Trump glibly dismisses coronavirus, claims it’s just going to go away “with the heat”
As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread across the world, one man appears remarkably unconcerned about the threat that it poses to human lives.
That man, of course, is President Donald Trump, who is locked in a constant battle with reality to avoid having to take responsibility for anything that could end up reflecting poorly on him.
We’ve already seen the president bungle horrifying crises, like the devastation of Hurricane Maria on the island of Puerto Rico, and refuse to take responsibility for the thousands that died thanks to his deliberate neglect.
Seeing as his hypersensitive ego is utterly incapable of dealing with any kind of criticism or perceived failure, it is beyond upsetting to think about his potential response to an epidemic in the United States.
We were given a glimpse into how that might go this morning at the White House, when Trump assured the nation that “a lot of people think that [the cornoavirus] goes away in April with the heat.”
Trump on coronavirus: “A lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat. As the heat comes in. Typically that will go away in April. We’re in great shape, though. pic.twitter.com/p4qEGUWB49
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2020
Needless to say, “hoping it goes away” is not an acceptable response to a disease outbreak.
Worst of all is the fact that no, we are not anywhere near in “great shape” to deal with any kind of major health crisis, which we can also thank Donald Trump for since he fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command and White House management infrastructure back in 2018.
It is unclear if they have been replaced, but since Foreign Policy’s Laurie Garrett reports that her inquiries on the subject were met with “distressed confusion,” the answer is probably no.
So far, the United States has 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and around a dozen more potential cases. As it continues to spread in Asia with no signs of slowing, it is deeply disturbing to know that not only is the captain drunk at the wheel of the good ship America but also that he didn’t even hire a crew.
