Daily Archives: May 8, 2020

Brad Parscale, campaign manager for President Donald Trumps reelection, hinted at the coming mobilization of their effort by referring to the campaign as the Death Star, and quickly got some ridicule given the way that the original Star Wars ends.

For nearly three years we have been building a juggernaut campaign (Death Star). It is firing on all cylinders. Data, Digital, TV, Political, Surrogates, Coalitions, etc., he wrote on Thursday. In a few days we start pressing FIRE for the first time.

That got the attention of Joe Bidens presidential campaign, which tweeted back, 11/3/2020, along with the GIF of the exploding Death Star.

Parscale responded, I didnt give our campaign the name, Death Star, the media did. However, I am happy to use the analogy. The fact is, we havent used it yet. Laugh all you want, we will take the win!

Hes right in that the reference did draw a lot of attention.

Its also only the latest Star Wars reference in the 2020 presidential campaign. Earlier this week, the campaign unveiled a doctored video showing Trump, as Yoda, battling the empire, which included superimposed images of Biden, CNN and MSNBC. The occasion was May the 4th, now apparently an unofficial observance of all things Star Wars.

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Trump Campaign Warns Of Its Death Star Mobilization And Gets A Star Wars Schooling - Deadline

President Donald Trumpsaid the inicident in which Ahmaud Arbery was killed could have had "something that we didn't see on tape," in reference to the video that showed the chase and physical confront ation that ended in the shooting.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday (May 7), he offered condolences to Arbery's family. "My heart goes out to the parents and to the loved ones of the young gentleman. It's a very sad thing."

Trump said he was expecting a full report on what happened but seemed to imply the tape doesn't tell the whole story. "If you saw, things went off tape and then back on tape. But it was a troubling, I mean to anyone that watched it, certainly it was a disturbing or troubling video. No question about that, he said.

As far as what comes next in the case, Trump said he trusts those handling the case. "They have very good law enforcement in the state of Georgia," he said, "and I am sure they are going to come up with exactly what happened."

Trump said he had not seen video of the incident, which was released on Tuesday (May 5).

Former vice president and current Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden tweeted about Arbery's murder on Tuesday, shortly after video of the killing was released. "The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood. My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder," he wrote.

Arbery was killed on February 23, while he was jogging, unarmed, in broad daylight. Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael were arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations on Thursday (May 7) on charges of murder and aggravated assault, following mounting public pressure and calls for justice.

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Trump Says There Could Be 'Things We Didn't See' In Ahmaud Arbery Video - BET

Late-night hosts discussed Donald Trumps inability to follow safety precautions and his willingness to let Americans die to protect the economy.

On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah spoke about the coronavirus pandemic being hard on everyone but its been especially hard on Donald Trump as hes used to playing golf and travelling around like an ignorant Dora the Explorer.

On a trip to Arizona, the president left Air Force One and proceeded to try to shake the hand of a greeting official but instead opted for an awkward back slap. What is the point in avoiding a handshake if you then wipe your hands all over the other guys suit? Noah asked. At that point youre just using him as a corona napkin.

Trump also refused to wear a mask while visiting a mask factory. The mask would literally the least distracting thing on his head, he said.

During an ABC News interview, Trump claimed that he wasnt preparing for the pandemic because of the hoaxes created by his detractors. He spent three years not preparing for a pandemic because he was distracted by all the scandals he created, he said.

Trump has also blamed Barack Obama for he inherited. It feels like anytime Trump needs an excuse, his go-to is Obama, he said. Hes probably been doing this since he was a kid.

On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert also commented on Trump refusing to wear a mask at the factory and instead choosing goggles. Wearing goggles in a mask factory is like walking into the bedroom with a condom on your nose, he said.

There was also word this week that the coronavirus taskforce might be shut down. Of course this is Donald Trump so that means that things end when he finds a hotter, younger taskforce, he joked.

In the aforementioned ABC News interview, Trump also said that reopening would put some peoples lives in jeopardy. Thats just a risk that Trump is willing for you to take, he said.

Colbert also joked that Keep America Great should be changed to Kill Americans? Groovy before playing footage of Live and Let Die being used as Trumps backing track at the factory. Are they punking us now? he asked.

When asked what message he would give to grieving relatives, Trump said that they should be pleased that there will be a raging economy next year. Colbert said his response was colder than the caves of Pluto.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host showed footage of Trump pretending he was wearing a mask backstage at the factory while sitting in the Oval Office for National Nurses Day surrounded by nurses. Clearly he did not wear a mask and, by the way, hes sitting there with a bunch of nurses not wearing a mask saying this. Is this really a surprise? he said. If theres one thing we know from Stormy Daniels its that wearing protection isnt his No 1 concern.

He also spoke about his ABC News interview: I love when he claims he doesnt want credit while he complains that hes not getting credit.

When asked about the mass loss of life, Trump said that no one has been losing more sleep than him over it. Even in grief, he is No 1, he said.

Kimmel added: The reason you dont sleep at night is because youre watching Fox News and rage-tweeting at Kellyanne Conways husband.

On Full Frontal, Samantha Bee said that another reason to be scared of going back to work is that all of our offices definitely belong to the roaches now.

She dedicated a segment to the various ways in which the government has responded that should teach us about how people should be treated in the future.

Bee spoke about the employment benefits for freelancers and those within the gig economy are now getting, calling it the bare minimum.

It shouldnt take a pandemic for us to start taking care of people, she said.

Various insurers have lowered the exorbitant prices of vital medicine such as insulin, which is usually about $100 yet made for less than $5. Its like how a McDonalds value meal used to cost $400 until the fry guys got caught spending that money on blood diamonds, she joked.

There have also been TelAbortions created, which help women in need call up and get everything they need for a 10-week or under abortion at home, including a Sex and the City boxset that also functions as a heating pad.

Airlines and other big brands have also been giving food away to those in need. It shouldnt just be up to companies seeking good PR to do it., she said. America has enough food to feed everyone.

She added: We can afford to protect each other through social safety nets We have to keep fighting for reimagining a more equitable world.

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Trevor Noah on the pandemic: 'It's been especially hard on Donald Trump' - The Guardian

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters.

At a Fox News Town Hall in front of the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, President Donald Trump revised the US coronavirus death toll, citing a number significantly higher than what hed been predicting just a few weeks ago. I used to say 65,000, and now Im saying 80 or 90, and it goes up and it goes up rapidly, said the president.

Confused about what to make of this? Us too. And with new data and studies about the coronavirus coming out every day, understanding how science and statistics work has never felt more essentialand, lets admit it, overwhelming.

Thats why we brought two people onto the Mother Jones Podcast this week who can help sort through it all, providing tips and tricks for identifying reliable data. Sinduja Rangarajan, a senior data journalist at Mother Jones, has been analyzingdata to show how COVID-19 is infecting Black communities at alarming rates, to highlightwhich communities are the least prepared for the coronavirus, and to forecast when states will run out of hospital beds. Its not always clear what kind of data sources are trustworthy or not, Rangarajan tells host Jamilah King on the Mother Jones Podcast. When Im reporting on on these topics, I tend to be skeptical of everything, no matter where that datas coming from, whether its from a city or a state or from universities or nonprofits or think tanks or private companies.

King also talks to Jackie Flynn Mogensen, an assistant editor at Mother Jones, who has been reporting on the medical science of the pandemic, answering key questions on immunity and antibodies and helping us make sense of all those terrifying death projections. Her recent reporting takes a step back and revealsjust how complicated all this science actually isand how, in the frantic rush to get more and more information about the new virus, it can sometimes be untrustworthy or riddled with conflicts of interest. Science isnt about being right. Its the process of becoming less wrong, Mogensen explains on the podcast. What the experts have told me is that making a mistake now, like in the case of ibuprofen, can cost lives.

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Donald Trump Can't Stop Spewing Bad Science. We're Here to Help. - Mother Jones

Washington, May 8

The sacred Vedic Shanti Path or peace prayer was recited by a Hindu priest in the Rose Garden of the White House on the occasion of National Day of Prayer Service to pray for the health, safety and well-being of everyone affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Pujari Harish Brahmbhatt from the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in New Jersey joined religious leaders from other faiths offering prayers on the occasion of National Day of Prayer Service.

In these troubled times of COVID-19, social distancing and lockdown, it is not unusual for people to feel anxious or not at peace. The shanti prayer or peace prayer is a prayer that does not seek worldly riches, success, fame, nor is it a prayer for any desire for heaven,"

Brahmbhatt said in his brief remarks from the Rose Garden podium.

"It is a beautiful Hindu prayer for peace, shanti. It is a Vedic prayer derived from Yajurveda," he said before reciting the prayer in Sanskrit. Thereafter, he translated it in English.

"The prayer translates into onto the heavens be peace. Onto the sky and earth be peace. Peace be onto the water. Onto the herbs and trees be peace. Onto all the crops be peace. Onto Brahma and onto all be peace. And may we realise that peace. Om peace, peace, peace," Brahmbhatt said.

Trump thanked Brahmbhatt for his prayer recitation.

In his remarks, the president said on the National Day of Prayer Service, America is engaged in a fierce battle against a very terrible disease.

"Throughout our history in times of challenge, our people have always called upon the gift of faith, the blessing our belief, the power of prayer, and the eternal glory of god. I ask all Americans to join their voices and their hearts in a spiritual union as we ask our lord in heaven for strength and solace, for courage and comfort, for hope and healing, for recovery and renewal," he said.

First Lady Melania Trump extended her deepest sympathy to the families of those who have lost their loved ones to COVID-19.

"Let us pray for the ill come out the ones who are suffering, and those serving on the frontlines," she said.

"When evil darkens our world, give us light. When despair numbs our souls, give us hope. When we stumble and fall, lift us up. When doubts assail us, give us faith. When nothing seems sure, give us trust. When ideals fade, give us vision. When we lose our way, be our guide that we may find serenity in your presence and purpose in doing your will," Melania Trump said.

Describing America as a nation of prayer, Vice President Mike Pence said the American people have long believed in the power of prayer.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln urged Americans to pray so that in his words, the united cry of the nation would be heard on high and answered with a blessing and since 1952, every president has issued a proclamation in the honour of the National Day of Prayer, he said.

"And today, President Donald Trump continues that tradition here in the Rose Garden. And as we gather here, I know we all feel that it is especially fitting that we do so this year during this time. In these times of hard ache for tens of thousands of American families and hardship for tens of millions, now more than ever it is important that we take time to pause and pray for America," Pence said.

This is probably the first time that a priest from the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey attended and recited prayers at the White House. The BAPS temple in Robbinsville is one of the largest Swaminarayan temples outside India. PTI

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Covid-19: Trump invites Hindu priest to chant Shanti Path for safety of all at White House - The Tribune India

In the last day, your administration has talked of winding down the coronavirus task force and now you've said it will continue indefinitely. Will you be at the meetings and briefings? Or will you speak separately, and undercut or contradict your experts?

So many of my military colleagues have tried to help, and all understand that you don't take criticism, and even suggestions are poorly received. But the United States needs real leadership now, and others around the world are also looking to us. So, as someone who has spent most of my life leading, studying or teaching leadership, may I respectfully offer some observations that may be helpful? And may I speak frankly? This might be your last chance to get it right.

First point, leaders have to gain trust. It doesn't come automatically with the office. You have to earn it by your performance. The public must see and believe that your public duties come first, before every other interest -- business, friends, or even family. And in the case of this medical emergency, before your re-election, too! When you worry about polls and rallies, you're undercutting the public's trust and faith in your leadership.

Another thing about trust: be careful what you say. Any statements later proven false will hurt your reputation. Don't blurt out observations and possibilities -- we know you were just thinking out loud about the bleach and disinfectants -- but every statement you make is going to be judged. That is the burden of leadership. You can't be flip-flopping on what you say -- and, honestly, you would be the first to point that out in an opponent. You cannot lead if people cannot trust you.

Second, leaders have to have a strategy and a plan to get there. You're absolutely right to recognize that ultimately, we have to be able to reopen the economy. And you gave us a pretty good strategy for reopening the country while we wait for the vaccine -- but you seem to be undercutting your own strategy by encouraging protesters to demonstrate for an earlier opening. Why undercut your own strategy? Unless you're slyly pushing to open the economy earlier in order to have good "numbers" for your reelection. Of course, this goes back to the trust issue.

Mr. President, if you deal successfully with Covid-19, you will likely be reelected. If you prematurely push opening of the economy, and the US lurches into repetitive spikes of Covid-19, you will likely not be re-elected, so, first things first.

Third, leaders accept their responsibilities. You are America's highest elected official: the whole executive branch works for you, and anything they do or say is ultimately your responsibility. No one expects you to be perfect, but as the sign on Harry Truman's desk famously pointed out, "the buck stops here." Admit some mistakes, or acknowledge that your projections or views have changed, and explain why. If you dodge responsibilities now, you won't be able to claim credit when we win this struggle. And by the way, stop blaming your predecessors -- that makes you look small, and you sure don't want that.

Fourth, top level leaders aren't expected to know everything -- but they are expected to bring in the right experts and use their expertise. Your experts are constantly dodging and weaving around your public statements. It's obvious you have them on a razor's edge of intimidation and fear. You have all the power -- you don't need to lead that way. When they give you inaccurate information or disproven projections, replace them, and hold them accountable, but otherwise, put them out front to discuss the technicalities, and don't dispute, correct, or go beyond them in public.

Fifth, leaders show empathy in times of trouble. Already American losses are staggering in personal terms, and many of these losses are among your blue-collar supporters. These people have families, loved ones, friends, and colleagues who expect your empathy, and if they have a sense that these losses are nothing but a "number standing in the way of your reelection," they will hold you personally accountable. Show empathy everyday, visit the families, talk to the doctors and nurses on the front lines, console, console, console -- this is what leadership demands.

Sixth, good leaders pull their teams together. To some extent, you have carved out a new political model for modern America, built on supercharging your base, at the expense of others in the electorate, as well as delivering the "goods" in terms of judgeships, deregulation and tax cuts. It worked well enough to get you elected, and to keep money coming into your election campaign. But in this crisis, as we say in my part of the country, "that dog won't hunt." You now have to lead a country, not win an election, and you know it. The United States, every one of us, is your "team," whether it is in maintaining social distance, pushing forward innovative solutions, or helping to work the logistics of meatpacking or supplying face masks -- and whether they are Democrats or Republicans.

Please, don't seek out more enemies -- it only hurts everyone. While the federal government rightly relies on the states for an assessment and response to local conditions, this is your opportunity to go beyond partisanship and pull the country together. Please stop the silly competition with those Democratic governors -- it totally undercuts you and your Administration. You could be so much more effective if you brought them onto your team and built mutual respect.

Seventh, good leaders lead by example. So, if you want people to wear face masks, wear a face mask. The Honeywell visit Tuesday was good, but you vitiated its success by not publicly wearing a mask. And of course, the press made a big deal of it, because they believe you're one of those "do as I say, not as I do" leaders -- and that goes back to the trust issue again.

Eighth, good leaders have a thick skin, at least in public. They don't allow their fears, resentments, or unscripted anger to show -- it's about control. In private, sure, they get mad, they nurse their wounded pride, and they try to learn from every event and comment, and move on. As we used to say in the military, "don't wear your heart on your sleeve," where it gets bruised and bumped constantly. So please, stop swatting back at every comment that hurts you -- that may work to get a Twitter following, as entertainment, but it is not an effective way to lead.

So, Mr. President, I know this advice sounds harsh, and it's painful, but you are a wily strategist, a fact that your opponents often misunderstand. You are also an able negotiator, as you most recently proved by making the deal for the 10 million barrels per day cut in oil output. And you are very tough and resilient. Those are all good qualities. But you cannot be an effective leader without relentless and painful self-examination. Take it in or reject it, after due consideration.

My aim in writing this is to help you, because today, the United States and indeed, the whole world, needs leadership -- and though some may not like it, you're the man. We ALL need you at your best!

Sincerely,

Wesley Clark

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President Trump, here's how to take charge of this crisis - CNN

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017.

Fred Dufour | AFP | Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic will fuel the already-bad rivalry between the U.S. and China, and could even tilt the balance of global power in Beijing's favor, analysts say.

Tensions have already flared on a few fronts since the pandemic started.Washington and Beijing are sniping at one another about the true extent and origin of the coronavirus outbreak.U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs again. The two countries have even squabbled about the South China Sea issue.

The pandemic will "increase US-China strategic rivalry," says global politicalrisk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.

"The coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly fuelling anincrease in geopolitical tensions between the US and China," Hugo Brennan, principal Asia analyst atVerisk Maplecroft wrote in a Wednesday note, predicting that the virus will remain a key source of friction for the next 12 months.

"In times of crisis, global rivalries tend to intensify rather than abate. The coronavirus crisis has led to a further deterioration in the already chronically bad relations between China and the US," The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) added in a note on Wednesday."The coronavirus epidemic is not the cause of the difficulties in US-China relations, however; it is merely exacerbating trends that have existed for years as both countries compete for economic dominance."

The pandemic is therefore likely to accelerate the rebalancing of global economic power from the West to the East in coming years.

The Economist Intelligence Unit

Both economic giants have been embroiled in a trade war for the past couple of years which has spilled over into disputes on intellectual property rights, and evolved into larger issues such as technology dominance. In January, both countries reached a phase one deal before the virus hit. But the future of that deal is now in question last week, Trump said it was now "secondary" to the pandemic and threatened new tariffs on Beijing in retaliation for its virus response.

Trump is likely to build his presidential campaign around a "Blame China" rallying call, Brennan said, and if he gets re-elected, it would lead to another four years of "fractious relations" with Beijing.

Crucially though, despite the anti-China rhetoric, analysts say that the pandemic would likely speed up the shift in global power from the West to the East.

China has been blamed by not just the U.S., but also the U.K. and Australia for its initial response to the outbreak, which was criticized as slow and non-transparent.

But that won't stop the Asian giant from extending itself globally.China could even use the crisis as an opportunity to raise its profile and expand its influence, particularly over countries hard-hit by the pandemic by providing much needed support, analysts say. Beijing has already embarked on so-called mask diplomacy, sending medical supplies to affected countries.

In particular, China could further cement its presence in parts of Africa, eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, said the EIU.

Kaho Yu, senior Asia analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, pointed to three factors: Beijing's "aggressive global propaganda campaign promoting China's role in suppressing the virus," a looming global recession that will sap the appetite of many leaders to blame their biggest trade partner for how it handled the outbreak; and the pandemic "underscoring the absence of American leadership on the global stage."

Cases in the U.S. have shot up, making itthe worst-hit country, while Chinese government data showed the outbreak has subsided to a few cases a day in the mainland.

Those three factors, the firm said, may result in "China's power and influence increasing," although it stressed it is still too early to tell.

Furthermore, the economic fallout from the global pandemic will have a "long-lasting" impact on the developed U.S. and European economies, the EIU said. That's because the fiscal and monetary measures that those countries have to take to deal with the crisis will result in greater dependence on easy money and debt, causing years of slower growth.

On the other hand, China, simply by virtue of being the first to emerge from the crisis, will also be first to recover economically, said the EIU.

"The pandemic is therefore likely to accelerate the rebalancing of global economic power from the West to the East in coming years," the EIU said. "Unless the developed nations change course and pursue a radically different economic path after the crisis, the gap between a slow-growing West and an economically dynamic East is likely to widen."

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As US-China rivalry heightens, the pandemic could tilt global power in Beijing's favor - CNBC

In March, after months of ignoring the looming threat of the novel coronavirus, Donald Trump decided to recast himself in a new role, declaring he was now a "wartime president,"clearly imagining himself in the mold of FDR or, more likely, as Bill Pullman's presidential character in the 1996 film "Independence Day."

This was a total joke from the beginning, as Trump's behavior wasn't hard to predict. As a sociopath andnarcissist, Trump would enjoya stint play-acting as president while doing nothing. Butwhen it began to dawn onhim that waging war is like, hardwork, he would just drift away, letting the "war" effort fail.

Unsurprisingly, that is what exactly happened. As Heather Digby Partonexplainsin her Wednesday column for Salon, what has "become clear in the last few days is that the Trump administration hasmade a decision" to give up any semblance of trying to flatten the curve, stop the spreador do anything meaningful to defeat the coronavirus.

Instead, Parton writes, Trump and his advisers "have apparently decided to let the virus 'wash over the country'as Trumpwanted to do from the beginning."

The ostensible reason for pressuring states to "reopen" and for maybe-kinda-sorta winding downthe federal coronavirus task force which, despite the presence of incompetent Trump flunkies, still had some value thanks to actual medical experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx is that the coronavirus is behind us and the focus needs to be on restartingthe economy. (At least for now, Trump has apparently backed away from his threat to ditch the task force permanently.)

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Trump made that clear in his press conference Tuesday, tellingreporters,"We can't keep our country closed for the next fiveyears" (which exactly no one was proposing).

When asked about all the people whowill die as part of this "reopening,"Trump implied that Americans will be happy to die for his cause, because they're "warriors."

Trump has clearly talked himself into the beliefthat the economy will come roaring back to life as soon as lockdown restrictionsare lifted, which is utterly ludicrous.Between the certain further spread of the virus itself and the existing damage to the economy, things aren't getting better anytime soon.

The timing of this decision is distinctly odd, because while the curve of new cases is finally going down in blue states that took aggressive measures, like New York and California, the virus is startingto explode across the rest of country which is to say areas that Trump needs to win if he wants to be re-elected (which is clearly the only thing he cares about). This graph from the New York Times gives a sobering glimpse ofhow the confidence and security felt by many denizens of TrumpLandiais about to go up in smoke.

As Greg Sargent laid out inthe Washington Post on Monday, some of the swing states and districts that Trump needs to win in 2020 have seen the sharpest incline of cases. Trump's "reopening" strategy dependsheavily on the assumption that the virus would remainconcentrated in heavily Democratic cities and stateshe was never going to winanyway. So it seems like political suicide to abandon thefight right when the voters he most needs will see their regions hit hard.

It's tempting to imagine that Trump is motivated by some clever political strategy or by any strategy at all in making this move now. Butit's probably just that he's gettingbored withthis whole coronavirus crisis and, now that things are getting really hard, he's ready to abandon it and move on. That's exactly what he did during his entire career in the real estatebusiness and in his marriages abandoning one failed venture after another the second things turned rocky. Now he's doing it to the entire country.

The turning point was almost certainly April 23, the fateful day whenTrump, in one of his endless propaganda dumps disguised as"press briefings,"mused aloud about curing COVID-19 by injecting household disinfectants into the human body, framing this as a brilliant possibility that somehow had never occurred to medical science. Unless you've been in total seclusion as well as lockdown, you probably experienced the explosion of embarrassingcoverage, complete with late night jokes about bleach-drinking and press releases from companies like Lysol advising Americans not to inject their products, because they will kill you.

No matter how desperatelyTrump and his allies tried to spin it, there was no way to pretending that Trump hadn't madewhat may have been the stupidest public utterance of any American president in history or anyone else, really. Which is saying something in a TV landscape full of real housewives, people who agree to marry someone they've never met in personand the first host of "The Apprentice."(Oh, wait.)

Humiliated, Trump announced he was curtailing the daily briefings, whining on Twitter that they weren't "worth the time & effort" even though as he so frequently likes to say he got"record ratings."

Many folks, including me, predicted that this tantrum wouldn't last, because Trump is a terminal narcissist who lives for attention. Indeed, as the New York Times reported on the same day as Lysolgate, the daily briefings which featured Trump talking for hours, spending most of his time in combative exchanges with journalists, whichhe clearly felt he was "winning" were pretty much the only thing Trump was actuallydoing. The rest of his time was largely spent watching TV to hear people talking about him, tweetingand ranting on the phone to whoever would listen about how he wants more flattering coverage.

Sure enough, Trump's media boycott was abandoned as swiftly as it was begun, and he's been giving near-daily press conferences, although he has largely abandoned the pretense and trappings of an official White Housebriefing. It's clear that his humiliation at being exposed as an epicdumbass is still bothering him.He whined, somewhat mysteriously, that female reporterswho asking him questions about his coronavirus response aren't "Donna Reed, I can tell you that."

It's clearthe only value Trump has ever seenin the coronavirus task force was about using it as a pretext to hijack thedaily briefings for a spectacle of self-aggrandizement. In psychological terms, the briefings, formerly a source of gratifying narcissistic supply for Trump, are now associated in his mind with narcissistic injury. Trump doesn't value American lives, only his own ego. Now that the task force no longer serves his ego, he's lost interest.

Trump has apparently decided that he can now simply declare victory over the virus andwill that into reality through sheerstrength of personality. On Sunday, in his typical style that is as ridiculous as it is grandiose, he tweetedout this pseudo-biblical nonsense:

The notion that America "rose,"in the past tense, from the "great and powerful Plague" is silly. With lockdown restrictions ending and cases continuing to rise, it's morelike the plague is just getting started.

But Trump doesn't care. The illusion that he's a wartime leader shepherding a scared nation through this crisis was pretty well shattered when everyone startedmaking fun of him for suggesting that pumping ultraviolet light or household cleaning productsinto the lungs just mightbe a miracle cure. He misses his rallies and longsto get backto what he really enjoys, which is bashing Democrats and racist trolling.

People are dying, hospitals in many parts of the country are about to face what New York City just went through, and unemployment is soaring. But Donald Trump is bored and unhappy. This coronavirus TV show isn't any fun for him anymore, and he wants to move on. So he's abandoning even the pretense that he ever cared about American lives.

Read the rest here:

Donald Trump is bored: He wants to move on from this pandemic just as it hits swing states - Salon