As of early Saturday afternoon, the University of Washington projects that the U.S. will surpass a total of 400,000 Coronavirus-related deaths by January 1, 2021. The same projections — which, although dour, have proven to be on track in the past — suggest that if universal mask-wearing was undertaken in the United States, then the total number of Coronavirus-related deaths might be at about 288,000 by January 1 rather than over 400,000. One might expect that a president facing a public health crisis like the Coronavirus would consistently work to keep casualties as low as possible. This Saturday, Trump is not doing so. He is golfing.
As MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin reported on Saturday morning:
‘More than 180,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus and, according to the pool report, the president has just arrived at his own golf club in Virginia.’
More than 180,000 Americans have died of the coronavirus and, according to the pool report, the president has just arrived at his own golf club in Virginia.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 5, 2020
CNN’s Manu Raju reported that Trump’s Saturday morning arrival at his Virginia golf club was apparently the 295th time that he had stopped by one of his golf courses as president. The golf trip came shortly after a report from The Atlantic emerged revealing that Trump had apparently called American service members killed in action “losers” and “suckers.” MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin asked the poignant follow-up question:
‘How many Americans would have to die of COVID before the president stopped going to his golf club every weekend? The number is already nearing 190,000. Every 3-4 days, the number of Americans who die of COVID equals the number who died on 9/11. And yet he golfs.’
Serious question: How many Americans would have to die of COVID before the president stopped going to his golf club every weekend? The number is already nearing 190,000. Every 3-4 days, the number of Americans who die of COVID equals the number who died on 9/11. And yet he golfs.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 5, 2020
Trump and his political allies have consistently congratulated themselves for a supposed job well done in responding to the Coronavirus. In no universe has the U.S. Coronavirus response been anywhere close to a success, however. The U.S. has suffered more Coronavirus cases per one million inhabitants than countries like the U.K., Italy, and Spain, all of which suffered particularly steeply during the early parts of the outbreak. Death is far from the only potential negative outcome of a Coronavirus infection — according to the athletic medicine director at Penn State, about one-third of Big Ten athletes who tested positive for the virus have shown symptoms of myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart. That’s just a small snapshot of the situation.
BREAKING: #PennState's director of athletic medicine, Wayne Sebastianelli, says that cardiac MRI scans revealed that roughly 30-35 percent of Big Ten athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 appeared to have myocarditis. https://t.co/md4p1IoaLh
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) September 3, 2020
As the general election approaches, and Trump continues to try and build support for a potential second term, he continues to majorly fail the American people. Video of Trump on the golf course this Saturday emerged — check that footage out below:
President Trump is playing golf today at his private club and Trump branded golf property in Virginia. @NBCNews video taken at significant distance. pic.twitter.com/oL1aDc9hJ9
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) September 5, 2020
