Okay...I understand you completely now.....you have been ranting for 3 years against this president...(I get it he can be extremely irritating) ...your willingness to use a national emergency to make political statements is beyond the pale....God help our country!
25
You folks never miss any opportunity to trash the President and the majority of American voters who stand with him. A global crisis with which to brow beat your own country. And you all are the brilliant ones. Keep it up. As you point out, pride goeth before the fall. Your blind arrogance continues to separate DC and its acolytes from the real people, not your ID politically malleable mythical groups.
18
You had me until "he could have learned from Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to speak about it far more honestly " This was quite a source to learn about honesty.
91
1948: The buck stops here. -Harry Truman
2020: I take no responsibility -Donald Trump
Make America great again,put a Democrat in the White House
391
Wow...I actually learned something...Nemesis is a God! Truth still matters and Nemesis will make you pay for your lies. Fantastic!
83
Could the NYT do some research on how pollution (particularly cars in northern Italy) is lessened?
9
Hopefully some of this president’s supporters are realizing that you can’t gaslight a virus the way you can a nation of sheep.
194
Trump's words on coronavirus:
Feb 24: : "The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.”
Feb 25: “You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country. We have very few people with it, and the people that have it are … getting better. They’re ALL getting better!”
Feb 26: Trump wrongly says the coronavirus “is a flu."
Feb 26: Trump predicts the number of US cases is "going very substantially down" to "close to zero.”
Feb 26: Trump says the flu death rate is "much higher."(Coronavirus has 10X death rate compared to flu. If 60K die from flu then 600K will die from Coronavirus!)
Feb 27: Trump said: "It's going to disappear. One day -- it's like a miracle -- it will disappear.
Feb 28: Trump said at a rally: coronavirus is a "Democratic hoax”.
1353
The problem is Trump was also obvious to us, but in the alternative facts world of Fox news, there is the new racist re-branding of Covid 19 as "The Wuhan Virus" or the "Chinese Coronavirus."
In their view it is all China's fault. And I am sure they will find a way to blame Mexicans while they are at it.
133
The master of his own chaos has finally learned he cannot push a rope. If only he knew how to pull one, he might have been a leader.
62
Bret, you get credit for recognizing, 'exposing', and educating people about the “Punisher of Hubris being Nemesis” — which Chalmers Johnson earlier warned ‘we the American people' about in his third book “Nemesis” (last of his trilogy for the American Empire Project, which also published educational works on this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire by Chomsky, Bacevich, Grandin, Snowden, Zinn, McCoy, Turse, and other academics, public intellectuals, and experts on Empire).
Johnson's NYT Best Seller, “Nemesis”, was reviewed “In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA's clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. In Nemesis, the bestselling and final volume in what has become known as the Blowback Trilogy, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.”
Bret, it is revealing, prescriptive, and therapeutic coming from the “Times” in these times of Covid-19 and insane Emperor Trump's Covid-45, for the American people to understand their greatest threat is not a natural virus but a man-made Empire.
As the late great Jewish intellectual Hannah Arendt tried to warn her own German people almost a century ago:
"Empire abroad entails tyranny (and looting) at home"
46
I’m surprised that Trump didn’t tweet that the COVFEFE-19 virus will simply “go away”...
69
How ironic would it be if Trump and his administration were brought down by a virus he labeled as the Democrats' "new hoax."
79
Speaking of reality vs. Trump and his supporters ...
When will the Christian fundamentalists at Liberty University or the 700 Club or late night AM radio stations (or the Vatican?) starting blaming the coronavirus situation as God's retribution for gay marriage and abortion?
55
Except, it is outlets like the one the writer writes for that have helped enable the buffoon from the very start three years ago.
What else can he do but smile and gloat when he has outlets and news sources that promote him and allow him to use them!? What’s he to do?
9
The GOP should rename itself the Nemesis Party. They have failed the American people in this crisis and destroyed our country. Americans want democracy and competent Democrats running our country. When we get it back again, whether because the anti-science no-vaxx crew is dead from the disease of ignorance that is their ideology or because only sensible Democrats can win votes among the non-stupid, two-headed snakes like Stephens--who, like most CONS, is so generally unreliable in his twisted patriarchally convenient ideology that destroys society's truth tellers--will be out of a job.
25
Advice for survival: Scrub your hands like you just shook with Trump.
102
The etching of Nemesis was etched by Albrecht Druher who lived in Nurmberg, Germany, where in the past another infamous “unstable genius” held his million man rallies to spew his delusional hate to his ignorant followers.
60
The beasties beat the Martians in H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.
They seem to doing the same with Donald. Make America Grate Again!
15
Nemesis is Karma's twin.
Determined, no?
14
I am wondering why we are not hearing a word from the Senate republicans? As per usual when its tough times they collectively crawl back under the rock and refuse to comment or take responsibility . Can someone go and find them? Perhaps they are going thru Hunter Bidens trash looking for a diversion to their negligence.
119
Opinion #8,000,000,000 or so claiming that this time, certainly, Trump has exposed himself as incompetent even to his “base” and we will soon be relieved of him.
His base blames the media—“leftists”—for inciting panic. Trump, for nothing.
Perhaps they are even more excited about the coming End Times and what awaits them in heaven. Trump himself does look a little subdued. Perhaps because as a completely fake Christian who only cares about money, he doesn’t relish getting sick or even believe in heaven.
43
I know it's stupid but I can't help it. All those philosophers and writers can't be wrong. If humanity's ideas of good and evil have any basis at all, it's Donald Trump. The gods must punish Trump for his sins. Pride, greed, not knowing your place and behaving appropriately. Theft, adultery, bearing false witness from morning till night. He can't lose the mandate of heaven because he never had it. O gods, bring this monster down!
54
Donald Trump has met the one woman who won't let him get away with grabbing her genitals: Mother Nature.
Trump doesn't realize that Mother Nature always bats last...and she bats 1000.
116
On March 13 the number of COVID-19 deaths reported per day in China dropped to seven. On February 13, it was 254. China has had a total of 3,180 deaths since the outbreak begin in October. If the United States does as well as China at containing the virus, the COVID-19 pandemic won’t be nearly as lethal as seasonal flu, which has already killed more then 20,000 Americans this flu season. In fact, it might save lives, since precautions taken against COVID-19 also guard against flu.
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200213-sitrep-24-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9a7406a4_4
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200213-sitrep-24-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9a7406a4_4
9
May be, someone in the NY Times Board, will propose to send a significant group of journalists, videographers and psychologists to American Samoa in order make IQ tests to all the population, coupled with interviews not only to Democrat Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga, Governor of this Pacific Ocean remote archipelago, but as well to some accurately chosen citizens such as fishermen, government officials, housewives, plumbers, retired people, and expatriates form USA mainland.
But why to accomplish such a heavy task, in term of costs, even for a media juggernaut as the NY Times?
Because Uncle Sam Mike Bloomberg - when he attended his last Dem nominees debate, on February 19 2020 – wearing a star spangled top hat, had unexpectedly pointed his left hand index finger (he is a left hander as Obama) to the audience, uttering his warning for the coming arrival of the Coronavirus in USA.
Mike Bloomberg had also put into stark evidence the foolish inaction of the “truth twister” incumbent Potus.
Of course, if todays Google’s plan, would have been implemented almost one month ago, the first 50 American lives could have been saved.
But, as someone wrote "Farmer Trump has closed the barn door after the cows have gotten out”.
Therefore, American Samoa micro State (214,000 souls), choosing Uncle Sam Mike Bloomberg in its Democratic presidential Caucus, had caught his warning at once, underlining a consistent possible very high IQ level among its citizens.
4
Bret, you get credit for recognizing, 'exposing', and educating people about the “Punisher of Hubris being Nemesis” — which Chalmers Johnson earlier warned ‘we the American people' about in his third book “Nemesis” (last of his trilogy for the American Empire Project, which also published educational works on this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire by Chomsky, Bacevich, Grandin, Snowden, Zinn, McCoy, Turse, and other academics, public intellectuals, and experts on Empire).
Johnson's NYT Best Seller, “Nemesis”, was reviewed “In his prophetic book Blowback, Chalmers Johnson linked the CIA's clandestine activities abroad to disaster at home. In The Sorrows of Empire, he explored the ways in which the growth of American militarism and the garrisoning of the planet have jeopardized our stability. In Nemesis, the bestselling and final volume in what has become known as the Blowback Trilogy, he shows how imperial overstretch is undermining the republic itself, both economically and politically.” Johnson's last work was "Dismantling the Empire" 2010.
Bret, it is revealing, prescriptive, and therapeutic coming from the “Times” in these times of Covid-19 and insane Emperor Trump's Covid-45, for the American people to understand their greatest threat is not a natural virus but a man-made Empire.
As the late great Jewish intellectual Hannah Arendt tried to warn her own German people about three quarters of a century ago:
"Empire abroad entails tyranny (and looting) at home”
5
Dr. Fauci must go home at night and bang his head against the wall. Propping up a whole administration of fools takes away valuable energy, and watching those forced handshakes alone can take years off your life.
889
Thank you. Bret, for your gorgeous piece. And Durer's "Nemesis", his copper-plate engraving from 1502. The wise old woman, Nemesis, the winged vistory of retribution, meets Donald Trump's hubris with Coronovirus Covid-19, 2020 - till when?
13
Hmm. With this what "man"? the buck stops with someone else. Always.
19
Wake up America, its reality calling.
18
Probably your best column ever.
19
Surely you do not believe for even 5 minutes that any of what you have written will have an effect on "the base." He really could shoot someone in Times Square and his base would believe whatever he said and FOX would make sure those lies were strongly reinforced every day. You cannot get through to those people with words of any kind.
I am in the midst of reading about Christian nationalists. It would be good for the Times to pay attention to this very political movement. They believe they are destined to take over the government and get rid of it so they can turn American into their version of a 'christian' nation and wait for the rapture. Trump is their salvation as he is part of God's plan. They and the GOP are absolutely brainwashed but very well funded, highly organized and do not have any motivation to pay attention to anyone else's beliefs, for any reason. Look into it, NYT. They distrust education, science and democracy. The message from the pulpits is to vote for "christianity" by voting Republican. Their eternal life requires it. Pence is at the top of this growing heap.
Trump is a frightened, unloved little boy who was told he was a failure and a dope. He grew up to fulfill that prophecy. He has failed multiple times. He lies and brags because he is so insecure. He wishes he was a genius and he tries to convince himself every day that he is, but just like what he says about the virus, wishing won't make it so.
Biden or Bernie. Either way -- V O T E!!
67
To the millions of voters who voted for a psychotic gameshow host to lead our nation in a time of crisis for the entertainment value, or for conservative judge appointments or The Wall, or because you thought leadership was an overblown quality, I have a question:
How's that working for you now?
60
With President Trump, The Buck Stops There! He again proves, with his presidency, The Gutter Has Come To Power!!!
16
I just want trump to give some respect to Dr. Fauci and not insist on calling him “Tony” on national TV when Dr. Fauci was speaking to the American people as an “expert” on this crisis. Whenever trump feels intimidated by someone who has real credentials and intellectual abilities beyond his limited capacity to comprehend, he always finds a way to diminish that individuals value by nicknaming them or calling them by some purely “too familiar” moniker not suitable to the gravity of the situation so as to uphold the deceit that “he” and only “he” is the expert and authority on the topic. Narcissistic Personality Disorder 101. I wish the media would stop being so polite by referring to him as “ignorant”. Ignorant is not knowing any better. ‘Stupid”, on the other hand, is knowing better and being too lazy to control yourself ...
57
I don't understand why the godly don't interpret this plague as a sign that we, as a nation, have chosen the wrong course, and must be cleansed. Just sayin'
21
The use of the coronavirus pandemic by Trump bashers is so predictable that it’s boring. The pandemic will be eradicated through prudent, common sense steps by people such as by avoiding crowds, and effective medical treatments. The pandemic will be eradicated by summer. Trump’s words and spin are peripheral and attempts by Stephens and other Trump haters at The NY Times to pin the problem on him is lame in this not-a-Trump-supporter’s opinion. C’mon Bret, you must have something more interesting and less predictable to write about.
3
'Nemesis? And what does that mean?'
'I think you know,' said Miss Marple. 'You are a very well educated woman. Nemesis is long delayed sometimes, but it comes in the end.”
― Agatha Christie, Nemesis
20
It's really too bad that we can't have the election right now in March. Do we have to put up with this idiot until November or January at the latest? Every time I see him on the TV or in the news I turn the other way and run. I am so sick of his voice, his tweets or anything of him on the news. And his makeup, please can we try another shade? And who dyes and cuts your hair? I wonder how many of our tax dollars have gone into his daily coif? Really Trump, do you know how to spell the word CLIMATE or VIRUS? Or do you have people to do that for you? The only hoax is on the American people who thought they had a real President. And Mike Pence? I remember seeing Mike in a news photo back last year at the Mexican Border. He was staring at the people in cages while wearing his Ralph Loren Leather jacket with the presidential seal embroidered on it. Wow, what a contrast. This is our humanity? I would rather watch my favorite musicians on YouTube. Go read a good book, or better still, try and pray for our country, our soldiers, our firemen, our police, first responders, and our doctors and nurses. Try it, folks. Tune out the news for even one day and pray that these people will help us get through because the politicians won't. You will feel so much better. My dad used to say you can't depend on the government for anything. You were right Dad!
22
Poetic justice. The lifelong germaphobe will indeed be brought down by a virus, politically at least.
25
Great article.
6
I direct the busiest emergency department in Westchester County, the NYS epicenter of the pandemic. The virus is real and the results of infection can be devastating. The rate of patients presenting to us with symptoms concerning for COVID-19 has dramatically increased over the last 24 hours. Only a test result that will be available in 3 days will answer if we’re being alarmists, but I believe we’re at the precipice of a public health disaster. A country with vast resources will be overrun if we don’t stop the virus here and now. Please don’t let this area go unnoticed before it’s too late.
1686
Thank you for your dedication and service.
225
@Rafael E Torres, MD Please be safe, Dr. Torres. You are at the epicenter. I'm in Washington state, which has also been hit hard, but it now looks as if New York may get it much worse. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. You and all medical professionals are my heroes.
264
@Rafael E Torres, MD
New Yorker to New Yorker, many thanks for your service Rafael.
We’ll be with each other in this fight.
201
How about, for a change some rational editorials? Instead of bashing Trump, like the NYT always does, how about rallying around him? Whether you like him or not, now is definitely not the time to sow more discord.
Why is it that you nor any of your fellow opinion writers wrote about his news conference yesterday? Perhaps because you were too worried about your ratings. He blamed China, and you called his remarks racist.
If you and your fellow opinion writers did not feel yesterday's news conference did not warrant a "mention" what world are you living in?
Berating the President and causing even more divisiveness does nothing but sow even more discord among the citizenry.
By the way, I am not part of the President's base. I am a citizen who is sick and tired of this country being torn apart by partisan media on all sides. Perhaps you should all take a lesson from NEWSY!
2
A Nemesis by any other name .... Nancy !
8
“Two very big words,” he shook his small finger.
“I learnt them tonight; Sean Hannity taught me.”
“What’s most important, so no need to worry,”
“Stable genius’ immune and I don’t drink Corona.”
4
Right on time.
1
Lena H. Sun Washington Post
May 10, 2018 at 4:32 p.m. EDT
The top White House official responsible for leading the U.S. response in the event of a deadly pandemic has left the administration, and the global health security team he oversaw has been disbanded under a reorganization by national security adviser John Bolton.
You just thought you disliked the man for putting personal gain over duty to the nation for not going in front of a national audience with his information during the impeachment farce.
I wonder what chapter in the book covers this? Let's hope that because of non existent sales it is discounted deeply and can be used to supplement Charmin and Softweave.
Haven't heard much about the book have we? It's issue by date is quickly approaching, and may be past due.
17
Isn`t there at least one person with minimum credibility amongst Christian fundimentalists who dares to tell the obvious story?
That this plague is God`s just punishment for supporting a leader who is divorced (most important), who is a liar, a cheat, instigates hate ...
I know the truth isn`t such a big deal in times of fake news.
But aren`t there professional preachers out there seeing the career opportunity?
15
Trump’s base believes he is defending white, Christian America from the liberal elite and their minority minions. Covid 19 is his first crisis, and he rejects the CDC, implemented by countries that have succeeded in containing the epidemic, like Taiwan and Singapore, going with his isolationist travel ban from the E.U. and corporatist instinct to develop test kits by private industry. If Pestilence rides his white horse to wreak Tribulation on rural, white Christian America, some of Trump’s base may question whether he is the Chosen One. Covid 19 is the Black Swan that will throw America and its election into disarray.
7
On January 11, The first cases of coronavirus or mentioned coming out of Wuhan China. The Democrats were busy impeaching the president. On January 21, the first case in America was reported from someone coming from wuhan. Pelosi was sitting on the impeachment articles. On January 30, for WHO called this a worldwide emergency. The next day on January 31, Trump and saw flights from China as a reasonable measure and yet he has attacked by Biden Schumer Pelosi and all the Democrats for being xenophobic and racist. Could he have done more about testing? Sure. This was unknown territory. But the gleeful Democrats busy impeaching the president did nothing. Congress stinks. Look at the poll numbers of Schumer Pelosi and McConnell, as they are in the 20s I do not expect any semblance of balance from the New York Times.
3
If he ever read a book, he would know the one thing the Gods always, always punish...hubris.
11
Ah , the great Albrecht Durer’s Nemesis who brandishes a precious chalice to gift the righteous and a bridle to harness the vainglorious !
4
Biden sleeping would be better than trump.
17
When are we going to impeach this president? Oh, we already did... but that was over a convoluted and nuanced breaking-of-rules transgression that got brilliantly spun (and stonewalled) by the Republican propagandists. It never looked like a winner for Democrats. This, on the other hand...
This is grand failure at the highest levels that leads directly to the deaths of thousands of Americans. Is this the abdication of duty -- as so well articulated by Bret Stephens -- that calls us to action again? Too early right now, but when the death toll spikes in a few months and the harsh realities of medical science are upon us, it's worth a look. Who cares about the November election. This sociopathic buffoon needs to go ASAP.
9
Nemesis actually got the god Narcissus. She lured him to a pool where he caught sight of his own reflection. Unable to abandon his reflection he died there. (According to Wikipedia).
That is a divine justice and history apparently repeating itself.
6
Hey Bret!
Don't forget Karma!
3
The President is behind the times.
Our national emergency began on January 20, 2017.
20
Watching Trump read his teleprompter like a school kid was sad. He is such an embarrassment for the American people I cannot understand why they don’t do anything to oust him other than posting on the NYT comment thread every day.
13
No, Bret, the Goddess of Rhamnous has not yet come for Trump. if anything, she has loosed Poena on us and the world for tolerating the incompetent fascists we have handed power around the world. When the Goddess acts, we will know it.
1
43% of the American people believe that Trump is doing a great job managing this crisis. The message that he's an unfit, unhinged, ignorant fraud is not getting thru.
Maybe when they, their parents, their friends, their grandparents start to die from COVID-19, the MAGAts will take off their red hats and join the reality based community, but not a moment before.
15
Or, as the incomparable PJ Harvey put it in her great gooseflesh-raiser from 2011, "On Battleship Hill", "Cruel nature has won again":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO63vb1S7Cw
1
Attention MAGA America!! It’s time to fire up the foundry of Alternative Facts and be prepared with a ready conspiracy theory to spin and cast blame when Trump inevitably, either — self isolates, or tests positive for Covid 19. Could Hilary be a possible source? Obama? Rosie O’Donnell? Nancy Pelosi? Trump America, put down your ‘clicker ‘ and get at it!
6
Teflon Don finally met his match in the Coronavirus which will be Trump's silver bullet.
1
Anybody heard from the anti-vaxxers lately?
Not a word anymore up this way.....
Parents opposed to mandatory vaccinations now griping govt took too long to close schools.....
irony rules!
20
The House of Trump will fall like the Romanov’s in the last Russian monarchy. Arrogance and hubrice brought them down like they will bring Dumb Donnie down in Nov 2020.
His name tag wearing base will realize Trump made them feel better but poorer under his dictatorship!
4
Thus spake our glorious leader: “ I’m officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words.”
Seven syllables. Yet he managed to do it, bigly.
18
I don’t believe I ever interpreted nemesis as other than someone meeting their just desserts, particularly an individual with an over inflated ego and personality. To me, nemesis means walking into the brick wall or snag that finally snares the contemptibly contemptuous, the pathologically ignorant, the buffoons and braggarts. Sometimes it takes the larger than life size god of myth snagged on its own distorted image rippling in the pool. How disgraceful and shameful it has taken a contagion in the form of a deadly Coronavirus to break through the density resisting what is real in this moment in time with a buffoon leading an entire nation to stumble and fall to its knees.
4
The Real Donald is the Real Pandemic
13
“I’m sorry, Mr. Trump, but Madam Karma can’t come to the phone right now. She is busy sharpening her nails, but will visit you soon.”
11
In most areas of human endeavor ignorance outstrips knowledge, what else needs to be said.
2
This making mountains out of ant hills. Have there been some missteps and misstatements? Sure. But every proactive step Trump has taken, and been criticized for, has proven to be the right ones, banning travel from China just days after the WHO recommended in January not to, forcing people returning from abroad to be placed in quarantine, most prominently. CDC officials, all veterans of the agency, have backed the president and Democrat governors Coumo (NY) and Newsome (California) have praised the administration's response. The test kit rollout was exacerbated by federal rules and, as Cuomo said in his press conference yesterday, getting the Kits haven't been the problem. Instead, he said, federal rules would not allow enough private labs overseen at the state level, to do testing. Those rules are now being relaxed. The criticism of Trump ignores anything good and positive he has done and the obvious good intentions he has of calming people. Cuomo, again yesterday in his press conference, made similar points about the limited risks for most people and the need not to panic. When we had the swine flu epidemic a decade ago the administration promised 100 million vaccines available when they were ready. instead only 11 million were available at first. This didn't prompt endless scrutiny on the many shortcomings Obama had in reacting to that epidemic, which by their nature and unpredictability are difficult to manage.
136
If Americans want to see a real press conference about the corona-virus pandemic, just Google the Governor Jay Inslee press conference from earlier this week. Mr. Inslee is a leader who actually cares about his fellow citizens. He has been open and honest about the situation here in Washington, has forthrightly addressed all questions from the media, and has deferred to the expertise of state medical and other health care professionals where necessary or appropriate. Mr. Inslee did not garner much support in his run for President, but out here in Washington we can live with that--literally.
2221
@Huge Grizzly, Gov. Inslee is someone who grows more impressive every time you listen to him. I would have preferred him as President over many who stayed in the race longer (including the present front-runner).
162
@Huge Grizzly I would also recommend the presser given today by New York state's Governor Cuomo. As I watched his presser today, I couldn't help but think, "Now that is the guy I wish was in charge in the White House right now". He was honest, humble, emotional, factual, straight forward, etc. All the qualities you would want in a leader during this horrible situation we find ourselves in.
122
@Huge Grizzly even though I politically disagree with him, Gov. Dewine has done a great job handling this in Ohio.
37
Nemesis may be coming for the "epic narcissist," but, unfortunately, as seems always the case with Trump, it is others who will pay the price. The price will be not just a devalued stock portfolio, but the thousands of lives lost by a man incapable of "taking responsibility" and acting to improve the health and well-being of others in a timely manner. The Trump Death Toll, more than his impeachment, will be the lasting testament to the "nemesis" he unleashed on America.
18
It's fitting--even poetic--that Trump's nightmare scenario, or most formidable adversary, comes not in the form of an attack from jihadists, or a tide of refugees, or a missile from Kim.
But rather in the form of a particle, the diameter of which is around 120 nm. Large as such things go but it requires an electron microscope to see.
It cares not at all about, and is unaffected by, walls, embargoes, tariffs, bluster, bluff, bans, posing, spin, posturing, preening or threats.
It DOES yield to science, discipline, method, collaboration, knowledge, patience and urgency (in equal measures), truth and caring.
The perfect enemy to make clear---in sharp relief---the foolishness of Trump, and Trumpism. And make us ALL pay for it.
18
Trump is incompetent, and he has neither heart nor soul. But it is not just him. He is just the fools head of the Republican Party and it’s values. The anti-science Republican Party will indeed be the early death of many good citizens.
Time is all we’ve got and we are squandering it. I’m 69 and if/when I end up with the outbreak, I know I will NOT make the cut for available ventilators. Thanks Republicans and Fox News. But at least I’ll have the comfort of knowing that big corporations and the rich were the priority and got their tax cuts and the swamp has been drained and resources kept from health care disaster planning funds. Like there won’t be another new virus tomorrow?
Finally, this is merely a warm up to environmental degradation (aka global warming). But I may not be around to continue doing my part.
20
I hold all conservative Republicans such as Bret Stephens responsible for this catastrophe and for the unnecessary deaths that we will experience in the coming year. Trump is the culmination of every conservative impulse stuffed into one large empty suit. His ignorance may be more visible but it is no less profound than the ignorance of the entire Republican base that continues to walk blindly through the disintegration of everything that we used to hold dear for the sake of faithfulness to their political religion. It is writers like this columnist who have given cover, year after year, to the objective lies that are peddled as doctrine to the loyal puppets of a disinformation nation. The truth is out there but you would never know it from the writings of conservatives who question the conclusions of science as if they were as malleable as the opinions of pundits. Newspapers and their columnists have a responsibility to the truth and they have turned their backs on it because objectivity has no place in a marketplace based on emotion. Those who have the precious opportunity to communicate to millions have a responsibility to teach and to heal. They are the ones standing between the ignorant mob and the damage it could cause, they are the circuit breakers in a free society which depends on their ability to speak the truth. It is time to stop the pretense and shoulder that responsibility. There is more at stake now than we fully understand. Please help or stay silent.
23
We now see why Trump is a threat to our country.
There may be a lot of things wrong with elites or the professional class but they are educated, smart, believe in science and have the demonstrated management skills to organize a workforce around a mission or a challenge.
The gutting of government expertise and education is finally coming home to roast and our “leader” may finally pay the price for not letting the professionals do their jobs and fight this latest battle.
His sycophants and enablers still believe this is a plot by the Democratic Party to take him down. Let them tell that to the several American families that have lost relatives and will lose them before this is over. They did a Nero for weeks while this virus gathered momentum her and across the world.
Dump’s paranoia about the election and the stock market was and is being reported by the media. The right wing says it is fake news. Knowing who Trump is and how he reacts to facts I would tend to believe this reporting.
The lag on testing, on organizing and finally declaring a national emergency all point to Trump’s paranoia with his electoral prospects. His past behavior supports it.
But let’s not be political, the incompetence of his administration is so obvious---yes even a blind person can see it.
14
Mr Stephens, your best -- and I wish it made me feel more assured that we will move in the right direction - but until Trump - and the McConnell gang - are out of power, the politics will be trumping the country's welfare.
Nemesis: a goddess no less, appropriate because nothing exposes Trump's shallow egomania like women who insist on truth.
12
Interesting how Stephens tries to distance Trump from previous GOP presidents like Bush, who lied his head off. Trump is not an anomaly. He's the product of both corporate parties who relentlessly pushed the so called "Overton window" to the right over the past three decades. And demonized anyone who attempted to stop this process whether it be Nader or Sanders.
12
there is an important difference between Trump's willful ignorance and normal ignorance. Many of us, elected officials included, have large knowledge gaps. But unlike this maniac, most adults can see our own ignorance and learn and understand new information. The extreme danger posed by our president is his false belief in his own expertise, his unwillingness to listen to the informed and his desire to be seen as the smartest person in any gathering. Because of his ignorance and egotism, people will die needlessly.
12
Name a politician who does not suffer from hubris?
Which politician these day does not support vulture capitalism? Actually one can name two... Why do d
Democrats who supposedly are for the common folk favor corporations over the general public -- and this includes the Clintons and ///Obama and Biden. Why does the press support Biden?
The shutdown may well curtail the Corona Virus... we'll see.
1
Trump is a con man and has proven himself a malignant narcissist. That said his opposition should be careful. Trump is also very lucky. He has consistently floated atop the messes he makes; leaving others to clean up.
If the people heed the scientists and comply to social distancing and other measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 this may give Trump, his GOP sycophants and his followers all they need to confirm Trump’s great success at dealing with the virus.
It’s too early to say how this will play out, but Trump could indeed come out on top of this.
Critics- please take care in your valid criticisms of this President.
1
For me, a liberal, this is one of the best columns Mr. Stephens has written. The words of a stalwart conservative calling out a fake president for what he is.
Yet, I frankly have become too cynical to believe that the virus will affect future wingnuts like Trump. His conservative base is far too interested in standing behind the conspiracy theories that promote their own egos and equating personal whimsical beliefs with facts to have any effect in the long run.
The lack of coronavirus testing is a catastrophe resulting from bad decisions made by incompetent people. Yet repeatedly Trump has lied, telling us that plenty of tests are coming this week. A full 50% of Americans believe him or are not sure.
Trump still has his 42% approval rating, the same as it was before the coronavirus. He could still win in 2020. And we can expect a Trump clone to run and win in 2024.
6
A really worst case political scenario? The virus is contained/and or the number of deaths is low (especially when compared to a normal flu season), and Trump again says it was a hoax designed to hurt his reelection?
2
No matter how many suffer and die as a direct result of Trump's incompetence -- and that of his grifter staffers -- he will not be held accountable.
With more than a billion to spend on propaganda the right-wing GOP will just say over and over that it was all Obama's fault and that Hillary personally brought the virus here from Benghazi, and laced school kids' milk with it.
And 40% of Americans will believe every syllable.
Worse, Facebook will profitably disseminate this propaganda with unprecedented precision to every voter who just might be vulnerable to such preposterous lies.
Fox, of course, will blast the pernicious idiocy worldwide and most of the for-profit media will too, pretending it's 'another valid point of view,' and reinforcing its impact through repetition.
Let us not forget that media corporations will also pocket hundreds of millions for campaign ads, not caring much, if at all, if the ads are remotely truthful.
Hey, it's money, and that's all that counts in America now.
8
My Republican friends are still in they like his policies and this is not his fault. In the gas station yesterday a middle age women told me this is media doing this and look what it is doing to the country what do you say to that. It is tough for some to admit thing are not right and they made a bad choice from what I hear they are not there yet.
3
Someone we know, an elderly woman, trump supporter, has been sick for 2 weeks with fever, cough. It took until yesterday for her to say she was going to be "first in line" to be tested for the coronavirus here in Oregon, whenever that happens. I don't think at this point, considering how sick she is, she gives a hoot what trump or fox says about who is to blame for the virus. She just wants to see a doctor. We certainly hope she does not have the virus and gets well soon. We do not blame diabetes on the liberals or conservatives; we should not use viruses to further our political ends.
2
Kudos to you, Bret. You and I are seldom on the same page but I'm certainly with you here.
1
Basically a cogent piece, but Mr. Stephens makes one assumption which, as far as be determined at this point in time, is quite unproven: which is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus and/or its effects is going abate is “the onset of warmer weather”. So far, the Coronavirus seems to spread itself quite well in many countries with warm climates (Malaysia, Philippines, etc): why would it not continue to propagate here ? American exceptionism?
2
While coronavirus was on a rampage in china, italy and iran, trump boasted on his foreign trip that the US had the greatest defense in the world. The US has the worst defense against coronavirus and trump and the gop have responded with spreading more chaos and with utter incompetence. There are no testing kits and the hospital beds are few. Trump, the goo and part of their base are anti-science and ignorant, and along with fox news have spread misinformation, and crazy and wild theories.Trump is the most incompetent and crazy, ever.
6
What a bitter column. Bret doesn't like Trump or, as the column explains, Trump voters. And Bret believes that he and others like him -- the people who were supposedly wise enough not to vote for Trump -- are the good people, the smart people, the people who should rule. Bret then applies his prejudices against Trump and his supporters to explain why the coronavirus will defeat Trumpism. This is magical thinking, at best.
1
It seems to me that the question for Americans in the coming election will be “Who do you trust with your life?” It will truly be an existential election question.
4
Every Trump despiser knew this day was coming. An amoral narcissist is completely incapable of responding to any crises without thinking only of self. Being without empathy, Trump is unable to care about the senior citizens who have passed or are at risk. His solution to business crises was to cut and run, declare bankruptcy. He is 100% without the ability to provide leadership or comfort in this time of extreme national crises. I think of Reagan after the Challenger, Bush after 9/11 Obama after Charleston, all bringing the country together. Trump, lacking any character or moral compass is unable to do the same. How we have fallen.
8
Michael Lewis, with ‘The Fifth Risk’, is certainly being shown to be the very smart guy that he truly is.
2
Great piece, thanks Bret.
1
Are you really saying that if Trump contracts the virus, this is Nemiesis extracting justice? I'll bet that is what many of us are thinking but feel conflicted for ever wishing such a thing.
1
Yes he readily shook hands - had me reflect on how much his ‘big hands’ could transmit or pick up. Hope he shook a lot of hands with that Brazilian group.
1
Even more shocking to me than the Trump lack of integrity at his press conference was the admiring Dr. Birx who opined at every statement he pronounced, whether it dealt with her medical expertise or a political opinion that made no sense...I thought she was supposed to be an intelligent person...Be afraid, be very afraid America...
7
Unfortunately it is not Trump and his merry band of looters who will pay for his incompetence; its my neighbors, friends, family and co-workers who will pay the price with their pocketbooks, their health and likely some with their lives!
Trump and his band of Republicans are indeed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for our country!
5
After six weeks of mistakes, misleading information, a group of loyalists brown nosing Trump, the information provided in the press conference is TBD. The hope is states, counties and cities continue doing what they are doing and eventually so will the Federal government.
1
This has to be one of the most powerful commentaries Brett Stephens has every written, and it took some guts, too. Because from now on he will be placed in the pantheon of hated RINOs and other loathed conservatives who dared to criticize this most ignorant and arrogant and compassionless public figures of all time. And not only that, but to shine a much needed light on his supporters and enablers, and how wrong they are to support this buffoon and fraud.
6
Excellent piece. Bravo.
5
The virus is probably an answer to Trump's prayers. As we focus on the "disastah", we stop trying to remove him from office. While "tremendous" testing takes place, too little, too late, we learn a lesson about who we allow in the White House. We elected an evil simpleton, and because we voted for him, the country now has the government it deserves.
4
That muffled noise you're hearing in the background is American Conservatism dying a slow death as America learns its decades-long effort to "make government small enough to drown in a bathtub" failed the American people, leaving it open to a pandemic with a nearly 3% fatality rate worldwide.
5
Now that the "Coronavirus" is like an intruder knocking at the door; President Trump is putting us in peril for hiding the truth because his extreme greed for wealth won't allow the “stock market” to plunge.
Are the Republicans, Trump’s fervent supporters going into hiding with a bag over their heads or are they going to reflect and finally respond to the American people? We must wonder who’s going to speak the truth; what are our resources if any to combat this virus to prevent us from an unforeseeable future.
2
To Trump and his unwavering supporters who question the virulence of the current pandemic, who mock its contagion, who believe it is just the common cold (thanks Rush), who believe this is much ado about nothing, I say: Go out, don't take precautions, take a trip to Wuhan Province (I'm sure flights are cheap now), schedule a great big convention where all like minded disbelievers can congregate for some supportive hugs and kisses. After all, I am sure your disbelief is a much more effective safeguard than anything the scientific community has to offer. And please, please invite the President and the Fox News pundits.
5
I applaud you for this column. Brilliant!
1
And Narcissus was a pathologically proud hunter who disdained everyone who loved him, causing some to take their own life to prove their devotion to his striking beauty. Except back then, they weren’t called Republicans.
5
I'm sure some Red State Trumpsters are seeing the light at the end of the microscope, but I'd love to see a poll of his base to quantify just how low his bass approval notes have fallen.
First, it is a supreme irony that our germophobic president is being shown up by a virus. Divine intervention, it seems, has a sense of humor.
Second, somebody whould drop a net over Donald so he stops talking about this crisis. He makes things worse with every statement or tweet. He really is ill-informed and ill-equipped to meet the challenge.
Finally, his cavalier attitude about shaking hands and group pressers, minimizing the contagion and meeting with carriers at Mar-a-Lago, may come back to bite him if he gets sick.
Of course, self-isolation and quarantine may be the best we can hope for.
1
Donald Trump is the apprentice who never made it. Stable genius that he is, he is totally impervious to the limitations of his pea-brained intelligence. If you ask him about his sense of responsibility, he snaps that it is a “nasty” question. So he surrounds himself with a bunch of geniuses as he claimed at his Friday press conference. They can be held accountable, not he.
Most people will pass judgment on this bunch of geniuses once the pandemic is over. But it was obvious that this group included an outstanding shoe-shine boy, Puppy Pence, who simply couldn’t keep his tongue from licking Donald’s boots every time he uttered a sentence. It was a pathetic, grovelling performance by the VP.
3
When is Ms. Nemesis coming for you, Mr. Stephens?
1
The far right/trumpers cannot be reached.
What is critical is the fence sitters, the Obama-Trump voters. The swingers.
Trumps utter ignorance, his bungling, denial, and complete lack awareness should move many off the fence. Unless of course, the GOP’s bigotry, xenophobia, sexism, and chronyism have a stronger pull. We will see.
1
Had the President been allowed to protect our borders, we would not be in this situation. Democrats and liberal judges have put obstacle after obstacle in front of our President.
They are to blame. Hold them accountable!
2
That Trump's supporters are still downplaying this pandemic says it all. We have become a nation of sheep following a false prophet. The Pied Piper has returned.
3
"Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it." — Donald Trump, July 21, 2016
“I don’t take responsibility at all.” — Donald Trump, March 13, 2020
30
This article should be framed on a wall in the Oval Office.
5
Really good column.
6
Poetic justice; the germaphobe president has his presidency taken out by...a germ.
17
Sophocles: evil appears as good in the minds of those whom god leads to destruction
6
Trump is the swamp
5
They'll find a way to turn this upside down and blame everybody else, Obama, Clinton, FDR, The Chinese and anyone else. Your OPED piece is based upon the result of thinking and intelligent analysis by a group of diehards, and in the long run a huge amount of hope.
NOT GONNA HAPPEN would be my guess.
4
The emperor has no clothes.
9
“I want to thank Google. Google is helping to develop a website, it’s gonna be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past, to determine whether a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location…,” Trump said.
"Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now, made tremendous progress.”
ALL- a big fat lie. Google said it has no immediate plans- except a test site specifically for the Bay area in California. What the announcement did (according to Reuters) was to cause Goggle stock to rise by 9%:
Who made money off of this stock manipulation?
10
It is ironic that Trump, a well-known germaphobe, may very well be brought down a germ.
2
Divine intervention.take the trump’s away!
Like a popular song many years ago:
“There coming to take me away ha ha!”
Justice will be served.
The virus is after him and his family.please spare Barron.all-their wealth will not protect them against the viris although they get the advantage of the best medical insurance in the country.
The trumps are going the same way trump’s grandfather went Fred trump. He died in 1902 from the pandemic,the Spanish flu,
It’s a family affair.
3
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats....
2
Mr. Stephen’s states, “as a matter of politics, however, it’s hard to think of a mechanism so uniquely well-suited for exposing the hubris, ignorance, prejudice, mendacity and catastrophic self-regard of the president.” I concur.
Trump has made several statements that are perfect examples of his ignorance and unbridled hubris.
“Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like incredible."
Challenging the god’s and goddesses of ancient Greece, are we Mr. Trump? Not a good idea.
Another statement that I couldn’t believe emanated from his lips, “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China,” Mr. Trump said of the corona virus.”
These statements clearly exhibit his hubris, catastrophic self-regard, ignorance, mendacity and his ability to untie himself from reality. His Achilles heel, so to speak. I use the Greek myth as a metaphor for Trump’s unbridled ego and pride.
I recently read an article in which a journalist, assigned to cover a Trump rally, questioned several of the attendees as to why they supported Trump. One attendee had this to say, “I know he lies but I trust him.”
I discussed this comment with an old high school friend, I must admit to my recurring naivety as I seem credit people with more intelligence then they exhibit. Her explanation for Trump’s popularity was simple, she stated, “Richard, there are many stupid people in the United States.”
11
Putin must be positively THRILLED that the minority of Americans elected a president like this: mentally hobbled to the nth degree, cold, incapable of fidelity to anyone at all, even the people he himself pushed into government posts they were completely unqualified to run. And, on top of that, 100% delusional.
And, too boot, Putin will not even have to declare war on the United States to kill its citizens. He can just wait and watch as the American president casually causes the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans by his constant, lies, inaction and I-don-take-responsbility-for-ANY-of this.
I wonder what the conservative base will think when it is THEY who start dying by the hundreds, then thousands. But perhaps it is EXACTLY this that it will take to wake them up: the loss of their own lives.
What more could an enemy ask for?
8
Bret, I wish you (and your colleague David Brooks, for that matter) would spend time with actual members of Trump's "base." Have you ever even known people who are hard core "conservative" and literally only watch Fox, and hate the NYT and MSNBC, and science, and the "government", basically anything in public life, etc? I have, and you're wrong that they will see this debacle for what it is. They will continue to say it's lies, it's exaggerated, it's the Democrats, it's the hysterical media.
Hate to tell you, but I blame people like you (and Brooks) - educated conservatives with a huge platform who should know better. You have shored up and supported the Republican party your entire life. You have shored up and supported total malfeasance toward your own country. How could you not have seen this coming - this kind of administration and voter - when so many of us did?
16
It's a simple fact that all serious attempts to contain this virus are being undertaken despite the American President. Truth be told in addition to his manifest character failings he's also a doddering old man, one who much of the time appears incapable of making coherent statements. While it nice to be discuss his actions in terms of themes of Greek mythology I'm stuck with the fact that in a tweet yesterday he took to insulting Biden's poll numbers with respect to an earlier virus outbreak! What? We've a modern term for the failings of men when they're this pronounced. They're called sociopaths.
12
It seems as though in Americas' overall situation, the virus may be the cure to the weakness in our leadership. Because of our (The people) recognition that Covid-19 is a dangerous pathogen our collective immune system (voting him out of office) finally kicking into gear to remove the cancer that has been growing in our system (the Republican party) and manifested itself in the tumor that now occupies the Oval Office.
2
At this point, it’s ludicrous that anyone of any age or mental capacity would believe ANYthing Trump says.
11
Excellent article indeed. Is it not extraordinary that Greek myth plays such a symbolic role in this time? We have a person sitting in the oval office who is a flagrant Narcissistic clown; he selects for positions only those who agree with slipshod, poisonous policies, Sycophants; Nemesis punishes those with overweening pride and self-promotion, as Stephens correctly discusses.
The Hebrew scriptures also show time and time again what happens to an arrogant ruler---they all fall, and create Chaos.
Three Furies may yet descend symbolically: Allecto (endless), Tisiphone (punishment), and Megaera (jealous rage). They collectively punish those who perpetually lie, hurt others, and pretend to be wise leaders.
4
Thank you for this piece.
Our President will be reelected in November.
No matter how much the NYT tries to change this fact.
Remember - the NYT did not support Biden...for good reason.
And you know it.
1
Costco was still out of toilet paper this afternoon, so I bought a copy of "The Art of the Deal."
13
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Jared is taking charge of this and will dispatch COVID-19 as quickly as he resolved the Arab-Israeli conflict and America’s opiate crisis.
8
Seems to after 70 boomers. Better stay indoors, Trump Country
1
It has also exposed the folly of your beliefs, Stephens. Wake up! A healthy dash of socialism is our only chance to keep untold numbers of our fellow citizens alive now, whether you like it or not.
3
When your nemesis is the truth it's impossible to succeed at anything, which is obvious from Trump's bungled Covid 19 handling.
3
“I don’t take responsibility at all."
This should be the 148pt banner headline on every major newspaper in the country.
In your life did you ever think you'd hear a president say that in a time of crisis?
Trump is beyond redemption.
12
"It should not have had to take a deadly virus to expose this presidency for what it is. But it’s fitting that it has. "
After that...
Nothing further needs to be said.
6
The subhead of this piece:
"A virus exposes the folly of what the president’s base believes."
The president's base does NOT believe in anthropogenic climate change, Bret.
What say you?
3
“the president has a belated opportunity to demonstrate seriousness he has lacked so far.”
One thing you can say about Trump is he has been absolutely consistent in his awfulness. It is his one virtue of sorts. Consistent awfulness. And to even consider that we will see anything different reflects magical thinking that too many just can’t seem to shake.
He and his band of incompetent lying self serving sychophants are just that. Incompetent. They will not magically get things right. To use the words of the Flip Wilson character Geraldine, “What you see is what you get honey!”
6
In a matter of days, a hoax became a national emergency. Even Trump's supporters must now recognized that he is a nincompoop.
4
You know it. And I know it. His base? I doubt it.
6
Trump's campaign motto is "Yes We Can't!".
5
It is horrible that ignorant people can still believe this fraud of a man. He is a total inept and needs to be removed from power.
5
Well said. It is time to republish your column of July 18, 2016 titled “The Better Angels of Our Nature” again.
Yes.
Is there a goddess called Reality?
I think there is.
1
Let’s be sure to blame Trump rather than come up with constructive solutions.
1
Yes, taken down by a goddess!
4
i thought this piece looked promising--until I got to the bit about Netanyahu being honest. Was that intended as a joke?
5
Or, as the Bhagavad Gita says, I am become Death, shatterer of Trump’s re-election hopes.
3
@DPA
Lao Tzu, a new flavor of moo-shu to our stable, medical genius.
2
One of America's strengths is that there are many loci of power. Thus, in spite of Trump's non and counter-productive "leadership", governors, mayors, business people, religious leaders, school boards, and others are getting it together to do the right thing, to do what is necessary. Of course such cannot replace a well-developed national plan and Presidential leadership, but it will serve our people well, reminding us in the process that we are not alone.
A proper response can only come with coordinated planning, whicht should have been done years ago. And that is the fault of all of us, not only a succession of Republican and Democratic Administrations that failed to do so. Evolution has largely created us as beings more concerned with present and near-future threats and needs than with those that are long-term and abstract. Putting it simply, we never demanded that our leaders prepare for such a threat, even though, sooner or later, it was inevitable that the threat would materialize.
Though Trump has done everything in his power to screw things up in most ways, nonetheless he would not get away with it if the American people, Republicans and Democrats alike, had not encouraged the transfer of power to the President and the Executive Branch, powers previously held by Congress and the States. Whenever their man was President, increased power was fine for Democrats and Republicans, ignoring that the power would remain there when someone they didn't like held the office.
5
I thought now people will see through this mans lies. Finally, Then there he was invoking that old freind of his racism, It was Obama not Trump who did this. What? His response to this was a joke he said this was basically a cold if we just go on about out lives it will go away, more worried about money, his minons and his place in history. Two almost three Years ago he was told Flu pandemics weres our biggist threat, by Beth Cameron and members of his Security council, His response He fired her the next day. make no mistake folks this is Donald J Trumps fault and the Republicans who have elected him and not restrained him. Apoligist like Rob Portman the Sentor from Ohio who makes excucuses for the presidents crudeness. and dishonesty. It is time for all them to go.
Chuck from Ohio
5
the virus doesn't have a twitter account. not impressed by #45s commentary. #nemesisCovid
3
So, Mr. Stephens, what'll it be? Joe or Bernie?
Because anything else is just more Trump, which you seem desperately to want to hint you know better than.
So...?
2
If only Nemesis would run for office in this sham republican period of no justice for all!
is there anything trump won't lie about? i am so sick of his lying that i would like to throw a big rock at him, but if it hit his head, it wouldn't be anywhere near a source of intelligence because he has none. geez, people, wake up!
1
The buck stops elsewhere.
3
Reality prevails, even in fake-news Trumpland.
Nature is as real as it gets.
Don’t mess with Mother Nature.
2
Fear means you are close to the truth.
Don't look away.
2
Great moments in Presidential leadership, reimagined:
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy, was not my fault.”
“Mister Gorbachev, that’s a nice wall you have there.”
“We do not choose to go to the moon because it is easy, but because it’s hard. I actually think I’m the only one that could propose it. The other party will probably oppose it.”
“Four score and seven years ago, my uncle was in the military. I’m told he was a great officer. So I naturally get this whole Gettysburg battlefield thing. People are amazed at how I understand military. I’m actually better than the generals at military. They’re a bunch of dopes and babies.”
8
Good column, Bret.
3
From 50 thousand feet, the human race is the virus and Covid-19 is nature's penicillin.
3
Belief is part of the War onExpertise.
I belive the Mets will wint it all but I KNOW it won't
1
This is the most dead-on, perfectly worded opinion piece I have ever read. Excellent.
1
The ancient Greeks were so wise, they had a god for everything!
1
Does anyone really believe that President Trump, an acknowledged germaphobe, has not been secretly tested?
I live in Bogota, a city of 8 million with 9 identified cases of coronavirus, and already the city has started rationing food supplies, toilet paper, hand cleaner, bottles of antiseptic alcohol, etc. It's very sad that the U.S.A. is not as competent as Colombia. We are about three weeks behind the U.S. in this epidemic, but better prepared than the U.S. is today. But, we don't have a malignant narcissist as president. Actually, the mayor of Bogota is a lesbian woman and married to her partner. She is taking good care of all 8 million of us. God bless her.
6
“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said when asked by a reporter today about whether he was responsible for inexplicable delays in America's Coronavirus testing.
Very Presidential.
Trump also denied any knowledge of his administration dismantling the White House pandemic response team in 2018 when PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked him about it today.
“It’s a nasty question,” Mr. Trump snapped back the the reporter. “You say we did that. I don’t know anything about it.”
The buck stops somewhere else with Donald Trump.
Is this the President of the United States..... or just some juvenile delinquent cutting class and breaking windows ?
8
This column neglects to mention the best way Nemesis might bring this to an end....Give the Trumps the virus, please! Nothing lethal, but definitely misery inducing.
Spare Melania and Baron, great Goddess (I think of her as a prisoner and of course he's just a boy). But the rest? Jared, Ivanka, Eric, Junior and of course The Donald--go at 'em, Girl.
There would be no greater justice. Ever. I would gladly sacrifice 2 oxen and a ram to make it happen.
It would make this atheist believe in god(s).
4
I hate to say it, but if MAGA fanatics believe the falsehoods and lies Fox has been spewing about COVAD-19, they deserve whatever comes their way.
4
The Emperor has no clothes !
1
Where is Mitch McConnell?
4
Call it Karma, call it Yin and Yang, call it what goes around comes around, whatever you care to call it Trump is to America's very worst angels what Obama so recently was to her very best.
3
Trump has been exposed to COVID-19, yet continues to meet with people at the highest level of government.
He Is as irresponsible as any individual on Earth, much less the occupant of the White House.
Should he become incapacitated by the virus, hopefully the 25th Amendment will be utilized to handle just this case.
3
Anybody who wastes time trying to feel assured by listening to any of Trump's announcements is worse than a fool. Should the Dark Knight take Joker's word that he won't burn down Gotham? Me thinks not. Maybe now Trump's base will realize hatred is no substitute for science.
2
We saw Nemesis incarnated in Yamiche Alcinder today when she asked Trump a question that bared his inept leadership and blindness to reality. He responded by condescendingly calling it a nasty question. His dog whistling was loud and shrill.
I silently cheered at the courage this young black journalist exhibited in the face of blatant ignorance and racism.
8
Pitiful.
That is the only word I can find to describe our president's remarks in the Rose Garden yesterday. Anything which even remotely suggested he bore any responsibility for any problem was denied or deflected in typical fashion.
On testing failures: "I don't take responsibility at all...We were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time."
On dissolution of a pandemic preparedness effort at the NSC: "I don't know anything about it...When you say 'me,' I didn't do it."
He laid responsibility at the feet of the Democrats or President Obama. Anywhere else but his Oval Office.
If someone close to him is found wanting, he denies knowing the person. Shown standing next to a Brazilian now infected, he denies any interaction with him.
It is all of a piece with this empty suit. Lev and Igor? Never heard of them. Wedding vows 'till death us do part'? That's for sissies. You want me to PAY you for your work? It was not up to my specifications, anyway.
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." -- Maya Angelou
Pitiful.
3
Bret
You certainly are not naive, but if you think that trump will change you are missing the facts. The facts are that this 74-year-old man is who he is and will forever be who he is. What he remains is the same, a narcissistic, incompetent, ignorant, vindictive and corrupt man. He surrounds himself with equally corrupt individuals and his inane family, who pledge eternal loyalty.
The final, coup d'etat, are his complacent fools in the Senate, whose motto is hear no evil, or see no evil, and speak no evil. The evil is alive and well, at least for now, and the Senate is dead
2
The coronavirus is a hoax! - this is what Trump told the nation just two weeks ago. You might think this would be the final straw for anyone who was actually still supporting such an obvious con man. You'd think they'd consider....if he was so completely wrong about this, maybe we should revisit all of the other things he boldly declared were hoaxes - the tax returns, the illegal Stromy Daniels payments, the Russian election interference to help Trump, the Trump extortion scheme with Ukraine, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, MIke Flynn, and of course the granddaddy of them all "climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese".
However, when people have spent the past 3 1/2 years selling their soul, ridiculing their friends and neighbors, destroying any reputation for common sense, through their hero worship of a shallow cult leader, it takes great bravery to admit you've been hoodwinked.
3
Darn, for the first time, I was with you...until you just had to get in the part about federal bloat and bureaucratic overreach. You just can’t help it, I guess. I was even giving you a pass on praising Netanyahu.
But thanks for the education on Nemesis. Hope the goddess gets him, but really good. Stay well.
2
The Democrats would have left travel from China to the US Oopen. The president bought us weeks to prepare. He saved thousands of lives that Biden and Sanders would have sacrificed on the altar of wokeness.
Trump keeps repeating that he is not responsible for this, or that, or that either ...
The trouble with that is that he is in the job and at the desk where 'The Buck Stops'.*
There is a term to describe someone who never accepts responsibility for himself or for what happens when he is in charge. That word is 'Irresponsible'.
Trump is our Irresponsible President.
*https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/trivia/buck-stops-here-sign
1
Wouldn't it be ironic if the mightest man in the world would be brought down by (his failure to properly address the crisis caused by) microscopically tiny beings?
H.G. Wells would be proud.
1
It’s no accident that Durer portrayed Nemesis as a middle-aged woman — the very demographic that will rid the country of this ghastly administration in November.
2
Brett, this article is a day late and a dollar short based on what has happened this afternoon.
1
Bret. I encourage you and the NYT to write a book, entitled "What it takes to be the POTUS ". This is long overdue
All I could think of yesterday as I watched the President's press conference and Mike Pence glowingly praising the President for his incompetence, was "our dear leader" in North Korea. Maybe a picture of Trump on a white horse will inspire Americans during this crisis.
1
Read the article about Jared Kushner asking his family doctor to poll a few random doctors on FACEBOOK about how to respond to this national emergency, then turning it in to Jared who gave it to his father in law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/politics/coronavirus-jared-kushner-kloss.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
It's no different than a last minute cheat by someone who never went to class and now faces their final exam.
Just ponder Jared Kushner's face for a moment. What word comes to mind? Blank. Absent. Talk about your unelected bureaucrats. Family handlers are fine in the casino business. Outraaaageously innnnnappropriate in this pandemic.
1
Nemesis must take wing.
Trump’s off-the-charts narcissism was on full display at today’s press conference. He refused to take any responsibility for his administration’s lack of preparation for and delayed reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Trump the buck always stops elsewhere.
Trump is devoid of empathy and sympathy. He lacks all sense of personal responsibility. He is demonstrably unfit to lead our nation during an unprecedented national emergency in which thousands, if not millions, of American lives are at risk.
A friend of mine has studied narcissism in depth.
In 2016 she emailed the following:
"Expect those around [Trump] to be damaged. They [will be] either brain-washed into being extensions of him, [will parrot] his thoughts, or [will fake the] same for personal gain, or [will be] bewildered by the madness. Expect chaos in any organization he leads: good people will resign in disgust or be fired, while marginal people [will] ascend to powerful positions."
If Trump is re-elected, there will not be a single responsible adult left in the White House. The careers of civil servants, many of whom have dedicated years to promoting our national interests, will be at risk because they will attempt to speak truth to narcissistic power.
If Trump is re-elected, lickspittles, lackeys and toadies—the Barrs, Kudlows, Mnuchins and Millers of the nation—will ever more enthusiastically further Trump’s narcissistic and autocratic objectives.
Forewarned is forearmed.
1
@M in NY: Perfect case of Schadenfreude if there ever was! Thanks.
trump/pence out now. Not tomorrow, today.
Trump would look at her as pictured and say, “Not my type.”
I read Breitbart daily (to keep tabs on the crazies) and I don't really see any evidence that Trump's base has learned any lessons at all.
1
A word to Trump - in lieu of accepting any responsibility for any of this, just walk out of the Oval Office. Head to Mar-a-Lago. Play golf for the next 10 months - you'll be in a much better place. And so will everyone else.
1
trump's base and supporters don't get and won't get the
Covid-19 virus.
1
Just yesterday, a former colleague texted “what’s your take on all this”. This from someone who’s known me and my center left leanings for years. When I said, “well it looks like Trump didn’t know what was coming because fired all the experts” she texted back “typical partisanship from you”. That’s the reaction of nearly every Republican I can talk to. “It’s partisan scam propagated by Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper.”
Trump was exposed Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday, he had obviously never read his speech until he sat down to give it. Yesterday, he preened and gloated as everyone stepped to the podium to praise his “outstanding efforts on behalf of the American people”. The only person I believed at Friday’s news conference was Dr. Anthony Fauci (who didn’t offer much in the way of praise for the President). Trump even said he’d take a test “we are working to schedule it” only to have his “doctor” announce no test was necessary or forthcoming. It’s apparent ignorance is bliss.
Even with all of this on full display for anyone with a room temperature IQ, here's betting that Trump holds his base. Trumpism is a cult and in the face of withering criticism, exposure of the hypocrisy and lies, the revelation that the Emperor is wearing no clothes, the cult members cling harder to their belief in dear leader, sometimes even drinking the poisoned kool-aid as a final act of devotion.
2
Nemesis, as portrayed by Duer, bears more than a passing resemblance to HRC.
Well! I'll be hornswoggled, blown and thrown for a loop! I can't find any one line in this column I can disagree with. This is going to be a bad weekend. Maybe Bret will go back to form next week.
As to "Drain the swamp." I realize there are a group of politicians, hangers-on, and appointed staff that rotate in out of Government and into private industry to make money. If Congress wanted to really stop it they can but then their future is gored as well.
But what do you do about the fetid swamp that Trump brought in with him and adding to it every day? How do we sideline these people while he is still polluting the office of the Presidency? This idiot budget director joker is a classic example. Maybe if he gets this virus he may rethink his position but I suspect it will be a far reach for him.
If this column had been written by almost anyone other than Bret Stephens, it would be a succinct summary of Trump’s buffoonery and ineptness.
But this is the Bret Stephens who is a self-avowed ‘climate agnostic’ which the rest of the educated world would call a climate change denier.
This is the Bret Stephens who continued to insist as late as 2013 that there was ‘solid evidence’ of WMD as a reason for Bush going to war.
This is the Bret Stephens who wrote a column about “Jewish genius” proposing the view that Ashkenazi Jews “might have a marginal advantage over their gentile peers when it comes to thinking better.”
This is the Bret Stephens whose main credential is that he is a ‘never Trumper’ although his neoconservative views hide just behind his views on the president.
Sad.
2
Trump stating "I take no responsibility" ranks right up there with George W. Bush's "heck of a job, Brownie," as deceased bodies floated by in filthy flood waters from Hurricane Katrina.
The cognitive dissonance is surreal. It's Kafkaesque.
Trump stated at a news conference for the entire world to hear, “ I don’t take any responsibility”. Harry “the buck stops here” Truman just stood straight up in his casket
Trump’s superpower is self delusion
Bret,
I would like to believe your article, but the president said the virus is a media and Democrat's hoax.
If you can believe a stable genius president, who can you believe?
Laughing out loud!
Funny how relativism works: a hubristic penseur accuses another hubristic charlatan of being even more “hubristic”.
1
Putin must be positively THRILLED that the minority of Americans elected a president like this: mentally hobbled to the nth degree, cold, incapable of fidelity to anyone at all, even the people he himself pushed into government posts they were completely unqualified to run. And, on top of that, 100% delusional.
What more could an enemy ask for?
1
Bret, a Virus can’t watch TV. A Virus can’t be swayed by years of FOX propaganda. A Virus doesn’t get Facebook polemics about
“Owning the Libs”. A Virus isn’t a Racist, and doesn’t pine for the good ol’ days of the KKK, when “ those people “ knew their place, or else. A Virus can’t run for President, with the goal of making Millions in “ commissions “ and Taxpayer funds. A Virus doesn’t have Children that grift and grab every stray dollar and ruble. A Virus doesn’t demand public displays of obedience and awe-struck compliments. A Virus doesn’t need Loyalty Rallies.
A Virus is a natural Wonder, amazing in its’ simplicity and potential. A killer when unleashed and flourishing.
Trump is an unnatural Disaster. Born and bred to scheme and scam, but thrust upon a Nation by a gullible minority and a political Party consumed with Power. Never in our history has such an unsuitable and inept person been our so-called President. He could not adequately manage a convenience store or fast food franchise. And we ALL know it.
Vote in November. Lives are much more important than entertainment and a reality TV Presidential Apprentice.
Solid closure.
There is also a force called Karma. Donald Trump has met his goddess Nemesis and her sister, Karma...........the chickens have come home to roost.
that is not nemesis, it's Fortuna
in response to @ Repatriate
Do you also approve of Trump's lack of respect for our Constitution, let alone his total lack of knowledge? Do you also approve of his placing personal gain & interest above that of the country's? Do you also approve of his loose relationship with the truth and lack of ethics? Do you also approve of his demeaning anyone who does not support him or his cult of personality? Do you also support his actions to de-legitimize and suppress a free press? If you do, I guess you would prefer to live in an autocracy rather than a free democracy.
1
Why do we have to wait for a crisis of epic proportions to come together to address the results of our nation's inherent weaknesses? Our healthcare unlike most other nations is profit motivated, not a system, not national, quite fractured, without preparation, organization, preventative care priorities, motivation or capacity to address a pandemic. Our nation has a unique pattern of weaknesses. We are not proactive. We dismiss what other nations do well, such as South Korea's testing that reached 210,000 while ours only 10,000. We dismiss programs that others have advanced because we don't like their politics, nationality, race, religion or gender. We dismiss and conceal experts when they tell us things we di not want to hear, nor want others to know. We break treaties and walk away from allies and fellow Americans that require our commitment and shared support, and then go it alone. The Trump administration excels at amplifying our weaknesses and promoting them as strengths to supporters who want to believe that all the hard work of being a citizen of planet Earth is an evil conspiracy or at least an attempt to take away our personal money, property and rights. All of which will be gone with climate change, pandemics and world wars if we continue on the Trump path.
3
In about two weeks our hospitals are going to be overrun with medical professionals not having adequate protection. Outbreaks will start occurring in nursing homes, prisons, ICE facilities. Grocery stores will not be stocked. Recession. Many industries hurt. Hourly workers hurt badly. People with heart attacks and new non-virus conditions will not be treated. Social isolation, old people hurt by life getting harder. And so much more I can't even think of.
Life has changed in America.
Good luck to us all.
2
Stephens has engaged in a persistent crusade against the candidacy of Bernie Sanders and his "socialist" policies. However, the governmental agencies like the CDC and DHHS that Stephens accuses Trump of undermining are examples social programs that Sanders and Warren want to enhance. Where would we be without those programs and where would we be if we had universal healthcare?
Pandemics have a brutal way of putting things into perspective. No body want social policies until we need them.
Conservatives don’t want a strategically planned safety net (“socialism!”). Instead of this kind of collective cooperation, they would rather have Margaret Thatcher’s individuals clawing at each other for survival in a Darwinian jungle.
With all due respect, it disingenuous and hypocritical for Stephens to take Trump to task for undermining the kind of social programs we so desperately need and at the same time carry on a sustained campaign against the common sense compassion of well-crafted government safety nets that serve the everyone, and mitigate social and economic disruption.
2
I suspect the Trump administration actually favored cutting away the muscles, bones, and sinews, and leaving behind the fat in programs, since the fat was easier for grifters to make off with once the damage to the system was inflicted. For example, removing the upper layers of career civil servants robbed government agencies of institutional knowledge and arguably made it far easier for Trump's grifter contingent to indulge in private jets, costly refurbishments of officies, and the perks they felt they deserved, having so nobly condescended to serve the public. It will likely take years of investigation just to figure out how badly many of these institutions have been harmed by the Trump regime, but we can already see how our response to a pandemic has suffered.
6
Thank you for the Nemesis and Durer allusions. You are spot on. Today The Guardian has an interesting article about teenage model exploitation by some powerful men in the 90s and Mr Trump's involvement in that murky world. I am afraid that we have all expected too much of a man with no moral standards.
5
If this epidemic is not contained by the end of April in US it will cause deep recession. One can expect return to semi-normal economy no sooner than in Fall with a serious threat that the epidemic may return in December. Under such circumstances the whole globe may limp with no economic growth till the Summer of 2021.
3
I agree that Trump's public face for this crisis hasn't been perfect, but neither has been the response to the crisis by just about everyone else.
There are some people trying to put what's going on into perspective, noting the regular flu and its grim toll each year, traffic deaths, opioid overdoses, but panic and outrage are winning the day, especially among the Trump haters.
But of course.
You say Trump supporters just don't get it.
The result of the panic, Mr. Stephens, is at least an economic disaster created not by facts, but by fear. I think Trump looks at all this, compares it to other causes of fatality in the USA, and wonders why there's so much hysteria. This isn't a failing; it's a sober view of the situation. But politics and the hysteria it and the media generate has a way of throwing rational, common sense perspectives and action out the window.
There's a run on toilet paper, for cripes sake.
2
Trump, and his handling of this crisis, is the culmination of the Republican's campaign against 'big' government. They say goverment is not efficient or cost effective. Under their stewardship they prove their allegations to be true.
7
@JH they believe the country is better run by Republican cronies and families. Which basically is the formula for rich to get richer and poor to get so poor they purge.
1
So if Mr. Stephens had to choose today among Trump, Sanders or a write-in candidate, whom would he choose?
1
So this crises is exposing Trump as an inept unfit leader—it will cost him his presidency. So I suppose the whole argument that we vote for Biden because he’s the “safe” choice is out the window. Vote Sanders, for healthcare and real change. It’s a vote to not just end Trump, but a vote to prevent future Trumps
2
Vote Sanders and re-elect Trump. There, fixed it for you.
Excellent article that perfectly summarizes Trump's Nemesis. I hope more people get it now - Trump needs to go.
8
The national emergency must have been declared much earlier. The slow response is due to the fact that initial states effected are blue states, like Washington, California and New York. If they were red states, he would have declared national emergency much earlier. This is Trump’s folly.
7
Trump and his supporters are immune to cognitive dissonance. They confront a reality in complete opposition to their personal beliefs and shrug. Trump supporters are incapable of discomfort and anxiety. The true mechanisms behind which cognitive dissonance operates. You're supposed to be at least somewhat aware of the lies you tell yourself.
Think of it this way: Your basketball game gets cancelled. You know every player is disappointed on some level. The game isn't going to take place. That's disappointing. However, we'll tell ourselves the games wasn't really that important in the first place. The pressure is off, right? You don't have to worry about losing the big game.
This is cognitive dissonance. It's a means of self-soothing. It's also a lie. The lie should cause you some amount of discomfort and anxiety. When the lie becomes too large for reality to sustain, you change your behavior. Not with Trump supporters.
We're closing churches left, right and center. The economy is free-falling. People are literally dying. The President and Vice President are exposed to the virus. Fox reporters are getting fired for dismissing the threat. Experts are discussing shortages and triage. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a hint of self-awareness.
This is why experts accurately describe Trump's base as a cult. There is a psychological disconnect from objective reality.
15
Where was or is the official criteria for quarantine? After watching Trump's speech yesterday I'm more confused than ever. Was that the point? Do they intentionally want to keep us confused or are they just incompetent? Maybe both?
3
Trump is not really the story, but as ever he is the distraction. I think his utter irrelevance, confusion, and the fact that the States have had to come up with their own plans has been emblematic of his failure as a leader. The fact that he was using this time of terror to shill for businesses and lie about the number of tests available rather than explaining how people living from paycheck to paycheck will actually survive is unfortunate. Many people are not dependent on the Wall Street but on work. I'm sure Fox will spin him as the great leader, but the majority of people do not believe or trust him. I wish he would just drop the Barnum and Bailey's "We're the greatest" act when clearly, in this case, we're not. 1950's boosterism won't cut it against a virus.
6
As usual, trump only cares about appearances: it APPEARS that his administration's response is working, because we don't have very many people who have tested positive; the economy APPEARS to be great, because of the stock market. The fact that we aren't testing widely is irrelevant in his view; the fact that the stock market is grossly inflated and has almost no correlation to the actual economy is equally irrelevant.
To trump, substance is for losers. And we are the losers.
7
Trump is finally realizing he has met his match in the virus. His old playbook doesn't work on the virus. The virus doesn't react to nicknames. The virus doesn't have an ego. Walls mean nothing. You can't sue it. Virus could care less wheter you recognize it or not. Trump's tool box is empty.
11
@RNS :
He does not do very well with Speaker Pelosi, either.
I think that is why he runs from her.
A silver lining lining likely to come out of COVID-19 crisis will be the political end of the anti-vaxer movement. For example, on March 3rd Maine voters rejected by a referendum that would have overturned recently enacted stronger vaccination laws. The anti-vaxers lost this one in a landslide. The NO vote was 73%.
2
Yesterday I thought I was watching a news conference being conducted by a junta, and not a democratically elected president. Mike Pence’s obsequiousness is becoming unbearable to watch, he makes Uriah Heep look like a normal fictional character. Obviously he has no future political plans since he has ceded his conscience and will to Trump. The president is an embarrassment, with no empathy whatsoever, and zero credibility. The reason he will lose the next election so spectacularly is not bc Biden is such a great candidate, it will be bc Biden is not Trump! It’s time for these poor examples of leadership to just silently steal away.
7
Trump's "report card," his selling point as a steward of the economy, is the stock market. He came out on Friday as a last gasp effort to pump up stock prices - and it worked. His second motive is for re-election, which keeps him out of prison and provides him with permanent bragging rights about his abilities as president. You can't "fake it" and get elected twice.
But it was the market, whom he can never argue against because it is his buddies and wealthy cohorts that mainly populate it, and about which he has repeatedly stressed his bona fides, that he had to attempt to straighten out. Don't think that decency and high-minded thinking operated here.
2
" I like the numbers being where they are. I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."
I don't know if anything the man has ever said illustrated his narcissism better than those remarks about the passengers stranded on the Grand Princess cruise ship.
Those weren't human beings, let alone American citizens he was referring to, they were simply numbers. He saw them the same way he thinks of TV ratings or the stock market. His only concern was how they (as numbers) would reflect on him. When he said it wasn't "our fault", he was looking to assign blame, as if a virus knows or cares where it originates or who it strikes. It must be especially evil simply because it's a "foreign" virus.
I've always heard that a sociopath or a narcissist is incapable of feeling empathy and he provides us with textbook examples of how true that is on a regular basis. I used to give his supporters some benefit of doubt, but I find that harder to do with each passing day and every ignorant remark. I guess words simply don't have meaning to some people.
6
Once again Trump’s toxic mixture of arrogance and ignorance has taken a toll on the stock markets, which he sees as the Sword of Damocles hanging over his presidency.
The Covid-19 may well has become Trump’s true enemy he can’t defeat, especially when he fails to convince the world that the crisis isn’t a “hoax” circulated by Democrats who doubt his response to the development.
Instead of demonstrating competence and boosting the public’s confidence, he initially trivialised the risk: The virus was “no big deal.” Seeing it as a common flu, he said the virus would soon go away when spring comes. All was well until the numbers of infected rose .Then he sowed chaos and confusion. Trump will meet his Nemesis if it proves to be a political price he has to pay in November.
2
Trump's administration has finally got a handle on dealing with the virus. For him, it is too little too late. The lies, mis-truths and frankly his demeanor bring him to the point where he is no longer trusted by the American people. It is his Waterloo, Katrina and Chernobyl rolled into one. It also clearly shows he is incapable of handling a crisis.
At this point it would be best for all concerned if the Secret Service would remove his cell phone for the duration of his now lame duck presidency and his people should keep him from the microphone for the benefit of the country.
4
If the Trump administration was truly efficient, ethical and effective, millions of Americans would have been tested for COVID-19 weeks ago. The biggest problem with Trump and the inept and the fawning members of his administration is that they are acting only in response to his narrow-minded and selfish narcissistic needs, not the needs of the American people. Trump sees all Americans, even his base, as mere props whose purpose is to enhance his power hungry self-regard. I used to think he was an ignorant buffoon, I now know he is evil.
2
The 400 plus pages of the Mueller Report didn't do it. The Impeachment process, including all the witnesses, didn't do it. However, I'm beginning to think that a tiny, invisible organism will be able to do it! Unfortunately many Americans of all political persuasions will have to suffer through this crisis, including some who will die, to show this presidents' gross incompetency. Let's hope that the American voter will take appropriate action come November to finally rid us of this make believe president!
1
@bklynguy :
From Trump's poll numbers, the virus is not doing it, either.
1
Trump's nemesis is not the corona virus, rather it is his own hubris and ignorance, his unfounded belief in his own ability. His critics have consistently warned it would just take a crisis for this to become clear. In this way, the corona virus is merely the dropping of the curtain to reveal what has been there all along.
1
There's been a lot of talk about how we watched China react, and how they bought us time, etc.That we failed to react, to be preemptive on our own field of play.
One thing no one seems to mention, or at least bring up - is that I can guarantee that when Trump and the WH were watching, all they cared about was how it would hurt China. And how that pain might bring them crawling to the trade negotiation table. You know Trump and his deplorables were giddy watching China struggle, become excited at the draconian behaviors (Trump would love nothing better then to have that tool at his disposal) but mostly they were awash in feelings of Schadenfreude...
As such, Trump sat back, comfortable in his know-nothing, know-it-all-ness, and proclaimed we were safer, bigly safe, tremendously safe, the safest we've ever been ever, never been a safer time, ever...in fact some people say they've never seen such safety, its tremendous safety...you can believe me...
And so went the rest of the Govt...apathy is now the SOP.
2
Gilmas: I would think "hahaha" would suffice as a response under the circumstances.
However, this situation is too serious for that. Trump ideology has constructed a wall of complacency , ignorance and institutional corrosion between his political wish list and lackeys, and the safety of our families and economy.
This wall is preventing the spread of science, knowledge, and pragmatic action endangering any transparency, truth telling, and management capacity of this double headed crisis.
It is not the media nor any other group or body politicizing the virus and america's hideously poor and dangerous non response - all well documented in reports and on tape.
Lectures and exhortations about non politicization of crises, or of ideas and policies that fall flat on their face from sheer impracticality, inhumanity, or dumbness is a favorite default position for trumpers who get pie in their faces.
So please, let's start at the beginning and have your well spoken piece sent to the source of lies, and politicization- the used-to-be GOP, trumpers, and the man himself (the latter would be a waste, but just for the record.)
He is an extension of Republican values that have been firmly in place for 40 years. From Reagans tax cuts pay for themselves, to lying to Congress about arms for hostages, to GW Bush being elected (and his Dad's friend will prevent us from disaster), to nation building wars, to Trump and his fringe Judges and White nationalism, it's simply a continuation.
Be honest Brett, you find him distasteful, but most of his tax, health care, environmental, gun, anti-science, and anti-gay regulations you and your fellow Republicans whole-heartedly support.
He has embraced the essential Republican values, his only issue is he says it out loud, not just in the men's grill at the Country Club. You find it embarrassing. Why?
3
@Almighty Dollar strangely till a few years ago trump and his family were voting democrat and also funding Hillary’s senate run.
2
On leadership: Trump said " I don't take responsibility at all" Whereas President Truman said, "the buck stops here." And after the failure of the Bay of Pigs, President Kennedy said, " I am the responsible officer of the government."
2
Trump's base relished his vulgarity and barbarism, his callousness and crudity, his intolerance and ignorance, his criminality and cronyism because it only offended or affect THEM. Now, as the coronavirus sickens or kills even his most devout followers, they will discover that they are also THEM. Nemesis indeed, and may THEM have much satisfaction in justice done.
2
Bret, Trump IS the Punisher. And I really don’t know WHAT we’ve done to deserve Him.
Seriously.
Democrats and the press are accusing Trump of being unresponsive to the Coronavirus pandemic, but the facts prove just the opposite. The travel ban that this administration imposed on January 30 came just days after the first case on Coronavirus was reported in the U.S.. The ban required all travelers from affected areas in China to be tested and quarantined. Trump has expanded the travel ban to Europe for similar reasons. As a result of this early and effective initiative the total number of cases in the United States is under 2,000; compare that to Europe that recorded its first case of the Coronavirus before the United States did but has over 26,000 cases today — over 10 times the amount of cases. One of the other remarkable achievements of the Trump administration was to ramp up production of test kits from zero to a haft million in just 45 days! Remember that developing these test kits required a live virus, which was not available until the first case was discovered in January 21 of this year. This week the President worked with Congress to pass a bill authorizing $50 billion to help States better respond to the crisis and he also declared a national emergency to expedite other measures including giving affected people two week paid sick leave. Democrats and the press are ignoring all these facts because they don’t fit their anti-Trump narrative. Instead, they stoke fear and panic and then point the finger at Trump. They have shamefully politicized this pandemic.
1
I will give Trump a pass on his response to this virus. It is so discouraging to see how many on the left will jump on the dump Trump bandwagon no matter what he does. In November Mr. Trump will be up against one of the two oldest Democratic candidates of the many who wanted the nomination and I admit, the virus effect may actually cause him to loose. Can you then just imagine how the Republicans in the senate and house may treat the new president. Sounds like four more years of contention and not so veiled hatred as we become the divided states of America. God help us.
1
@Franklin
I get it. Dems and GOPers do think differently.
The Dems hark back to Truman, "The Buck Stops Here."
That is a sentiment that repels conservative thinkers.
1
IF those congresspersons and senators are even there. The virus seems to be tearing through the GOP’s politicians and its constituents. Likewise, Biden may have enough down-ticket power to swing the senate. Also, most of those opposed to the Coronavirus relief measures were republicans. People won’t forget that.
@Franklin. Why will you give him a pass? Just because? Or do you have actual reasons (sound or not)?
1
Inciting a movement of believers is basically different than running a country. Something to consider when thinking about Sanders and Trump.
The White House declaration of the Democratic 'Hoax' of pulling the alarm on a real fatal public health threat has delayed the federal implementation of public health measures to protect the US from COVID-19 as cases and deaths rise. Local governments have acted rapidly and responsibly. Hubris, paranoia combined with ignorance and denial of scientific truths are dangerous features of any leader. Oh, speaking of science, ... and there is that left wing Gobal Warming Hoax...
Please God, the ultimate nemesis, save us from the Trump cult.
When asked why our government shut down it's pandemic response office in May of 2018, Trump said that that was " A nasty question", and that he had no knowledge of an action that has already cost lives and billions, and will certainly cost more,
it then became clear to all, except die hard Fox fans, that Trump is lying, incompetent and ignorant, and that he must be replaced.
I'm curious who holds legal liability for the death of a WH staffer who contracts the virus and dies.
Since the president, vice president, and others in the administration refuse to be tested (even to stop shaking hands), should not they be personally liable to civil and maybe even criminal prosecution for manslaughter, if such an instance should arise?
You know which state's numbers are on the rise? Louisiana, which hosted throngs from around the country and the world to Mardi Gras only a few weeks ago. Let's see how complacent the Trump cultists are when hospitals are overwhelmed in the Red States. Let's see how much they support Trump then.
2
Trump attempted to display seriousness yesterday at his press conference. Instead he displayed stunning ignorance and an inability to tell the truth. It is very dismaying.
1
Your Nemesis column has made me Melancholy.
3
Nemesis, the goddess of retribution and revenge, learned what had happened and decided to punish Narcissus for his behaviour. She led him to a pool; there, the man saw his reflection in the water and fell in love with it.
For those in Trump's camp, please explain to the rest of us why he blatantly lied about Google and the 1700 engineers? Don't Americans deserve truth, not lies?
2
As much as I detest the man, I don’t think he was lying. I think it was simple ignorance.
"It should not have had to take a deadly virus to expose this presidency for what it is."
No, Mr. Stephens, it shouldn't have. Remember a few weeks back, when Covid-19 seemed less of a threat and when Bernie Sanders looked likely to win the nomination? You wrote a column back then about how Trump wasn't so bad after all, and how Bernie would be a disaster for America because of SCARY SOUL-KILLING SOSHULISM!!! Proposing universal, government-mandated health care?!? How dare he!
Oh well. Better late than never, I guess. Thank you for today's thoughtful, reason-based column. Now please, in the name of all that is holy, go vote Blue in November.
2
“I take no responsibility for this at all.” Words that will and should “live in infamy “. A clearer statement has never been uttered by this presidential fraud, admitting his total unfitness for office. Now, a heightened, existential civic obligation has been thrust upon every voter to overwhelmingly defeat this societal menace in November, along with his Republican stooges. We have heard the enemy and he is Trump.
2
Mr. Stephens, You write, "...But while it’s one thing to pare federal bloat and curb bureaucratic overreach, what we have now is a White House that can’t distinguish between muscle and fat, essential government and excess."
Very reasonable people will disagree on where the sliding pointer will reside on what are essential [federal or state] government functions. I for one wish you would do a close examination of your positions on this over the last several years in part because it is the smaller government, lower taxes, government is the problem, let's drown it in the bathtub folks -- of whom you are a known and vociferous cheerleader -- that have brought us to this pass where the "we" and the "I" in freedoms and responsibilities have now come to a resounding collision.
"I'm from the Fortune 500 and I'm here to help," is just as scary or more so than Saint Ronald's dubious debate claim about the government.
Many of my fellow commenters here -- and I -- are still waiting for that mea culpa from the mendacious Right of whose pinnacle is the current occupant. You like to blame Trump, but he's only the latest effect from a long line of causes.
I guess the re-evaluation is not coming from you. And you'd vote for Trump over Bernie; that says it all.
3
Yeah, that’s exactly what we need right now. Our president joining the chorus of ninnies panicking over this form of the flu. No, what we need right now is someone who does not panic and feed the hype. Mr. Trump is doing fine. When this whole thing fades without the mass casualties that the hysterical Left is hoping for, will anyone apologize for creating this panic? I doubt it, they’ll just move on to the next media generated hoax.
3
@Thomas Aquinas
This is the problem I have with Conservatives, only deaths matter.
Small businesses like restaurants are sure to fold. Their margins are too small to suffer a sustained loss of business. Hotels, travel, the same. Parents have not planned for their kids to be at home. Simply go to the grocery store and whole shelves are wiped out. This disruption of business will be expensive for the economy, which is one reason the stock market dropped, which can cause problems for the over leveraged investors, which can lead to economic repercussions.
I guess Fox News does not focus on the disruption in lives. Focus on how many actually die.
Mr. Stephens:
If you want to influence Mr. Trump's behavior you must use shorter words.
2
So, in other words; Trump is not a Nemesis of Democracy, but Democracy is a Nemesis of Trump. Ok, I get it, now!
I hope Bret's word get through to the 'base,' but sorry to say, it does not seem so yet. Blaming Obama was so predictable, utterly ridiculous, but an old standby he's already using. And when a reporter from PBS asked Trump in a press conference yesterday about his administration disbanding the pandemic response team on the National Security Council two years ago? Trump claimed he knew nothing about it, 'someone else must have done it' he inferred, then Trump questioned if that had taken place at all, spoiler alert, it did. And as a bonus, he said the question, from a black female reporter, was a nasty question. Another of his old standby reactions.
Trump may have met his nemesis, but his ongoing public hand shaking, and smirking reactions to the reality of corona virus, makes me think he still doesn't get it, and won't till he's got it, but his 'doctor' claims he isn't at risk, despite his close proximity to those who have the virus. Huh, good luck with that, and good luck to all those who shook his hand.
1
I am finished wasting any more of my precious time with a person who never did, does or will exist in my conscious life. I will borrow a myth from my evangelical friends and blame the past three years on the devil. And I will call upon Fr. Joe Biden to perform an exorcism in November.
2
You may think that Angela Merkle showed better leadership by stating that more than 70% of Germans would get infected than Trump who stated that this virus might go away by April, but warned the people to take precautionary measures and took actions and let the experts to handle the situation behind the scene. I like Trump's style in a crisis than Merkle's because the later would panic people and the former sooth the anxiety of the people. What really established during this crisis is that "fake news" is really fake and their reporting to discredit Trump actually led the people to supermarkets in a panic mood and got in to fight for toilet tissues. Now, the people realize that most of their reporting were fake to discredit Trump. Trump proved that he is a real leader in a crisis and knows how to get things done. It is just a dream NY Time's pundits can have that corona is Trump's Chernobyl.
One thing awful about this, and there are many things, is Trump's insistence on shaking hands. It's being a bully. If one refuses to shake his hand, that's a front page story; it makes you a permanent enemy of the president and it might expose you to a fatal disease.
This is the behavior of a moral monster.
2
I listened until I heard “I take no responsibility” because it has been glaringly clear to me that Trump treats the Office of President as an honorific. I hope you, too heard this.
2
Trump is a first rate misanthrope. We should have no illusions of his distaste for the citizens in the US. They are just a means to an end. That is getting re-elected. He is still lying about his lack of responsibility for responding to the corona virus pandemic. He has even blamed Obama for our testing shortfall. He is so irresponsible that he admits nothing and blames his shortcomings on others. On a lesser local scale, Trump would been hooted off his platform by all those around him in mass distaste for his actions. We can do that in November nationally. Do not hesitate to express your lack of respect for this president.
3
Before Trump’s absurd news conference yesterday, I predicted to my wife the inevitable braggadocio, sychophantic groveling, pathological lying, shameless deflection of blame, profound ignorance, baseless prognostications, and pervasive incompetence that he is utterly incapable of rising above. I used to worry that he would, at some point, “pivot” to pretending to act and talk like a real President -thereby fooling enough people into voting for him again.
I quit worrying about that, a long time ago. His performance yesterday was everything I thought it would be, and then some.
2
Wouldn't it be ironic if, despite everything, science is what finally takes Trump down.....
2
No, the base will stick with him to the very end, he is their last and only shot at their grievences being heard.
This is a cogent Jungian reading of the situation.
Trump has people who hate him so much that they rejoice at their own possible death (most likely a few days of flu symptom) as long as he is held responsible for it. If a person dies from the corona virus, the cause will be the corona virus and it's worth noting that humans are not guaranteed perpetual existence. No matter how many Harvards there are, no matter how virtous the president of our wee country is, there will always be the potential for extinction of all of us by forces outside our control. It's nice to think that if you vote for the right man or right woman and you live in the US, you are invulnerable but of course it's nonsense. We all have bacteria that live in our body that if they found a path into a neighboring organ, we would become very sick or die. Our bodies own defenses, if poorly deployed can kill us. I'm sure we could be better prepared and I am certain Trump will stand out among presidents as the least reliable and least capable in history but the real lesson is we are part of a mass delusion called America whose revered founding fathers claimed liberty for all. Of course they were all liars. My guess at why they removed property and replaced it with pursuit of happiness was to give people they saw as inferior and never capable of acquiring property and influence or in their eyes not deserving of it, they wanted them to have some stake in it even if it wasn't worth their taxes and the government wasn't intended to benefit them.
I wish that the people of the United States were as firmly behind their president as the people of China are behind theirs.
Your refusal to accept him is shameful. It is not your president who should kow-tow to your whims. You should support him.
It appears college degrees can be bought at some institutes of higher learning. Be sure to get your medical advice from MD's and not MBA's. Most doctors believe in science and follow the scientific method . Politicians and Businessman will lie for profit and they believe their own lies and old fables.
6
The problem I see is that Donald Trump's supporters don't care about reality. They have all bought into his cult of personality and will blindly follow him. As long as there is someone like Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi, or an individual or matter from a foreign land, that Donald Trump can vilify or make fun of, that's it. The game is over. That's all Donald Trump's supporters want. As long as cold, hard facts mean nothing and the spewing of infantile and vile comments mean everything, nothing changes.
4
The Goddess Nemesis does not need to strike down this clown.
He does it himself, everyday. She is above this. He exposes who he really is. And the latest evidence of his genius is to put pride before the fall: Trump refuses to be tested after shaking hands and being in close-range of those infected by the Coronavirus. He is proving his manhood, like looking at the sun without his eye protection during the total eclipse of the sun. Now he is proving his mighty manhood and invincible power by overcoming the virus with his chosen reality. In the end, In his words: “We’ll See”.
2
Let us all hope that Nemesis comes up victorious in her battle against the Grim Reaper. It would be very satisfying to see her drive her sword into the heart of the Grim Reaper and free us from his rampant destruction.
As I said in an email to my enabling Republican U.S. Senator, lying won’t work for Trump and his Administration (looking at you, Mike Pence) when people start getting sick and showing up at local hospitals like it did by lying and paying off a stripper. As a side-note, I wonder how Fox News will try to pivot to the idea that Covid-19 is a real threat now that their Supreme Leader has declared a national emergency? Which is it Fox? A media-driven effort to “impeach the President” (gotta love that one), or is it a real pandemic that threatens potentially up to 1.7 American lives?
5
Trump's hubris is in plain view this afternoon in the Whitehouse rose garden where he shook every speaker's hand at the podium. We have been warned not to shake hands by the experts. VP Pence elbow-bumped WA State Governor on TV to set a good example. The macho-macho- man Trump, today, made sure that he shook hands with everyone on stage, and of course, on national TV. In the next two years, we will defeat this new virus when we will have the vaccines to induce herd immunity. After the virus is brought under control, it will be of interest to determine if the death rate among Trump believers/supporters would be higher, for they are likely to follow the dear leader by continuing to shake each other's hands.
3
Biden should run ads, starting now, showing Trump on his return from India babbling incoherently about how there is nothing to worry about with this coronavirus and that it should simply go away on its own. That is all Biden should need to rid us of this miserable excuse for a president.
3
Remember when Trump said, “I alone can fix it”? Well time to fix it Trump or stop pretending that you know everything. His incompetence is increasingly clear to even his supporters.
4
Hannity and Fox spreading lies in wartime might well be a punishable offense. It should be now with the Murdocks, a foreign nationals who "bought" his U.S. citizenship jailed. There should be some action against them under the declared national emergency.
And while we are at it, the lowest level cable subscriptions where I live include only Fox, not CNN or MSNBC. The ISPs should be forced to include "truthful" news.
3
The last place I go to get “news” anymore is the New York Times, rather only for a huge dose of overflowing political bile to remind me that compared to them I’m really not the terrible bitter malcontent I once always used to think I was and my wife makes me feel like sometimes. My thanks to all the Opinion department there for my new lease on life. I don’t know why such a feeling is so foreign to her for after all she went to Madison high school with Bernie in Brooklyn.
1
Euro-globalism has made Europe the hottest covid 19 spot outside of China.
Europe’s open borders have done them in.
Once again, you get distracted by personality traits you find distasteful yet fail to see the truth.
Yes, indeed.
World greatest snake oil salesman met the nemesis.
He could have sold anything with his natural talent -lying without feeling shame whatsoever - but COVIT-19.
2
One hopes that Trump will finally “get” Covid-19 and start taking real, appropriate actions before it is too late to avoid a disaster.
He reassured the nation and the next day the stock market tanked.
As long as he was fighting dangers he manufactured he was going great. Now that there's a real one here, ........
I try not to pass judgement given its not my country, but this is just through the looking glass. The administration wants to... cut... CDC funding during a lethal pandemic? What? How?
3
Do not overestimate Trump's "base."
You underestimate the religious zeal with which Trump’s base adores him. I’m surprised his base hasn’t yet accused a certain minority group of poisoning the wells just to make their savior look bad. It’s 1347 all over again.
2
Mr. Stephens, I do not often agree with you.
But when, like today, you and I are on the same side, your prose can be truly thrilling!
Erudition dressed casual, dished out in plain language—Journalism as literature.
“How terrible is wisdom that brings no profit to the wise!”
5
Like Donald Trump's faithful base, I think we should all have a balanced view of the Cronovirus response: Although the Trump administration fired the U.S. pandemic response team in 2018, Donald Trump did tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner to solve the COvid-19 outbreak, and he asked Karlie Kloss's father, who IS a doctor, to ask his Facebook group for coronavirus recommendations.
3
Yes Bret. We know. He’s not a good President. But look at the product the Democrats are selling. How can we buy that?
That picture of a topless Nemesis will be a bit much for Mike Pence. He would have preferred Durer's "Folded Hands" to symbolise his dutiful subservience to the greatest groping confidence trickster that the world has seen.
2
"Leadership: Whatever happens, you're responsible. If it doesn't happen, you're responsible." - Donald Trump Tweet from 11/8/13
But what god do we turn to for someone with an absolute lack of shame?
2
Trump meets his nemesis: Donald J. Trump
Announcing his political suicide message:
"Its not my fault. I have no responsibility at all."
2
I couldn't agree more with the author! The mystery remains. WE have been given abundant examples of his base behavior and motives, but how does one describe or grasp the mental state that produces them? Is there a word or phrase that can encompass it rather than a fine article such as this? Naive and evil amoral narcissistic sociopath? Willfully ignorant mean self-centered man/brat?
1
So far I haven't heard much from the media on the fact that April 1, trump's administration will cut thousands of families, including children, off of SNAP food stamps. Nutrition is the cornerstone of health and being able to fight disease. Everything this president touches turns towards punishing the poor. No healthcare, no housing, no food. Vote him and the McConnell Senate cabal OUT!
3
“They care now. The coronavirus has exposed the falsehood of so many notions Trump’s base holds about the presidency...”
Truly sorry to say so Brett, but a quick dip into Fox News and it’s comments section will disabuse you of this notion. Don’t stay too long, it’s really depressing- toxic really- to read the sentiments this emergency is bringing out in some of our countrymen.
2
I know that we are in deep trouble when my in-laws, both in their 80s, both highly educated, both die-hard Republicans, called to say "Don't worry about coronavirus .,, it is all overblown; we heard it on Fox News."
3
Ideas for our leader.
Drive thru testing included with a burger and shake at no cost at your local fast food place.
Bring back the drive-in theater to practice social distancing and still get your movie fix.
Full body condoms for virus prevention.
Nuclear bombs to kill the virus and scare off hurricanes.
Thoughts for the stable genius.
How about adding Poe’s The Mask of the Red Death and Boccaccio’s The Decameron to this list?
Please, Bret Stephens, I beg of you. Listen to your co-hort Gail and vote for the Democrat in November. I had very strong feelings about Hillary Clinton 4 years ago and it was VERY difficult to vote for her, but I did. You're very intelligent; this is a great column today, but . . . please vote for a democrat.
1
Are you seriously suggesting that trump might have learned from other world leaders?
1
Trump's response to COVID 19 puts me in mind of the scene in Key Largo when Humphrey Bogart, noting the increasing anxiety of Johnny Rocco (Edward G Robinson) in the face of the mounting hurricane suggests that the brutal mob boss take out his gun and "shoot it
2
Trump is about as useful as a cruise ship during this coronavirus pandemic. His uselessness & recklessness during the pandemic/stock market event is dangerous & humiliating for our country. I'm concerned about potential martial law chicanery by Trump to delay & further contaminate our 2020 election.
1
"Those the gods will destroy, they first make proud"
- Military proverb
1
Let us also not forget that Trump is famously germaphobic as well.
Vote Blue. For Nemesis! Maybe her, uh, coat tails (wispy as they appear in that engraving!) will help drag a few choice currently red Senate seats into the blue column. Surely several current occupants of those seats qualify as arrogant, insolent and wicked!
1
I have been say in my comments for the last few years here that we are in the New Dark Age.
Half of the country does not believe in the ideas of the Enlightenment. Data, Logic, Reason.
So we are now in the New Dark Age and we have a new version of The Black Death to deal with.
Too bad the children of the enlightenment will have to die along with the half of the country that rejects it.
Nemesis will not be selective.
1
Presidential negligence and stupidity should be punished, and not just at the voting booth. The way this COVID-19 pandemic has been dealt with by this administration is criminal, and should be dealt with as negligence that results in many deaths (murder) and economic disaster for many. Who will pay for this? Only the sick?
Well said Mr. Stephens.
Where's Steve Bannon these days?
Deconstructing his Lego castle in his administrative stateroom aboard his sterile, off-shore yacht. Safe from the masses.
1
Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. Does this dictum apply just to Trump, or all America? Madness is rampant.
2
A folly is not based on what anyone believes. Let’s wait 6 months and see. If deaths don’t reach the level of the swine flu, Trump’s decisive action to limit entry to America by infected countries will be considered genius, not racist. I’m tired of this, and every front page filled with doom and gloom. It will be Obama’s response to the swine flu that will appear to have been folly. How many front page articles on the swine flu in this newspaper? Less than what appears daily blaming Trump. None that blamed Obama.
I am surprised that anyone would have anything to do with someone exposed to a known carrier of COVID19 as Trump has been. He had his hands all over the microphone. What are these people thinking? Maybe they should have called in "well" (Tom Robbins Even Cowgirls Get the Blues).
1
Observation: A large part of the population that supports Donald Trump was educated in American public schools after, say, 1980. They only have the capacity to see part of the picture. Hence, peroxide blond hair, a prime-time show and lot's of action, be it 'gator wrestling or car racing is about all they can process. The ability to detect utter madness exists outside the limits of their capabilities. That part of the brain just didn't get exercised.
So, that which we call "the base" will support Trump till the last trumpet sounds. Truth? Neo-liberalism is to blame.
But when today's adults can't identify a single country on a map of the world, how can they be expected to navigate the trickier realms of sanity/madness; truth/lies; reality, ooops, what goes with reality? SHOW! Ah.....that's better.
2
There you go again Mr. Stephens. Your party is solely responsible for that base and her beliefs. your party harnessed and groomed them for years to accept a morally bankrupt president. And I'm sure you all are ashamed. It's ok to admit it.
3
I think this democratic hoax has gone far enough....Soon the poor President won't be able to play his weekend golf games. This mass media overblown story has already cost #DoNothingMitch and his fellow GOP senators a week off: It is now down to a 3 day weekend. Do you really expect congress to work more than 110 days this year? Surely a national emergency shouldn't demand more of these already overworked individuals. They need more time to overlook Russian interference in our elections and to place unqualified candidates on the federal bench. Pelosi & Shummer should call this hoax off before #GasmaskGaetz gets serious about the health of his constituents.
Our Prime Minsiter has self-isolted his whole family because his wife teste positiove for C covid-19 after returning from a speaking engagement in London England. He spoke from his home in Ottawa on Friday:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pm-speaks-to-country-from-self-isolation-1.5497101
Despite the inevitable glitches in co-ordinating our health system's response to the pandemic, I feel confident we will come out of this relatively well.
2
I dread October.
1
We are all forced students in the Trump University Govt Edition as Trump reels from bellowing about a hoax to declaring a National Emergency. What is it one or the other ,Trump desperate to win re-election as to do otherwise exposes him ,his family and pack of grifters to dire exposure as the inept pack of money grubbers they are. Trump at his press conference celebrating himself attacked a black woman reporter for asking a "nasty question" nasty is the term he uses for women from Stormy to Hillary. Denying responsibility for any failings which is his standard M.O. by blaming others as he did today attacking Obama as he has attacked the fake news for covering what he calls today a National Emergency. Trump lies constantly about everything as he is a malignant narcissist with a fragile ego that forces him to punch down revealing his vile nature most folks may have found amusing is not now as a crisis is not best overseen by a lying carnival barker who takes no responsibility for anything under his watch.
1
in america everything seems to be all about movies.
@gilmas
"American citizens have a legitimate need for facts " Quite right. But they will never get them from this administration. Trump would not recognize a fact even if it jumped up and bit him on the bum.
Well, you know what people say, “Lean and Mean” — where in rough times, the government doesn’t have the excess reserves to adequately respond to the crisis at hand.
Personally, I’d much rather see my government with a little bit of plump... some “love handles.”
1
A carnival barker selling snake oil...6 weeks too late.
2
Well, Bret, you could have gone full Greek by mentioning the goddess Ate (well known to crossword puzzle solvers, even at the NYT).
Ate was the goddess of delusion, infatuation, blind folly, rash action, and reckless impulse who led men down the path to ruin. So, Ate induced Trump in to his recklessness and other faults, until he became hubristic, and then Nemesis played her part.
3
Reagan won by asking a question to which every American knew the answer: Are you better off today than you were four years ago. Trump will lose because every American knows the answer to this question: Are you willing to bet your life on Trump telling the truth?
1
Let's put it another way. The incompetent narcissist otherwise known as Trump and those in the GOP who continue to prop him up - neither the degree of his intelligence nor of his integrity is sufficient enough to see this president standing tall at the podium - represent the ne plus ultra of a GOP cliched philosophy that we've heard since Reagan, namely, big government is the problem not the solution. Up until this Friday, the 13th, the people and the states - states' rights, anyone? - have seen this credo put into action - inaction? So, as we've been told, do not look to Washington DC, to the Executive branch or to Congress to provide a solution, much less seek leadership that reassures, right? Yesterday Trump stated flatly "I don't take responsibility at all", one of the few times he's told the truth. And his sycophants behind and beside him at that podium stood mute, silent in their complicity. "We're doing a great job." Later, to prove his point, Trump used yesterday's closing numbers of the stock market, reassuring the citizenry who barely make ends meet monthly. So, Twitter-In-Chief, should we apply to the NYSE for test kits? And, by the way - yet another lie - yesterday's the market rise was not the biggest day in history. But its recent 20% slide was. The status of a national health crisis tied to an uptick on Wall Street?
2
I think one of the things we need to keep in mind here is what a good CEO would have done had one of his department heads come to him early in the game and told him a crisis is looming, with associated and expected fallout. Having watched Donald Trump over the course of three years, I am convinced that his first reaction and thought was political, because it would reflect poorly on his image of omnipotence by allowing a health crisis. What does he do? His concern is with portraying "numbers". Enter Mike Pence, a man through which all government messaging and info would go through. Yes, Donald has learned Putin's game. We still have a free press. Let's all make sure we keep it, because the only accountability we'll get is through the press.
4
Excellent column, Mr. Stephens. Thank you.
7
"Alternative facts. In recent days, conservative pundits appear to have been scandalized by the suggestion that the coronavirus is Donald Trump’s Chernobyl. They miss the point, which is not that the virus is a nuclear furnace. It’s that the same absence of trust that pervaded the relationship between the Soviet regime and its people also pervades the relationship between much of America and its president."
They do not "miss the point." The understand the point, but use the analogy as an opportunity to mislead and distract and manufacture outrage among their Trumpian viewers.
However sound such analogies might be, they should just stop. This is the hubris of the media/Dems/left, to over-intellectualize something that is quite visceral and straightforward. The facts here are outrageous enough and speak for themselves, without giving the right-wing echo chamber means to dissemble and deceive.
1
FEAR. Its what it feels like to be a senior and have to live in fear of our lives for the next 2 months.
FEAR. We live in fear while knowing that Trump didn't act sooner because he was worried about his election
FEAR. Come election time, GOP, seniors will not forget or forgive. It will be your time to be afraid.
5
In Europe the best and the brightest enter politics. Alas, In America it is just the opposite.
2
Right. We are constantly reminded that we elect the stupidest people to govern.
1
An excellent column, Bret.
We’re much closer to the Iranian response than the South Korean. Mass graves will certainly change the political climate.
2
Trump campaigned on the platform of "draining the swamp". People elected him because they didn't understand that an effective government needs consistency in policy direction, continuity, trust, experience and expertise. The swamp, the deep state or however they call it, was there to ensure things run smoothly and that there is expertise and experience to draw on during times of crisis. But all this was taken for granted. Regulations were seen as an impediment for big businesses. Institutions meant to ensure stability during times of crisis were seen as a waste of money. Voters elected Trump to show the staid bureaucrats in DC what they think of them. Many saw it as a huge joke. The joke might now be on them, but the rest of the country has to suffer as a consequence. This epidemic could easily lead to an economic crisis, one that Trump is ill prepared to confront. After goading the markets to all time highs with superficial stimuli such as low interest rates, corporate tax cuts that went into stock buybacks and deregulation, it is time to pay the bill and not a moment too soon. What is at stake is not only the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, but also American leadership in the world.
15
Surely some of Trump's response to the virus, including his personal behavior, is his unwillingness to acknowledge that he is old and thus part of a high risk group.
5
I very much doubt that Trump has "discovered" anything. That implies that he's capable of learning, and if he's taught us anything, he's taught us that learning is something he does not do.
14
Of course, there’s also the realty that Trump’s base is rural, his opposition urban. Guess where the major virus risk is? Hubris can cut both ways.
6
The virus may be in the urban areas more right now. It’s early. As it spreads to the rural areas, and it will, it will be more likely to affect older citizens. There will be a large number of Trump supporters in that demographic.
1
I wasn't familiar w/this version of 'Nemesis,' but it fits Trump well. His reaction since the beginning of this pandemic, moving forward for all to see, has been typical of what he does. He denies first, then blames it on someone else, then acts partially rational. Like, a day late and a dollar short. Look at the manipulation of the stock market on Friday. He delayed the start of his speech, then said he didn't agree w/the Dems version of the mini-UBI bill until AFTER the markets were closed. He also waited for implement a solution until they figured out a way to make money from it, hence the companies he had on the podium, spouting their part in his solution. Hurry up, November election!
15
All of what Brett Stephens writes seems so obvious yet we will continue to watch Mitch McConnell and others in the GOP continue to minimize Trump's behavior and prop him up no matter what. This is what's most disconcerting to me, that the entire Republican party seems to be willing to supplicate itself to a man so flawed as to be dangerous.
30
@JVG
For the GOP, features, not flaws.
I am being serious. Watch Fox for a few minutes.
Excellent article. C-19 is providing common ground for progressives and conservatives who believe in the power of knowledge shared honestly.
9
Brilliant analysis and educational. My new favorite word - Nemesis (punisher of Hubris).
16
Wow! An awesome column, right on every point. To read this is confirmation that all of my worries over the last three-plus years have truly been for real reasons and not just because I find the sight and sound of trump stomach-turning.
21
I wish Democrats weren’t so quick to politicize this national tragedy. Unity is needed in this time of crisis, yet we’re still playing the blame game.
3
Surely Trump is the one who has been playing the “blame game””—on every issue, right from the time of that Trump Tower escalator descent in 2015.
3
@Isaac Way
Take an honest look at who is doing the politicizing and then get back to us!
Watch something other than FOX.
4
You realize the columnist a conservative, right?
2
The virus exposes the folly of conservative beliefs that the market will fix everything.
22
@Chris Martin :
This is what people do not understand, that the market WILL fix everything. When society is stressed enough, enough people are seriously sick and die, then there will be a profit to be made. AFTER enough have suffered, the demand will increase enough to justify the cost to START to invest in some profitable solution.
So, the market, in fact, will fix everything. After a lot of destruction. And for people who can afford it. That is how capitalism works.
It is just that liberals do not like to wait that long. And specifically for the Rich. They want Socialism.
I thought Trump was being a little too generous when he gave himself an A+ for his handling of Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria disaster.
He also famously disputed the fatality rate from the hurricane aftermath.
He's already proclaiming the virus death rate is lower than the expert's analysis.
He's shown us that although he's had close contact with virus carriers, it's fine to shake his hand and hang out with him as long as he isn't feeling symptoms.
If he is a carrier, a good part of his inner circle is at risk. But get tested? For a virus whose virulence is still unknown?
It's bad optics, so he won't. Now he is covered by his white house physician saying it's unnecessary. That questions should be posed to Dr. Fauci, who seems to speak truthfully.
Ultimately, if his inner circle all falls ill, the subsequent fiasco will make what has happened so far seem like a cake-walk.
But, I bet in the end of the worst, Trump will still find a spin that lets him award himself an A+. It's in his nature.
13
Evolution and survival of the fittest is real, but many people who don't believe in science disagree.
They may learn otherwise as they continue to gather and shake each other's hands.
7
I can't fully credit @Repatriate or @gilmas for their efforts at satire in re trump and his 'Covid-19 performance' -- notably the equal of most all of his otherwise-referenced 'performances' -- because 'good' satire requires at least 'a peek of reveal' of 'satirical intent' that is absent from both of their comments.
5
In the coronavirus, Trump has run up against an entity that he can't con, he can't bluff, he can't cheat, he can't sue, he can't fire, he can't require to sign an NDA, and he can't ignore. In short, his tool kit is empty.
36
@Earl
The con man behind the curtain is being revealed in all his incompetent glory. He can't even get Bill Barr to lie about this the way he did about the contents of the Mueller report.
We went though 3 years of Trump/Russia collusion until it fizzled,then obstuction. Regardless of what Trump does that cacophony of criticism will continue as we see now. The media has cried "wolf" incessantly about Trump this Trump that since '16 this is no different..another opportunity for political gain for leftist. This and other media sources bear responsibility for much of the panic buying we see everywhere. No matter what Trump did or didn't do would have made a difference, anti Trumpers have a new issue, stirring public panic scores more political advantage is all that matters to some.
5
@Lane
"Regardless of what Trump does..."
Well, since he never tried to follow the Rule of Law, obey the Constitution, or help any other person but himself, I do not know if that is factual. Have him do one of these things, and we can test your hypothesis.
39
Teaching the public some sobering math is asking too much from a man that lives in an imaginary world. DJT has little grasp of real numbers and lacks the ability and presence of mind to decipher them enough to condense and communicate their meaning. The depth and breadth of this crisis requires community response and it is a stretch to think that Mr “I alone can fix it” has any idea how government and healthcare work together to form a coherent response. This is a guy who believes that he has magical powers and that all he must do is say a thing and it suddenly becomes true.
21
The very naked king... .Nemesis
Yes Nemesis is an apt metaphor. But if there is a God who has a vote on Trump’s presidency then Coronavirus is that vote. Trump’s followers might want to consider that as they consider his fitness for re-election. Another fitting metaphor might be President Truman’s notion that the buck stops here. So the response to the virus, the crashing markets and economy land squarely on Trump’s desk. He can dissemble all he wants but clearly the blame lies only with Donald Trump for the terrible state of affairs in our nation.
22
tRump has never suffered any consequences for his crimes in the past. How can you be so confident that things are different now?
11
Well, that’s a great column, Bret, and had it been written by a consistent left-leaning writer it’s what I would have expected.
But it doesn’t increase my respect for you just because you’ve said what any decent person should have been saying for the last three years.
You still refuse to own your own role as a rightwing pundit in making the Trump presidency possible.
And once Trump is gone I’m certain that you’ll return to the fold and continue advocating for the forces of reaction.
12
I was amazed to click to this column and see Durer's depiction of Nemesis, "The Large Fortune," an image that has personal, professional, cosmic significance for me. Your political opinions just leapt forward 500 years in my esteem. One can only imagine what derisive remarks the current occupant of the people's house would have for her cannonball buttocks and slack belly, completely and complacently ignorant of the symbolic significance of this image. Her contemptuous smile, as she hovers above the earth, holding the goblet and the bridle, symbols of favor and castigation, could not be more pointedly aimed at the present time and our own ignorant Ozymandias. Bless you, Bret Stephens.
887
@Keep Calm
You’re response to Brets column gave me chills. And now I understand and appreciate what Nemesis really means.
70
@Keep Calm
Thank you for that excellent comment. I offer:
"They have sewn the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." - Hosea 8.V.7
"Tis pride that pulls the country down."- Othello, II.3.1
92
At first I wasn't too concerned about getting the virus. I was in constant contact with a friend in Devon, England as she was living in a hot spot. Coronavirus was 2 towns away. She had the right to be 'freaked out'. She begged me to stock up on food which I did to reassure her. We are both 75 but in good health for our age. But I knew of just 1 case in NC and no reports in WNC. Silly me I tuned into Trump's speech thinking maybe he would for once be presidential. After his wooden speech without a shred of compassion exhibited, that's when I became scared. Try as he might he can't blame the pandemic on Obama. He takes credit for an 11 year bull market but now that it is sliding into bear territory no way he will admit that his perfect administration played any part. How did this lying. corrupt, narcissistic man ever become president? Now in a global emergency we at stuck with him and his ineptitude. Hopefully not beyond Jan. 2021.
44
@amp : the coronavirus is all over the world. It didn't spare Italy or Iran or China or South Korea -- all very different and certainly not run by Trump.
It is in Canada and Mrs. Trudeau has it. It is in Australia and Tom Hanks has it.
What could Obama or Hillary have done that would have been different? there's no vaccine. There's no cure. Even if you get tested....if there is no hospital and no ventilator....what difference will it make?
All bull markets end -- 11 years is an amazing run. Do you think Obama could have kept it up indefinitely -- forever? Hillary and her Wall Street cronies?
The bull market is not ending because it ran out of steam -- a few weeks ago, it was going like gangbusters. If it ended because of a hurricane or meteor strike, or some other act of God....would that also be "Trump's fault"?
NOTE: stocking up on excessive amount of food, toilet paper, hand sanitizer is not going to save people when the virus hits. Next summer, there will be people trying to sell their massive hoards on craigslist!
There is a lot of speculation in the comments about the effect of this crisis on opinion amongst Trump supporters. I thought I might provide some. Having read almost all of the 149 comments that had been posted when I had finished the article, I note that exactly two showed any support for the President. This lack of diversity is why people say this newspaper is more an organ of the Democrat party than a forum for intelligent debate, even when a column is written by the so-called conservative on staff.
I approve of Trump's naming an all-star group to direct his response to the crisis, and of his deferrals to them in press conferences. I approve with enthusiasm his enlistment of the private sector to contribute to the government effort. I regret the political harnessing of this crisis to petty revenge. In general, I accept Trump's faults as preferable to government by Democrats, who are obsessed with distributing benefits to preferred groups and with rendering great swaths of the population beholden to government for subsistence. Trump's qualities as a leader are debatable, but his results have been positive for many Americans who made no progress under Obama. In sum: better than the alternative.
26
@Repatriate Don's lack of leadership and pure ignorance not to mention his countless and countless lies will cost many an American life. As an officer in our armed forces, we pledged to defend our constitution against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC. We now know who the domestic enemy is. The same "successes" you mention could have been made by any other man serving as president. Worshiping our lord and savior Donald J. Trump has done nothing but set our country back 15 years. As for alternatives, I could name vast numbers of Republicans far better suited to serve as President.
455
@Repatriate I find your comment delusional. You couldn’t help but go on the offensive to suggest that the NYT is biased, because the comments seem to fall on one side. Isn’t it possible that Trump supporters choose not to read the NYT, and this is their failure?
At what point do we dispense with the continuing sacrifice of the masses for the individual? For 40+ years conservatives have pitched this notion that we are bordering on the edge of socialism, when in fact we have drifted so far away from social thinking that we are now facing a dilemma that brings to bear the recognition that we are all in this together. It is not mentioned in this column, but that is one of the remarkable features of this virus. It reduces all of us to equality, and makes the least of us equal to the best of us.
What could be a better way to realize that we need a comprehensive health care plan that meets the needs of all of us?
581
Do you also approve of how he completely abdicated himself of any responsibility for any errors so far? Yes, I know you have plenty of company, because I have friends who could have written this exact comment but all I can do is shake my head in bemusement. History will not be kind to Trump or those who supported him.
430
True believers need to be tested. Suffering is an element of this test. If Trump stays the course and continues to assert his perfection, the suffering that follows is merely a test of loyalty.
Suffering will not deter Trump's followers, it will make their zeal stronger. India's Modi experienced a similar moment though self-inflicted, when he demonitized currency and caused great suffering. His followers took him to an even greater victory.
I fear that those of us who are rational and data driven materialists fail to grasp the existential need of so many to sacrifice and self-immolate. That's what has driven religious extremism through the ages, and we are sliding back into these fearsome times.
10
@Baddy Khan :
Real world examples, the farmers who lost their farms due to the trade war who will vote for Trump.
The autoworkers who lost their jobs due to the trade war will still vote for Trump.
Conservatives totally support Trump, regardless what he does, and that is not going to change. Liberals better accept and plan for this fact if they want to win.
10
@gratis : how many farmers lost farms vs. those who lost them under Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush 1 or Carter? family farms have been endangered for 40 years -- remember "Farm Aid" (the musicl fund raiser)?
Autoworkers? they have been suffering since the late 70s as well -- first from Japanese competition -- then the oil embargoes -- then automation, lay offs, the 2008 economic meltdown.
Trump did not cause all that in only 3 years.
Trump should be remembered for one sentence: "No, I don't take responsibility at all.” It sums up his life, his Presidency, and his politics. It also sums up his enablers on FOX, especially Hannity, who are still at it. Unfortunately for them, most Americans appear to have finally awakened to reality when their sports were cancelled.
36
@RRI
Trump wins because he is like their voters.
A statement like this is only damaging to Trump among liberals. Trump's base has no problems with statements like this, because it is their own response for everything.
9
Yup he was not responsible for his multiple wives and kids, @RRI
Thank you, sincerely, for the lesson in classics and about the goddess, Nemesis. Trump cannot accept responsibility, even during a health crisis, for the many reasons enumerated here. His particular brand of governing resembles his that of his pal, Putin. While it was Gorbachev who was leader during the Chernobyl crisis, the response would be the same if not more so w/Putin and, it appears, Trump. I'm not misaligning the duet or maligning Trump. Putin's believed in his political system and way of doing business for a long time. Trump just fell into his own brand, apparently, all by himself. Perhaps Fred Trump helped. The money. And to some surprise, the great numbers w/i the GOP who serve at his pleasure.
4
Wow. For once, Mr. Stephens and I are in agreement.
Wonders never cease.
6
It’s time to get beyond Trump. It’s time for future President Biden to make his own “I have a dream” speech in which he declares a new “Marshall Plan” for the United States! Now will be the time to rebuild our decrepid infrastructure and institute massive jobs training programs.
As Larry Summers stated at least two years ago, it will never cost the government less to borrow money for these programs than now. Money is cheap. All that is lacking will be the courage, vision, and the leadership skills necessary to right our listing ship of a nation!
13
Unlike Trump, who is renowned for his scrupulous adherence to truth and empirical historical fact. His stunningly impressive leadership summed up in ‘I don’t take responsibility at all’.
4
@Robert Singer
Yes, Robert, our new people's peaceful and complete "Political, economic & social Revolution Against Empire" with President Bernie and "Our Revolution" is the only charted course for our 'ship of state' or 'body politic' to sail --- both away from the shoals of this deadly Empire, past FDR's way-point, and on to the safe harbor of full democracy!
1
@Robert Singer : remind me again what Democrats have done about this coronavirus problem -- including powerful Governors in their own states?
What is Joe Biden's position on corona virus? Sanders? Warren? Buttigieg? Klobuchar? Steyer? Bloomberg?
I hear silence.
What a pathetic excuse for a mature adult and a leader.
30
All hail President Pelosi.
43
I'm not sure that President Trump's supporters are questioning anything now. I know numerous supporters of Mr. Trump who still believe the virus is nothing more than the flu, that everything that's happening is all mass hysteria, and that this is an attempt by the deep state to use a relatively inconsequential virus as an excuse to attack Mr. Trump and assert power.
And here's the rub: it's a lose-lose situation. If we do nothing, hundreds of thousands or millions if people will die. If follow best protocols, it's likely the worst outcomes will be avoided or delayed, thereby vindicating those who believe this is hysteria. Worse still, if the virus turns out to be seasonal, abates now, and comes roaring back in the fall in time for flu season, will our country again take serious measures to stop it? Or will we collectively shrug and say, "Oh, not this again"? And what will happen when the next pandemic inevitably strikes?
I appreciate your sober judgements, Mr. Stephens, but never underestimate human ignorance and the ability of people to believe what they want to believe despite the facts.
1463
@jrinsc Yes, my dad is watching Hannity as I type this and is believing every word he hears. He thinks Trump is a great guy who is doing a great job, and he forwarded me a chart the other day “proving” that the flu is worse than covid-19, attributing the chart to Johns Hopkins (which of course had nothing to do with creating that chart). What happened to my college-educated father, who used to be a teacher and read books for enjoyment? Fox “News” got their claws into him in the late 1990s, and they’ve been grooming him to be open to propaganda ever since. Now he won’t listen to or believe anything that disputes what Hannity, Ingraham, Limbaugh, Trump, etc. say. I’ve tried for years to talk to him about this - now I just steer clear and hope there’s a majority of people in this country who are really paying attention, believe fact over fiction, and will show up to vote in November.
372
@Violet. It really is a form of brainwashing. I watched a piece on far right radicalization of young white men via the internet on the CBS app the other day and the methodology seems remarkably the same - a constant barrage of tightly scripted disinformation and fostering a communal sense of “us vs them” victim mentality. Fox News thrives because most who watch it don’t expose themselves to any other viewpoints or alternate information sources. They just blindly believe. I will never understand it why people buy into it, but I am sure Fox News knows exactly what it’s doing.
161
Yes, my elderly father was the exact same way. Also listened to right-wing radio.
I’m glad he passed 18 months ago. I would not be able to handle it now.
81
"Should coronavirus recede in warmer weather, you can depend on Trump to declare his premature victory--not warn that winter is coming." Excellent point. The Spanish Flu of 1918 receded over the spring and summer only to come roaring back in September and kill 50 million people. We will not be safe until a vaccine can be widely distributed, which probably won't be until June of 2021.
The talking heads on sports radio speculate about "May Madness," now that the NCAA basketball tournament has been suspended/cancelled. This betrays an utter lack of appreciation for the crisis we face. Forget about this season, the 2020/2021 college basketball season will not take place! And forget about the upcoming seasons of the NFL, MLB, MLS, and the NHL. They're all on hold until the vaccine gets here.
Which leaves the 2020 election to worry about. Are Democrats prepared to respond to a suspension of the election on national health and security grounds? Trump has called the coronavirus a "hoax," but you can be sure he will come to think of it as his best friend. God help us.
1073
It’s an absolute certainty Republicans will try to suspend the election. And who can stop them. When the virus receded and the economy comes back, they’ll let it happen.
39
Don’t denigrate the help. The talking heads on talk radio just had their livelihoods pulled out from under them. They know what the near future looks like.
Of course they are upset - there are no live sports to debate, advertisers and clients will cancel advertising, and they will be laid off or worse. And their parents may get sick and die.
They are as innocent as the millions of others who this harm will trickle down to. So let’s look to see how we can help our them and our neighbors. We’ve done that for generations. THAT is indeed what makes America great.
Not a red hat.
Working together for a more perfect union.
37
@WDG Trump will almost certainly attempt this coming November to use the virus outbreak as an excuse to "postpone" the election - an election that Trump seems more and more likely to lose. He has an existential stake in getting re-elected - if he loses the election, he either goes to jail or into exile in Russia.
His Republican enablers will almost certainly go along with him.
The potential consequences of this scenario scare me to my bones. I sincerely hope my prediction is wrong.
111
I find it laughable that anyone takes at face value Trump's assertion that this will all be under control next week, with a fancy new website and drive-up testing. The website timeline is already under dispute by those tasked with building it.
I suspect by this time next week, we will see a slight improvement in testing but no movement whatsoever toward the sort of actions demanded by this pandemic. Today's press conference was nothing more than yet another embarrassing attempt to kick the can down the road.
1365
And keep on doing it is already hurting my toes...
14
@Steven
Not only was today’s presser another attempt to kick the can down the road but, more egregiously, a blatant rejection of any personal responsibility whatsoever. Trump literally said, “No, I don’t take responsibility at all”!
“The buck stops here” the sign on Truman’s desk said and every president since, whether Republican or Democrat, has more-or-less governed by that statement of principle. If so-called Republicans can still support such an outright responsibility-evading chief executive as president, they’ve got serious moral problems that disqualifies them from any claims to leadership of this nation. The GOP is now just a sick personality cult.
80
@Steven
They are trying to figure out how they can blame the Democrats for the virus, for the WH response (or lack thereof), lack of testing kits, and everything else demonstrably wrong. Ideally, the whole fiasco is Obama's fault.
46
Enough Americans have been infllicted by Trumpism because of the Trump's ability to have them conflate his "brilliant" leadership with policies promoting the speculative "infected" stock market numbers. A substantial number of Americans love wealth and have also been inflicted with Trump's "401K-virus." The markets are coincidentally, acting as irrational as Trump is to the coronavirus thanks to the inability on the part of many to see whether his view of the virus is wrong. Yes, there are still many Americans "infected" by Trumpism. Trump is like one of those "doctors" who gives false confidence to a stage 4 cancer patient by telling them "there's a new cure coming out in a few weeks." And there are Americans, even those gaining no benefit at all, who will continue to seek Trumpian false confidence. It will work should the markets regain their pre-coronavirus place and Trump will win re-election. Coronavirus is Ameria's second pandemic. It came after Trumpism.
6
Excellent opinion that also jives with my thoughts that Karma will eventually catch up to Trump and there is an overabundance of that lining his path to the end of his life, and I don't mean the good kind. What goes around eventually comes around.
7
The CoronaVirus debacle should cost #45* the Presidency if Biden never ever lets him off the hook.
4
I dont think this is unique to Trump and more likely a trend in the Republican party. Contrary to your compliment regarding Bush 43 handling of 9/11 it would be important to note that his administration downplayed the Clinton intelligence briefings regarding the potential threat of Al Queda and didnt acknowledge the intelligence briefings regarding Saudi nationals taking flying lessons. While bush was a far more honorable individual he shared Trump's disregard for intellectuals and they both satisfied their ego's by finding sycophants who were even less capable and informed on issues of concern. Remember "Brownie your doing a heck of a job" or the nomination of harriet miers for the supreme court. On a irreverent side note it would be ironic if our germophobic commander in chief is denied reelection because of the virus.
9
First Bret Stephens article I've agreed with. There is hope
6
@Jim McAdams I agree, Jim. Finally, Bret!
1
National security is about more than building a fence at the Mexican border. It's about more than hoarding bullets. Right now, it is about hoarding Purell hand sanitizer, particularly when we can't get our hands on any.
Those who believe that Donald Trump has turned the corner in his approach to the coronavirus are thinking wishfully. Whether there is ultimate substance to his battle plan remains to be seen, but one thing does not: Trump always, always, always leads with his ego, and it's always, always, always about Trump, even when it's really not.
Every Trump speech or pronouncement is liberally peppered with self-congratulatory and hyperbolic boasting about what he has done, whether he has actually done it or not. He boasts about how great America is, tossing around xenophobic red meat about how foreigners are responsible for our problems. Such claims are sprinkled with myriad falsehoods designed to mislead Americans into a false sense of complacency.
While Trump conjures up alternative realities and attempts to distract Americans from the truth about his administration's failings, the facts speak for themselves, and the coronavirus is about facts, regardless of what Trump says.
Trump cannot run and he cannot hide from COVID-19. He cannot bloviate his way out of this with misleading falsehoods. He cannot toss out Purell as he did paper towels following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Con men like Trump are ultimately caught. Just ask Bernie Madoff.
9
Re:They’ve Contained the Coronavirus. Here’s How.
Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong have brought outbreaks under control — and without resorting to China’s draconian measures.
As this article points out, the virus started in Wuhan. Specifically, it was China's filthy live animal markets, and the mixing of wild animals (who carried the corona virus) with farm animals that's caused this whole episode.
What's worse is that this was a well-known phenomenon. SARS, another corona virus, began the same way.
China caused this. China should should pay. Let's not let them get away with this.
3
Interesting that he calls it a “foreign virus.” For some reason, I labeled it the Trump Virus as soon as it was evident that he was bungling our response and lying about it. With only more lies and exaggerations day by day, and failure to act in effective ways, we need to make him own it. Trump Virus says it all, mainly because it’s too hard to remember Trump-McConnell-Jordan-Graham-Toomey-Alexander Pandemic.
7
Trump,s Hubris, ignorance, prejudice, mendacity and catastrophic self-regard and one who thinks he can twist every truth to suit his needs, are the ideal symptoms of one suffering from Procrustes Syndrome.
Greek mythology tells that Procrustes was a man of extraordinary stature and strength, living on the hills of Attica, where he offered his inn to solitary travelers. When the traveler slept, Procuste gagged and tied him to the four corners of an iron bed. If the victim’s body was very large, he would amputate the parts protruding from the bed, whether it was the feet or the head.
On the contrary, if the victim was small, he would break the body with a hammer to lengthen it. It is also stated that no one ever fit in the size of the bed because Procrustes had two beds, one exaggeratedly long and the other too short.
A text book of psychology will refer to this myth to people trying to get rid or belittle everyone they consider to be better than them. Procrustes cut their heads, but these people resort to boycott, humiliation or deception to make sure that the others do not become a threat. In practice, instead of striving to improve and further develop their skills, they decide to limit the skills of others.
2
The impeachment trial showed us who he is. The convictions of a number of his closest aids, allies and friends showed us who he is.
Yes, this virus is severe enough a crisis that some more of his base may finally see who he is. But as long as so many other elected Republicans remaining willfully blinkered, we won't turn the corner on his reckless and extremely selfish governance.
6
He finally declared a "National Emergency" and since he's so flippant about everything, he commented, "2 big words". of course for him they are big words. since his vocabulary is so limited. He has never once since in office accepted responsibility for any of his misdeeds. His incompetence in the handling of this crisis is beyond comprehension. Everything has and always will be about him and his ratings. He can say farewell to his ratings. No concept of leadership. Too little too late!
7
To Trump and the GOP nothing needs to be true. You say what you think sounds good (creating fake news) and you cry “Fake News” about anything you disagree with. And they gleefully embrace the irony of the situation.
It has worked remarkably well for them.
In some cases, however, the truth is stubborn. Smoking really does cause cancer, Mr Limbaugh.
A viral pandemic really can spread by human interaction, and epidemiologists really have studied past events and really do have ways of mitigating the current one.
I have found Trump to be entertaining at times, and have even agreed with him on some general points. But it was always clear to me that he was an incompetent con man.
As you say, many of his supporters are either seeing it just now, or knew it and didn’t care until now.
It’s a long time till November but it’s starting to smell pretty bad for the current administration and the GOP.
3
Come on, the USA have the smartest president ever and the most suited to lead the country in the current crisis. Didn't he introduced social distancing before anyone else? Didn't he distanced the USA from China and the European Union and didn't he stopped the thaw with Iran, the three world regions most affected by the pandemic? Didn't he propose to build a beautiful wall to keep foreign viruses outside the country?
2
While elements of your criticism might be valid, your tone is filled with unnecessary hate and anger. Our nation is facing an unparalleled challenge. We're being urged to alter our everyday behavior to defeat this scourge. Why promote divisiveness at a time of an unprecedented crisis?
1
He has now been relegated to introducing public health professionals who seem to actually know what they're talking about. However, he can cede not being the center of the universe for only so long before he implodes.
8
The most hideous thing about the President's address yesterday is that they are only recommending testing for people who have symptoms. This means that people who are infected but not symptomatic will continue to spread the virus. This, in turn, means that we will not get a handle on where the virus is. We will, thus, be prevented from knowing where it is going. This is both irresponsible and dangerous.
11
"The president has a belated opportunity to demonstrate seriousness he has lacked so far. But nobody should forget that such seriousness would only be a function of political expediency."
He won't and can't demonstrate the seriousness he has lacked so far, because he is incapable of seriousness. He has a basic personality disorder that makes it impossible for him to believe in the reality of anything but his own self-interest.
It isn't even "political" expediency that drives him, since "political" interest is the interest of a group or sector of society. Trump's expediency is always, ultimately, personal rather than political. He has no loyalty to anybody but Trump.
12
To balance my fellow St. Louis citizen’s recent comment: know your science better. To the author of this piece: excellent work.
7
Yes, but the Murdoch machine seem immune to Nemesis.
8
Reagan said "government isn't the solution. Government is the problem." That has been the Republican lodestar since. Now, when we need a government, its absence is the problem.
17
Agreed. I think the smartest thing they did yesterday at the press conference was introducing the corporate executives (although Trump could barely make the introductions even with a crib sheet to read from). That’s when the market numbers started to go up. The market, and Americans in general, may have more confidence now that the private sector is involved.
@Bob Yeah, except if you're a woman who wants an abortion.
Trump will ultimately attempt to claim victory on this. When the coronavirus numbers subside in the summer, he will maintain that his actions were responsible. Furthermore, he will claim his response was superior to Obama's 2009 H1N1 response. He will push hard for fiscal stimulus so that the economy will come out of recession in the third quarter because the GDP numbers will be released right before the election. The facts will not matter and he will be backed by Fox News.
11
@Paul Who says it will subside in summer, its been summer in Australia and other countries in the So Hemisphere, they are not being spared that I am aware of.
3
Brilliant!
2
The headline should read:
Trump Meets Reality, Exposer of Con Men
9
I wonder if there is a Greek god who punishes "clownishness and ignorance?" Oh yeah, the Moirai (the Fates).
10
Would that Trump supporters would read and think about this. Might they actually see him for what he is.
Thank you for such a well written piece.
10
Nailed it!
7
The real threat to this country isn’t Isis or terrorism. The real threat is the base of the Republican Party. Their ignorance and bigotry are ruining America.
21
King of Queens, he is, he is.
3
Obama's H1N1 infected 1 in 6 Americans and over 12,000 died.
Some perspective helps.
2
I remember Obama taking actions and not denying its existence. And I don’t remember any politicization of testing. I certainly don’t remember it wreaking the havoc this outbreak has caused. And I don’t remember Obama getting rid of experts and panels employed to deal with pandemics to get revenge on his predecessor.
18
@Michael
I have been reading right wing stuff for years. Some of it tries to be very serious, some not.
One of the main strategies, no matter how "serious" the article might be (e.g., wonky economics), is to cherry pick the data they present. So, do liberals not do the same thing? To some extent, but much, much less. Read both sides, and the difference is obvious and striking. Today, reading right wing think tank pieces just makes me angry because half a truth is a whole lie.
1
@Michael Whatever Obama did it was not successful with 12,000 deaths (though the so called "experts" that you see in the media will never tell you this).
I look at outcomes.
Trump likely will be much more successful.
Covid-19 isn’t impressed by buffoonery.
9
@Beach dog
Maybe the virus can be bought off by tax cuts for the rich. Liberals certainly won't do that, but, Never know until you try!
2
"[Nemesis} was a goddess — an implacable agent of justice who gives the arrogant, insolent and wicked what they deserve."
Question: Does she have a sister who metes out justice to inept, inveterate liars? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/politics/trumps-coronavirus-false-claims.html
5
" Maybe and the president has a belated opportunity to demonstrate seriousness he has lacked so far"
Nope. He has no ability to demonstrate the seriousness he has lacked so far. Not before, not now, not ever.
He is who he is. A very sick, malignant narcissist/sociopath who will never change.
Stay healthy everyone and kick this evil one out in November.
18
Best I've read on this so far! Here's a virtual hug to you BLS.
2
Leadership is about so many things that Mr. Trump has demonstrated he does not possess during this crisis. Whether it’s vision, trust, clarity, or any one of a number of traits vital to he/she that others look up to, the massive void that America - and the world - has seen has been, even for him, startling, jolting and unnerving. What gives me pause is not just this situation, which others can and will debate far better than I, but with what we have seen over the last few weeks, what would happen if he had to make a rapid decision should North Korea, for instance, make an aggressive and unexpected move that required a response? His now undeniable (laid witness to all that chose to see) unwillingness to accept any reality that doesn’t benefit him first and foremost, puts every single American at risk during this moment and all that will follow. Everyone needs to be thinking about this come November 3, 2020. This country deserves better.
7
Thank you, Mr. Stephens, for so eloquently writing (as usual) what many of us are thinking. You have converted me from atheist to believer . . . in Nemesis.
4
It is additionally sad to witness the necessary pragmatism that keeps Fauci , Birx and Redfield from highlighting the terrible delays and bungles, false boasts, exaggeration and Trump’s utter failure to model tone or behavior to meet the public health imperative they know to be true. Cuts of personnel & budgets are not renounced as Trump requires praise as a great leader doing everything perfectly.
Few truly competent people remain in this administration- and Experts now relied on realize how precarious their task would be if they spoke too much truth to power. Trump fires anyone he perceives as disloyal to him personally. Wise counsel is not a #1 priority.
Will we ever have a time for accurate retrospect?
5
@Jackson Have the Trump proposed CDC, Medicare/Aid, HHS cuts finally been stalled? Was Bolton really solely responsibiblr for cutting the pandemic squad from the NSC? Is loyalty to Trump's image our national priority?
1
Well done. And, it goes deeper than Trump. The corruption and ineptitude run throughout the GOP. But, the GOP has finally gotten its wish: the federal government is useless and now states have to take care of themselves.
9
The announcement earlier this week banning European flights is further evidence that Trump is a xenophobe who doesn't realize that viruses do not recognize political boundaries. The virus is already on our shores and this was just foolishness. At the moment, none of us can know how many people are really infected, since tests are unavailable. We have no choice but to distance ourselves from others, whether we (or they) feel well or not. My questions of the moment are, without an accurate way of knowing how many cases there are, how will we know when we can go back to normal activities? How will we know if we were even infected and are presumably immune?
6
Excellent piece Mr. Stephens, I will share with my govt students at university. It's unfortunate most trump supporters will never read this and maybe realize how they are being bamboozeled by this national embarassment.
4
Calling coronavirus Trump’s Chernobyl is quite hyperbolic. I understand the lack of trust in crisis comparison. But it in is quite a reach to compare a virus that no human including Trump is directly responsible for, to a nuclear accident that was the direct fault of the Soviet Government and directly killed millions of people.
1
The irony is that if DJT is voted out of office and the virus comes back with a vengeance after the inauguration of the next president, the Democrats will soon be blamed for the mess.
Never underestimate the shortsightedness of American voters.
28
If there is one thing that is certain in life is that life will always offer up curve balls. That is as much of a law to our daily interactions as an apple falling out of the tree will hit the ground hard. It doesn’t float up, it doesn’t slow down, it hits hard and it will get bruised. And we as a society and in particular this country will soon find out that we too will be hitting the ground hard because Trump simply doesn’t care about the well being of anything except himself and that is portrayed as a tough guy on television. It’s always about television.
It is beyond belief that our stable genius who has been told he has been exposed to at least two people with the virus was shaking hands and in such close proximity to those men and women in the speech to the pubic yesterday. We really don’t need these people to catch the virus and risking their lives and infecting others and creating a brain drain of scientists and leaders. But there he was rallying the troops and country on his sugar high of a huge stock market gain. What could possibly go wrong now? And if the wrath of nemesis hasn’t been following yet she must certainly be now and making her move. While on a selfish note- I personally don’t want the president to come down with the illness either, not because I care about the man, but rather hope he will live long enough to watch his campaign go down in flames and be prosecuted for a number of broken laws and broken trust of the American people he swore to protect.
7
A known liar is faced with a crisis. A known incompetent is faced with a crisis and he fails miserably. What other response did anyone expect under these set of circumstances? He will never be up to any challenge and we are the mercy of an incompetent lying president. Watching him yesterday was an exercise in misery and a test to my patience. "I am not responsible" took my breath away and ended with me yelling at the television. I put my hope in with the experts who are doing what they can to stand up for us and do the right thing. What else is it going to take to prove that these dangerously incompetent fools need to be voted out in November?
11
I posted earlier about the tax cut meant to stimulate rebuilding American manufacturing and the corruption of the intent. It was a big lie by big liars. Trump lied openly and so did bid big business. Neither had any intent to reinvest the windfall in bringing back jobs. They were going to just that money for buybacks to enrich themselves. Which they promptly did.
3
All the outrage, vitriol, and references to "unprecedented incompetence" expressed in the column and in the comments here today remind me vividly of what I read on these same pages both during the impeachment process and the subsequent "imminent war with Iran" that failed to materialize (as I had predicted) following the killing of the terrorist mastermind Mr. Suleimani.
Both of those episodes are now a distant memory and, truth be told, are unlikely to have much of an impact on voter behavior: those who adore Mr. Trump will not be swayed by his handling of this virus, and those of us who are independents and who are not fans of Mr. Trump are still waiting for a new alternative to emerge (I would have voted in an instant for Andrew Yang or Mayor Pete, but neither stood a chance against the Democratic party machine).
Don't get me wrong: in my opinion there is no question that Mr. Trump is ill suited for the presidency. He is a businessman, cares only about himself, and relies at times for advice on a coterie of imbeciles, including his son-in-law.
But as I look at the political landscape here in the US, I assess that, barring some sort of political "black swan" before November rolls around, this virus scare will be long over with, the economy will have more than fully recovered from its temporary setback, the Democratic party will have imploded, and Mr. Trump's overall economic performance will be what guides voters when they cast their ballots.
2
Two points made in comments below are worth repeating especially because they are intricately intertwined: If we experience an explosion in the spread of this disease it will result in countless deaths. It will also mean a suspension/cancellation of November's presidential election. Guess who wins that "gamble" and guess who has already figured it out?
On the other hand, if this disaster is somehow avoided, Trump will take credit and his troops will return him to the White House.
Contrary to most opinions including Stephen's Nemesis proposition, coronovirus may have just handed Trump a political royal straight flush and the people of the country a deuce and a joker.
1
I am waiting for a few choice individuals and Senators to get sick. That would the most purest form of Coronavirus schadenfreude that I would ever feel.
People who have been doing their best to drive this country into a ditch, need to be stopped by any measure.
I am certainly happy that Nemesis has come to our rescue.
2
I will be empathetic. To be compelled to deal with unbending, unassailable truth is, for Mr. Trump, unnatural, exhausting and terribly depleting.
trump’s idiocy has no bounds. he is a bad leader and a worse human being because he lies, is self absorbed, lacks confidence because he is a pretender who tries to hide behind bravado and pitiful bullying. The sooner trump and his ridiculous administration can go the better for our nation. November ...can’t wait for it.
8
Unfortunately, I think that if Trump’s followers weren’t already convinced of his absolute unsuitability for office before corona virus, they aren’t going to change their minds now. They’ll have no problem believing this whole thing is a hoax, the media over sensationalized it, and it was Obama’s fault (!?!). Reason hasn’t entered the picture before, why expect that it will now?
8
I am embarrassed to write this. President Trump, as every reader of this paper knows, is totally narcissistic and amoral, and the friend of those who adore hearing what that want to hear - forget the truth. I know one person, a college professor, who said (I don't know what she actually did) that she would take very few precautions against the pandemic, indeed she doubted the pandemic. Sure, the precautions are inconvenient, the alternative a bit worse. We all know that, don't we ? Trump's base of global warming and pandemic deniers cannot consist of more than 50 people, can it ? What about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, has the Trump base clung to those fairy tales also ?
2
I agree with much of this however, the fact is that if Trump had closed borders immediately when this virus appeared in Wuhan we would not be in this situation. That's what the Prime Minister of New Zealand is doing, and that's what common sense tells us, you don't need a degree in virology to figure it out. Instead, even now people are being allowed to return from Europe and go through 13 airports without even being questioned, when they should go straight into a mandatory quarantine. Folly!!
2
I would not allow this man masquerading as our president anywhere near my grandchildren. He is the worst role model they could ever experience. I’ve voted almost entirely Democrat but would not say this about any other president in my 60 years of life. How is it possible that he is in this position? How is it possible that so many millions don’t see it?
16
Bravo! I hope Biden makes the same observations in his case against trumpism from now until November.
At yesterday’s press conference the obsequious praise heaped upon trump by the fawning Mike Pence made me ill. The other “experts” (granted several were) also paid tribute to the fearless Builder of Walls, for fear of his wrath if they did not, no doubt.
Thank goodness some members of the press challenged trump and asked tough questions. His deflection and angry response was childlike and so predictable.
We can only hope that the one benefit of this horrible pandemic is that, as you say, it opens peoples eyes to the true nature of this dangerous and incompetent administration and the GOP.
32
Excellent column. It helps to think of Trump as a showman sans the substance which is precisely what he is.
When things are bad, he places blame - Obama is his first target because Trump is a bigot.
When things are in status quo, he claims credit - again, Obama is his first target and comparisons abound to how bad things were in the prior regime.
If things actually do get better for whatever might be the reason - then, he blames everybody else and says how wonderful he is.
Right now, the scare of a pandemic claiming the lives of thousands is worse than bad - so he is hammering Obama.
In the short future, the situation might get worse before it gets better - so he is hammering Obama again.
In the long run, the situation might feel better with some probability toward badness - so he is claiming credit for it, like Enron claiming credit for future revenues, but at the same time is getting ready to place blame on Obama.
As for Fox News and ultra conservative media - ignore them. Their views should be considered as being nothing more than "white noise"
20
My organization's HR director is a Trump supporter. As late as Wednesday he was telling staff that COVID-19 is "just like the flu" and the media is sensationalizing things. Today, we closed our office; thankfully no one's sick (that we know of). These people are dangerous.
10
I want this column to be right. If the virus emergency goes badly, that parasite (the President) is done.
Yet it is not over until November. Keep up the pressure to get this man and his minions GONE in January 2021.
His followers? I look forward to hearing the sound of gnashing teeth.
1
Just remember that people have died/are dying/will die to protect Trumps vanity/ignorance/greed.
A virus can't be shamed.
2
This virus is certain to be a Nemesis. But unfortunately it is more likely to be the nemesis of elderly Americans who voted Republican in 2016, than be a nemesis of Trump himself.
1
I have heard that Mr. Mnuchin thinks this is a fantastic investment opportunity. I believe the administration is looking for their kickback, as they have in each dismantling of an agency. They aren't cutting bloat. They are stripping the government for personal profit and brought in a grifter to help make it appealing to reality show viewers. It's not about our health and welfare. It's about a desperate buffoon who is a bottomless pit of need. What kind of people think leaving a country of this size without a CDC ready for action? The same kind of people who will once again bankrupt us and walk away with the cash even if it means stepping over those who are sickened and dying. They believe it is their right to do so.
2
In this time of panic and crisis, it behooves us to be extra vigilant of the kleptocrats in DC making decisions with the sole criteria being the enrichment of their friends at the expense of the federal government. The most corrupt administration in history, with charlatans like Wilbur Ross, Steve Mnuchin and Betsy DeVos, are scouring the horizon for any opportunity to rape the public treasury, destroy government functionality and funnel billions of taxpayer dollars to cronies, donors and co-conspirators. Watch for Trump executive orders that put aside even the most basic oversight and regulation of funds in exchange for 'expediency' or 'the national interest'. I haven't read the recently passed coronavirus relief bill, but doubt there isn't a plethora of backdoor deals rewarding political allies, enriching corporate cronies, disregarding protocols and relaxing regulations so the powerful can profit from the misery of millions of us. That's all Americans are to Trump and his cabal - a never ending source of suckers and resources to squeeze, exploit, drain and fool as they fatten their Grand Cayman accounts. If ever there were an argument to strip the profit motive from the US healthcare system and go to single-payer, a global pandemic would be it.
2
The most clarifying, op-ed I've read since trump was elected. Fantastic!
13
Don't forget the 52 republican Senators who voted against impeachment, and allowed trump's corrupt incompetence to continue.
Remember the 52.
We don't want a civil war. We want our Country back.
16
Missing in this opinion is a well deserved scathing denouncement of the republican party which gave Trump the platform from which to carry out his twisted visions of how the government of the United States should treat its people and other nations around in the world. There is no "In a sense republicans are responsible for a getting an incompetent liar into the White House."; the fact is that republicans did get an incompetent liar into the White House then then ignored the extra legal processes he uses to have his way with our nation its people and the people of the world. Republicans are accomplices with Trump not neutral onlookers. Republicans want the wealth of the nation with no restrictions and no obligations to share freedom and wealth.
3
Interesting about Nemesis. Add to this story, Trump's outrageous briefing yesterday complete with lies galore. His truth is so far from the real truth. Many thanks to The NY Times for going through it lie by lie. He almost sounded presidential until you remember he's been playing golf and making this whole thing sound like a joke until yesterday when he proceeded to sound like he's taking it seriously by blaming others and lying about the steps his gang is taking. Meanwhile, people are losing their jobs meaning they are not getting paid meaning they are not paying their rent, buying food, etc. That is the real crime. People are sacrificing for the good of the whole but this president sacrifices nothing, gives no credit to those who are, and just continues his obsession with his lame self.
2
I'm publicly calling for Trump's resignation. I know it won't happen but somebody needs to start. This purposely criminal. inept horror show needs to end.
4
@Verb I'm with you.
Our Hate-Rally-In-Chief's contribution to this public health crises? Chaos, confusion, and an unusually forced demonstration of trying to grab the headlines so he could "self-congratulate."
Oh, and making sure friends in the oil and travel industries (hotel) got emergency funds. No reason to given any extra funds to his base for medical care or testing....just prop up the hotel industry.
3
When masses of people refuse to embrace science, and basic codes of decency and ethics, charlatans like Trump and his offspring are allowed to flourish. Pandemics should not be how they are exposed. Death or the mere fear of it, has never been considered an excepted “teachable moment”.
2
I’ve always felt it ignorant to babble in about Trump. It’s never been his responsibility- none of it. It’s me. And you. who are responsible and who have not gotten off our sofas and into the streets. It’s us guys. Complacent. Uncaring if the risk. Devoid of enough personal pain to move to action. So here we are now. A crisis that now touches all and a true incompetence narcissist at the helm. Now we care?? Now? Really?
David Brooks is a solid conservative, which is accepted by most who are familiar with his writings and opinions. Mr. Brooks on 'Shields and Brooks' last night blatantly stated that Trump was a "sociopath." The context was the "corona virus' would not be as much of a danger if we didn't have a "sociopath" as President."
Brooks is an intelligent and learned conservative and that fact is universally accepted.
@tom boyd :
Perhaps. My bet is Brooks votes straight GOP and Trump when he is alone in the booth. GOP means, do as I say, not as I do.
“Maybe, and the president has a belated opportunity to demonstrate seriousness he has lacked so far.”
How can we even begin to think there is any seriousness in him about this? The clown has been exposed more than once and has yet to tested. It’s beyond comprehension.
2
The virus conclusively demonstrates the reason we have traditionally screened out lying, ignorant self-seekers from those seeking the highest office. Yes, the country is strong enough to withstand these miscreants for a short period of time, but eventually war, disease and national catastrophe arise which expose these dangerous men. Just look at Herbert Hoover, Nixon and Bush.
Trump has spent his entire life feeding off the labors of the poor, stiffing them when the opportunity arises and discarding them when they become an inconvenience. It would be poetic justice if one of these same poor, unable to afford to isolate themselves or get medical treatment, infected him with the disease his beloved wall couldn't keep out.
3
Neither #45 nor Biden will ever receive my vote. No one who opposes non-profit universal will ever receive my vote. This was true before COVID, and it is even more true today. Despicable to put Wall Street over people.
@Observer You are where the far left meets the far right.
Anyone with half a brain knows that a universal health care system has more possibility of starting under Dems than Repubs.
I don't believe for one moment that 45 hasn't been tested. In fact, I bet he's being tested on a daily basis because he is one of the most self-cherishing individuals ever born.
30
Well said! I cannot understand why anyone supports this chump/chimp (I couldn’t decide which descriptor worked better). Can it be mostly because they don’t want to admit they are wrong?
Let us hope that, in the future, we become a nation that truly delights in science, fact, and education. Don’t look now, but we’re hoping that the geeks and nerds can do something impossible for overpaid athletes and entertainers; save us.
1
I don't know. If a poll were taken today, I'm sure Trump's approval rating would be down, but I doubt by much...maybe to 42% at its lowest. It'll still be in the same range its been in all along, is my guess. Trump bullied, used, exploited, cheated, and conned people to get what he wants and where he is (including president). He cannot use his "skills" on a virus, and that is what is "plaguing" him now and why he has been so useless. A virus will expose lies better than the WaPo can. Winston Mann, a conservative writer, on a news program yesterday made a very good point: That Trump stirs up irrational fear and suppresses real fear; creates crises, ie; the caravan, because he can control those and be the hero and claim he solved it, but he cannot control real crises, esp. something like a virus, and so he is lost and his incompetence and fraud as a leader and US President and shines like a spotlight all over the world. Yet, a friend of mind told me yesterday she had a "Trumper" couple for dinner the night before, and the wife went ballistic when my friend criticized Trump over the virus. She said Trump had never said it was a hoax. When my friend continued correcting her with facts, the woman apparently lost it and started hollering that she did not want to talk about it, a common ending of conversations with Trump supporters when faced with facts about him they don't like. Worse still, she actually said Trump "Is a good man." Based. On. What? I wish I'd been there!
5
@Virginia My sympathies to your friend. Myself, I'd never have those folks over for dinner. It just leads to heartburn, regardless of the menu!
Prosperity that is not shared
Is stolen.
What is stolen
Must be returned for peace to prevail.
Durer's Nemesis seems to suggest
Try prosperity
If you can't manage it
I'll (Nature) force you to behave.
This is an interesting paragraph...”Drain the swamp. The administration’s other core belief is that America is in the evil grip of the “administrative state.” But while it’s one thing to pare federal bloat and curb bureaucratic overreach, what we have now is a White House that can’t distinguish between muscle and fat, essential government and excess.”
Ever since Reagan made his infamous statement on government, the GOP mantra has been cut, cut, cut. Government is bad and is always more inefficient than the private sector. Until the GOP officially and publicly retracts that viewpoint they are doomed. It’s not only the White House that can’t distinguish between muscle and fat, it’s the GOP in general and the public who have been subject to decades of their brainwashing.
Ton Sutphen
Fort Myers, FL
2
Trump's words on coronavirus:
Mar 2: “Nobody knew" the number of US flu deaths.
Mar 2: A vaccine is coming “relatively soon” (CDC tells Trump earlier that same day a vaccine is “a year, to a year-and-a half” away.
Mar 5: The virus only hit the US “three weeks ago.” Trump informed of a confirmed case on January 21 (6 weeks prior).
Mar 5: World Health Organization (WHO) based data states global mortality rate for coronavirus at 3.4%. Trump says :”I think the 3.4 % is really a false number, this is just my “hunch”!
Mar 6: As the number of cases and deaths in Italy rises, Trump says: “I hear the numbers getting much better in Italy.”
Mar 6: Claims anybody can get tested if they want despite insufficient number of tests available. Pence said day prior, and Americans could not get tested simply because they wanted to get tested. “You may not get a test unless a doctor or public health official prescribes a test."
Mar 6: Muses that “maybe" the coronavirus improved US jobs numbers.
7
Feb 24. Trump: “Stock market starting to look good.”
Question : is there any evidence for the virus dying or disappearing in warmer weather? Have India and South Asian countries been spared?
How disappointing. Here was your chance to rise above the fray and instead you pander to your audience and take cheap shots at the deplorables. Imagine if you treated all citizens with respect when they are in need of leadership and vision.
The world leaders are all disappointing in various ways, are you seriously suggesting that Biden or Bernie would be better? The Democrats have dropped the ball and it is obvious daily that the infighting is destructive. Someone will step forward at the convention and save the day is the current mantra among my friends. Now, that's pathetic. Does it really matter whom I vote for in the Primary if the DNC, the superdelagates and the Clinton Foundation are plotting?
Your op-ed is predictable, dangerously divisive and encourages panic.
1
If a democratic president had fired the pandemic response team and cut the budget of the CDC, we would have Benghazi like hearings every day right up to the election.
5
"They care now.... Above all, it has devastated the conceit that having an epic narcissist in the White House is a riskless proposition at a time of extreme risk."
Or not - an article in today's paper says that 60% of Republicans are not particularly worried about this virus. A recent NPR piece finds that Evangelicals believe that Trump is a very honest POTUS and a man of deep faith.
People have, for various reasons, hitched their wagons to this "leader." Even if grandma dies from this virus, they will cling to Trump. They will blame China, the Democrats, and everyone and anyone on their "enemies" list, but continue to worship their "chosen one." He hasn't got a gun; he isn't standing on 5th Ave, but here is where he kills people (or at least contributes to their deaths) and doesn't lose a single vote.
4
Recall that in “War of the Worlds”, the invaders were destroyed not by the defenders, but by pathogens.
It would be ironic if Trumpism is destroyed by a virus.
7
@AKJersey, hee. If this were fiction, no one would believe it.
1
If you think Trump’s base, or his groveling sycophants throughout our government, will change their opinions, I believe you are mistaken.
3
The fact that as of mid March trump does not take any responsibility for any of his inaction as the president of these United States and still shakes hands on TV with his boys, at least Azar gave him the elbow, is sick!
2
We can only hope that the Democrats take a page from the GOP playbook and boldly skewer them on this. The TAPES are there...Trouble is that Dems are too nice, too dainty, too afraid of acting boldly in the face of GOP clutching to power, being canny and stopping at nothing. Time to get cutthroat and act like Republicans....The GOP plan is to stop at nothing, end justifies the means, party over country.
3
I guarantee, Trump supporters are still saying, "At least it's not Hillary or Obama."
2
Until the virus hits the red states, Trump's poorly educated supporters will continue to blindly follow him.
2
Trump's words on coronavirus:
Mar 11: On national TV, wrongly states insurance companies will pay for patients' coronavirus treatment. Next day Insurance Coalition corrects Trump; they will pay ONLY for tests.
Mar 11: States travel ban to Europe will “apply to the tremendous amount of trade.” White House officials correct Trump: "Travel ban will NOT include trade!”
Mar 11: Travel ban does NOT include Britain and Scotland, where there are more confirmed coronavirus cases than in some European countries. Trump owns golf resorts in Britain and Scotland.
Mar 13: Trump’s words: ”I don't take responsibility at all...."When you say 'me, 'I didn't do it...."
6
Over time, the Reps have gotten their “blank in the wringer” getting caught in corruption, bad decisions and so on. What held them accountable was the press. The Reps are now nearly completely insulated because most of their followers watch Faux “news” enabling Trump and the Reps to construct whatever positive narrative they want and so they receive no blow-back.
Trump’s supporters will claim that Trump’s leadership, acumen and proactive steps saved America from the Coronavirus. They will also be told that whatever negative things happened, it was the Dems fault. They will believe it because they believe that Faux “news” is vetted news with journalistic integrity.
So, I doubt that the articles I read (such as this one) about Trump finally getting his comeuppance via the Coronavirus virus will come to pass. He will skate through like he has ever other crisis, the scores of incidents, any one of which would have brought down any previous administration, barely touching him....
.
1
Yes, the Emperor has no clothes.
1
Thank you. Bret Stephens, for your stirring piece on Donald Trump meeting his nemesis, the Coronavirus Covid-19. The wise old woman, Nemesis, the winged victory of retribution, in Albrecht Durer's engraving of "Nemesis" (1502), is timely today in 2020 as she meets and deals with Donald Trump's monstrous hubris.
Subtle whitewashing underway here. It's Trump now, not the Republicans. Sorry Bret, the whole rotten Republican apparatus is culpable. Of which, you are a part.
4
The takeaway that I had in listening to Trumps gathering was how utterly stupid the man is as reflected in his reading abilities as well as his inability to understand the rather simple math of the spread of the virus and his total lack of any basic understanding of biology. These are not beyond the capabilities of the average high school freshman. I attribute part of his ignorance to his need to have everyone see him as perfection personified because that's a full time job.
The woman behind him whose name escaped me gave a short speech and then spent the rest of her time nodding in assent to every word Trump spoke. Mike Pence put on his usual mask of piety which fits him so well. The CEOs kept it short and some spoke volumes by not shaking his hand. Their rebuke of his behavior was satisfying. Anthony Fauci was a model of constraint that few could match.
2
More than 16,000 lies and misleading statements since he took office. Trump is a fake president.
1
I think his base is willfully ignorant, downright stupid, or just simply evil. With luck, some of them will become sickened by blindly following this carnival barker of a one term president, demonstrating the folly of believing any thing he says.
3
If you follow up the free press, from the FOX News Network to the NYT, it’s easy to notice to colossal amount of pure hatred and animosity directed at our first neighbors.
What is supposed to control and eradicate hate?
The faith; nothing else but the faith.
The current conditions indicate the stunning lack of faith in the human society. Every time our hatred increases above the certain limit, the human society ends up in a tragic war.
We have several millenniums of written human history do prove this conclusion.
Jesus famously said love the sinners, hate the sin.
So instead of hating Trump, Obama, McConnel, Pelosi, Biden, Pence, the Republicans or the Democrats, hate the sin.
What all of them stand for?
The capitalism!
The endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or slashing the fundnig for the CDC at the dawn of coronavirus pandemics have the same root in common.
The wars overseas are allegedly waged to protect our national interests, but we had no interests or the Americans in Iraq. The capital had many. The funds for the CDC were slashed to protect the capital and enable reduction of the taxes. The national infrastructure deteriorated so the capital could be preserved, wasn’t it? The health care was denied to the people so the capital could grow…
When the bloody wars break out, what is destroyed? Both the human lives and the accumulated capital…
Subdue greed to protect the people!
1
But Bret, I fear you would still vote for Trump if a Bernie Sanders is nominated by the democrats. Taking your columns as a whole, I don't see you truly coming to terms with the “I don’t take responsibility at all,” dangerous man in the WH. He HAS to go if we are to survive. I am not a Sanders fan, but I will vote for him because he is BETTER THAN TRUMP. Are you ready to admit that even to yourself?
4
Unless the virus actually sticks in his lungs, this too won't stick to Trump, politically. His gaslighting knows no Nemesis.
1
100%, thank you for this essay.
1
Don't be silly. Donald Trump has not met Nemesis. Unless his wallet is adversely affected, or perhaps Ivanka -- perhaps -- he does not care.
1
Panglossian- another great word for the day. Trump et al. are certainly Pangloss followers. That may explain the extreme pain he exhibited in his Friday speech where he was forced declare a state of emergency-an act that negated his insistence that this pandemic is nothing more than a hyped hoax thought up by Democrats.
1
Trump's minders should keep him away from cameras and any public exposure. He is as dangerous as the virus itself.
2
Fox News, too, should be challenged, and scrutinized for the way they have served as Donald Trump's Pravda. They enabled, reinforced, and amplified his mistruths; stroked his ego; and bombarded his base with propaganda. They have accountability as well. The coronavirus is a Nemesis to purveyors and profiteers of falsehood.
4
China refused the help from the CDC.
China persecuted the whistle blower doctor who died from the virus.
Europe is the new epicenter but Trump was wrong to ban travel from Europe.
Last Saturday's New York Times reported that the mortality rate was .05 to 2%(Trump's hunch) but that didn't make front page news. In fact, no other media outlets picked up that story. One wonders why.
The media will face a reckoning for the way this story has unfolded.
But hey, let's pile on the guy the liberals have been trying to remove from office for more than 3 years.
Not all the problems are Trump made but in a perfect liberal world they all would be.
1
Slash CDC Budget. The latest bumper sticker for this emperor with no clothes.
Alfred E. Trump, the What-Me-Worry president.
Tillerson was right about Trump.
The upper echelons of the Federal Government, elected and appointed, is now a shallow cesspool of incompetence.
The old Washington swamp doesn't seem all that bad these days.
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“These are the times that try men’s soul!”
Most Americans only know the truth when it’s been explained to them by the media, and herein lies the quagmire. What truth are you looking or hoping for?
I watched Trumps entire charade news conference yesterday. I found myself cringing many times but attempted to keep an open mind. The entire news conference should really only have lasted about 10 minutes tops. Instead, we had to listen to endless kudos about Trump and how well he responded to the crisis. Why did all those corporate heads need to say anything? All of them and their corporations are going to make Billions of Dollars in profit from this pandemic.
Sycophant Mike Pence made me actually ill with his praise for Trump.
The woman doctor standing behind and to Trumps left in many ways was worse than Mike. She constantly kept nodding her head of approval for everything that came out of Trump mouth. Yikes.
The next few weeks, or months, is going to be a “timeout” for America, and maybe the entire planet. How should we deal with this? Let’s just treat it like it’s a vacation. Get things done that you’ve wanted to get done for some time now. Most important, make believe that everywhere you go and everything you touch contains a deadly virus and you’ll be fine.
Just a thought here: If Dr. Fauci was giving a press conference in an isolation area and the other administrators involved were all standing their in suits without gowns, gloves, or masks would he do the same? Trump said he was doing what the White House doctors were telling him. So, Dr. Fauci, did you tell Trump it was perfectly fine to shake hands with everyone, to let everyone grab the microphone and to stand close enough to each other you could do a belly bump? OR....was it politically incorrect to go up to that microphone and say " Everyone here needs to separate from each other, stop shaking hands, and stop touching the microphone?" "Doctor's orders". Nope. You didn't. So the next time you are in an isolation area and the patient starts to scream and yell at you to "take that gown and mask off so I can look at you", make sure you do it. Because the patient (president) is always right.
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True, America rallied around GW Bush after 9-11. But let's not forget he lied, too. Bigly. The consequences of Bush's lies, amplified, as now, by Fox News, have been catastrophic.
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The warning signs have been around for decades for anyone to see. Trump was never an efficient and genius businessman. He has always been showman hungry for public adulation. I watched The Apprentice once, and couldn't understand how anyone could take that wierd fantasy for anything remotely like reality.
My bad. I forgot P T Barnum's dictum.
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I find it mind boggling that the supposed health experts gathered for the press conferences do NOT at all follow what they preach. They all touch the microphone, the lectern, each other's hands. And with a President who waas literally in touch with people who tested positive!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO LISTEN TO THEM??? Dr. Blix also shows a very condescending attitude, saying things like "you don't want to hear the details" and here "once again" is the explanation about testing. LOSE the attitude or give someone more qualified and compassionate the job.
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In November, we will test the hypothesis you present. In 2016, many of us were shocked when 63,000,000 Americans voted to elect Mr. Trump President of the United States of America. What will they do in 2020?
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One would think that during a national emergency, one in which a pandemic threatens our nation and the lives of its people, we could lay down our political differences and attempt some semblance of national unity, support and decorum. However, there are those who dwell amongst us who feel that voicing their righteous indignation towards the leadership of our nation supersedes any attempt to promote unity or ease the elevated level of stress most Americans are living under right now. What an ill fated attempt to make themselves feel better.
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Perhaps people are waiting for a convincing lead from the top, with regards to national unity and solidarity. This continues to be sadly lacking from a president whose every utterance sends a message of antagonism and division
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I encourage everyone to read "The Fifth Risk," by Michael Lewis, regarding the critical importance of some of our US federal agencies--agencies that have been cut, and to some extent, virtually ignored by the Trump Administration.
The book didn't focus on the Department of Health and Human Services (under which NIH and the CDC are a part). It focused on the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Commerce and the vital roles these departments (and their sub-departments/agencies) play every day in the national security and safety of this country.
I hope, at the very least, COVID-19 infecting the US is a stark reminder of what happens when the federal government is stripped of talent, resources, and infrastructure to handle such a crisis as has happened in the Trump Administration. We need well-equipped, strong federal agencies to coordinate with our state and local agencies to help all Americans get through this crisis.
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Next: testing results. Testing results over the next three weeks or so will tell us what degree of infection we have in the US, and the rest of the world. Then Trump will have to reckon with facts, and their effect on human lives, but don’t expect too much leadership.
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Excellent article as usual. It's more important than ever that real conservatives like Bret Stephens speak out against Trump. I sincerely hope the pandemic subsides, but in its wake obliterates any remaining support for Trump, who is his own type of virus.
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Thank you Mr. Stephens. Beautifully written.
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America is a nation of ‘C’ students. Since around the time of Reagan, himself no person of scholarly merit, it became fashionable to distrust and even loath politicians who showed overt signs of intelligence. While Trump frequently demanded that Obama reveal his university transcripts to the public, Trump has refused to share his own upon request. We know that he was not an A student at Wharton, as his name was not published among the students who graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s class of 1968. He is someone who thinks, acts, and behaves like much of the public and has their trust. Some Americans are now learning that it’s not a great idea to elect someone just like them to the highest office in the land. Will Biden be much better? I’m not sure, but I’m hoping his experience in politics will bode well.
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Biden is at least a decent man with good temperament and solid experience who listens to and values the expertise of others. He is already much better than Trump.
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@SP :
Biden believes in the Rule of Law and the Constitution.
No Republican of any kind does, ever, by demonstration.
Good enough for me.
I believe in outcome based metrics. The COVID-19 story is only 25% written. So far the US is doing better than most of major countries of Europe and Asia. Assuming that the USA gets its mitigation strategies including testing together in the next week. which I expect it will, than this relevant position really won't change. This is my same expectation that I have with the political fallout over COVID-19. Trump will survive in the same place with his critics like Bret Stephens questioning every comment and his supporters noting how the US is actually doing.
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How can his supporters note how the US is doing? They don't read.
Even while bragging about expanded testing Trump repeatedly did what he could to discourage seeking a test. The last thing he wants is more data.
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I think the other mantra, although not as articulated, is "all greed is good." All you have to do is go to the grocery store or pharmacy and find empty shelves. Now there are stories of folks trying to gouge the public on sanitary items. In times of public health crises, the "me first" mentality reveals a weakness in society. While such behavior is likely in any crisis, we look to the leadership to set a counter-example, which is lacking in the current environment.
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@Mike just as all greed is good is a mantra, so is “everything Bernie is bad” a mantra for Bret Stephens. Somehow he has been Intensely indoctrinated to believe socialism is evil, perhaps because his ancestors faced horrible things in Eastern Europe, much of it not because of communism as much as anti semitism (terrible combination)...
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I listened to part of Trump's news conference announcing the declaration of a national emergency, with all the hoopla about the expansion of testing with some of the country's and the world's best pharmacological companies, not to mention Google, with its 1700 engineers working on a website.
I thought, He's finally doing something.
Then the praise-fest began. Even while doing the right thing, Trump couldn't refrain from asking that these speak one by one about how terrific Trump's ideas were, and how wonderful he was for doing something.
Once again, it was all about him.
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It’s stunning and horrifying. I’ve taken to watching the bobble heads behind Trump, listening to how often “his people” praise him and praying that the professionals whose job it is to tell the truth will keep talking to us.
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And a lot of it was lies. Google is not doing anything and not to the capacity stated and not any time soon
Everyone is talking about "flattening the curve" on the immediate impact of the coronavirus so that the health care system can handle. Unfortunately, the belated response that has finally come and calmed the market is very likely too late. My son, a physician at a major Boston area hospital claims there's a feeling of dread among the entire staff as they struggle to add beds and respirators and masks which were recently stolen for the tsunami of cases expected in the next two weeks.We are well along the catastrophic curve of Italy and without a "national lockdown" rather than a "national emergency" too many people will take away a false sense of security generated by Trump and his media megaphone that only continues to accelerate the intensifying spread of the virus. One can only hope that with all the events being canceled that enough people will stay home during the next two weeks so that the incidence of the Covid-19 is flattened.
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@Paul Wortman TI am not a physician but have more than 20 years experience in health care. Your son is wise to be worried - the next few weeks will be very telling.
"A leader who cannot be believed will not be followed"
Have you seen Trump's rallies or the dog loyalty of House and Senate Republicans. What a quaint notion.
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The author takes a complex set of issues and distills it down to his political bias.
If we are not motivated now to move beyond this type of pettiness and rethink a number of important issues, like globalization, the unregulated movements of people, health insurance coverage for all and automatically in cases of pandemics, etc, I don’t know when we will be.
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