but he tends to cherry-pick data.”
Redfield has also been quoted speaking critically about Atlas, saying—in comments overheard by NBC last week, that “everything” Atlas “says is false.” Multiple officials working with the task force, meanwhile, have said that Atlas, the president and other advisers have downplayed case numbers and complicated their efforts to inform the public about how local communities can stop the spread of the virus by issuing public health ordinates, such as mask mandates, and by recommending stricter lockdown measures.
On Friday, hours before Trump was flown to Walter Reed, Atlas was quoted as predicting the president would make “a complete and full and rapid recovery.”
There was, he insisted, “zero reason to panic.”
Has anyone checked to see if Atlas has already cleaned out his office desk
Atlas has also said that the 'president' is "a very, very healthy guy" and very 'vigorous' more vigorous than anyone he's known. (That must be the cocaine)
Or the Adderall
Looking like he was spot on.
Coward. This whole thing is a fake meant to make Trump look bad. Get in the game.
Nonsense.
What are you going on about now?
‘It’s Just F*Ck-Up After F*Ck-Up’—Trump’s COVID Advisers At Their Breaking Point
What a surprise! One of the world's biggest fuck-ups is the 'president'
At the heart of the matter is Trump’s belief that his election hinges on convincing the public that the virus is not the threat his own science advisers say it is.
The president and his team have traveled across the country, greeting voters and other supporters without masks. Some of those events have been inside—including rallies—while others were held outdoors. And during the presidential debate on Tuesday, Trump publicly questioned the analysis of his own coronavirus officials, saying he did not agree with a timetable that a coronavirus vaccine would not reach the American people until well into next year.
But the current delta between Trump’s political objectives and scientific reality is, sources say, even worse than it appears publicly.
Over the last several weeks, officials within the CDC, including several working with the White House coronavirus task force, have grown increasingly frustrated with the president, who they say has sidelined the nation’s top scientists and health representatives in an effort to control the narrative around the pandemic’s spread. While most admit the CDC has made mistakes, including accidentally posting guidelines about COVID-19 aerosol transmission, officials say the president has pushed aside top health officials throughout the administration primarily because they have questioned his approach to responding to the virus.
Central to the dysfunction, officials say, is Atlas, a Rasputin-like figure who has increasingly gotten hold of the president’s ear.
Several officials who interact with the neuroradiologist expressed frustration that President Trump had put his trust in an individual who has little experience working on infectious disease outbreaks. Increasingly, those frustrations are bubbling to the surface in ways that would have been unheard of in past administrations.
“He’s doing things that you would do if you wanted to tear apart the task force,” one senior Trump administration official, who works closely with the group, said of Atlas. “The president was already doing a fine job ignoring much of the counsel coming out of the task force, but [Atlas’s ascension] has made it even worse.”
This official referenced several times this summer, during which the United States had seen coronavirus surges in various areas, when Trump was being briefed on virus data or worsening situations, and would reply, “What does Scott have to say,” or “What does Scott think?”
I wonder if the executive branch now understands what a policy of herd immunity looks like.
Good point.
Now that Trump has it, suddenly it is the Corona virus and not the China virus to him.
"Trump virus."
No....it is now, and will always be known, as the Wuhan Pandemic from China.
Pence will be holding in person rally in AZ.
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Right because the continuity of government is so much less vital than face time with his sycophants.