Couch Tomato

Perhaps I have way too much time on my hands and in such a case spend way too much time listening and thinking.  This morning I awake amazed at the mental gymnastics Trump supporters are able to accomplish.  I’m a plodder and a linear thinker.  I observe something askew and seek to discover answers to explain such.  Trump supporters, however, are fully capable of rationalizing everything and I stand amazed.  For instance:

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for dismantling the Pandemic Planning committee in 2017 after he was fully briefed on the risks of a new pandemic and the need for advanced planning.  The problem, of course, was that Obama set that planning committee in place with leading experts from the science community.  Obama did not use relatives to head it up, or people who publicly have an aversion to science. Nope.  This was a real planning committee.  Since Trump abhors all things Obama and has little respect for science he dismantled the committee leaving us without a good plan should a pandemic occur.  Forgiving his bigotry and lack of foresight is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for taking the pandemic lightly in the early days.  Trump called it a Democratic hoax, no big deal, announced that he had it under control, that it would go away with warm weather, that a miracle would make it go away, etc.  All stupid, anti-science statements.  So as the pandemic really began to hurt Americans he had to do an about-face, much like Fox news.  Now we have thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths and it will get worse.  But Trump’s lack of respect for science encouraged him to view the spread of the virus as a PR issue, not a medical issue, so while he postured falsely the virus spread.  Had he jumped on it from the beginning we would be much better off.  People who have died from the virus would still be alive.  Forgiving his mismanagement of the pandemic and mismanagement of the response and planning for the pandemic is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for the out and out lies he has told regarding our preparation and response to the pandemic.  Trump announced we had plenty of test kits available.  We do not.  He announced we would likely have a vaccine in 3 or 4 months.  It has been 3 months and we do not have a vaccine.  He announced that Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin were effective combatting the virus despite experts’ advice to not take the over-the counter malaria-fighting drugs.  Nigeria now reports multiple cases of chloroquine poisoning due to Trump’s recommendations.  Trump continues to announce he has a plan, a strong plan, a good plan, and yet every state and local jurisdiction is following the CDC guidelines, states and cities are all over the place with their response to the virus and we await Pence and Kushner’s plan.  Forgiving Trump for lack of planning, misleading information, outright lies and the loss of life as a result of such behavior is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for not enacting the Defense Production Act to produce much needed medical supplies to serve the sick and protect the caregivers.  Trump finally did so on Friday, March 20 with 35,000 cases and 460 deaths.  The number of American deaths is doubling every day.  But today Trump announced that even though he has invoked the DPA he is not likely to use the power bestowed in the act to tell industry to produce needed supplies.  Forgiving Trump for not taking action to provide the resources caregivers desperately need is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

Trump supporters have somehow been able to forgive Trump for his lack of positive messaging to America.  For Trump, everything is about him, how he saw this coming, how we are prepared, that he is tired of the naysayers, that he attacks reporters for asking if he has a message of hope for America, etc., etc.  As is always true with Trump all this is someone else’s fault, the Chinese, Obama, Hillary, etc., etc.  This is Trump’s first real crisis as President and he is revealing his inability to respond appropriately.  There are 320,000,000 Americans.  If 70% of us get the virus that is 224,000,000 sick folks.  If 3% of all sick folks die from the virus that is 6,720,000 deaths.  It will be worse than that because our medical facilities lack the number of beds to house the severely ill, and we lack the number of ventilators to support the life of those who are seriously ill and most at-risk.  Let’s just call it 7 million deaths.  Somehow Trump supporters can forgive the President for not ordering the immediate production of ventilators, test kits, masks, etc.  Trump is relying on the private sector and states and cities to make plans to deal with this.  Forgiving Trump for lack of action that will cost American lives is a major mental accomplishment for Trump supporters.

So, I am self-isolating.  I am 70.  I have heart disease.  I am diabetic.  I have had COPD.  If I get the virus I will die.  Some doctor somewhere will have to decide whether I get a ventilator or someone else who is younger, stronger, with fewer health issues, and I totally support giving the ventilator to the younger person.  This pandemic is a major crisis and until those who support Trump begin to communicate to him that it is time to put on his big boy britches and lead the country things will get worse. 

I clearly lack the ability to forgive Trump for his shortcomings in this crisis.  I continue to be amazed that his supporters think he is doing great.  It may take millions of deaths for those supporters to wake up and see how we could have mitigated the entire crisis with leadership, real leadership.  No more self-serving press conferences.  Tell us the truth.  Tell us the plan and do not use hyperbole regarding the plan.  Save as many as you can. 

I sit on my couch knowing that isolation is the best I can do for my neighbors, my family, and my country.  But I am not a couch potato.  Potatoes are so dumb they do not even respond to light. (I have since learned that potatoes do respond to light by sprouting!)  I am a couch tomato.  I at least respond to light and truth.  I strongly encourage Trump supporters to become couch tomatoes too.