Do Lives Matter?
Trump’s “I Don’t Care How Sick You Are” May be His Most Apt Campaign Slogan
While Trump’s refusal to admonish white supremists left little doubt about his stance on whether Black Lives Matter, his flouting of pandemic rules and responsibility now leave us asking, “Do any lives matter?”
At a September 8th rally in North Carolina, he defiantly appeared mask-free—ignoring the Republican Governor’s order and setting a dangerous example for attendees (many of whom were also bare-faced).
It was another instance of this President’s belligerent refusal to lead. A man ready to take credit should the pandemic end (calling it his “Great American Comeback”) yet continuing to encourage the risk-taking that almost guarantees it won’t.
In the roughly seven months that saw 6.3 million Americans infected and 186,000 die, Trump’s stance on masks has been random and reprehensible: refusing to wear one for five of them, then Tweeting a picture of himself wearing a mask (calling it a “patriotic” act), only to mock Biden for masking-up and insisting reporters remove theirs during news conferences.
It defies logic how any voter could defend such a dismal record:
OCT. 2016: Hinted at his current priorities by commanding voters to, “Get out and vote. I don't care how sick you are [or if the doctor] says you won’t be around in two weeks. Doesn't matter. Hang on till November.”
NOV. 2018: Disbanded the White House’s global health security unit charged with preparing for when (not if) another pandemic hits. A seemingly unexplainable move—were it not so clearly part of Trump’s tireless efforts to erase his predecessor’s legacy (the American people’s health be damned).
FEB. 4th: Promised to “take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat” during his State of the Union address (only to disregard them all).
FEB. 7th: While clearly aware of the danger (telling reporter Bob Woodward that the virus was deadly and transmissible through the air), Trump falsely reported that, “People think [it will] go away with the April heat” three days later, stating, “We’re in great shape, though [and] have 12 cases — 11 cases.”
MARCH 6th: Claimed the coronavirus “came out of nowhere” and “blindsided the world” despite numerous warnings from the very White House security unit he shut down.
APRIL 8th: Shifted blame for rising death tolls to the World Health Organization (after it questioned the effectiveness of his travel bans).
APRIL 23rd: After bleach was shown to kill the virus in saliva, recklessly talked of doing the same thing inside the body, “by injection… almost like a cleaning. Because… it does a tremendous number on the lungs [and] sounds interesting to me.”
MAY 20th: Refused to wear a mask while touring a Ford plant. Claiming “they’re not necessary here,” he ignored Michigan’s Attorney General’s statement that Trump had a “social and moral responsibility” to do so AND the fact that COVID-19 had shut down two Ford factories earlier that week. (This after VP Pence refused to wear a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic.)
JUNE: Held large rallies (and ignored social distancing) in Republican-governed states that reopened early—and quickly saw their rates of COVID-19 increase.
JULY 20th: Tweeted a B&W photo of himself wearing a mask, saying “There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!” (though he’d refused to wear a mask in public for the previous 5 months).
SEPT. 3rd: Ignored a state mandate prohibiting gatherings of 250 or more by shuttling-in 7,000 people to a Latrobe, PA rally.
Masking an inability to lead with his belligerent refusal to do so, Trump saw more than 70,000 new cases among children after rushing kids back to school; shamed officials into removing their masks at a Kenosha, Wisconsin roundtable; and violated state coronavirus rules at a Southern rally—all in the last 3 weeks.
When is enough, enough?
The man our nervous nation turns to has turned press conferences into bullying smackdowns. He calls reporters “idiots” and “bimbos”—and removes award-winning journalists from the room simply because he doesn’t like their questions. “Questioning is a cornerstone of democracy,” declared writer/activist Michael Aydinian. “Questioning is to learn and advance. Questioning is everything!” Letting such censorship go unchecked guarantees not just a higher COVID death toll—but the death knell of one of democracy’s essential freedoms. Every scientific indicator confirms this first assertion. History has proven the second.
Too many unsuspecting, good people have buried loved ones lost to COVID-19. Many of them Trump supporters. People blinded by grief—and by such a blind allegiance to the President, that they can’t see the unfortunate truth so clearly documented in the record above. Our innate sympathy might make us loath to call-out their blindness—showing them an empathy Trump has proven time and time again he lacks. But forgive their voting for him in November? That we cannot do.
Hand him another four years, and you will have blood on your hands. If not that of those lost, then of the regrettable numbers to come (whose deaths might have been avoided). Will Trump mourn them? Hell no—his directive to “just stay alive until you vote” tells you as much. What sound argument can you possibly make for this President? There is none. Sadly, his gross mishandling of this pandemic is as irrefutable as the grief over those lost.
In the end, Trump’s propensity for deflection and self-congratulation (when people are dying) amounts to one big, “F__ck you!”
“F__ck you, science!”
“F_ck you, Obama’s legacy!”
“F__ck you, free press!”
“F__ck you, Ford plant workers!”
“F__ck you, rally attendees!”
“F__ck you, school students!”
Guarantee you this: Condone such bold-faced disregard for our health and lives with a vote for Trump… and we’re f__cked.