Trump, not OK

Back in 2016, commentators declared Donald Trump an amoral narcissist so scary that his ascent to America’s highest office posed an imminent threat to the life and health of thousands of Americans. (We really, really, really didn’t want the guy to win, but even we didn’t quite go that far.)

Fast forward to, whaddya know, Trump getting ready to pose an imminent threat to the life and health of thousands of Americans in a single gleefully disgusting campaign stunt.

Ignoring his own expert scientists’ recommendations, the president is set to host a raucous indoor campaign rally tonight at 19,000 person capacity arena in Tulsa, Okla., a state with the second-fastest-rising rate of coronavirus infections in the country.

Increasingly, researchers believe that so-called superspreader individuals and events are drivers of the majority of coronavirus cases. Enter Trump, delivering a real-world experiment to epidemiologists’ doorstep. And you thought the guy was hostile to science.

His campaign, fully aware of their irresponsibility, forced rally attendees to sign liability waivers, promising not to sue if they contract coronavirus at the rally. While there are plans to check temperatures at the door and hand out face masks, Trump’s supporters are sure to take cues instead from the man they’re coming to see, a fact-allergic demagogue who proudly refuses to wear one.

So, yes, comparing Trump’s presidency to an extinction-level event looks less and less like hyperbole, and more and more like a clear statement of facts. He may have tested negative, but the man is plainly sick.