| NightlyPoe said: February 28: |
All right, let's just take a look at this one quote in the "fuller" context you've provided:
It was not a possibility on Feb. 28 (or long before) that the disease could "maybe go away" or disappear "like a miracle." That he paid an acknowledgement to the idea that "it could get worse before it gets better" doesn't take away from the utter stupidity of that full quote.
"Nobody really knows" whether the situation would, at that point, get worse -- or maybe just go away? Not true. Plenty of people knew. Scientists knew and specialists knew, and doubtless people advising Trump knew. If Trump didn't know, then he's just about the dumbest person on the planet. Or the most disingenuous. Or both.
If he had known better, instead of pretending like things might just solve themselves, then maybe he could have pushed for a stronger and more effective response. In fact, he could have done so for a month or more, by that point. Maybe certain outcomes were unavoidable from the start -- "nobody really knows" -- but it's also completely possible that with a more coherent and urgent response to this situation (not to mention better preparation in previous days, weeks, month and years), that the US economy would not be suffering nearly so much and that far fewer people would be dying in this country from this disease.
Donald Trump is an awful human being. He has been a predictably awful President. But even if those things are in doubt in your mind, or anyone else's, he has absolutely dropped the ball in this crisis. Contra your intention, the fuller the context -- the more we understand about his inaction and many blunders -- the worse Trump appears.
Essay Pro