Photo Credit: Bbc.com
Less than two weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump, along with his wife Melania, tested positive for COVID-19, the disease that he has downplayed for several months. He has continued in his failed response to the virus as millions of people have become infected around the country, and hundreds of thousands have lost their lives.
Even with this news, however, Trump has still sees COVID-19 as a joke. Shortly after becoming infected, he has done everything in his power to appear in person against the advice of his doctors, even going so far as to schedule a rally just days after his diagnosis. While it normally takes a person 10-14 days to be free from the virus, he disregarded protocols and continued with his campaigning. Additionally, Trump has gone on record, refusing to take in part in a virtual presidential debate and saying that he would only do it if it were in person.
As if all of this wasn’t enough, the most damning thing to happen is that shortly after returning to the White House, Trump showed up in front of reporters wearing a mask, only to remove it shortly after. Now, this is definitely not a good PR move for the President himself to make, as medical experts all around the world have made it clear that it is dire that citizens wear masks in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
However, it is not at all surprising. I mean, come on, this is Donald Trump we’re talking about! This is a guy who has, for months, gone on national television and downplayed the entire pandemic, even as over 200,000 people have died because of the virus. The situation could have easily been handled better after the first case in the United States was reported.
In fact, reports have recently stated that, even as Trump claimed to have banned travel in and out of China towards the start of the crisis, thousands of people were still allowed to come in from the country, which probably contributed greatly to the situation we are currently facing. Trump and his administration have continued to look sillier and sillier with every decision they make, and everything they say regarding the pandemic.
Additionally, Trump, against the advice of medical professionals, has been reluctant towards the idea of wearing masks, so much so that he has outright refused to wear them. Even at public events such as the rallies he holds, where, by the way, hundreds of people are allowed to show up without any social distancing in place, he dismisses the need to wear masks. Is it anger-inducing and nonsensical that Trump wore a mask after contracting COVID-19, only to take it off immediately afterwards when in front of a crowd of people? Sure. But, is it a surprise, given how lightly he has taken the pandemic, and how much he has refused to do to control it ever since it started? Absolutely not.
