Apparently, President Donald Trump isn’t particularly fazed by the confirmed deaths of almost two dozen Americans from the Coronavirus. At least, that’s what he seemed to indicate in a Twitter rant that he spouted off early this Monday morning, when he seemed to mock the idea that the virus has any kind of long-standing relevance — after all, he reasoned, people die in larger numbers from situations like the ordinary flu. Perhaps Trump’s concern about the net effect of news coverage on his public image drove this gross display of disregard for the loss of even one American’s life, not to mention those of 22 overall and thousands of people around the world.
He tweeted:
‘So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!’
So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2020
So here we have the president of the United States declaring that the deaths of 22 Americans don’t seem to be something he’s particularly concerned about. The nihilism in the service of his ego seems reminiscent of his response to the Saudi government’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, at which time Trump — seemingly intent on keeping a close connection to the totalitarian Saudi regime — wistfully dismissed the situation by insisting that the world is a “very dangerous place,” as if any crises on his watch were written in the sands of time long ago and are out of his control — or something.
His history of completely dismissing crises stretches throughout his presidency. When the death toll from the devastating Hurricane Maria was revised upward to around 3,000, including those who succumbed in the storm’s immediate aftermath from the effects of the situation, Trump called the figure “fake news.” Three thousand Americans died — and Trump still wasn’t fazed from his neverending commitment to do what’s best for himself.
This Monday morning, Trump also attempted to dismiss the relevance of the stock market decline, which was so sharp that trading was temporarily paused.
Check out Twitter’s response below…
