Where is/can Donald Trump take US (sic)?

[basilio]

All comes down to how many get infected.

We may under shoot the 200k mark by a lot.

Maybe...If you believe the Son of God, 100-200k would be a great outcome. This from the same xxxx who a mere six weeks ago was saying it was all a hoax and a beat up and could just disappear in a wisp with some magical thinking.

Unfortunately I don't think the US will be fortunate enough to get away with the lower end of possibilities. Why ?
1) Because of the failure to prepare for this event as the CDC had wanted. With this failure essential resources like masks, ventilators, PPE gear are now in critically short supply and will compromise protection procedures

2) Because of the refusal to take swift testing and isolation procedures earlier, the virus has spread uncontrollably in many communities. Tackling this will require the type of ruthless lockdowns only the Chinese had the stomach to do. Very unlikely to happen in the US.

3) Even at this stage there are very mixed messages across the US on the need to isolate. Business is still pushing to stay open as long as possible regardless of the consequences

4) The overall health of the US particularly the poorest is BAD. Obesity is rampant and that is an element in causing serious complications with the virus.

5) The US health system is a xxxxing nightmare. As a for profit system it will let people die on the streets and infect everyone else. To make matters worse the loss of millions of jobs will stop health insurance for millions and result in them suffering the same fate as the ones who didn't have insurance in the first place.

6) In any case the current health system will be completely unable to cope with the simultaneous demands of every state in crisis. This is Italy, Spain and China x 100

7) Donald Trump is totally incapable of bringing the country together to face this crisis. He still insists on being adored and attacks any hint of criticism. And this crisis is probably just starting. ScoMo looks positively Churchillin in comparison

8) The divisions across the country are just so dangerous. The evangelicals, the Far Righters, the Billionaires who can only see as far as their dollars. At a time when the country needs to somehow pull together ... it looks really tough.

From 74 cases to 188,000 in 30 days with a full head of steam. Maybe now is the time to short the DOW ?

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/11/...ion-cut-cdc-public-health-funding-coronavirus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...-insurance-crisis-is-coming-so-heres-an-idea/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States
https://easo.org/covid-19-and-obesity/

 

[Knobby22]

It's hard to comprehend. I know we are going to see some shocking things in two weeks that we may want to forget.

The Florida Governor is a failure as leader only doing something about it today. Florida is already a hot spot. He will be strung up.

 

[Knobby22]

Not forgetting the UK.

 

[basilio]

...............Career opportunity at the White House.......

The President is searching for a bright poodle with no teeth and a faithful willingness to wag its tail at everything the Prez says or does.
Secure position offered as Inspector General for the Intelligence Community . Please send resume ASAP.
Similar suitable positions with identical requirements are always becoming available in this dynamic go-ahead administration so please advise any family members to stay alert.


Donald Trump fires intelligence watchdog who sparked impeachment process
Michael Atkinson, inspector general for the intelligence community, alerted Congress to whistleblower complaint

Donald Trump has fired the inspector general for the intelligence community who handled the whistleblower complaint that led to his impeachment, prompting fierce criticism from Democrats.

The US president chose a Friday night, with America consumed by the coronavirus pandemic, to tell the House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees of his decision to dismiss Michael Atkinson.

In a letter, Trump claimed it was “vital” that he had confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general, and “that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general”.

The president would nominate an individual who has his full confidence at a later date, he added.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ligence-watchdog-michael-atkinson-impeachment

 

[orr]

To Any Trump boosters of old'e out there? I'd appreciate your input on how Trump, obviously incapable of seeing the forward math. And now exposed as such and it's consequences. His constituency incapable of the same.
If it's less than in the millions of dead?... I'd like to hope.
Trumpers ? How Are feeling in your gut.
Any Questioning? ...Yet?

From Orwell... '' Ignorance is Strength''
You're showing your power.....

 

[basilio]

Another day. Amnother Trump conference complete with lies, misinformation and the arrogance of a man who believes in his capacity to define reality.
o 10:11
Key fact checks of Trump briefing

The daily briefing has ended. Some key fact checks and falsehoods from Trump:

• He falsely suggested the pandemic was not predictable when, in fact, the US intelligence community, public health experts and officials in Trump’s own administration had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic, including specific warnings about a coronavirus outbreak.
• He falsely said the testing in the US is “better” than any other country in the world. In fact, some of the initial coronavirus tests sent out to states were seriously flawed – some did not even work. The CDC had insisted it would manufacture the tests itself, creating further problems.
• He tried to suggest that Obama’s handling of H1N1 was worse than his handling of Covid-19, when in fact Obama declared an emergency within two weeks of a first confirmed US case.
• He falsely said airline passengers were getting tests upon landing, which is not true.
• He attacked the inspector general report about testing shortage as politically motivated from an Obama appointee, when in reality, the official behind the report has had a long career with the non-partisan office.
• He also said the country would open “sooner than people think”, even as health officials are warning of a gradual return from current restrictions.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-week-america-us-election-news-latest-updates

 

[IFocus]

Another day. Amnother Trump conference complete with lies, misinformation and the arrogance of a man who believes in his capacity to define reality.
o 10:11
Key fact checks of Trump briefing

The daily briefing has ended. Some key fact checks and falsehoods from Trump:

• He falsely suggested the pandemic was not predictable when, in fact, the US intelligence community, public health experts and officials in Trump’s own administration had warned for years that the country was at risk from a pandemic, including specific warnings about a coronavirus outbreak.
• He falsely said the testing in the US is “better” than any other country in the world. In fact, some of the initial coronavirus tests sent out to states were seriously flawed – some did not even work. The CDC had insisted it would manufacture the tests itself, creating further problems.
• He tried to suggest that Obama’s handling of H1N1 was worse than his handling of Covid-19, when in fact Obama declared an emergency within two weeks of a first confirmed US case.
• He falsely said airline passengers were getting tests upon landing, which is not true.
• He attacked the inspector general report about testing shortage as politically motivated from an Obama appointee, when in reality, the official behind the report has had a long career with the non-partisan office.
• He also said the country would open “sooner than people think”, even as health officials are warning of a gradual return from current restrictions.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...-week-america-us-election-news-latest-updates

The difference between Australia's and the US's political leadership could not be more stark.

Anyone here knows I am not a fan of Morrison yet by and large (not entirely) Morrison has put politics to one side and run with expert advice and worked to galvanise Australia as a whole to fight the pandemic.

Trump on the other hand is just WTF.

Still expect to see his polling hold up or improve I guess you get the politicians you deserve.

 

[moXJO]

Trump actually mentioned the virus in the speech Pelosi tore up.
Pelosi, Biden and a host of other dems then said the travel bans were "racist" and that everyone in New York should go to China town and eat/mingle.
That aged well.

He was being impeached and that's all the dems were focused on until they realised the virus coming through. They have now biatched and whinged about everything they can possibly think of.

They are even going crazy over the medication he is pushing.

 

[IFocus]

Morrison was getting smashed by bushfires and sports rorts / slush funds but did not blink when Corona came along Trump on the other hand was saying it would just go away.

 

[moXJO]

Morrison was getting smashed by bushfires and sports rorts / slush funds but did not blink when Corona came along Trump on the other hand was saying it would just go away.

Trump provides more "we can get through anything" responses.

Liberal and labor are both working together.
Idiots in the democrats are doing everything in their power to cause as much damage to the President and the nation as possible. It's literally crazy to be doing that during a pandemic.

If all hands are not on the same page, then all you get is chaos.

 

[basilio]

Trump provides more "we can get through anything" responses.

Liberal and labor are both working together.
Idiots in the democrats are doing everything in their power to cause as much damage to the President and the nation as possible. It's literally crazy to be doing that during a pandemic.

If all hands are not on the same page, then all you get is chaos.

If there was a coherant safe pair of hands on the tiller of US Response you might have a point MoXjo.
But that is a mirage isn't it ? A Prez who refuses to recognize expert advice either before, at the start or during the crisis.
Who appoints a drop kick of a nephew to run a shadow COVID ministry ?
Who routinely and repeatedly lies about what is happening ?
Who threatens all international cooperation on the issue by wanting to capture every resource for US use only ?
There is nothing wrong with "we can get through this " encouragement as long as it is included in coherent leadership and management of a crisis.

 

[basilio]

Idiots in the democrats are doing everything in their power to cause as much damage to the President and the nation as possible

And that statement is another absolute piece of lying Trump BS.
The lying, thieving, idiot Trump is quite capable of doing far more damage to himself and the nation than any bunch of Dems..

 

[basilio]

For example..During his current Press Conference the Lying, Idiot in Chief said he never saw the memos circulated in January and February by his Economic Advisor Peter Navarro. Both memos made it clear that the pandemeic that was then sweeping China and had already spread to the US and other parts of the world would cause hundreds of thousands of deaths unless properly addressed.

But no The Prez never saw these memos.. Or if he did he couldn't remember them . Or were written in 12 point type rather than 24 and they were longer than 100 words.

He spent six weeks denying this pandemic and trying to use magical Trump thinking to make it go away. And all the while it was spreading across the US and nothing was being done to prepare or deal with the disaster. There is your leader.

Trump was warned in January of Covid-19's devastating impact, memos reveal

• Economic adviser gave worst-case scenario of 500,000 deaths
• Trump claimed no one could have predicted disease’s severity

Donald Trump was warned at the end of January by one of his top White House advisers that coronavirus had the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans and derail the US economy, unless tough action were taken immediately, new memos have revealed.

The memos were written by Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, and circulated via the National Security Council widely around the White House and federal agencies.

They show that even within the Trump administration alarm bells were ringing by late January, at a time when the president was consistently downplaying the threat of Covid-19.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/donald-trump-coronavirus-memos-warning-peter-navarro

 

[sptrawler]

Now for a real bit of actual Trump news. OMG why oh why can't the people see what you see Bas?

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-...ing-coronavirus-pandemic-20200326-p54e0e.html
From the article:
Washington: US President Donald Trump's approval ratings have hit an all-time high during the coronavirus crisis, with a majority of Americans saying they approve of his handling of the pandemic.

The development - evident across a range of recent polls - has astounded Trump's critics who expected the American public to judge him harshly for his often misleading and erratic response to the outbreak.

The country's two most closely-watched polling aggregators both show Trump recording his best approval ratings since he took office. RealClearPolitics puts him at 46.3 per cent approval and Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight at 44.6 per cent

 

[basilio]

OMG why oh why can't the people see what you see Bas?

Indeed !! And just to reinforce your point Herr Hitler was overwhelmingly supported by the German people . Stalin as well was very popular as was Mussolini. I'm sure we can find similar Votes of Support for Peron, Castro, and a score of other authoritarian leaders.

Sad isn't it ? But if you are ruthless enough, lie bigly enough and sack anyone who disagrees with you you can stop on top of the pile.

 

[basilio]

The memos Trump never saw...

dated 16 hours ago - Health
Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

The state of play: By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to 2 million Americans could die of the virus.

• Navarro's grim estimates are set out in two memos — one dated Jan. 29 and addressed to the National Security Council, the other dated Feb. 23 and addressed to the president. The NSC circulated both memos around the White House and multiple agencies.
  
  • In the first memo, which the New York Times was first to report on, Navarro makes his case for "an immediate travel ban on China."
  • The second lays the groundwork for supplemental requests from Congress, with the warning: "This is NOT a time for penny-pinching or horse trading on the Hill."

https://www.axios.com/exclusive-nav...ary-da3f08fb-dce1-4f69-89b5-ea048f8382a9.html

 

[basilio]

It will be interesting to see the diplomatic response from the rest of the world and inside the US to Trump trashing WHO.

Interestingly enough Senator Lindsay Graham has echoed Donald Trumps threats to withhold funding for the World Health Organization and stated it is now a done deal.

Trump threatens to hold WHO funding, then backtracks, amid search for scapegoat
US president’s early inaction in pandemic has come under renewed scrutiny in recent days as coronavirus death toll grows

Donald Trump hunted for a new scapegoat on Tuesday in an increasingly frantic attempt to shift blame for thousands of American deaths from the coronavirus, accusing the World Health Organization (WHO) of having “called it wrong” and being “China-centric”.

The US president contradicted himself within minutes, first vowing to put “a very powerful hold” on his government’s funding of the WHO, then insisting such a freeze was only under consideration.

Trump’s early inaction has come under renewed scrutiny in the past day after a New York Times report that Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, warned in a memo in late January that the virus could put millions of Americans at risk and cost trillions of dollars. Susan Rice, a former national security adviser, told the Washington Post that Trump’s missteps “cost tens of thousands of American lives”.

The president has repeatedly denied responsibility and sought to blame China, the Obama administration and the media. On Tuesday, with the US death toll exceeding 12,000, he unleashed a tirade at the WHO, even though it raised the alarm in January, after which he made statements downplaying it and comparing it to the common flu.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/07/trump-coronavirus-who-funding-deaths-briefing
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate...s-theres-going-to-be-no-money-for-who-in-next

 

[sptrawler]

The rest of the World probably agree with him Bas, this virus is going to go through sooner or later we are holding back the inevitable but it can't be done forever.
The only hope is a vaccine IMO.

 

[basilio]

The rest of the World probably agree with him Bas,

And you base this on ???

 

[sptrawler]

And you base this on ???

I base it on the fact everyone will be pretty pizzed off and the WHO tend to try and put a positive China spin on a pretty bad situation, that should never have happened.
It isn't as though someone sprinkled fairy dust over the Western World and a virus eventuated.
Human nature to blame someone and the WHO seems to be caught in the middle. Time will tell if it is justified.