A little over one week ago, about 200 Republican Party bigshots gathered in the White House Rose Garden for the ceremonial announcement by President Trump of his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
As is customary in Republican circles, virtually none of the attendees were wearing face coverings nor were they socially distant. In fact, the crowd was packed like sardines into the small area, sitting shoulder to shoulder during the President’s remarks. Afterward, the crowd mingled, glad-handed each other, whispered to each other, and exchanged hugs and kisses.
The Covid-19 protocols designed by the President’s Coronavirus Task Force were totally unobserved by this group of nincompoop daredevils. It was as though this crowd sincerely believed the Trumpian mantra that the pandemic is a Democratic hoax.
It now (eight days later) turns out that that Covid-19 was an uninvited guest to the festivities and had a gay old time meeting new acquaintances.
Not only have the President and the First Lady tested positive for Covid-19, but quite a few others have as well: White House Public Relations Advisor Kellyanne Conway; Special Assistant Hope Hicks; Press Secretary Kayleigh McAnany; Senator Thom Tillis; Senator Mike Lee; Political Advisor/Ex-Governor Chris Christie; Campaign Manager Bill Stepien; and Notre Dame University President Rev. John Jenkins.
Not only was the “hoax” virus not a hoax, but the President has spent the past several days at Walter Reed Medical Center undergoing exams and treatment for viral symptoms that he’s experienced. At this point its hard to know exactly what the President’s medical condition is, because mixed messages have been forthcoming from Administration and Walter Reed “professionals”, as they try like Hell to put the most optimistic spin on the story.
As is normal for Donald Trump, Mr. Macho Man felt it necessary to downplay his illness yesterday by staging a campaign event in front of the hospital. Secret Service agents formed up a small motorcade with patient Trump at a window seat so that the vehicles could motor past some Trump fans who had been assembled on the sidewalk. The many MAGA supporters had a variety of non-homemade campaign signs at the ready, as if they knew in advance that the President would be rising from his hospital bed, against doctors’ orders, and going for a joyride at that specific hour. There was a camera crew at the ready during the non-spontaneous event.
Talk about making lemonade out of lemons! I’m guessing that the PR guy who ginned up this spectacle was the same genius who engineered the Lafayette Park photo op during the BLM protests, where the President, escorted by armed goons, walked over to the neighborhood church and raised up a Bible (upside down, at first).
Mark Meadows, the President’s Chief of Staff, tripped over his Johnson when he fessed up that Trump’s condition was a bit more serious than that described by the President’s physicians. The President was reportedly furious about this breach of etiquette (i.e. actually telling the truth) but, by the next day, the physician’s came around and admitted that their previous statement had been coached.
What do you expect from this bunch of liars?
The jury is still out on the severity of the President’s infection. He is trying mightily to convince America that he’s just going to shrug it off, and he might, with all of the drugs (regular and experimental) that his doctors are pumping into him.
Most people survive Covid-19, but even people in high-risk categories like Trump (73 years old, obese, heart issues, bone spurs) who don’t die often get pretty weak and require bed rest. We will probably know more about the President’s actual condition by the time the Second Presidential Debate comes around (mid-October). In the meanwhile, he would be smart to avoid a lot of stressful work and campaigning, but no one ever accused him of being smart.
His opponent, Joe Biden, has religiously worn face coverings and has socially distanced for many months, almost to a fault. He’s tested negative for Covid-19 three times since the First Presidential Debate on September 29th, which was three days after the Rose Garden “super spreader” event at which President Trump likely became infected.
At the rate and ferocity that the President was blowing smoke at his debate opponent that night, it is a wonder how Biden, who took his facemask off to debate, didn’t inhale any of Trump’s airborne viral droplets.
The fallout from the Rose Garden super spreader ceremony has yet to be fully appreciated. It is likely that other attendees are going to come up positive in the days to come. Attorney General Bill Barr, who was seen talking face-to-face with Kellyanne Conway, is said to be in quarantine. Supposedly there has been no “contact tracing” of the potentially infected by the Administration, which goes against the Coronavirus Task Force recommendations.
In related news, all of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff (two Admirals and ten Generals) are in Covid-19 quarantine after one of their members tested positive for the coronavirus. Let’s hope for national security sake that these officers are getting the same level of medical intervention that the President has received in the past few days.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is likely alternately weeping and silently high-fiving himself right now. The President spent months disputing medical science, advocating quack cures like Hydroxychloroquine and Chlorox, pooh-poohing face masks, insisting that Dr. Fauci, a world-reknowned epidemiologist, didn’t know what he was talking about, and encouraging a full re-opening of the economy.
The President also has promised, practically every week since March, that a vaccine would be available “before the election”. Medical professionals disagreed, and in the past few weeks, most vaccine developers indicate that the miracle cure won’t be available until Spring 2021.
It turns out that Fauci’s pessimism out-trumped Trump’s optimism.
The bad news is that epidemiologists world-wide are predicting that the Covid-19 pandemic is regaining steam right as we head toward Winter and the traditional flu season. Most states are now experiencing upticks in infection rates, and we’re only a couple of weeks into the Fall.
Oh, Boy, this could get ugly!