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LETTER: Who will drink the Kool-Aid again?

3 min read
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Who will drink the Kool-Aid again?

During the election of 2016 the Observer-Reporter{/em} published my letter under the headline, “Trump is clueless.” Trump had said then, referring to Iraq, “take the oil.” The letter noted that pillage and plunder is illegal and also described the difficulty and loss in treasure and life that taking the oil would require. Anyone during the 2016 election who had the cognitive versus the emotional side of their brain engaged could have seen what a disaster this presidency would be – and it has been that and worse. For those who “drank the Kool-Aid” then, we can only hope that since the early part of this year they have been watching the results of Trump’s mismanagement of COVID-19 in a more rational way.

The few scientists remaining in the executive branch often go unheeded by Trump. He regularly and publicly rebukes and disagrees with their advice. Trump has made many egregiously inane statements regarding the virus. To include them all here would be a waste of paper and ink. But one he made on Feb. 27 is an example that clearly portrays his lack of knowledge about the disease and how to manage it. “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” This quote, like “take the oil,” reveals Trump’s lack of understanding about what the job of a president is. Trump lacks the intellectual depth and knowledge of the world required to be an effective leader. However, he does understand how the control of information is important in trying to hide his incompetence.

The Trump administration recently cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention out of the reporting loop for COVID-19 data. Data regarding the virus will now be reported directly to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Through Alex Azar, the Trump appointee who is the HHS secretary, Trump will be able to control information regarding the virus. Two historical Josephs, Goebbels and Stalin, would smile at this move to make the facts exactly what the autocrat says they are. Kellyanne Conway’s idea of alternative facts will now become reality.

As of today the United States has over 3.97 million confirmed cases of the virus and over 144,000 deaths resulting from the disease. Respectively that is 26 and 24% of the total cases and deaths in the world.

Rhetorically I must ask those who voted for and still support Trump: In view of his mismanagement of COVID-19 since its arrival in the U.S., his lies and now his created ability to manipulate facts to his liking, will you still vote for him in November? If your answer is yes, then you are still swilling the Kool-Aid by the gallon.

LeRoy W Bloom

Lawrence{&end}

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