Too Much to Believe?

Last night I may have crossed a line. I've come to believe that Donald Trump's corruption is so pervasive, it's more than most people can take in. Psychologically, we're just not prepared to believe the truth about him: it's so much worse than we're wired to accept. I don't even believe Trump is trying to help Americans survive--at least, it's not high among his priorities.

Two things, plus a background issue, brought me to this line.

The first was a CNN interview with Lt. Gen. (ret.) Russel Honore, who expressed profound frustration with the administration's logistical work. Among other things, he said, "It looks like they have left the literal wolf inside the henhouse." (Twitter video here.)

That's as straight as it gets.

The second moment involved Rear Adm. John Polowczyk's appearance at yesterday's press briefing and propaganda extravaganza. States and hospitals are complaining that they're forced to bid against one another for urgently needed supplies, jacking up prices unnecessarily.

Asked about the complaint, Polowczyk replied that he's not here to disrupt a supply chain. By why the hell would the government sell supplies to corporations, who then sell the supplies to states and hospitals? That results in both higher prices and massive inefficiency.

In an NPR interview the other day retired General Stanley McChrystal subtweeted Trump on this issue and a few others.

• On Trump leaving states, cities, and hospitals to fend for themselves: "We should not be fighting COVID-19 as 50 separate fights, 50 separate states and territories and certainly not at individual municipal levels. This needs to be a collaborative, national-level fight. When the president talks to the nation about COVID-19, I wish he'd stand up in front of a map and he'd show what things are and he'd say, America, this is an American problem - it's also a global problem - we're going to fight it as an American fight, not as leaving any city or state off on their own to do as well as they can."
• Regarding leadership: "the leader has to, first and foremost, be absolutely straightforward with all the people they're leading, has to tell them the truth." (That ain't Trump.)
• Regarding a leader's capacity to inspire the nation: "And what he didn't say was - he didn't say, we're winning. He didn't say, we're about to win. He said, we'll never surrender. He built their confidence for the long haul. I think that's what leaders have to give at every level." (Cough.)
• Regarding communication: "And so I think it's much better for us to get the best information we can, give transparency as best we can. People can handle bad news or frightening news if it's put into context for them and they believe it's accurate."

These things are not controversial; they are obvious. Yet Trump refuses to do them. Why?

The background issue is that Trump seems to direct help toward states that support him, while minimizing help to those that vote against him--or whose governors criticize him. (Just Google "Trump blue states coronavirus.") This is close to manslaughter, in my opinion.

While all this is going on, we have to remember how invested Trump is in saving face from one minute to the next. Yesterday I wrote about Jared Kushner's absolutely false assertion that federal stockpiles of supplies are for the federal government rather than for the states. Once people pointed out that the stockpile's website directly contradicted Jared, here's what the White House did:

THEY CHANGED THE CONTENT OF THE WEBSITE. Just to save face, they changed the stated purpose of the stockpile after Jared screwed up.

So, no, we shouldn't be surprised that Trump has fired the intelligence community's inspector general last night, the guy who received and passed along the whistleblower complaint that led to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. And he did it on a Friday night to diminish the news effect.

We're talking about a level of corruption truly profound.

Washington Post

It's no secret: I've always loathed Donald Trump. I knew he was famous for cheating at golfhttps://ultimateclassicrock.com/alice-cooper-golf-donald-trump/ and lying about pretty much everything long before he ran for president. If you cheat at golf, you're just a bad person. All along, I've known that Trump did not place America First, only himself.

But with the coronavirus I've crossed this line. It's not just that I think Trump governs badly. It's not just that he's so compromised, he can't develop a positive response. I don't think he gives a damn about the suffering of ordinary Americans, period.

I don't know why. It's evident he has no sense of compassion or empathy. It's also clear that he holds a governing philosophy in which government and regulation are bad things. But it also seems he's committed to giving things away to corporations and to the super-rich that's just beyond explaining...unless it boils down to a massive corruption scheme. That's my best guess.

(Right now the Trump Organization is seeking debt and tax relief from creditors and from governments.)

I also don't understand why 8 Republican governors refuse to issue stay at home orders. The Atlantic just reported that Southern states are experiencing worse outcomes from the epidemic than are other parts of the country, largely due to poverty and obesity. (Another problem might be the lack of health care coverage.) Yet the governors of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida are among the worst in the country in terms of their epidemic response. I have no idea how to account for this.

Today the Washington Post ran a major story about Trump's response to the coronavirus. It's worth reading.