Trump is Dangerous to All of Us
Donald Trump is a dangerous president. He is a danger to the very people he is supposed to represent and even more so to those who listen to what he says about fighting COVID-19. His desire to get re-elected is overcoming any sense of responsibility he might have towards the nation as a whole. Simply put, he wishes to stop COVID-19 isolation measures so people can return to work, re-open businesses, and pretend all is normal. Of course, the hospitals will be full with sick and dying people, the morgues will be overflowing with the dead, and the fear that disease brings will still walk among us; but Donald Trump thinks these outcomes are a small price to pay to get him re-elected. After all, as he claimed in the 23 March 2020 FOX News Town Hall, people die from flu and car accidents every day; so why not?
Okay. Putting aside the moral argument that stock market indexes are not more important than human lives, there are several reasons why Trump’s self-imposed ignorance is a danger to you personally. First, the drastic measures that we live under are designed to ensure hospital resources are not overwhelmed by an inevitable surge of COVID-19 critically ill patients. Trump is failing to take advantage of this time to mobilize Americans to meet this serious need. Sending 4,400 respirators to a city which needs 30,000 is dangerous and will essentially condemn future critically ill New Yorkers to death. It could just as easily be Nashville or Knoxville.
Second, due to Trump’s inaction in Jan/Feb, we do not have the needed testing capabilities to understand the extent of the pandemic in the United States. We can not separate the infected from the healthy since we do not know who belongs in each category. That failure alone means more social isolation. Trump’s impatience is that of a child. It takes time for social distancing and social isolation to produce results. There is a lag. Trump puts us in danger when he proclaims we need to get back to work by Easter.
Finally, Trump does not listen to his scientists and health care professionals in making decisions about this pandemic. He goes by what FOX News tells him more than by what experienced public health officials are telling him. His neediness for constant praise creates anger towards those who contradict him which is dangerous in itself.
We will need to get started again. Slowly, carefully, and under the guidance of the health professionals, we can begin a more normal life again when it is to the benefit of all Americans. Trump is safe and really does not care if you are not. That harsh truth is inescapable in listening to him speak (remember this- he wanted to leave Americans on an infected cruise ship so U.S. infected numbers would not rise). With his indifference to New York City’s suffering (remember also that it can easily be Nashville in that situation) and with his childish idea to fill churches for Easter (which will spread infections), Trump is truly a danger to us all.
