This copyrighted column - in part or in its entirety - may be freely shared among individuals, and it may be reprinted, republished, or quoted in any medium, including broadcast, cable, satellite, print, Internet, and other forms of media, but only when crediting Gary B. Duglin and The Controversy.
The date was February 5th, 2020 when Republicans in the U.S. Senate had the opportunity to remove Donald Trump from office. After the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump on December 18th, 2019, the door was open for the Senate to convict Trump and send him packing from The White House. Now - about two-and-a-half months after the Senate acquitted Trump, and with America and the world battling the deadly COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic - Senate Republicans should be punching themselves in the face and kicking each other in the guts for keeping a man in The Oval Office who, for nearly five years since he announced he was a GOP presidential candidate, I have written is mentally and morally unfit to serve as President of the United States. Donald Trump's mental illness - and his incompetence - have caused the deaths of thousands of Americans who by all rights should not be dead.
It has been apparent since day one of his 2016 campaign - and throughout his presidency - that Donald Trump thinks he has the right to control our nation. Once he took the oath of office on January 20th, 2017, Trump began to move forward with his belief that he has the power and the authority to rule our country as he pleases; as he so desires. As a result - in addition to all the people who have died over the last month
or so from the coronavirus - the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday, April 16th that about 22-million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits during that same period. That means all the jobs that were created since the Great Recession of 2007 and 2008 - most of which were thanks to President Barack Obama, with some being credited to Donald Trump - have now been erased. The recession was on President George W. Bush's watch.
Donald Trump may, in fact, be President, but he is not a king. He is not a monarch. He is not a dictator. Yet on June 15th, 2018 - with a serious tone - Trump told Fox News (as a lot of you might remember) that he wants Americans to treat him as North Koreans do Kim Jong-un. "He's the head of a country, and I mean, he's the strong head. Don't let anyone think different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same." Republicans wanted to spin it that Trump was joking. It is not at all funny for the President of the United States to jest that he wants to be dictator. But that was his attitude nearly 2 years ago. And from observing Trump's rabid rant throughout his term - especially over the last five-and-a-half weeks since declaring a national emergency on March 13th because of the pandemic - wearing a crown on his head remains Trump's mindset. "I'm going to put it very simply. The President of the United States has the authority to do what the President has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The President of the United States calls the shots. When somebody's the President of the United States, the authority is total, and that's the way it's gotta be. It's total. It's total. I have the ultimate authority."
But when did Trump and his administration have the slightest inkling of a coronavirus pandemic? According to a report by ABC News, senior White House and Pentagon officials were briefed numerous times, as early as late November 2019, that COVID-19 had been identified in Wuhan, China. Through "data intercepts and satellite imagery," the National Center for Medical Intelligence believed a coronavirus was a potential threat to American military personnel in East Asia. It had been determined that such an outbreak could be "cataclysmic." That was a month before the World Health Organization found out about the initial case in China. Therefore, why did Trump and his administration not act in an appropriate manner nearly five months ago? It wasn't until January 30th, 2020 when the first diagnosis of coronavirus was discovered in the United States. It was also that day when Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar telephoned his boss and straight-out urged Trump that there should be concern of a possible pandemic. It was reportedly Azar's second SOS to Trump in two weeks. The New York Times says Trump's attitude was that "Azar was being an alarmist."
Let's not forget that at a news conference on March 9th, Trump wrongly compared coronavirus to the seasonal flu. And his crackpot conservative comrade, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, on February 24th, tried to convince his audience that "the coronavirus is the common cold." The Limbaugh lunacy wanted his "dittohead" listeners to believe that he was "dead right on this," and that to call COVID-19 anything more than a cold is merely "another element to bring down Donald Trump."
Thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - more Americans are probably going to die of the coronavirus before a vaccine or cure is discovered. On Wednesday, April 8th, Donald Trump disgracefully bragged that if the American death toll from COVID-19 is under 100,000 then his administration will have done "a good job." It nauseates me to even type those words. So no, Donald, you would have done "a good job" if you had prepared our country and you had listened to one of your top advisers who in a disturbing January 29th memo to the National Security Council (NSC) warned that a deadly coronavirus pandemic was coming to our shores. Director of the National Trade Council Peter Navarro advised colleagues in The West Wing that such a pandemic could kill more than one-half-million Americans and cost the United States close to 6-trillion dollars. But those numbers didn't raise a flag and scare the living daylights out of Trump even when Navarro wrote, "The risk of a worst-case pandemic scenario should not be
The first phase of Trump's plan is a blueprint to give restaurants, movie theaters, and sports venues the go-ahead to commence operations by Friday, May 1st or, in some cases, before the beginning of next month. Conditions to hang out the "open for business" sign include establishments abiding "under strict physical distancing protocols." Houses of worship would fall under the same category; gyms too "if they adhere to strict physical distancing and sanitation protocols." But such a plan is total insanity. It will be virtually impossible to keep people far enough apart - at all times - when putting people together in any of the aforementioned settings. Without diagnostic testing, nobody knows who's walking around asymptomatically. There could be millions of Americans showing no evidence of coronavirus, but who might unknowingly be infected with the disease and contagious. Therefore, it's not safe for people to be gathering in public when they should be staying at home. Nevertheless, the governor of Florida - Republican Ron DeSantis - says social distancing orders are still in effect, but he did - on April 17th - permit beaches in "The Sunshine State" to reopen, which makes no sense whatsoever. There's no way people who are swimming, surfing and suntanning are going to observe social distancing rules. More than 25,000 people in Florida have tested positive for the coronavirus. The above being said, the mayor of Miami-Dade County says he has no intention of opening beaches in his area anytime soon.
Friday, April 17th and Saturday, April 18th were days of red vs. blue when Donald Trump used The White House coronavirus briefings as a means to "play politics" in order to benefit himself and other Republicans. Trump used the presidential podium as a political pulpit to present his platform, not to protect all Americans. On the 17th, Trump did not mince words when he openly encouraged his base to protest social distancing restrictions by Democratic governors whose states are under stay-at-home orders. Trump went on a tweeting tirade by declaring - in all UPPERCASE letters, "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" and "LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" Trump also tweeted to "LIBERATE VIRGINIA! and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!" Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia and the state legislature are wanting to pass a gun control law that Trump and Republicans are
I'm so sick of Donald Trump. If the COVID-19 pandemic continues throughout the summer, and then God-forbid starts up again in the fall (that's if the current wave ends by August or early September) then Democrats and Independents - plus any Republicans who are also disgusted with Trump - need to "on their own" get their absentee ballots as soon as they become available so they can vote for Joe Biden for President. With Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of
From the day Donald Trump entered the political arena five years ago, through his offensive and cruel crusade for the Republican nomination against a whole host of reputable politicians, on to a vicious campaign with atrocious insults against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - the 2016 Democratic nominee - who most Americans believed would be easily elected our first woman President, through three years of lying, cheating, and allegations of criminal activity that has found 14 of his cronies either indicted or imprisoned, to Trump's impeachment by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, and his acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate, to today's worldwide health crisis that did not have to be as bad and as deadly in the United States if Trump had acted responsibly, for all of the above, if a Hollywood screenwriter had created such an outline and presented what is known as a "treatment" to network programming executives and producers, they would have probably laughed the writer out of the office saying that the ideas were so far-fetched that no viewer would find it at all plausible. But it's happened. Every bit of it. For real. Therefore, if that Hollywood writer was to adapt a fairy tale and make Donald Trump a character, there's one that comes to my mind.
There are many versions of the fairy tale, "The Three Little Pigs." The traditional story is a bit more melodramatic and violent than later adaptations. I personally prefer the kinder, more gentler version, especially when reciting it to children. It's the more modern tale, which is the story used in the award-winning Walt Disney cartoon from 1933. In that animated production, The Big Bad Wolf blows down the first pig's house made of straw, but the little porker escapes the wild canine. The wolf then blows down the second pig's house made of sticks, but that little swine is also able to free himself. But when it comes to the third pig's house, which is made of bricks, the wolf is unable to destroy it. Americans cannot let Donald Trump destroy our houses. We cannot allow him to crush our country any more than he already has. Trump is the only person who can be blamed for the severity of the coronavirus and its spread throughout the United States. He's blamed China, he's blamed the World Health Organization, he's blaming Democratic governors, and before all is said and done he'll likely blame Dr. Anthony Fauci - America's ace medical expert on infectious diseases who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 - and who has been one of the few sane voices representing the Trump administration with this crisis. As we all know, though, Trump can love you today and hate you tomorrow. So "the big bad wolf" in this real life fairy tale is none other than Donald Trump.
Americans need to stay home and not rush to go back to work or hang out with others. If it's imperative that you absolutely have to leave your house or apartment for awhile, then it is crucial to wear a mask - even if it's homemade - and to practice social distancing by keeping at least six feet away from any other person. Gloves are also well recommended, if you can get them. If we are patient, if we simply allow the scientists, doctors and other medical experts to do their jobs, and if we listen to them and not to Donald Trump, this pandemic will be over with before you know it. Keep in close touch with your family and friends. Social media, emails and text messages are all good, but let's return to the only human contact we can really have in this situation while we are self-quarantined and isolated from other people. Although the instrument is different than its original creation by Alexander Graham Bell, use your telephone - landline or cell - to call the people you care about. Or use other means of voice communication; some that also provide video such as Facetime and Zoom - even if it's just to say, "Hi. How are you?" So don't panic. Be optimistic. Smile. Wash your hands. Be careful. Be safe. Stay healthy. We will get through this together.
As this column is published on Tuesday, April 21st, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 42,449 Americans have died from the coronavirus and 785,245 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with the disease.
Prior to the pandemic, Trump would always grandstand and toot his own horn that "the U.S. is experiencing the best economy ever." He still pats himself on the back for what he believes are his accomplishments and his alone. But as Forbes magazine writes, "Trump's best year of job growth was 2.314-million in 2018 (the first year of the tax cut), but it falls short of any of President Obama's last three years. Trump's boasts also don't stand up when you peel the onion on GDP growth and realize that the federal deficits during his presidency will exceed any that were not impacted by a recession." Forbes also confirms, "While not exceeding President Obama's last three years, Trump's 2.314-million in 2018 barely beat Mr. Obama's 2.301 in 2014." Forbes also notes that "President Obama created 1.6-million more jobs than Trump over a three-year period," and that "job growth is a continuation from Barack Obama's presidency."
People have lost their jobs in 2020 because of the coronavirus. But if Donald Trump had listened to medical experts and others, who warned him multiple times in January and February about a pending pandemic, Americans would not be living in a time of adversity. It's Trump's fault, plain and simple.
Trump's statement at his Monday, April 13th White House briefing was another example of his delusional beliefs and his narcissism. No matter what Trump wants to think, he was 100 percent wrong. Constitutional scholars - and the U.S. Constitution itself - are very clear. Whenever there's a public health crisis - as we are suffering from now with the COVID-19 pandemic - the authority to order business establishments to close its doors is "police power" and is spelled out in the Constitution to be reserved by state governments, not "Uncle Sam." Specifically, the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Trump in no way has the right to end state stay-at-home orders. The Tenth Amendment - part of the Bill of Rights - gives all the power to the states, not to the President.
Trump had over and over again maintained that it was he - and he alone - who could reopen the country for business, when he - and he alone - wanted to do it. Trump noted that when and how to do it would be the "toughest" decision of his presidency. But state governors and legal experts assert that Trump does not have such power. Obviously somebody got through his thick skull because Trump reversed course three days later. But we all know how he really feels. Trump, I'm sure, still contends - as he did earlier - that "numerous provisions" in the Constitution give him control over our 50 states to basically tell governors to shove it; to step aside, because he, Trump, is in charge. But Trump cannot legally order states to reopen, just as he couldn't order them to close. The U.S. Constitution does not allow any President to overrule the states' chief executives during a health disaster. Stay-at-home orders were issued by the governors and Trump cannot reopen those states for business when he - and he alone - feels the coronavirus catastrophe is over. Trump did not bolt the doors across America, the governors put on the padlocks and set the requirements for its residents to be quarantined and isolated, except for certain permissible reasons. Forty-two governors had issued state-ordered lockdowns. Three additional states were under partial stay-at-home directives.
Trump had been chastised by people on the left and the right for insisting that he, as "the President of the United States calls the shots," and that he doesn't need anyone but himself to decide when the "closed" signs can be taken down. But on Tuesday, April 14th, Trump - in a way that reflects the egomaniac that he is - began to walk back his bogus claim that he has "total" authority to reopen the country by "authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a re-opening, and a very powerful re-opening plan of their state, at a time and in a manner as most appropriate." But Trump once again was not truthful because Trump doesn't need to give governors any such authorization. They each have that right by virtue of being elected governor of his or her state. And Trump went one step further because he hinted that some states may want an earlier stop date to the social distancing guidelines, which had been scheduled to end as the clock strikes midnight from April 30th in to May 1st. Again, Trump proclaimed that he would "authorize" governors to take that step forward. But Trump is delirious because governors do not need Trump's permission or his blessing to either reopen their states or keep them closed.
Meanwhile, proving - as he has in the past - that throwing a temper tantrum is part of his demeanor, Trump on April 14th put a halt to any more funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) by the United States. Trump will never find fault in himself, thus he needs to point the finger of blame at others for the lack of responding early to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Therefore, Trump needs a scapegoat so his base - the people he desperately needs to stick by his side - won't jump ship and begin to bash him for the bungler that he is. The WHO harshly criticized Trump because it was he who ignored scientists and medical experts when many thousands of people, in all parts of our globe, were already finding they had a one-way ticket to heaven sooner than they ever expected. Trump rejected the warnings and failed to act responsibly. Instead, he became combative - as he generally does - and called COVID-19 "fake news." As a result, Trump has put our country in to a position where our nation's citizens are dying from coronavirus. He should have followed the advice of doctors, instead of targeting the WHO for "severely mismanaging and covering up" the crisis when the COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China. But according to a WHO report, agency officials first learned of China's coronavirus cases on December 31st, 2019. It was the next day - January 1st, 2020 - when the WHO ordered the Wuhan market, where the outbreak is thought to have started, to be shut down, sanitized and disinfected.
Trump on March 19th blamed China for covering up the coronavirus when it was in its early stages. "The world is paying a very big price for what they did." According to information compiled from reporting by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, the first person to be diagnosed with COVID-19 was a Chinese patient in Wuhan on December 10th, 2019.
Trump is also furious with the World Health Organization because he says the WHO opposed his travel restrictions to China. Couple that with his gripe that the WHO accuses Trump of not paying attention at the onset to credible information about a forthcoming pandemic, Trump decided to punish the WHO for chiding him and thus has taken America's checkbook and voided any transactions that were to be given to the organization. Trump, therefore, turned the tables to focus the blame on the WHO and not himself. Trump claims the WHO minimized the severity of the coronavirus from the get-go. That is false. The WHO urgently cautioned countries all around the world - as early as January - to take aggressive action in an effort to locate anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 and to diagnose individuals quickly in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress argue and challenge the authority of Trump to cancel funding for the WHO.
To cut money for the WHO during a pandemic is not only irresponsible but irrational. As the biggest financial contributor to the organization, the United States shells out about 500-million dollars a year. That's about 15 percent of the WHO's annual budget. While our planet is being tortured by the most devastating public health crisis in more than a century, Trump's proving once again that he is a danger not only to the United States but to the whole world.
overlooked." Trump denies ever seeing the memo. But as I have written, going back to the infamous June 9th, 2016 Trump Tower meeting, I'll never believe that when Trump's son and son-in-law, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner, met with Russians to get "dirt" on Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, that "Daddy Donald" knew nothing about it. As such, I surmise Trump is lying about not seeing Navarro's memo. I don't think anything goes on in "Trumpworld" without the family patriarch being told and signing off on it, and the same would apply at The White House and with anything within the Trump administration. As legend has it, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned." But as I posted on Facebook on Thursday, April 9th, "My bumper sticker for Democrats as a result of the coronavirus is: Trump lied while Americans died."
On February 23rd, in a second memo - this one directed to Trump himself - Navarro's words were even more alarming and more troubling as he alerted Trump that up to 2-million Americans could succumb to the disease. It was at that time when 14 Americans were diagnosed with coronavirus, but nobody had died yet. Navarro couldn't have been more to the point. "There is an increasing probability of a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic that could infect as many as 100-million Americans, with a loss of life of as many as one-to-two-million souls." The NSC distributed Navarro's two memos throughout The White House and to numerous agencies within the federal government. But Trump did nothing, and five days later is when he labeled coronavirus a "hoax" that was created by the Democrats.
Despite all his screw-ups and stupidity, Trump remains eager to restart the economy by May 1st, or earlier, to benefit his own agenda; not caring of course that thousands - if not tens of thousands - more Americans will likely die because of lifting the social distancing measures that are still necessary, and may still be necessary for many more weeks, or perhaps months, to come.
Stay-at-home orders are smart. Our nation's President is suppose to protect Americans - all Americans. Donald Trump is not protecting us. He has failed the United States and all its people. If some states start handing out invitations to tourists that they're open for business then venues that have lost a ton of money over the last five weeks or so will be putting out the welcome mat for people to come visit. By doing that - and with coronavirus being as contagious as it is - infections will spread like melted butter on a slice of hot toast. People locally will still get sick while others will take back the disease to their own states, and the pandemic will prevail, and likely be worse than it is today.
Trump is obsessed on opening the economy. As he stated on April 16th, "We must have a working economy. And we want to get it back very, very quickly. And that's what's going to happen." But Trump's concentration should be on testing every single American, and we are a country with an estimated population of about 330-million people. Before we can be certain that the coronavirus is unable to be spread throughout our country, a plan for testing, contact tracing and isolation is the path to take. People will need to be regularly tested over a period of time to be sure that someone who is negative today doesn't show up positive tomorrow. Therefore, Trump has got to fully employ the Defense Production Act so that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other vital supplies can be manufactured and sent to where they are most needed. Otherwise, we may never win this war, and fighting may be futile.
To completely resolve this pandemic, we obviously require treatment, a cure, and ultimately a vaccine. For now, we need to know who has COVID-19 and who doesn't. It is, therefore, vital for the federal government to provide testing. On March 6th - while visiting the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia - Trump was adamant that "Anybody that needs a test gets a test. They're there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful. Anybody that needs a test gets a test." But Trump now says it's up to the states to test. On Friday, April 17th, Trump tweeted, "The States have to step up their TESTING!" But only 4-million Americans have been tested when Trump promised that 27-million people would be tested by the end of March. On March 13th, at a White House press conference, Trump vowed that the federal government was teaming up with national retailers including CVS, Target, Walgreens and Walmart, among others, to orchestrate COVID-19 testing in their pharmacy parking lots. "The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car." But as usual, Trump lied. As of Wednesday, April 15th, there were only a little more than a handful of drive-thru testing sites, and tests were mostly given to certain high-risk groups, not everyone who pulls up in a vehicle. Reportedly, over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, April 18th and 19th, more drive-thru testing sites have popped up in certain areas nationwide, but not nearly enough to provide testing to every American, nor do we have the actual testing kits to administer tests to us all.
Donald Trump lies about his lies. For someone who has - on more than one occasion - called himself a "very" or "extremely stable genius," Trump has proven over and over again that he is anything but. If Trump had any smarts at all, he would not lie to the American people, who do remember. But to lie to the press is absolutely crazy. Reporters - and with 21st Century technology anybody else - can have recordings of Trump saying the following about the coronavirus.
January 22nd, 2020 - "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China." WRONG!
February 2nd, 2020 - "We pretty much shot it down, coming in from China." WRONG!
February 10th, 2020 - "You know in April, supposedly it dies with the hotter weather." WRONG!
February 14th, 2020 - "When it gets warm, historically that has been able to kill the virus." WRONG!
February 26th, 2020 - "We're going to be pretty soon at only 5 people. And we could be at just one or two people over the next short period of time. So we've had very good luck." WRONG! And later, at the same press briefing, "And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done." WRONG!
February 27th, 2020 - "It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle, it will disappear." WRONG!
February 28th, 2020 - At a campaign rally in South Carolina, Trump targeted Democrats and the news media for being the culprits of mass hysteria throughout the United States, and that coronavirus was nothing more than a political "hoax." WRONG!
March 2nd, 2020 - "They're gonna have vaccines. I think relatively soon." WRONG!
March 3rd, 2020 - "Not only the vaccines but the therapies. Therapies is sort of another word for cure." WRONG!
March 4th, 2020 - "We're talking about very small numbers in the United States." WRONG!
March 6th, 2020 - "Our numbers are lower than just about anybody." WRONG!
March 12th, 2020 - "It's gonna go 'way." WRONG! At least not anytime soon.
March 13th, 2020 - "No. I don't take responsibility at all." But you ARE responsible! So once again...WRONG!
March 17th, 2020 - On this day, Trump attempted to rewrite history - which he has tried to do numerous times throughout his presidency, for one reason or another. "I felt it was a pandemic, long before it was called a pandemic." Trump argued, "I've always viewed it as very serious." WRONG! No, Donald, you didn't. That's a lie! Remember, you claimed it was a "hoax."
April 16th, 2020 - Trump says he and other world leaders were left out in the cold and not adequately informed about the seriousness of the coronavirus. He didn't rake China over the coals by name, but that's who he was condemning. Trump "was angry, because it should have been told to us. It should have been told to us a lot sooner. People knew it was happening and people didn't want to talk about it." WRONG! As noted earlier in this column, White House and Pentagon officials were aware of the virus in November 2019, and Trump was again given somewhat of a Mayday call in January 2020 by both Secretary Azar and Director Navarro.
But Trump did what any cover-up con artist would do, and what Trump has done for more than three years. So lying to the American people and the American press is nothing new for our nation's "liar-in-chief." After all, Trump has made more than 18,000 false or misleading claims - according to The Washington Post - since Trump's inauguration. That's 18,000 lies in 1,188 days, or more than 15 lies each day.
Numbers are always on Trump's mind, especially the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A stock market crash is not what anybody wanted in 2020. But a crash is what we got in March, which caused Trump to freak out, and take it out on the media; even more so than usual. He has publicly slammed several reporters by name, and some directly to their faces in White House briefings. I suppose an economic emergency, coupled with an international health crisis, can frustrate a person to be as frantic as a mother hen watching a fox lurk outside her coop. Somebody long time ago needed to give Trump a "chill pill," and definitely one on March 23rd when - according to CNBC - the coronavirus pandemic "sent the Dow down nearly 40 percent since last month." On February 12th, the Dow hit an all-time high of 29,551.42. But on March 23rd, the Dow plunged to a low of 18,591.93. Therefore - as CNBC reports - "wiping out all the gains since Trump's election."
After trying to pull the wool over the eyes of governors whose vision could not be blinded by his mindless malarkey, Donald Trump grew half a brain and decided to tone down his rhetoric that he "calls the shots" for the states. At a White House briefing on April 16th, Trump outlined a 3-phase process to "open up America again." But Trump says he's leaving it up to the governors to "call your own shots" on when to reopen. Trump says the governors can reopen in "their own time." "If they need to remain closed, we will allow them to do that. And if they believe it is time to reopen, we will provide them the freedom and guidance to accomplish that task - and very, very quickly - depending on what they want to do." The sly Trump is playing one of his malicious games. It's apparent to me that Trump's ploy is to turn the blame on the governors if the death toll rises and the economy worsens after the states relax their social distancing and allow businesses to reopen. But after more than three years, everyone should know - especially governors, and specifically Democratic governors - that they need to beware of Trump's evil ways so they don't get suckered in by a man who has been deceitful with people all his life. No state chief executive should trust a President who creatively designs a plan which - in the eyes of some people - take responsibility off of Trump but on to the governors. Therefore, state bosses need to think twice before they go along with Trump's suggestions. Otherwise, if they give constituents carte blanche to have breakfast at bistros, gobble down Goobers at the movies, and allow parents to "buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks" at baseball games, then we are going to witness people collapsing on sidewalks and dying on the streets of our cities. Any governor who thinks Trump's new bizarre and absurd guidelines are worth paying any attention to, then they're just as irresponsible as Trump.
Phase One of Trump's plan does keep schools closed, but that doesn't mean children are going to be protected. Kids will be able to move about with their moms and dads at any of the venues included in the first phase of Trump's plan. Plus, parents are likely to bring home the coronavirus to their offspring after they've been out socializing. However, on April 20th, Trump noted that he still wants Americans to continue practicing social distancing. But how the hell does he imagine that happening when people are at beaches?
A scheduled vacation - or even a winter snow day - is welcomed by the students of America. But with schools closed - and kids being either home-schooled by parents or going to virtual classes online - our young people are still being cheated out of their proms, graduations, and just day to day activities with their friends because of the coronavirus pandemic. But thanks to today's technology - and the integrity of devoted teachers - the youngsters of our land are able to continue their education and learn from the teachers they know and hopefully value.
There's no need in this column to discuss Phase Two or Phase Three because it's senseless, at this point, for anyone to observe the guidelines of Phase One. Trump's plan is tantamount to suicide. But since it's premeditated by another party (not Party), any deaths that result from people following the plan should, in essence, be considered a form of homicide.
vehemently against. Trump also took to Twitter to attack New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who says "The Empire State" will not start up its economy without more large scale testing and assistance from the federal government. Trump laced in to Cuomo because Republican governors are bowing down to Trump by lifting stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions too soon, which is - according to most medical experts - dangerous and will probably cause thousands more deaths. Meanwhile, protesters are causing gridlock in at least eleven states, including the aforementioned Michigan. Large groups of demonstrators have also blocked traffic in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Montana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, with many protesters ignoring social distancing recommendations, as they send demanding messages with their signs and screams to reopen their states. On April 20th, the Republican governor of Georgia announced that he's permitting certain businesses to reopen on Friday, April 24th, including fitness centers and bowling alleys, plus hair and nail salons, among other establishments where people are literally next to and/or touching each other. Movie theaters and restaurants can open up on Monday, April 27th. GOP governors in South Carolina and Tennessee are also loosening social distancing restrictions, despite warnings by public health officials to not do so.
Kentucky, and congressional Republicans not supporting universal mail-in ballots, it shows they are scared of Vice President Biden and the Democrats winning the presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives on November 3rd. That said, I am on the record long before Mr. Biden even became the presumptive nominee that he will defeat Donald Trump in a landslide. That is if Trump is on the Republican ballot come election day. I'm also on the record for a long time now that I don't think Trump's name will be on the GOP ballot. I still feel he's in the beginning stages of a mental breakdown and that before November he'll be declared medically unfit to remain President (which I think he's been all along). However, if Trump survives, Democrats - and anyone else who wants to rid our country of him - needs to make certain to vote, no matter how they do it, for Joe Biden.
Donald Trump's negligence, his lack of leadership, his recklessness, his apathetic response to the disease months ago, and his deceit from the start of the outbreak caused many Americans to laugh at a grave situation. Instead of telling us the truth about COVID-19, Trump lied. Because he knew. But Trump's only concern is getting re-elected. Everyday there's more and more proof that he is thinking - as he always does - only of himself. Trump cares first and foremost about getting enough votes to beat Joe Biden. But a new poll by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal - released on Sunday, April 19th - shows only 36 percent of registered voters trust what Trump says about the pandemic. Yet on April 20th, the self-centered, conceited and vain Donald Trump - direct from The White House and with the presidential seal in front of him - boastfully told reporters and the nation in a coronavirus briefing, where he is suppose to be sharing information about a disease that has already killed tens of thousands of Americans, that "A lot of people love Trump. A lot of people love me." You may think so, Donald, but once again...WRONG!
Trump's entire campaign in his bid for a second term is based on a good economy with low unemployment. Therefore, Trump needs to get people back to work. But he's pushing governors to reopen their states prematurely. Trump is putting people's lives in jeopardy by encouraging them to believe it's going to be okay, anytime in the immediate future, to go back to work, and for states to relax stay-at-home orders and social distancing. Congress needs to stop Trump before more people needlessly die. Republican senators failed to remove him from the presidency in February, but now they need to realize their mistake and constitutionally take action and the necessary steps to correct their wrong. It is a danger to have Donald Trump in The White House. Dead bodies are piling up. It pains me to be so graphically descriptive, but as long as Trump remains seated behind The Oval Office desk, as long as he continues to tweet or to go on television and tell everyone that it's time to start getting our lives back to normal - when doctors and other scientists throughout the country have determined that it's too early to do so - well then, there will be more deaths.
That new survey by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal indicates that nearly 60 percent of voters in the United States believe that it is essential for people to continue stay-at-home restrictions and social distancing as a way to fight the coronavirus. The poll shows that 58 percent of Americans are worried that government officials will lift the necessary guidelines and, as a result, more people will die.
In hospitals and makeshift medical facilities across our nation, surgical masks, gloves and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are urgently needed for physicians and other healthcare and emergency professionals who are America's frontline responders and the heroes of this pandemic. Oh there are more heroes, including pharmacists, people working for grocery stores and food delivery services, volunteers at food banks and pantries, plus charitable people throughout the country who are generously giving money and/or their time to assist others during this terrifying period in our lives. But it's the doctors, nurses, hospital technicians and aides, paramedics, police officers, firefighters and other healthcare and emergency personnel who risk their lives everyday so they can help people who are infected by the coronavirus that should be saluted and applauded. These dedicated individuals deserve the gratitude of all Americans as they perform services above and beyond the call of duty. Frontline responders, during a public health crisis, make extraordinary sacrifices so that people they don't know, perfect strangers, are given care and attention. These heroes give of themselves to hopefully save the lives of others. And like police officers who bravely face a criminal with a loaded gun, and firefighters who courageously enter a burning building so they can extinguish a raging blaze, these unselfish healthcare providers treat patients who are highly contagious, and they accept the hazards knowing full well that there is the possibility - even while wearing protective gear - that they could be infected with a disease that can be fatal.
Americans need to stay home and not rush to go back to work or hang out with others. If it's imperative that you absolutely have to leave your house or apartment for awhile, then it is crucial to wear a mask - even if it's homemade - and to practice social distancing by keeping at least six feet away from any other person. Gloves are also well recommended, if you can get them. If we are patient, if we simply allow the scientists, doctors and other medical experts to do their jobs, and if we listen to them and not to Donald Trump, this pandemic will be over with before you know it. Keep in close touch with your family and friends. Social media, emails and text messages are all good, but let's return to the only human contact we can really have in this situation while we are self-quarantined and isolated from other people. Although the instrument is different than its original creation by Alexander Graham Bell, use your telephone - landline or cell - to call the people you care about. Or use other means of voice communication; some that also provide video such as Facetime and Zoom - even if it's just to say, "Hi. How are you?" So don't panic. Be optimistic. Smile. Wash your hands. Be careful. Be safe. Stay healthy. We will get through this together.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions printed at the top of this column. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits:
1 - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters (Donald Trump)
2 - Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images (Former President Barack Obama)
3 - Joyce N. Boghosian (Former President George W. Bush)
4 - NBC News Screenshot (Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un)
5 - C-SPAN Screenshot (Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar)
6 - Fox News Digital (Rush Limbaugh)
7 - Getty Images (Director of the National Trade Council Peter Navarro)
8 - Lori Berkowitz Photography and Wikimedia Commons (Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner)
9 - Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat (Florida Governor Ron DeSantis)
10 - Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images (Virginia Governor Ralph Northam)
11 - Shannon Stapleton/Reuters (New York Governor Andrew Cuomo)
12 - Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images (Former Vice President Joe Biden)
13 - Leah Millis/Reuters (U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader)
14 - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton)
15 - NBC News/MSNBC Screenshot (Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci)
16 - Stock Montage/Getty Images (Alexander Graham Bell)
Copyright 2020 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
