When a Pandemic Meets a Personality Cult The Trump team confirms all of our worst fears. Krugman

[applegrove]

When a Pandemic Meets a Personality Cult

The Trump team confirms all of our worst fears.

By Paul Krugman, Opinion Columnist at the NYTimes

Feb. 27, 2020, 7:49 p.m. ET

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/opinion/coronavirus-trump.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

"SNIP.....


At that point the administration appears to have finally realized that it might need to do something beyond insisting that things were great. But according to The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman, it initially proposed paying for a virus response by cutting aid to the poor — specifically, low-income heating subsidies. Cruelty in all things.

.....

Early in his political career, Pence staked out a distinctive position on public health, declaring that smoking doesn’t kill people. He has also repeatedly insisted that evolution is just a theory. As governor of Indiana, he blocked a needle exchange program that could have prevented a significant H.I.V. outbreak, calling for prayer instead.

And now, according to The Times, government scientists will need to get Pence’s approval before making public statements about the coronavirus.

So the Trumpian response to crisis is completely self-centered, entirely focused on making Trump look good rather than protecting America. If the facts don’t make Trump look good, he and his allies attack the messengers, blaming the news media and the Democrats — while trying to prevent scientists from keeping us informed. And in choosing people to deal with a real crisis, Trump prizes loyalty rather than competence.

......SNIP"

[BootinUp]

1. Nice report by Krugman. Nt

[Karadeniz]

2. Trump, worst president in history.

[BigmanPigman]

3. As Keith Olbermann would say,

"WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!".

[madaboutharry]

4. It feels as if we are living in a Dystopian movie.

It’s horrifying that America has turned into a madhouse.

[shanti]

6. My anxiety is in overdrive

The only thing worse, imo, would be the grid going down.

[madaboutharry]

7. I don't get how 40% of the population

thinks everything is ok.

[shanti]

8. They will change their tune quickly

when things go completely haywire. California is not just liberals, there are still plenty of deplorables, some in my own extended family. The time that they wake up is when it affects THEM.

[NoMoreRepugs]

9. Fox "news" fills their heads with drivel. A friend, an

educated airline pilot today told me that the fake news was making a big deal out of the virus to hurt DUMP and that it’s really nothing at all.

[certainot]

11. 1500 radio stations do this shit all all day and liberals stick their fingers in theirears

the shitty part is its got nothing to do with market demand - they just took over those radio stations, eliminated challenge, and blew lies out 15 hrs a day

not only really fucking dumb, rw radio is very vulnerable

[SunSeeker]

5. K & R

[lunatica]

10. It's the real life comedy of fools

Incompetence taken to highs rarely allowed in the civilized world. How can we have gotten so lost that Trumpism can thrive like this?

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. GOPer damaged education system + GOPer propaganda machine

[Grammy23]

13. Our local tv station (a Sinclair station) had a report about a

Business in the viewing area that is talking about layoffs because they are already having trouble getting parts — from China. No parts = No making compressors. No making compressors = no need for workers. All impacted by corona virus directly or indirectly. The tweebs who support tRump will figure this out and will be looking for him to do something. But he has passed the baton on to Pence. This WILL get worse before it gets better even if people are not falling out in the streets from the virus. This is not just a U.S. problem. It is world wide and the markets are telling us how serious this is. Perhaps they’ll wake up when their hero has a few more disastrous news conferences where he looks like a complete moron.

[NJCher]

14. i wonder if krugman chose the pic

Because the picture says it all.