Trump’s medical team says Trump is doing just grand and that Trump might be discharged tomorrow. Whatever. The only thing I know for certain is that we don’t know anything for certain. The White House and Trump’s doctors can’t be trusted to tell us the truth. So we’ll see what happens.
But I want to talk about personal responsibility. Remember when Republicans called themselves the “party of personal responsibility”? They’re still doing it for all I know. What they meant by that is that ordinary people are supposed to take care of themselves without depending on government so that government can focus on taking care of rich people. But really, the whole concept of “personal responsibility doesn’t seem to be something they grasp.
Let’s review: In the age of covid-19, personal responsibility looks like this:
Figure One: A Biden Press Conference. July 2020. The Independent (UK) photo
Personal responsibility does not look like this:
Figure Two: Amy Coney Barrett nomination announcement and virus spreading event, the former White House rose garden, September 26, Voice of America photo
All the people at this event other than Trump who have tested positive this past week were in the first two rows. You may not be able to make him out, but Attorney General Bill Barr is in the first row. And Attorney General Bill Barr has decided he doesn’t need to quarantine himself. Where do they find these people? I hope somebody starts a betting pool on when Barr announces he’s positive. I’m taking Thursday, October 8, 11;36 pm.
At Vanity Fair, Gabriel Sherman writes that some Trumpers are having a hard time understanding the whole virus spread thing.
Inside Trumpworld, the shock of Trump’s hospitalization is giving way to despair about his prospects in the upcoming election. “They all know it’s over,” a Republican close to the campaign said. “This is spiraling out of control,” a former West Wing official said. Some Trump allies are entertaining conspiracy theories that the White House outbreak was caused by someone with political motives. “It’s weird that all these Republicans are getting it,” a prominent Republican told me. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on. But one thing I’ve learned is: when something major happens thirty days before an election, it usually has to do with the election.” (There is no evidence for this wild claim).
It’s not weird at all that a cluster of Republicans are getting the virus. Just see Figure One and Figure Two, above. That explains it all.
Also at Vanity Fair, see Charlotte Klein:
Despite being at least the third Republican senator to test positive for COVID-19 within the last 24 hours, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin still doesn’t think mask mandates are a good idea. On Saturday, hours after announcing he had contracted the coronavirus, the GOP lawmaker reportedly said that masks may help reduce the risk of infection but are “certainly not a cure-all” and should be an “individual responsibility.” Johnson’s comments come a day after Republicans who control the legislature moved to strike down Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate. Meanwhile, the swing state has seen a surge of COVID-19 cases in recent days, surpassing daily records for new cases and deaths and raising concerns over Wisconsin’s hospital capacity.
Many things should be an individual responsibility, Senator. But since too many people lack the sense God gave turnips, somebody has to set rules.
Charlotte Klein goes on to explain that while a senator may participate in hearings virtually, when the time comes for a floor vote on something — like, say, Amy Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court — senators have to be there in person. That means having a bunch of Republican senators out with the covid could interfere with Mitch McConnell’s quickie nomination process. Heh.
Going back to whatever shape Trump is in now — we really don’t know. He released a short video that at least shows us he’s not on a ventilator, and he has released a couple of photographs that make it appear he is doing presidential stuff, but the photos are being slammed as being staged. And I don’t much care if Mike Pence is standing by to resume command or not, because Trump never did the job of POTUS, anyway.
Update: The toddler-in-chief briefly left the hospital so he could be driven around to wave at supporters. Seriously. If the driver gets covid, he should sue.
Add to this is the tRump stunt this afternoon of going for a car ride so that he could receive adulation from his tRumpTards lining the streets by Walter Reed.
That this disaster of a human being would deliberately endanger others so that he could experience some cult worship , including a number of secret service agents who had to be in the car with him, says everything.
This has to be the most despicable person to ever occupy the White House.
"Personal responsibility" means that those people are at fault for anything bad that happens to them, because of their inherently inferior genes and character; and therefore society has no obligation to help them. Rich white male Republicans are the divinely and economically elect, and therefore anything bad that happens to them must be the result of enemy action, and government/society are obligated to intervene and correct such injustice.
this extract taken from the Wingnut to English Dictionary, copyright 2020, used by permission
"Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential 'drive-by' just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity,"
The comment is from James Phillips, attending physician at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who is also the chief of disaster medicine at the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine.
Yeah, Trump felt compelled to take a joy ride to acknowledge the "patriots"
Trump might think he got the jump on the virus by the work that the doctors have so far done for his condition, but he's not out of the woods yet. This virus could kick in to overdrive and knock his dick strings loose to where it will only accentuate his stupidity. When it comes to butting heads in a test of wills with mother nature she always comes out on top. Trump is taking a big gamble by trying to portray himself as more powerful than the virus, but even if he does escape the full possibilities of what this virus can do, he's showing himself to be totally reckless. And that is going to hurt him politically in spite of what he might think.
You note a key point on tempting nature. I suspect that there were doctors who said that he should probably rest and recuperate and just take it easy. But no, I wonder if he did this against medical advice. He will say he did it to instill confidence in the markets and for the people, but in any normal word the doctors pressers and the official statements and a photo should be good enough. But in the current state of affairs everything that comes out of the admin a flat out lie so they need to spin and brag and spin and bully. Repeat. Rinse Repeat. Now the spin has to spin how to not make this a "omg he put those people in danger for a photo op" disaster. Tempting the fates.
Oh, I guess the key is that Orange Julius is not trying to communicate to me, he acts for his own interest and, sometimes, the GOP interest. He is spinning for the cult who will lap it up and he is not communicating to us normals.
I often ask myself how long their luck can last because the spin so far looks like they will be just fine.
“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Don and Melania—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
–F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Never, ever expect tRUMP to take a higher road.
Even if there are two good, above-the-swamp-roads – like here: He's feeling better. Good for him! And waved to his lemming-like followers through his room's window. Good for him!
But is that enough for this presiDUNCE? Two acceptable things: Feeling good? Waving to admirers?
NOPE! Not enough!! It needs that special "tRUMP Touch- Of Stupidity And Malice!!!"
He's got to go against his doctor's orders, break hospital protocols and rules, and bulldoze a new, stupid and sociopathic road!
So he orders his presiDUNCEial limo, and along the way – since he's highly contagious at this point – endangers the lives of everyone around him as he does this mini road-trip – AND, potentially, THEIR families and friends, and those people's families and friends, and others they may meet, etc…
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH, HOW I HAAAAAAATE TRUMP!!!!!!
Trump keeps telling us who he is and still there are those that think he is god incarnate. Heaven help us!
Here's a frightening thought. One of the drugs he's reportedly on, has severe psychological side effects.
????????????? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ??????????? ???? ???????, ??? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????????’? ????????? ??????? ? ??? ????? ?? ??????????? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ??? ???????.
Of course this doesn't explain or excuse his behavior before he was on the drug.
https://www.vox.com/2020/10/4/21501182/white-house-coronavirus-outbreak-dexamethasone-side-effects-oxygen
Had to laugh at the turnip reference–been calling the preznit "der turnip" for about a year or a bit longer. Just seems to fit him personality-wise and physical-wise. . . .
So what? Now he can grab them all by the throat like he did the rest of us. I'm just hopeful that a few episodes of being unable to breathe will inspire a spark of sympathy for other people who suffer.
Personal responsibility is too much to hope for. But thank goodness we get to witness the "last throes" of the republican party.
Of course, we must remember that in every horror movie, the monster always rises again.
thank goodness we get to witness the “last throes” of the republican party.
After watching the map of USA go red on Election night 2016, when Hillary was forecast to win, I'm not ready yet to break out the champagne.
Especially with all the games the Rs are going to play to steal the election.
Is this what Trump means by achieving herd mentality?
When news broke that President Donald Trump had been infected with COVID-19, Twitter announced they’d be suspending anyone who tweeted that they hoped Trump would die from the disease. A few hours later, apparently realizing they’d have to suspend half their user base, they clarified that “death wishing” tweets wouldn’t, in most cases, be punished by suspension after all.
I had the inspiration last night when I couldn't sleep (a recurring theme in the national nightmare) that 'der turnup' has frequently decried that he's the victim of a witch hunt. If Covid is victorious, his cult followers in government will demand he lie in state.
There would be lines of people, and in the spirit of "Alice's Restaurant" ('and if three people did it, well then I'd be a movement…') Democrats in line accidently with their cell phones in coat pockets accidently keyed this to play while in line. Looking around innocently trying to figure out the source.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHQLQ1Rc_Js
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kayleigh-mcenany-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-trump-covid-19-161821290.html
And another one bites the dust!
Any glee that might be detected in my messaging isn't directed at the individuals who have contracted the virus…My glee stems from the fact that Trump's arrogance and intentional deceptions to minimize the seriousness of this virus has caught up with him and those who actively support his deceptions. For me it's not a personal judgement…it's a spiritual one. In a sense you could say he's getting his mask of deception ripped off.
If anyone can go through a life-threatening illness and learn absolutely nothing from it, it's Trump. A rare and remarkable negative achievement.
Hitler surviving attempts on his life reinforced his belief that he was 'the chosen one'. Are we sure that tRump surviving Covid-19 will not reinforce his and his televangelist worshipers belief that The Donald is 'the chosen one'?