Donald John Trump’s well-known penchant for clumsy incoherence is likely to present itself when more of our states report an actual decline in the hospitalization caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has delivered some good news on that front. My concern, as always, is how center on how Donald Trump might seek to take credit where he doesn’t deserve it.
The national response, such as it has developed, has been pitiful and pathetic. Trump claimed to have “total authority” over every decision made at the state level; then he backed off that statement, releasing a blueprint for guidelines to relax certain restrictions that governors could follow if they wish.
He has downplayed the impact of the pandemic, then declared he knew it was a pandemic before anyone else knew it. Trump has accused hospitals of hoarding masks and ventilators. He has scolded governors, calling one of them a “snake.” Trump has accused Democrats of playing politics. He has blasted the media for reporting “fake news.”
Donald Trump has contradicted analyses given by his top medical experts.
Meanwhile, governors have been left to employ their own devices to battle the pandemic. The epicenter of the outbreak in this country, which started in Washington but moved across the nation to New York, has caused untold heartache and misery.
Now we’re beginning to see more than a glimmer of hope that social distancing and other measures enacted by governors are starting to pay dividends, as Andrew Cuomo has suggested.
I just don’t want Donald Trump to get in the way of this message. I do not want to hear this Bloviator/Braggart in Chief take credit he doesn’t deserve. I want him to keep his yapper shut.
I know I am asking for too much. I just have to get it off my chest.