Dear America,
It seems that no matter how effectively Donald Trump's staff communicates with him regarding his unseemly and predatory tendencies, he always reverts to type. He held a press conference a few days ago that was actually presidential. He answered questions directly and with candor; he deferred to the experts surrounding him, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been running the NIAID (National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases), one of the constituent institutes of the NIH (National Institutes of Health) for decades; he was non-partisan; he stuck to the facts and labeled his hypotheses as such, and in general feigned civility, even if it is not in his nature. But there have been other public appearances and statements by our president since, and he seems to have reverted to type despite the fact that he is undoing the gains that following sage advice initially gave him. He has taken to calling COVID-19 the "Wuhan virus," to which the Chinese have naturally taken unbridge...either that or the even more inflammatory "Chinese virus." He continues to boast about the "excellent" job that his administration is doing, even though he they got a late start because the boss insisted that the virus was just the latest "Democratic hoax, number 7."
Despite the plethora of news reports on the virus and what is being done, it is hard to know a couple of things. First, is there more that could be done. Second, despite Trump's braggadocio, did we get a late start and if so, has that cost us anything. And third and most important, what are our prospects for the future. Trump seemed to acknowledge that the duration of the virus outbreak was of indeterminate length, but could last well into the summer. But at the same time, the development of a vaccine is projected to take a year to a year and a half, which necessarily precipitates the question, why bother if it's going to be gone by the end of the summer, or even the end of the year. And then of course there is the legislation he is urging that would give each of us a thousand dollars, and maybe that much more than once. I feel for those who are losing jobs because of the sequestration of the American people from one another and their commerce, but wouldn't extended unemployment insurance be a better directed effort, given that many people are still working, but just doing so from home. But then again, Trump's motivation, as always, is suspect. Those payments may well be his attempt to buy reelection, and thus give money to as many people as he can rather than just to those who need it. If his rationale includes stimulating the economy by giving the money to everyone instead of just those in need, he only needs to talk to George W. Bush to learn that infusions of cash into individual households just results in paying down consumer debt, not additional consumer spending, so what else is left to explain the program other than trying to co-opt the American voter with cash. Granting automatic extensions for filing federal income tax returns has no effect on the danger of infection or on the finances of most Americans: extensions are available for those who owe but cannot pay upon request, so why make them automatic except to curry favor.
The problem with all the wrangling Trump is doing...all the pandering...is that it won't help the people who need help in any meaningful way. After the thousand dollars is gone...in a week or two...what are people going to do then. And those who are home because their employers closed their places of employment have plenty of time to do their taxes or ask for more time now. They're home. And the extensions of unemployment insurance eligibility, and in some states the eligibility to enroll in ACA programs for health insurance seem to be in the offing even though Trump never mentioned those things...unless of course he vetoes them.
My point is that even I began to think that Trump could change his stripes and govern effectively without pursuing self-interest because it seemed as though the human beings on his staff had been effective in convincing him that he could gain from all this virus business if he just did the right things and kept his big mouth shut. But could he resist? Noooo. He is who he is, and what makes him dangerous is that he is proud of it. He thinks that capitalizing on the misfortunes of millions just makes him smart, not callous and self-seeking. November is going to be interesting. Will everyone figure out his dubious motivations, or will his supporters continue "drinking the Kool-aid" as my son says, referring to the disaster in Georgetown decades ago in which a religious zealot marches his flock by a canister of the stuff laced with deadly poison because he was about to be exposed for the fraud he was in full view of them all. Power does corrupt. Let's just hope it doesn't kill us.
Your friend,
Mike
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