[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
I trust Digby of Hullabaloo, so when she said it was a good idea to subscribe to Eric Boehlert’s Press Run newsletter naturally I gave it a shot. On April 15th Mr. Boehlert darkly insinuated that the incredible splat of incompetent, incontinent performance from Mr. Trump perhaps is not exactly what it seems.
It’s gradually starting to dawn on the media and populace that the United States will never even start a recovery path from the covid-19 catastrophe while Trump is President, he is totally incapable. This crisis takes prodigious amounts of policy work to counter, Trump is the laziest American alive who simply will not work, not even now.
So naturally nothing happens, there’s always a big huge announcement of this or council that, but never any substantive statement of rational goal-driven achievement. Quarantine New York! Defund the World Health Organization!
A terrible hallmark of Trump behavior is to air a pleasing fantasy that hopefully fills the present enough until the unpleasant event fades away. If Trump promised testing stations in thousands of Walmart parking lots 2 months ago, well, never mind!
Again, Trump is trapped by the covid-19 crisis in ways other calamities did not. It never goes away, there is no fantasy or distraction to wait it out. There is no Republican Party to enable him, and all the frantic antics cannot hide the horrifying growing numbers of American deaths. This isn’t some own the libs game only the junkies pay attention to, all the country is watching very closely.
Even those disastrous, heinous daily Trump “press conference” inflictions of incompetence will start to chip away at the Republican base, as Mr. Boehlert noted it’s simply way too much overexposure of the huckster show, the dullest Fox News viewer is now all yeah yeah yeah, bleah bleah bleah.
President Trump is also seriously mentally ill, not exactly a job qualification leading to policy accomplishments. I have the absolute power to make the States re-open, two days later it’s up to the States. Even a human brain with a modicum of decent health would admit to the gross failure in multiple dimensions here and feel a crushing sense of shame and embarrassment, resigning the next day.
Since Trump is dangerous psycho he feels no sense of failure or shame, even when tens of thousands of Americans of lives are on the line. It’s a terrible thing to watch and of course whaps our recovery back yet further, just watching a mentally ill President is terribly sad and disquieting for the little people. Not to mention seeing the perverted distortions of the Republican Party contorting to enable him.
Epic laziness, gross incompetence, proto-fascist core impulses, Republican enabling and serious mental illness have thus delivered this howling nightmare we can never get out of while Trump is President. Mr. Boehlert in his April 15th newsletter, however, thinks I’ve left out another variable in this roaring destruction.
This simply cannot be distraction or incompetence, it has to be deliberate. But for what reason a choice would be made to deliberately smash the United States apart Mr. Boehlert does not say, and he didn’t return to the subject in his last newsletter. Mr. Boehlert, I only like and accept teasing from women, this doesn’t work at all, dude, what are you trying to say?
That a deliberate choice is being made by the President to sabotage the covid-19 recovery and the country? If so, for what motivation? As a revenge against all the forces conspired against him in his mental illness? At the direction of Vladimir Putin? Inquiring minds want to know.
Maybe he’ll get back to it in his next newsletter, I’m more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt he’s got an answer. He’s a good guy, good father and very good American, and we always need his constant reminder of kindness.
Yeah. There’s this other blogger I trust, Dr. Atrios at Eschaton, he’s having his annual fundraising drive right now. I know we’re all feeling super-cautious and apprehensive, it’s times like these when reaching out with a little kindness and affirmation is more important than ever.
I’ve listened very closely as Dr. Atrios directed cancellation of subscription for the New York Times, of course, but I haven’t done it. I know that publication has serious problems, Dr. Atrios, but I revere and sorta-idolize Dr. Paul Krugman. As long as he’s there I won’t cancel my subscription. I get his newsletter too.