Donald Trump’s excuses are completely unraveling
When, in 1976, then Governor and presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised the American people, “I’ll never lie to you,” he just told his first lie. However distasteful, it’s an unavoidable fact of realpolitik that a president of the United States must occasionally lie to the American people in the interest of national security. Some presidents lie more than others, but none have come close to the more than 20 thousand lies (that we know of) told by Donald Trump since Trump took office.
Kayleigh McEnany to the contrary, who still claims Trump never lied about coronavirus, Trump lied about coronavirus. We now have it on tape from February 7th, 2020, thanks to journalist Bob Woodward, that while Trump was telling the American people that the number of cases would soon “go down to zero,” and that it was “just like the flu,” he was telling Woodward the exact opposite. Trump said, “this is more deadly than your most strenuous flus,” and that the death toll would be more like five percent than one percent.
Despite having (presumably) heard the Woodward tape herself, McEnany gaslighted the American people by saying that “the President never played it down.” Meanwhile, on the tape, in direct contradiction to McEnany, Trump says, “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down. Because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but Donald Trump doesn’t instruct me about anything for my own good. I decide what’s good for me. Period. But if I’m going to consult anyone, Donald Trump is the last person on earth I would ever turn to. The arrogance of the idea that Trump was protecting us from “panic” is absurd on its face. I don’t need the likes of Trump to lie to me for my own protection. Like all Americans, we need him to do his job, something he’s never done.
What kind of panic was he talking about, anyway, a panic of people being too careful, a panic of people washing their hands too much, wearing a mask too much or social distancing too much? No, Trump didn’t care about our panicking, he didn’t want to interfere with the news that the economy was doing well and that things were going relatively smoothly in the run up to the election. As far as protecting us is concerned, that was the furthest thing from his mind.
But if the patronizing notion that we need Donald Trump to decide what’s best for us and what truths we may or may not know for our own good isn’t infuriating enough to every one of you, then you aren’t paying attention. How dare they. How dare this arrogant White House and its arrogant, sanctimonious press secretary pretend that they know better than us about what’s best for us. I don’t know about you, but I make those decisions, pompous ass Kayleigh McEnany and her career criminal, child-raping, murdering boss, does not.
Since I last wrote to you another thousand Americans have died. When I write to you again tomorrow another thousand or more will die. That number is now going to start going up at an alarming rate, all thanks to the moron in the Oval Office who thinks he knows what’s best for us. Before this week is out more than 200,000 Americans will be dead thanks to Donald Trump.
There are a million reasons why Donald Trump is unfit to be president of the United States, this has been another one. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.