Originally Posted by James Lacey
Darian,
Trump's re-election will now rise and fall on the outcome of the coronavirus crisis. And so far, I don't see any evidence that it will end well. Our society will be shut-down for at least another 6-10 weeks until the infection rate burns itself out. In the meantime, what is happening in NYC today will play out in major cities around the country. Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Boston, etc. are all poised for significant outbreaks. It won't happen tidily either. Flareups will repeat all over and overlap. Look at any of the state data from the COVID tracking project or any other site that provides reliable data. We are all only a few weeks behind NY. The rural areas will not escape either, and some will have it worse since their health-care options are limited, and residents are often of less economic means and underinsured. Don't believe me? Consider this; the CDC is about to revise its prevention guidelines and recommend that we all start wearing masks in our everyday lives. In Italy, 51 doctors have died during their outbreak, and all available data shows we are on track to be worse than Italy. There is no data anywhere that shows the infection rate slowing or that we have things under control.
Even now, Trump refuses to take ownership of the crisis. Instead, he whines about not being treated fairly by the media, or by the female governor of Michigan, or even worse blames it on his predecessors despite having been President for over three years now. Trump is failing on every measure, and the crisis worsens by the day. He continues to talk mostly about himself and demands people kiss the ring to receive federal aid, and agitates and promotes unproven treatments. He refuses to nationalize the supply chain and has forced 50 states to all fend for themselves for limited resources. Some states are refusing to institute stay at home orders because of domestic politics, and their misplaced pride to prove they are not like California. Our overcrowded prison systems are death traps for prisoners and staff that will leak contagion into their communities, and ignoring them seems to be the current strategy.
We need mass testing and isolation on a scale never seen. We need a war-time mobilization of health workers and supplies. None of it is happening on the timeline or size we need.
The worst of it won't be behind us until at least August. The aftermath will take months if not years to recover from, and while voters have short memories, they are not that short. I see little evidence that Trump will change or that this crisis will improve under his leadership. Therefore, he's going to lose in an electoral landslide.
James, I don't why you just don't watch Fox news, it's all good...
