The day Donald Trump essentially checked himself out of Walter Reed Hospital, he put on a show returning to the White House via Marine One that landed on the South Lawn. Wearing a mask Trump walked slowly up the stairs but not bad for an obese 74-year-old man with Covid-19. (That said, he was high as a kite on steroids.)
Reminiscent of the fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, he stood on the balcony and saluted the exiting helicopter. (Benito ended up hung by his ankles in the town square, which I don’t care how much Aqua Net he uses, would play havoc with Trump’s hair.)
Trump pulled off his mask like a macho man except his mouth looked like a goldfish as he was gasping for air. Posing for photos he directed the photographer to get so close to him she’ll likely be quarantined. Then he went into the White House and exposed any poor soul. With Trump having turned the place into the new Wuhan and his being clearly off his rocker, the White House is like a combination ghost town, bio hazard and psyche ward.
With only 25 days until the election, curiously I’ve been thinking of when Gerald Ford assumed the presidency after Nixon resigned in disgrace. Ford gave a speech to reassure the nation, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” The Trump era is so much worse than Watergate I pray Ford’s second sentence can still hold true, “Our constitution works.”
With Trump and Bill Barr shredding our democracy, I’ve come to realize how deeply I care about its survival. But Trump is more erratic by the minute. At Walter Reed he posed for a photo working at his “office” signing a document. Except, that upon closer inspection, the paper was blank!
Then Trump staged a bizarre visit of the relatively few supporters lining the street. Despite being infected “with a deadly and easily transmitted virus” (his exact words to Bob Woodward on February 7) Trump took the “Corona caravan” and waved to the Kool-Aiders from the backseat. But in doing so he exposed the helpless Secret Service to the virus. (Yes, they’re trained to take a bullet for the president but not when it’s the president doing the firing.)
One particularly boisterous Trumpster kept shouting “I’d gladly die for that man.” If Trump rolled down the window and coughed on the guy, in two weeks his wish might come true. (Vanity Faire reports Don Jr. said of the event his father needs an intervention because “he’s acting crazy,” though frankly I don’t know how he can tell the difference.)
At least 34 people across Trump’s White House and re-election campaign have tested positive for coronavirus and the numbers are going up daily. The list includes Melania, Chris Christie, three GOP Senators, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Kelly Anne Conway, Press Secretary Kaley McEnany and political adviser/speech writer and Samohi alumnus Steven Miller. (About whom some have jokingly tweeted was voted by his graduating class as “Most likely to promote ethnic cleansing.”)
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark A. Milley, and several members of the Pentagon’s senior leadership went into quarantine after the vice commandant of the Coast Guard tested positive. In fact, it’s been suggested because almost all the Joint Chiefs are quarantined, God forbid if we were attacked by a foreign adversary, we could only coordinate a counter attack if there was an available Zoom link.
Meanwhile Trump, apparently still tripping on all the drugs, declared catching Covid-19 was “a blessing from God.” The side effects of Dexamethasone are: aggression, agitation, anxiety, blurred vision, dizziness, fast, slow, pounding, or irregular heartbeat or pulse headache, irritability, depression and mood changes and yet he’s still carrying the nuclear codes ? (To be fair, Trump had many of those conditions before he got Covid.)
It’s so fitting that anti-science Trump who mocked Joe Biden at the Presidential Debate for wearing masks, only days later would come down with the virus. But Trump cavalierly commented on having Covid-19, “It’s not so bad.” Tell that to the families and friends of the over 210,000 Americans who have died from the deadly disease. (Since Walter Reed, as Trump has bragged how great he feels, he never once has mentioned how Melania’s doing.)
And yet Trump insists, “Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did.” (Say what?) David Gergen, a highly respected political adviser to four presidents and not one given to hyperbole, made an ominous statement about Trump. “The U.S. is in the grips of a madman.”
During his final night in the White House, Nixon persuaded Henry Kissinger to pray with him beneath portraits of former presidents. If Trump convinced Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to do that, Meadows would likely be wearing a hazmat suit.
With Kleenex nearby, go to YouTube and type, “Covid widow’s message to Trump.” Few enjoyed the V.P. debate except perhaps for the fly that sat on Pence’s head for over two minutes. Jack is at jackdailypress@aol.com
