Even If Trump Doesn't Die Of COVID, His Presidency Will

Trump is old and senile and doesn't understand the world around him. Yesterday, he said "If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any." If that's not enough to trigger the 25th Amendment, why did we even both to pass it? Maybe he should read John Pavlovitz's new post, You Know You Can’t Wish Away A Pandemic, Right?. "This is a dire global disaster that we are in the devastating middle of," he wrote, "not blissfully emerging from-- despite what people who benefit financially or politically from the latter might want you to believe. Many states in this country (most stewarded by governors beholden to this president and needing the narrative he is perpetuating to be true), have thrown caution and science and sense to the infected wind, and made a decision to fight this ruthless, merciless, murderous health crisis-- by simply ignoring it. Even as the new cases and hospitalizations spike sharply, they are doubling down on turning their heads."

Warmer weather, willful ignorance, contempt for Science, mistrust of media,  sycophantic idolatry, and a coming election are the creating a perfect storm of reckless disregard for humanity-- and it seems to be a decidedly American affliction.

Surveying the planet right now, other nations aren’t acting like this. We aren’t seeing armed protests against further restrictions, and violent refusals to wear masks at the grocery store, and coffeeshop rants against beleaguered employees enforcing distancing rules—and we aren’t seeing national leaders choosing to combat a catastrophic public health emergency with the strategy of an annoyed five-year old: to tightly close their eyes, plug their ears, and shout “Nah, nah, nah, nah, I-am-not- listening-to-you!” This is seemingly the sole intellectual property of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. I suppose that’s what happens when fierce individualism eclipses interdependent community.

Hey, America-- you know you can’t just wish away a pandemic, right?

Khristian Right by Nancy Ohanian-- Trump's true believers

Some states are seeing rates of new cases fall dramatically while others are seeing rates going up just as dramatically. Here are half a dozen states with huge improvement:

• New York +669
• New Jersey +363
• Massachusetts +87
• Illinois +473
• Michigan +31
• Connecticut +147

And. on the other end of the continuum, here are half a dozen states spiking big:

• California +2,719
• Texas +2,138
• Florida +1,758
• Arizona +1,014
• North Carolina +850
• Georgia +733

Monday morning Barron's tried fathoming something few people have been able to wrap their heads around: what's up with China and the pandemic? Although yesterday, China reported 40 new cases, on most days they report 3 or 4. Is it possible-- even with the kind of authoritarian approach to shutdowns they take? Barron's Tanner Brown wrote that "Beijing’s coronavirus resurgence is giving a glimpse into how the country that first dealt with the epidemic is handling it a second time-- both in its public health response and in enforcing a lockdown without grinding the economy to a halt. China largely brought the nationwide spread of the virus under control more than three months ago, though there have been spurts of imported and domestic cases across the country since-- all of which were caught early and did not appear to spread. But the outbreak last week tied to one of Beijing’s largest wholesale food markets has caught observers’ attention for a number of reasons. Foremost is that it occurred in what has been an extremely cautious capital throughout the crisis, one that did not experience many cases early on but that nevertheless was locked down tighter than anywhere outside of Hubei province, where the virus emerged. The flare-up of about 80 cases has also proven to be larger than initially thought. Beijing reported 36 new cases on Saturday and Sunday, the city’s highest daily tally since the National Health Commission began releasing numbers months ago."

Beijing’s response has been swift. Tens of thousands have been tested in the past 48 hours, offices and apartment complexes in affected neighborhoods have reinstated entrance and exit screenings, and sports and tourism-related events in the city have been cancelled. But officials were quick to stress that the lockdown would be smarter and more targeted than before, displaying a savvier approach built upon China’s initial experience with the epidemic.

“The outbreak can be better controlled because of the speed and intensity of the response,” Zhang Wenhong said in the Chinese media interview. He contrasted the longer length of time the virus was able to spread when it quietly first emerged versus the current spate, which he said was caught within a week of its initial infection. Therefore, he said, this current “targeted” lockdown represents a refined approach that will be effective but have minimal impact on social and economic life outside areas as narrowly focused as neighborhoods and even residences.

Yet, some steps remained unclear or poorly coordinated. Several provinces and cities outside of Beijing issued notices saying they would be re-implementing mandatory 14-day quarantines for anyone arriving from the capital. But many of those online postings-- some on official municipal social media accounts-- have been removed without explanation.

Similarly, confusion emerged after Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters on Saturday that viral gene sequencing of the current Beijing strain does not resemble the type that had circulated in the country previously. The comment, along with the absence of recent deaths, caused some observers to ask if the alleged mutated strain was less fatal.

But Zhang Wenhong countered that, saying the new cases had been caught early and were not in older or vulnerable patients.

“It can’t be said that the virulence of the virus has weakened.”

A new poll by YouGov for Yahoo News shows that significant majorities now understand that Señor Trumpanzee is a racist (52-34%), and rate him as "below average" or a "failure" (54%). Trump's failed response to the pandemic is certainly signaling the death knell for his presidency. State polls released this morning showed Trump losing Florida by 11 points and losing Michigan by 16 points. Presumably, he's still strong in Wyoming. Another poll this morning shows that Americans are more unhappy today than they've been in nearly 50 years. Just 14% of respondents said they're very happy, down from 31% who said the same in 2018. "The public is less optimistic today about the standard of living improving for the next generation than it has been in the past 25 years. Only 42% of Americans believe that when their children reach their age, their standard of living will be better. A solid 57% said that in 2018. Since the question was asked in 1994, the previous low was 45% in 1994."