Despite the documented dangers of the disease, President Donald Trump and his allies are refusing not to politicize the Coronavirus situation. On Friday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney accused the media of using Coronavirus coverage as part of some kind of conspiracy to make Trump look bad — which is the exact same line that Trump himself has parroted elsewhere, although there remains no evidence of this allegation. What are reporters supposed to do? Ignore a disease that’s killed thousands of people and infected tens of thousands more?
Mulvaney railed:
‘They think this will bring down the president. That’s what it’s all about… t’s not a death sentence. It’s not the same as the Ebola crisis.’
More Mulvaney: "It’s not a death sentence. It’s not the same as the Ebola crisis. "
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) February 28, 2020
Maybe Mulvaney imagines that the sick people in China are part of this imaginary conspiracy too! How far does this supposed plot against Trump go? Is the World Health Organization part of the oh-so-scary deep state too? After all, they’ve issued a warning that the Coronavirus is a potential pandemic. What about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? Are they also a part of the deep state? After all, that federal government agency also recently issued a warning about the virus — which some Trumpers have, in fact, dismissed as some kind of deep state conspiracy against the president.
These are the kinds of outrageous questions that are implied by Mulvaney’s rambling. It’s a fitting exemplification of how far off into the abyss of egomania that Trump and his cronies really are.
Around midnight on Friday, Trump tweeted:
‘So, the Coronavirus, which started in China and spread to various countries throughout the world, but very slowly in the U.S. because President Trump closed our border, and ended flights, VERY EARLY, is now being blamed, by the Do Nothing Democrats, to be the fault of “Trump”’
So, the Coronavirus, which started in China and spread to various countries throughout the world, but very slowly in the U.S. because President Trump closed our border, and ended flights, VERY EARLY, is now being blamed, by the Do Nothing Democrats, to be the fault of “Trump”.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020
No one is alleging that the Coronavirus is Trump’s personal fault. The options here aren’t full support for Trump or some kind of secret global conspiracy to make him look bad and hold him personally responsible for a global pandemic. Yet, these are the only options that Trump and his allies seem to be interested in acknowledging. Trump is not some kind of valiant white knight against the virus keeping it out via closing the border and ending flights — it’s the work of the health professionals who Trump and his team are consistently deriding and fumbling that’s kept the situation remotely in check.
Just recently, reporting came out that the Trump administration had sent staffers in to deal with Coronavirus sufferers without proper quarantine precautions — and the first community-transmitted case of the virus was reported in the area of the fumbled quarantine.
Yet, Trump glibly tweeted:
‘Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape!’
Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape! @CDCgov…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2020
At this rate, with all this talk about supposed political ulterior motives, there’s little apparent reason to trust that the Trump administration is competently positioned to deal with the virus.
