President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis is a lesson of how serious this virus really is. While a number of Americanshave followed public health guidelines in the past six-and-a-half months, the president convinced himself that he was somehow invincible. This tone-deaf behavior extends beyond Trump — from America’s billionaires vastlyexpanding their empires or mega yacht ownersfleeing to the open ocean, I can only hope the president’s diagnosis teaches our ruling class just how indiscriminately dangerous this virus can be.
I will say right off the bat that I genuinely hope Trump recovers. I am not grotesquely awaiting his death with bated breath. But over the course of this year Trump has, at every turn, prioritized the health of his political career over that of hundreds of millions of Americans.He has felt little remorse when confronted with the fact that hisinaction andidiocy put lives at risk.
It’s not surprising that Trump got COVID-19. Trump has refused to wear masks for fear oflooking weak. He and his campaign violated public health guidelines inMinnesota,North Carolina andNew Hampshire by holding massive, largely mask-free rallies in order to soothe his ego. At a White Houseceremonyfor Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court last weekend, mask-wearing and social-distancing guidelines were near-universally ignored. Since then, at least11 attendees have tested positive.
“Every time you see [Joe Biden], he’s got a mask,” Trumpsaid derisively at the first presidential debate, suggesting that doing so made him somehow weak.
For months, Trump has believed that he and his inner circle should not have to abide by hisown government's public health guidelines. Yes, he might have done so in order to project a sense ofnormalcy and recovery in the lead-up to this election, but he also did this to save himself. Just like when his casino wentbankrupt and his partyfailed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he threw anyone and everyone under the bus in order to save face.It seems he doesn’t care about the well-being of people who don’tsurround or support him.
Yes, many may argue that the president — no matter who it is — must be respected as a national, unifying leader. But Trump has clearly forfeited that right. His arrogance, selfishness and abject cruelty make him unworthy of your respect or concern.
All we can hope for is that he quickly recovers, and that his brush with this deadly virus inspires him to re-engage in containing COVID-19. It’s becomingincreasingly clear that he has a good chance of losing next month’s presidential election, so if he learned anything from his illness and wants to end his presidency on a high note, I hope he will mandate mask-wearing at all times on the White House grounds, scale back the size of his rallies and do more to demonstrate the severity of this disease.
But based onwhat he said before leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Monday night, I doubt it.
