[Chicks]

Donny will find lies can’t stop a virus

https://www.chicagotribune.com/colum...jg4-story.html

President Trump, Jan. 22: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”

President Trump, Feb. 24: “The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.”

President Trump, Feb. 25: “I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away.”

President Trump, Feb. 26: “The 15 (cases in the United States) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”

President Trump, March 5: “…the United States, because of quick action on closing our borders, has, as of now, only 129 cases (40 Americans brought in) and 11 deaths.”

Just days later, there were more than 500 cases and 21 deaths.

There’s a sizable difference between calming a nervous nation and peddling nonsense. Trump has done the latter, and his narcissistic fear that the coronavirus outbreak might hurt him in the polls and in the coming election has taken precedent over public health.

While touring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday, Trump was asked about a cruise ship being held off the coast of California because some of the American passengers had tested positive for the virus. The president said — shockingly, even for him — that he opposed bringing the ship to shore because it would increase the number of U.S. coronavirus cases.

“I like the numbers being where they are,” he said. “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, OK? It wasn’t their fault either and they’re mostly Americans. So I can live either way with it. I’d rather have them stay on, personally.”

The brains of most Trump supporters have been rewired to reject criticism of their hero, but that’s a pretty staggering statement for anyone to ignore. His concern is with the numbers, not with the Americans on board a floating petri dish.