Trump plays huckster’s game
We know from reporter Bob Woodward’s new book, “Rage,” that last spring, when the coronavirus pandemic was spreading across the United States, President Donald Trump was aware that it posed a grave threat. Still, he lied to the public frequently and unforgivably, saying the virus would just go away. Yet it may be even less forgivable that now, six months later, Trump is still lying and still denying the reality of the virus. His recent campaign rally in Nevada is clear evidence.
Thousands of Trump’s supporters crowded into a manufacturing hall in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, most of them forgoing face masks and not socially distanced, violating Nevada’s pandemic rules limiting social gatherings to 50 people or fewer.
Beyond any doubt, the coronavirus transmits from person to person. An enclosed space, with people shouting, has frequently led to outbreaks: a choir practice, a wedding, a summer camp and cruise ships, to name a few. The Nevada rally was a potential superspreader event, led by the president in pursuit of political gain.
He has refused to wear a face mask on the campaign trail and has belittled the Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, for wearing one.
Trump’s appearance was not a misunderstanding, but a deliberate defiance of rules intended to keep people safe, rules that were advanced by Trump’s own White House. A spokeswoman for Henderson told reporters that the city had issued verbal and written warnings before the event, reminding the company to honor social distancing restrictions.
Judging by reports from the rally, they were largely ignored. Trump’s rhetoric was also disconnected from the reality of a nation still staggering under the pandemic wave, with at least 191,000 people killed and 6.5 million infected.
Trump plays a huckster’s game, thinking he can fool enough of the people all of the time. The clock is running out on this gambit. The nation is long past his misplaced bravado and happy talk. Behind it lies reckless abandon with people’s health and well being.