By BIll Mefford
Last week donald trump visited the Centers for Disease Control to assure an increasingly worrying public and a distressed Wall Street that the response by his administration to the coronavirus is not as bad as it seems. Things did not go well.
A disjointed and shockingly narcissistic press conference on the part of donald trump is certainly nothing out of the ordinary from the last four years, but occasionally these occurrences stand out as something to be deeply disturbed by if only because of the context in which it takes place. Friday was just such a day. Globally and nationally, worry is drifting into panic as the death toll climbs and cases multiply of people who have been found to be carrying the virus. This is a time where competent and compassionate leadership is at an all-time premium. And this is precisely where this administration falls flat.
Let’s look at a few of the “highlights” from his comments on Friday. WARNING: his is cringe-worthy.
Somewhere this fits between wishful thinking and a delusional misreading:
I do think what’s happening though is you have people that are sick but they don’t go to the hospital or they’re not very sick. It’s a more minor case and it could be of this virus. But we have a lot of people that aren’t going to the hospital so we’re not seeing those people. And if you did see those people, I believe…the statistics actually become much better because they heal, they get better. They don’t see a doctor, they don’t see a hospital. They have a problem, they have the sniffles or a cold or some of the symptoms, and over a period of time, a short period of time or even a longer period of time, they get better.
Here, he starts with false information and ends up with his one of his favorite topics – his ratings!
Well, we’re considering different but we’re also considering the fact that last year you had approximately 36000 deaths due to what’s called the flu. When I first heard this four or five, six weeks ago, when I was hearing the amount of people that died of the flu, I was shocked to hear anywhere from 27000 to 70000 or 77000, and I guess they said in 1990, that wasn’t particular very bad. It was higher than that. As of the time I left the plane with you, we had 240 cases, that’s at least what was on a very fine network known as Fox News. I know you love it, but that’s what I happened to be watching. And how was the show last night? Did it get good ratings by the way?
Yes, we have 11 people who have died and 240 (though he is lying – it is way more than this) people sick – but hey, at least we aren’t like China!
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I heard you broke all records, but maybe that’s wrong. That’s what they told me. I don’t know. I can’t imagine that. But what happened is if you look at the number, the time we left, it was 240 cases, Peter, and 11 deaths. That’s what it has been. You look at throughout the world, I mean other countries have.. South Korea and Italy, and in particular, China, have many.
It's always a good time to attack CNN!
So I start to say I wonder what’s going on here. Now, if you look at the percentage, the percentage for the flu is under 1%, but this could also be under 1% because many of the people that aren’t that sick don’t report, so they’re not putting those people in there, and you’re smiling when I say that.
Who are you from, by the way? Which?
Reporter: I’m from CNN.
trump: You are? I don’t watch CNN, that’s why I don’t recognize you.
Reporter: Oh, okay. Well, nice to meet you.
trump: I don’t watch it. I don’t watch CNN because CNN is fake news. Go ahead.
Hey, they’re just old people.
In this big vast land of ours, this great country of ours, we have 240 cases. Most of those people are going to be fine. A vast majority are going to be fine. We’ve had 11 deaths and they’ve been largely old people who were susceptible to what’s happening. Now, that would be the case, I assume, with a regular flu too. If somebody is old and in a weakened state or ill, they’re susceptible to the common flu too. They would tell me just now that the common flu kills people and old people is sort of the target.
Forget the people – it’s the numbers!
Frankly, if it were up to me, I would be inclined to say leave everybody on the ship for a period of time and you use the ship as your base, but a lot of people would rather do it a different way. They’d rather quarantine people on the land. Now, when they do that, our numbers are going to go up. Our numbers are going to go up. The 240 is going to go up
This is just a lie. They do not have enough test kits.
Anybody that wants a test can get a test. That’s what the bottom line is…. But I think importantly, anybody right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test, gets a test. They’re there. They have the test, and the tests are beautiful. Anybody that needs a test, gets a test. If there’s a doctor that wants to test, if there is somebody coming off a ship like the big monster ship that’s out there, right now. Which, again, that’s a big decision, do I want to bring all those people on? People would like me to do that. I don’t like the idea of doing it, but anybody that needs a test can have a test.
Don’t worry America, the “very stable genius” is related to a “super genius” and therefore we should all be safe.
And by the way, NIH, what they’ve done, I spent time over there and I like this stuff. My uncle is a great person who was at MIT. He taught at MIT for I think a record number of years. He was a great, super genius. Dr. John Trump. I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, how do you know so much about this? Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for President.
Trust us, neither scenario is very reassuring.