A sick man with access to the finest, state of the art therapies and exceptional medical doctors, returns to his residence. With all the resources of the federal government available, he is as safe and secure as if he were still tucked into a bed next to the presidential suite at Walter Reed, which is a ten-minute helicopter ride away.
Heedless of anyone else’s welfare, he has revealed (time and time and time and time and time again) — in the face of more than 210,000 American deaths and 7 million infections — his character for all to see.
(Another tell on the man’s character: Neither the White House, nor Trump’s physicians have answered questions about the President’s most recent negative test. While Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is tested everyday, that’s difficult to take at face value. The test is hardly comfortable. I suspect that the would-be strongman has been unwilling to submit to daily testing.)
Sean Hannity, a master of misdirection and duplicity, proclaims a great man — on par with Churchill and FDR.
HANNITY: Remember 1933 during the height of The Great Depression, my father was growing up in those years, on the brink of a World War. Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaiming we have nothing to fear but fear itself. A reminder.
[CLIP BEGINS]
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT: Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror. Which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
[CLIP ENDS]
HANNITY: And on the other side of the Atlantic — 1940 — the great Winston Churchill echoed this fearless call to action. A powerful address. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival. Remember this?
[CLIP BEGINS]
WINSTON CHURCHILL: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. You ask, what is our aim? I can only say one word — Victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terror. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival.
[CLIP ENDS]
HANNITY: And during the bombing of Britain, where was he everyday? Going out, risking his life, being among the people of Great Britain. In times of great hardship you must fight for survival. And that is exactly what the President has done during this country’s battle against COVID-19.
Not everyone will agree with that assessment. I suppose we might regard the campaign video Trump made immediately upon his return to the White House as a Rorschach test:
I just left Walter Reed Medical Center, and it’s really something very special– the doctors, the nurses, the first responders. And I learned so much about Coronavirus. And one thing that’s for certain, don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines, all developed recently. And you’re going to beat it.
I went, I didn’t feel so good. And two days ago– I could have left two days ago. Two days ago, I felt great, like better than I have in a long time. I said just recently, better than 20 years ago. Don’t let it dominate. Don’t let it take over your lives. Don’t let that happen.
We have the greatest country in the world. We’re going back. We’re going back to work. We’re going to be out front. As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there’s danger to it, but I had to do it. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that’s a leader would not do what I did. And I know there’s a risk. There’s a danger, but that’s OK. And now I’m better. And maybe I’m immune, I don’t know.
But don’t let it dominate your lives. Get out there. Be careful. We have the best medicines in the world. And there all happened very shortly, and they’re all getting approved. And the vaccines are coming momentarily. Thank you very much. And Walter Reed, what a group of people. Thank you very much.
A KFF poll last month revealed the remarkable faith of the Republican base — in spite of all evidence to the contrary — in Donald Trump’s commitment to preserving the ACA’s guarantee of coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Will the Republican base — mistrustful of the mainstream media, medicine and science, and the liberal elite — accept Trump’s coronavirus worldview? Perhaps so. But that base, by November 3, may be considerably smaller than it was in November 2016.
Time will tell.