Sunday, September 13, 2020

9.13.20: A New Presidential Norm - Lying about Lies

"I didn't lie."

President Trump responding to Jonathan Karl's question about lying to Americans by downplaying the severity of the coronavirus.

Trump on the defensive.

"Downplaying something is really a threat."

Dr. Anthony Fauci responding to Andrea Mitchell about downplaying the virus.

Thank goodness, we had Republican National Committee Chair, Ronna McDaniel, to clear up the confusion and put our minds at ease. Ms. McDaniel explained that the president has taken all the right actions to protect the American people and that "history will look on him well" with regard to his leadership.  She also condemned the Democrats for politicizing the pandemic because Speaker Pelosi called it the "Trump virus." That is disgusting, indeed. And the president doesn't lie about lying.

Now that the record is straight, don't you feel much better? 

There's one question, however, that keeps putting a monkey wrench in all that logic. Why does the United States have 4 percent of the world's population but 25 percent of the total deaths?

The latest CDC Numbers:

6,427,058 total cases (46,045 cases in the last 24 hrs.)

192,388 total deaths (1,035 dead in the last 24 hrs.)

Basically, in the span of 6 months, over 190,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the United States. Unless history loses its pencil, the record is going remember this most of all. Ms. McDaniel said in response of this '25 percent' that we have increased testing, which translates into more positive cases, hence deaths; so essentially we have more deaths because we have more testing. We'll call this 'head in the sand' logic - if we don't know, there's no problem. By contrast, Dr. Michael Osterholm, Dir. of the Center of Disease Control at the University of Minnesota, said today that he is on the same page as Dr. Fauci assessing that we've plateaued at 40,000 confirmed cases and 1,000 deaths per day. 

How in the real world is 1,000 dying everyday, the equivalent to a 9/11 death toll every 4 days, remotely acceptable? Of course, the president downplayed and politicized the danger and he's lying about it as of this very writing, saying that we've 'rounded the corner' on the virus. The president explained that he wanted people to remain calm, not creating a panic, but as Chuck Todd explained the last thing the president exerts is calm, indeed with a wantonness to incite panic - they're coming to get you in the suburbs...

Long time Republican strategist Al Cardenas explained that people are accepting it as a norm that this president lies, which is an incredible statement unto itself, but factor in that 38 to 45 percent of Americans still support the president despite this, and it becomes... well, sad.

The answer to this pandemic crisis is not to downplay it and draw our attention to another crisis, like the continuing social unrest in the country and demonizing protesters. But as the crises mount, the economy in shambles with millions still out of work and devastating fires overwhelming the west coast, smoke from which has been detected in Europe by the way, blame and deflection and telling us to put our heads in the sand is only going to bring more catastrophe on the heads of Americans.

 

Panel: Kasie Hunt, NBC News; Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief of The Atlantic; Al Cardenas, Republican Strategist

A couple more things...

Even if you believe that fmr. FBI Director of Counter-Intelligence Peter Strzok is a partisan, there is no denying what he said as fact, as it's in the public record - no Presidential Administration in modern history has had this many broad and deep contacts with Russian Intelligence officers. Coincidence, this definitely is not. Does Putin have something on Trump? Yes. Financial. For sure.

Jeffrey Goldberg mentioned that the president keeps 'shadow boxing' by fighting old battles, citing that last night at a campaign rally, Mr. Trump was arguing with Hillary Clinton. He also said that Bob Woodward, the legendary most-trusted reporter in Washington D.C., a whack job. Really? Smell that? Smells like desperation in the morning. 

It begs the question that Mr. Trump has yet to answer, what's your vision for a second term? And political survival isn't a vision. 



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