What is Donald Trump even talking about?
Two people in the United States have already died from the coronavirus, with the second having been confirmed this evening. Several more will likely die as the virus spreads here. The death tolls outside the United States are tragic and scary. Moreover, Americans are clearly concerned that Donald Trump’s corrupt dismantling of the CDC budget, and his overall incompetence in general, could make things even worse than they need to be.
Just don’t tell this to Donald Trump, who – we can’t make this up – is now bragging about fake coronavirus poll numbers. This is the guy who sits around tweeting imaginary poll numbers every few days, so perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising. But still, this tweet tonight from Trump is completely off the rails:
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A Poll in today’s New York Post says that 77% of “U.S. adults have confidence in their government’s ability to handle the Coronavirus (Number One), compared to other health threats.” 64% for Zika, 58% for Ebola. Others way down on list. Our professionals are doing a great job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020
It doesn’t take much to figure out that the poll, published in the Trump-friendly tabloid New York Post, is comparing apples to oranges. Of course people in the United States aren’t as hopeless yet about the coronavirus as they were about some past plagues, because the coronavirus hasn’t had as much of a negative impact here yet as these past threats did. But really, the fact that Trump is tweeting about coronavirus poll numbers is just… there are no words.
