Trump Keeps Insisting That This Pandemic Will Just "Go Away."

[MineralMan]

He has been doing that since the very beginning, and that attitude informs most of his decisions regarding COVID-19.

It will not just go away, though. There is almost no chance of that happening. In fact, given the minimal attention paid to trying to avoid it worsening, it's going to get worse. Much worse.

What will Donald J. Trump say then? Assuming he lives through the pandemic, of course. What will he say? Will he claim that he knew it would get worse all along? Will he call the rising death toll "Fake News?" Will he tell us to "accept the inevitable?"

Has he even given any thought to a worsening epidemic? I doubt that he has. He has convinced himself that it is just a passing thing and isn't all that worried about it, I think. He is listening to the wrong people, who are telling him the wrong things. That's his nature, I guess.

Worst President Ever!

[abqtommy]

1. tRUMP is projecting and preparing himself and us for his own going away... now that's my

projection and I hope it's accurate!

[MoonRiver]

2. I don't think he's listening to anyone, just the little voices in his demented head.

[tanyev]

3. He's probably never had to deal with something even harder to get rid of than he is.

[ooky]

4. I think he believes that continued gaslighting is his only chance of being reelected.

Still trying to maintain that alternative world his supporters live in, hoping to keep enough of them so as to squeak by in November - with the help he gets from 3rd party candidates, Russian election interference and making it hard for people to vote.

[MineralMan]

5. By November, the folly of that strategy will be very, very clear.

I doubt he has even considered that.

[tanyev]

9. I'm not sure he's capable of long term planning.

He’s certainly obsessed with winning the moment. Each and every moment of the day.

[Mariana]

12. Exactly. He has no plan.

That's why he's constantly contradicting himself when he talks about the situation. He can't stick to a message because there is no message. He has no plan.

[ooky]

19. I'm sure he's not.

He's never demonstrated it. Every claim he has ever made of something "he was going to do" had no plan to go with it, and he's shown he is incapable of problem solving, which of course, requires planning.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. I'm Sure. Totally Certain

He is not capable of long term planning!

[roamer65]

6. COVID-45 lies, deflects and obfuscates.

Even James Buchanan wasn’t this bad.

He is definitely the worst president in American history.

If he is allowed to steal the office again, he will be the last president of a 50 state United States.

I will definitely back blue state separatism if he is allowed back in.

[brush]

20. You could very well be right. I don't see Cuomo and the other north eastern...

alliance states, or Newsom and the western states going along with four more years of this rudderless chaos from trump, or the mid-western states lead by Pritzker and Whitmer for that matter.

I'm pretty sure their legislatures will draft bills legislating more autonomy for their regions.

[Bleacher Creature]

7. He puts people's lives in danger every time he says something like this.

His sheep believe him and refuse to take any precautions because of the way that he minimizes the virus. I guarantee you that some people are going to start venturing out more and taking on more risk because they think it is receding.

[ecstatic]

8. I hope it does because trump isn't doing anything

whatsoever to help, Moscow'sBitchMitch is not doing anything to remove trump, and my governor* is an idiot... So at this point, we desperately need a miracle. Divine intervention.

[gristy]

10. He doesn't expect it to go away. Certainly Stephen Miller doesn't.

Last edited Sat May 9, 2020, 01:58 PM - Edit history (1)

What it does do when things go (further) to hell is give Trump more shit to falsely blame others for. This is how he has operated for years.

[Mariana]

11. He's engaging in magical thinking.

He's spent his whole life insulated from reality because of his wealth and privilege. On some level, he probably really believes he can just wish the whole thing away.

[shockey80]

16. You nailed it.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. I'm sure he wishes that

[stopbush]

14. The virus is going to go away the same way the Axis powers went away in WWII.

By someone actively kicking the shit out of it.

[tblue37]

15. He's as attached to magical thinking as a toddler. nt

[totodeinhere]

17. In a way he is right. At least for him it will go away when he goes away. And the way he is acting

now that could be more sooner than later. An overweight man his age would most certainly find himself in a high risk group. The virus could very well kill him. And don't get me wrong, I don't wish this on anybody including him. But the way he is disregarding CDC recommendations in his own behavior it very well might happen to him.

[Caliman73]

18. It is a weasel statement MM. He does this frequently.

Trump says things in such a broad and simplistic way, that he can "technically" not be lying. It is cynical and disgusting. There are ways in which the pandemic will "just go away". We develop herd immunity (many will die). We develop a vaccine and treatment (technically not "just going away" but truth does not matter to Trump). The virus burns itself out (many many many die).

His statements are typically rhetorical devices. He doesn't care about or believe in anything at his core so they are phrases designed to deflect responsibility and spark debate, so that he can just pivot to the next thing.

It is extremely dangerous for him to be doing this because the words of the President are important as they are seen as a top authority figure by many citizens. The vague, wishful thinking creates an environment where people pour in their hopes and fears into the comment and make it mean for them what they wish it to mean. Anecdotally, I have seen the effects in the last couple of weeks. More people out and about without masks, traffic building, etc... Our neighbor hood has been very quiet the last 7 weeks but last night I had neighbors who had a little campfire cook out in their driveway. No masks, no social distancing. The husband of the couple is a health care worker. I was astonished at the shift. This messaging and push by the idiot and his accomplices is preying on the fears and the irrational hopes of people to abandon what science and expertise has been telling us, and has been working to protect us.

Trump has said that he is acting as America's cheerleader. The problem is that Trump has no understanding of basic human emotion and behavior. He knows how to manipulate fear and desire but he has no ability to actually lead or be realistic and hopeful at the same time. A simple acknowledgement of the dangers and challenges we face, but then highlighting our strength and resilience, would be a good thing, but to Trump acknowledging reality is seen as "negative". He is so simple minded that he cannot see that danger and fear can co-exist with and strengthen resolve. He does not have it within him to actually be a decent person.

[MiniMe]

22. He'll blame it on Obama

Just like he is doing now.

[struggle4progress]

23. "Here in in the White House, we get tested and wear masks -- but don't worry about this thing"