After posing wearing in a mask on a Twitter, Trump made another one of his many immature, stupid comments saying, “Some say it is patriotic to wear a mask.” This man cannot take one action unrelated to manipulating voters. His strategy of hugging flags, defending Confederate traitors and statues, militarizing cities against legal protestors, and governing in favor of white identity is what he sees as the only chance to retain rural American voters in swing states. His recent mask photo and return to virus task force briefings are clearly in response to his advisor’s sounding of the alarm that his polls are down because the majority of Americans oppose his partisan, political games about COVID-19 and many other issues.
Even the base is getting tired of his repetitive rhetoric. “Trump Fatigue,” which deserves its own diagnostic code in the DSM-V, is wearing the country down. How many consistent days can any family or country tolerate constant, yelling, fighting, threatening, lying and cheating, without becoming depleted and defeated? Trump’s constant vindictive tweeting is at the level of a young adolescent girl. His pursuit of TV airtime is embarrassingly needy. When in the hell does he work? Which one of his advisors are doing the policy-making while he is screeching over the airwaves, causing a national burnout syndrome of epic proportions?
Americans should prepare themselves to hear Trump demanding praise for putting on a mask 3 months after scientists insisted face coverings would restrict the spread of the virus. In March, 3,485 people had died from COVID. The new death from the illness is over 140,000 and still rising in the midst of an out of control resurgence of infection. During a pandemic, what reasonable, intelligent leader would ask for praise for doing the right thing 3 months late after 140,000 people had died from their complete incompetent and politicized policies? Would anyone praise a doctor who saw a patient going into cardiac arrest, walked away to get a soda, and then returned and used a defibrillator to try to save that patient? Would that family feel grateful that the doctor came back and finally decided to do the right thing? Timing is everything in a crisis, however, Donald Trump looks at issues through the lens of how it will affect his own self-interests instead of what is called for to solve the problem. He doesn’t react appropriately to problems that involve the lives and health of people unless it relates to him. If wearing a mask will get his poll numbers up with some voters, he will wear it. If wearing a mask will cause him to lose favor with some of his base, he will find a way to signal to them he doesn’t really feel a mask is necessary, but he is just going along to quiet attacks from the far-left Democrats.
He is desperately scrambling to recover from his declining poll numbers, his failed handling of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial injustice movement occurring across America. He appears so desperately worried about losing, it wouldn’t be surprising if he fired Mike Pence and chose a black running mate if he thought it would guarantee his re-election. His base should read his niece Mary’s book, as it will help them see they are just as vulnerable to Trump’s abandonment and abuse as any other American he feels he doesn’t need. If he gets re-elected and no longer needs a base, many who believe he is their loyal protector will realize he is not, once they lose their health insurance, Medicare, and Social Security benefits. Trump and the Republicans are not advocates for programs that help the poor, elderly, or the disabled. It is those programs Trump looks to defund when he thinks about implementing the Space Force, military parades, useless walls, and expensive golfing trips.
The President likes to scare his base with the cry, “They (Democrats) want to take away your freedom, they want to take away your guns.” However, what is true is that both of those statements are false, and he is the one who wants to take away rights and programs that keep many members of his base covered with healthcare and retirement benefits. His lies about Democrats, Independents, and Republicans that oppose him are common scare tactics that sociopaths use to control the beliefs and actions of their victims.
As the Democratic House of Representatives is fighting for extensions for unemployment and another stimulus relief package, Trump is fighting in court to destroy the Affordable Care Act and is under-funding COVID programs for testing, tracing, and PPE. Additionally, he is militarizing our cities to reduce the power of local government so he can become America’s first dictator. Another four years of Trump is as frightening as catching COVID-19, and that is the shockingly sad truth.
