Let Them Eat Bleach
By: Travis Ronald Comstock
Tags: Coronavirus Covid19, Politics, Bleach, Trump, Ultraviolet Disinfection

Let Them Eat Bleach

Trump’s unproven optimism reflects poorly in light of Coronavirus

The autobiographies of presidents provide valuable insight into the mind of the individual. The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson presents a detailed account of the accomplished architect, naturalist, and linguist, who wished above all else to be remembered for writing The Declaration of Independence. Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father is a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community.

Trump’s 2007 autobiography, Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life, is no exception. In it, Trump describes his thinking process as follows:

The women I have dated over the years could have any man they want; they are the top models and most beautiful women in the world. I have been able to date (screw) them all because I have something that many men do not have. I don’t know what it is but women have always liked it.

Wait. Wrong passage. Here it is:

Some things work because you do not know they are impossible. When NBC agreed to do The Apprentice few people thought it would make it. They did not even have an option for a second season. I am the only schmuck who figured it could work because I did not know anything about television…Many things are hidden from us that we cannot articulate logically, but somehow we know they are there.

Follow your gut. Ditch your doubts. And no matter what you do, think big. This according to Trump, is “the driving force that has forged all the great achievements in modern life, from the towering skyscrapers to the amazing discoveries in science, technology, and medicine to the great industrial and military achievements.”

Whether negotiating a real estate purchase or a nuclear treaty with North Korea over Twitter, Trump appears at most times to be operating on a simple set of heuristics. People good me; me good them. People bad me; me bad them. And if something needs fixing, put a positive spin on it and dream it into being.

It’s easy to see why Trump relies so heavily on what he does best; Trump’s unwavering self-belief, coupled with his salesman’s charm, is a good fit for the presidency in most times.

Since the beginning of his presidential run, Trump’s penchant for punching back has served him well, as he branded opponents with catchy nicknames and bullied his way into relevance. And his signature hyperbolic optimism struck a chord with the middle class and helped propel him into the oval office.

It struck a chord with the banks as well; Trump promised the strongest economy in American history and the economy seemed to acquiesce on his word alone. For a long time, Trump’s success has seemed fueled by a self-fulfilling prophecy, willing his way to “winning,” as he sees it.

So perhaps that’s why, in front of a live, terrified audience on Thursday, Trump mused that, supposing we injected ultraviolet light into our lungs, it might indeed be the coronavirus panacea we’ve all been hoping it would be.

At least, that’s how it is being portrayed by the mainstream media; the folks at CNN, who believe they may have a 25th Amendment situation on their hands and want to make sure they don’t blow it, have taken to openly doing some injecting of their own, replacing verbs like “says” with the word “lies.”

To be fair, Trump never actually suggested we inject bleach. Instead, what we saw was Trump optimistically conjecturing, as he often does; promising a return to greatness and hoping the virus would acquiesce on his word alone.

In response to the media outcry, Trump later asserted he was just being sarcastic. Aids suggested he was just thinking it through. But the excuses belie a larger pattern of an inability to meet a hard threat with hard facts.

This has been obvious since the beginning, as Trump, guided by a policy of absent-minded optimism, initially failed to recognize the threat the coronavirus posed, shrugging it off as just another flu, and continued even as the gravity of the pandemic came to light, as he delegated the responsibility to Mike Pence. Since taking over the helm in mid-March, his disastrous daily briefings have focused more on pomp than circumstance, as an outlet to trumpet his own success and bash those who seek to hold him accountable rather than provide any working benefit towards controlling the spread of the virus. He even gave it a nickname:

Trump’s grandiosity, once absurd yet funny when aimed at rivals, has been reduced to merely absurd against the backdrop of a virus that has claimed 50,000 American lives. The self-promotion, over-the-top jabs at political rivals, and off-the-cuff speculations seem less Jeffersonian and more Marie Antoinette, in light of the circumstance.

“Trump is still the same Trump, operating on the same basic heuristics. Me good you; you good me. Virus bad me; me bad virus.”

Perhaps he was joking. Perhaps he was simply being positive. Whatever the motivation, we’re seeing a man who’s positive spin and off-the-cuff Everyman asides, the same ones which got him elected and have served him well the past several years, are no longer landing well with a news media that is begging for clarity of science, and an American Public so terrified they’re willing to eat fish tank cleaner in a misguided attempt to avoid falling ill.

In the face of a novel challenge, Trump has failed to adapt.

The problem with that is that the countries that appear to flattening the curve with the most success are the ones that have stepped up testing, technology and contact-tracing, in an effort to control the spread. Meanwhile, the United States still sits in a quagmire, plateauing at the top of its curve and deciding whether to open prematurely or further injure the economy while our technology catches up.

As all of us have over the past several weeks, Trump needs to adjust; and he needs to do it fast.

As a country we could do with less of the brashness right now. Less of the off-the-cuff suggestions. And more data and hard truth.

Like many other things we used to take for granted before the Coronavirus, Trump’s presidency will never be viewed quite the same way again. His failure to recognize and meet these uncertain times with scientific certainty has left a stain on his presidency that he won’t soon be able to bleach out.

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