I started working this post out in my head when I got up yesterday to the news that President Donald Trump had contracted COVID-19. Then I put it aside while going for a few tests myself and came home to he was having mild symptoms. Then I posted on Twitter that they would probably take him to Walter Reed over the weekend out of a sense of caution…and an hour later they did. I am not here to gloat over the president’s illness. I hope that he survives his ordeal as well as those around him who have also taken ill. And I am going to try to put down on this blog, my original thoughts from yesterday.
President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19. He is the most powerful man in the world. He gets to essentially work from home each and every day. His food is prepared by in house staff and served in his residence or office. No need to go out and order carry out or try to socially distance in a cafe or restaurant. He has hundreds of staff to help and protect him and keep him safe. He supposedly gets tested everyday. When he does travel he flies from his home to the airport in his own helicopter with his own staff and pilots. When he gets to the airport he doesn’t need to check in or get a boarding pass or stand in line with the hoi polloi at TSA or sit and wait at the gate waiting for boarding. He has his own plane with its own staff and pilots and he has his own rooms on the plane. When he reaches his destination he has his own limousine waiting with his own staff and drivers and they take him everywhere he needs to go. He has the best doctors and medical staff and healthcare at his beck and call. He could be safely ensconced in this cocoon and protected from the pandemic. But he got it anyway…
Up till now, the president has been cavalier in his attitude and pronouncements about COVID-19. And as a result many GOP electeds have been as well…and his followers have taken that as a signal that they too haven’t a care. So as Wisconsin sets records for positive cases and deaths from the disease…we still see electeds minimize the risks involved. Are there no adults in the room who want to exhibit some leadership and help Americans understand that this is serious? We want our leaders to lead by example…and they’ve provided an extremely poor example…and Americans have followed that example…and are sick and dying as a result.
P.S. this is an add on: when President Trump left the White House to head for Walter Reed, he and those around him were finally wearing masks. Will they continue to do that? Will they now require it? Will they now recommend it?
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