Trump's "Bored" With Coronavirus, But Some Republicans May Finally Be Waking Up

[babylonsister]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/donald-trumps-bored-with-coronavirus-but-some-republicans-may-finally-be-waking-up


Trump’s “Bored” With Coronavirus, But Some Republicans May Finally Be Waking Up
It’s getting harder for the GOP to live in Trump’s state of denial as COVID-19 spikes across the Sun Belt.
By Eric Lutz
July 20, 2020


In the same week Donald Trump again minimized COVID-19 as mere “sniffles” for most that will “disappear” from America on its own, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was sounding a different note. “I think the straight talk here that everyone needs to understand is this,” he said in Kentucky last Wednesday. “This is not going away until we get a vaccine.” There is “no question” that expert guidelines must be followed in reopening schools, McConnell said, and Anthony Fauci, the victim of a White House smear campaign in recent days, continues to have his “total” confidence.” Masks, he said during his home state swing, should be worn by all, regardless of political party. “The coronavirus,” said McConnell, “is not involved in American politics.”

In total, the remarks constituted a striking departure from the president—whose response to the pandemic, to the extent he’s had one, has been almost entirely political—and underscored the extent to which even Trump’s typically loyal allies are breaking from him over coronavirus. For months, when New York and other left-leaning cities bore the brunt of the virus, they seemed content to live in Trump’s state of denial. But now, with the crisis centering hitting the Sun Belt the hardest and cases skyrocketing across the country, they seem increasingly tired of his negligence. “The president got bored with it,” David Carney, an adviser to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, told the New York Times on Sunday, noting that the hard-hit state is now channeling requests to Vice President Mike Pence instead of Trump.

Indeed, with Trump largely ignoring the virus—focusing instead on his regular golf outings with Lindsey Graham and defending the Confederacy—Republican leaders seeking help for their states have increasingly gone around the president, seeking out Pence and others in the administration they see as more attuned to the crisis. No longer able to easily dismiss the danger posed by the virus, state leaders like Abbott, Doug Ducey of Arizona, and Tate Reeves of Mississippi have reversed course to one degree or another on the mask requirements and public safety precautions they once opposed. And on Capitol Hill, several GOP lawmakers have lobbied the administration to take a more serious approach to the pandemic—particularly in an election year, in which Trump’s COVID response will likely weigh on voters’ minds as they cast ballots.

snip//

But the president’s dismissals—like much of his actions in recent months, including his authoritarian crackdown on racial justice protesters and his spirited support for all things Confederacy—don’t seem to hold much appeal outside of his most hardcore base. Polls have consistently shown him badly trailing Joe Biden, who is looking to capitalize on what seems to be a growing number of Republicans weary of the president’s act. (John Kasich, a former Republican Governor of Ohio, has reportedly been approached to speak at the Democratic National Convention). The polls may tighten as election day nears—and, of course, there’s reason to be concerned that Trump won’t leave the White House quietly even if he loses. But it’s clear that, even if he can’t bring himself to care about the good of the country, for the sake of his own political prospects it would make sense to take the pandemic seriously. That he still cannot and will not is an outrage that is becoming harder and harder for even Republicans to ignore—even as they continue to avoid rebuking their party leader directly. “The more they turn the briefings over to the professionals,” Republican Senator Roy Blunt told the Times, “the better.”

[Iliyah]

1. shithole is bored while Americans are dying . .. .

and less than 30% of people support this evil man. Ugh.

[agingdem]

2. When their constituencies have them on the ground, a boot on their necks

and their political careers are going down the toilet their straight talk is not exactly a straight line..

[CrispyQ]

3. And where was your concern for Country on February 5, Senator McConnell?

You knew covid was out there & coming our way, & you & your fellow GOP senators could have rid us of the orange menace back then, but you put party before country, once again, so fuck off, old man. I'm sending money to your challenger, even if it's just a few bucks.

[RKP5637]

4. tRump treats it like a TV Sitcom he's tired of watching! n/t