The issue isn't whether he advised injecting oneself with bleach, it's that Trump keeps injecting HIMSELF into everything, pandering to his notion of self-importance to the point that he's not just in the way, he is counterproductive. The only way he can get his narcissistic fix is through these daily briefings and, like the 24-hour new stations, he keeps running out of things with which to fill air time. Here's a man who was easily the least prepared to become president and who keeps working at staying his course of intentional ignorance, doggedly resisting briefings, reports and the advice of professionals, lounging around skeezy pop and media culture and caring less about the actual machinations of government, someone who is driven by an arrogance that supports a belief that he somehow, miraculously, has a predisposition toward science (because of his ‘super genius’ uncle) and has a “natural ability” to grasp scientific theories. Thus, he displays his supreme authority, filling up daily air time with his blather even though he's surrounded by people who are actual authorities.
Even though a seasoned pol would know that the message must always be tamped down to numbnut level, had Trump’s comments regarding the bleach been made tabla rasa - as just a forgivable newby mistake or misstatement - his defenders might have a right to their umbrage. No, didn’t he say you should shoot up Clorox. But, he pondered out loud - and from his bully pulpit on national television - if it would work, extemporaneously spitballing something that turns out to be a long running health hazard; a fringe lunacy now got the President’s imprimatur. [CLICK HERE] We’ve been here before. And, it turns out the timing of this misstep was most likely 100% Trump MO. You talk shit in private. You work out things with the folks you surround yourself for advice. Not him. Trump apparently missed the briefing on DHS’s presentation, not once but twice. [CLICK HERE] He had a bug put in his ear about bleach injections by the very purveyor of this quackery. [CLICK HERE] So, he winged it. He spent the next 24 hours walking it back, first by denying the implications and then by doing what he does, covering it up with a lie.
The United States has just over 4 percent of the world’s population, but has about one-third of all global coronavirus cases and one-quarter of the fatalities. We can rightfully blame China and the WHO for part of that but it’s clearly due to two months of happy talk - despite the numerous red flags on the field - and after other incidents where his spontaneity and governance by intuition have proven to be wrongheaded. Most recently there is the issue of his insistence on diverting government attention to a drug his experts said was dubious from the start, an FDA warning issued the same day as his bleach comments. No wonder his ponderings took off.
But, just like most of his rabbit trails, this bleach thing is a side note which, once again, unnecessarily diverts us from the task at hand. We are still without adequate information about this disease. We still need testing, something he had said “Will never happen.” [CLICK HERE]
We need a hero, not a cheerleader, not a Dear Leader, not a crazy uncle. I’d settle for someone who just gets out of the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment