FINISH HIM
No one is shocked that Trump did nothing after he was apprised early on of the toll COVID-19 was going to take on the US. The potential numbers coming from the CDC were awful from the beginning and Trump’s job as leader of the country was to keep us safe. He could have ordered a national mask mandate in February, but, of course, he didn’t. Masks were unnecessary because he had other things on his mind: Putin, Ivanka, himself, his hair, his rallies; or rather: man, woman, person, camera, TV. He was never going to wear a mask because it would mess with his look, his brand, his ego, and besides everyone around him was going to be tested in order to keep him safe. He would be fine.
The rest of the country, of course, was toast. His followers, who have been fine with him downplaying the risks, and are also fine with him saying it’ll go away and masks aren’t necessary, will stay the course. Now that the Woodward interview is out and we hear him lying, Trumplicans will defend him by going with the line he ignored it in order avoid panic, but meanwhile, they will still refrain from wearing masks at his rallies and the death toll will go up.
If these were normal times, the above scenario would seem like a poorly written Netflix horror movie. But it’s not. It’s life under Trump. That there are people still defending this guy and his “policies” is the stuff of dystopian nightmares, but clearly, they’re out there. The effect of right-wing propaganda cannot be overstated in Trumpworld. Trumplicans cannot give you facts, but they are always correct because this is how they feel. And they feel this way because they are told to feel this way by right-wing media and the outrage makes them feel so very powerful.
Despite the good poll numbers for Biden over Trump, it’s still a long climb to November when every week seems like a decade. Now is the time to take all the personal responsibility to which the right give lip service: wear that mask; listen to your Democratic Governors; listen to Dr. Fauci. The fall and winter have the potential to be very deadly. The best way to get rid of this mess is to stay healthy. Take all precautions so you can vote early, by whatever means are at your disposal. Trump doesn’t care about you. Show him in November that you very much care about him. You care that he gets drop kicked out of the White House and into a nice cell in ADX Florence.
TR Kenneth is the author of the thriller, A ROOM FULL OF NIGHT. You can read all about her at trkenneth.com and on Twitter