I'd Wager That You Live In A State Where Most People Know Trump Is Doing A Bad Job Confronting The Pandemic

Badge of Honor by Nancy Ohanian

You almost definitely live in a state where most people are dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the pandemic. How can I be so certain? The odds are with me-- overwhelmingly. Majorities of people in only 9 small-population states-- Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska (which has one of the worst outbreaks in the country due to Trumpist policies), North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming-- think the Trumpist regime is doing a good job. The first number represents satisfaction and the second number, dissatisfaction:

• Alabama- 46% to 52% (2,710 cases per million)
• Alaska- 39% to 59% (550 cases per million)
• Arizona- 38% to 61% (2,104 cases per million)
• Arkansas- 51% to 47% (1,809 cases per million)
• California- 25% to 73% (2,232 cases per million)
• Colorado- 35% to 63% (4,027 cases per million)
• Connecticut- 32% to 67% (10,977 cases per million)
• Delaware- 32% to 67% (8,612 cases per million)
• Florida- 42% to 56% (2,266 cases per million) [fake statistics]
• Georgia- 43% to 54% (3,830 cases per million)
• Hawaii- 28% to 70% (457 cases per million)
• Idaho- 46% to 52% (1,418 cases per million)
• Illinois- 35% to 54% (8,103 cases per million)
• Indiana- 45% to 53% (4,477 cases per million)
• Iowa- 40% to 58% (5,125 cases per million)
• Kansas- 47% to 49% (2,977 cases per million)
• Kentucky- 52% to 46% (1,855 cases per million)
• Louisiana- 44% to 54% (7,852 cases per million)
• Maine- 40% to 58% (1,396 cases per million)
• Maryland- 27% to 70% (7,200 cases per million)
• Massachusetts- 26% to 73% (13,070 cases per million)
• Michigan- 39% to 59% (5,358 cases per million)
• Minnesota- 39% to 63% (3,227 cases per million)
• Mississippi- 49% to 48% (4,107 cases per million)
• Missouri- 45% to 53% (1,899 cases per million)
• Montana- 46% to 52% (448 cases per million)
• Nebraska- 51% to 46% (5,906 cases per million)
• Nevada- 36% to 62% (2,355 cases per million)
• New Hampshire- 37% to 62% (2,894 cases per million)
• New Jersey- 33% to 65% (17,275 cases per million)
• New Mexico- 39% to 60% (3,087 cases per million)
• New York- 31% to 67% (18,832 cases per million)
• North Carolina- 41% to 58% (2,923 cases per million)
• North Dakota- 53% to 45% (2,925 cases per million)
• Ohio- 43% to 55% (2,585 cases per million)
• Oklahoma- 52% to 46% (1,435 cases per million)
• Oregon- 32% to 65% (905 cases per million)
• Pennsylvania- 37% to 62% (5,419 cases per million)
• Rhode Island- 27% to 72% (12,811 cases per million)
• South Carolina- 44% to 54% (1,822 cases per million)
• South Dakota- 46% to 51% (4,804 cases per million)
• Tennessee- 50% to 48% (2,776 cases per million)
• Texas- 43% to 56% (1,845 cases per million)
• Utah- 43% to 55% (2,456 cases per million)
• Vermont- 28% to 70% (1,522 cases per million)
• Virginia- 36% to 62% (3,999 cases per million)
• Washington- 29% to 69% (2,630 cases per million)
• West Virginia- 60% to 38% (894 cases per million)
• Wisconsin- 38% to 59% (2,385 cases per million)
• Wyoming- 52% to 46% (1,384 cases per million)

Associated Press reporters Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller explored how Trump can pose as an incumbent president while running as an outsider-- and against his own administrations stated policies! They wrote that the genocide-by-dysfunction-cum-psychosis Señor Trumpanzee "is running against himself. With his cries to 'Reopen our country!' and his rebukes of the federal bureaucracy and health regulations amid the coronavirus pandemic, Trump has tried to tap into the same populist, anti-Washington anger he rode to victory in 2016. The difference: He is now, by definition, the face of government. Positioning himself as the outsider despite being the incumbent, Trump has feuded with governors, pushed back against government restrictions and, this week, said he was taking an unproven anti-malarial drug against the coronavirus despite warnings from his own health experts. Aiming to energize his base less than six months before he stands for reelection, the president has drawn a cultural link between the disaffected who voted for him four years ago and those who want to quickly restart the nation’s economy. Amplified by conservative media commentators, Trump has leaned into the pandemic’s partisan divide and urged states to reopen regardless of whether they meet the benchmarks set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Two polls that came out yesterday both show the majority of Americans oppose Trump's refusal to take the pandemic seriously and oppose his rush to reopen before it is safe. AP's poll finds that 83% of Americans said they are "very" (54%) or "somewhat" (29%) concerned that lifting restrictions will lead to a rise in infections.

Most Americans continue to view local restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus outbreak as appropriate, and a majority are  concerned that lifting restrictions will result in additional infections. A number of requirements like quarantining people who have been exposed to the virus, face masks, widespread testing, and physical distancing are seen as essential conditions for safely reopening their area.

Overall, 54% say the restrictions put in place in their area are about right to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, down from 61% last month. Eighteen percent think they go too far and 27% say they don’t go far enough. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to regard the restrictions as excessive, but a majority in both parties still feel they are appropriate.

  Many are concerned that removing these restrictions would lead to increased infection rates. Overall, 54% are extremely or very concerned that lifting restrictions in their area will result in more people being infected, while 29% are somewhat concerned, and 16% are not very or not at all concerned. Democrats are particularly worried about the effect of canceling restrictions, while Republicans express lower levels of concern.

  The public sees a number of actions and policies as essential before limits on social and economic activities can be safely lifted. Processes for the mandatory quarantine of exposed individuals tops the list of essential actions needed for the public to feel comfortable.

The other poll, Marist's for NPR found that 77% of Americans are concerned that a second wave of coronavirus cases will emerge. Marist director Lee Miringoff noted that "There's a great sense that normalcy is not around the corner" and pointed out "a real disconnect between public opinion and public policy."





These findings were released just as the James Glanz and Campbell Robertson analysis of data showing how at least 36,000 lives were needlessly lost while incompetent, self-absorbed, non-leader politicians-- from Señor Trumpanzee to Andrew Cuomo-- fretted about what to do and, instead, did nothing-- as precious days ticked by. "If the United States had begun imposing social distancing measures one week earlier than it did in March," they reported, "about 36,000 fewer people would have died in the coronavirus outbreak, according to new estimates from Columbia University disease modelers. And if the country had begun locking down cities and limiting social contact on March 1, two weeks earlier than most people started staying home, the vast majority of the nation’s deaths-- about 83 percent-- would have been avoided, the researchers estimated. Under that scenario, about 54,000 fewer people would have died by early May. The enormous cost of waiting to take action reflects the unforgiving dynamics of the outbreak that swept through American cities in early March. Even small differences in timing would have prevented the worst exponential growth, which by April had subsumed New York City, New Orleans and other major cities, the researchers found."

“It’s a big, big difference. That small moment in time, catching it in that growth phase, is incredibly critical in reducing the number of deaths,” said Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia and the leader of the research team.

...The results show that as states reopen, outbreaks can easily get out of control unless officials closely monitor infections and immediately clamp down on new flare-ups. And they show that each day that officials waited to impose restrictions in early March came at a great cost.

After Italy and South Korea had started aggressively responding to the virus, President Trump resisted canceling campaign rallies or telling people to stay home or avoid crowds. The risk of the virus to most Americans was very low, he said.

“Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on,” Mr. Trump tweeted on March 9, suggesting that the flu was worse than the coronavirus. “At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

In fact, tens of thousands of people had already been infected by that point, researchers later estimated. But a lack of widespread testing allowed those infections to go undetected, hiding the urgency of an outbreak that most Americans still identified as a foreign threat.