If you thought the Democrats’ doom and gloom fixation ended at last month’s DNC…
It doesn’t take a genius to proclaim Democrats don’t have much to say these days that
offers anyone hope of a brighter tomorrow, but liberal party members aren’t just forecasting a gloomy future if President Donald Trump wins reelection in November. They’re saying the past was just as pathetic and sad, too.
Most of the Democrats’ current angst centers on a book/expose detailing Trump’s thoughts during the early days of the COVID-19 health pandemic. As is usually the scenario, Trump sought to keep calm in the face of an unknown challenge. But instead of complimenting the president on his leadership and steadiness in crisis, Democrats chastise him for not freaking out. Yes, it’s true. They think he was too subdued on this one.
W. James Antle III wrote at The Washington Examiner, “Veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book Rage has triggered a debate over how President Trump publicly talks about the coronavirus — which, aside from his descriptions of China’s role in the pandemic, has often been characterized more by optimistic pronouncements than rage.
“Trump regularly predicts that the worst is over and the virus will soon disappear, even as the U.S. death toll climbs. But interviews with Woodward suggest the president understood its severity even as he issued these public reassurances, prompting reporters to pepper the White House with questions about whether this was dishonest. Joe Biden said that Trump lied and people died. ‘He knew and purposely played it down. Worse, he lied to the American people. He knowingly and willingly lied about the threat posed to the country for months,’ the Democratic nominee argued in Michigan...”
Upon hearing that Bob Woodward was planning the release of another Trump tell-all book, my first thought was, “Oh no, here we go again, the ‘All The President’s Men’ thing is back.” Remember it was only a month ago that Woodward’s Washington Post/big Watergate scoop partner Carl Bernstein concocted his own crazy unhinged scheme involving Republican congressional leaders going to the president and telling him that they were taking over the governing of the country and the GOP would choose another candidate to run in November. And all of this would be for the good of the country.
Clearly, fame and excessive and undeserved notoriety have infiltrated the craniums of both Woodward and Bernstein to the point where no sunlight of veracity shines through to discredit their blatantly biased “reporting” and political commentary. While it’s (supposedly) true Woodward’s book is based on Trump interviews with the man, there obviously was no inkling back when the conversations were held that the Democrats would base their entire 2020 campaign on the notion of “Trump lied (about the coronavirus) and people died.”
Here’s thinking the same people who give a hoot about what Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Omarosa Manigault and Anthony Scaramucci say regarding Trump are the ones who will buy Woodward’s conglomeration and give credence to what it says. There probably won’t be that many (readers), but then again, Trump’s name has fueled liberal Democrat profit taking for years now. Didn’t Hillary Clinton get a big advance for her total failure “What Happened” screed?
The ruling class’s animus towards Trump knows no bounds though he’s (directly or indirectly) made a lot of them rich. And in the case of Democrats, Trump’s provided a bogeyman to run against for three straight elections now (including this one). For five solid years they’ve been snooping and probing and prodding and sniffing (Joe Biden taking in some woman’s scent!) and prying and meddling and sneaking into the lifelong real estate developer and reality TV celebrity’s background and family business.
It could easily be argued that Trump is the most thoroughly vetted politician of all-time. He’s got dirty laundry from decades ago that might turn up in the inner recesses of some enemy’s mind, but at this stage, there’s nothing that would dent his reputation with his supporters. It won’t be Bob Woodward cracking the shell, at least. Democrats will have to look underneath some other railroad pass or sewer cover for the smoking gun that will bring down Trump.
Woodward’s “revelation” that Trump attempted to play down the danger from the Chinese Communist Party (or Wuhan, if you prefer) virus isn’t really news at all. Six months ago, practically everyone was looking at everyone else seeking answers to what it was all about. Politicians from both parties told Americans not to panic. Democrats Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio suggested New York City was entirely safe and none other than Nancy Pelosi told folks to come out and join her in Chinatown for some good ol’ fashioned food and fun.
Biden himself savaged Trump for halting travel from China, saying it was unnecessary and “xenophobic.” About that time, reports were surfacing out of Italy about how bad the virus was -- to elderly people. Communist China immediately silenced whistleblowers (real ones, not the fake Adam Schiff variety) who dared to speak out about the origin of the thing -- and some of them paid with their lives.
Why not play it down if you’re the POTUS? Would it have been better to “play it up?” Didn’t Trump appoint Vice President Mike Pence to lead the effort in battling the virus and didn’t his task force issue guidelines such as “15 Days to Slow the Spread”? Didn’t Trump give very prominent public advisory roles to Dr. Anthony Fauci and others to discuss the ongoing efforts to figure out what was happening with the virus and then provide guidance on how to beat it?
What do Democrats think should’ve been done instead? The nation’s ultimate armchair quarterback/backseat driver, Joe Biden, relentlessly spouts nonsense about taking it (the virus) seriously, wearing a mask, mobilizing the government to get Personal Protective Equipment to first responders and hospitals and, generally, plead with everyone to maintain social distance and avoid large gatherings. Didn’t Trump already do this?
To say otherwise is akin to shoveling a bucket full of horsepucky.
Reasonable people give leaders some leeway to act in good faith, but not the Democrats
In his piece, Antle further wrote, “Critics respond by saying that usually when Trump is truly concerned about something, or wants his supporters to be, he warns of ‘American carnage,’ rather than invoking the ‘light at the end of the tunnel.’ ‘Throughout his five years on the national political stage, Trump has used fear to acquire and keep power,’ opined Washington Post reporter Philip Rucker. ‘Scare tactics are the hammer and screwdriver of his toolkit.’”
Well, Rucker’s statement only rings true if we’re talking about Trump’s admonishments and warnings against a horrible destiny in “Joe Biden’s America.” Otherwise Trump usually is effusive in his praise of America, its founders, its ideals, its principles, its exceptionalism, its diversity, its impressive national resources, its human capital, its can-do spirit and the willingness of its citizens to sacrifice and endure hardship to further the common good. Trump called himself a “cheerleader” for the country. Very apropos.
Again, what should’ve been done in the early stages of COVID-19? No one knew where it came from, where it spread to, who’s most susceptible to getting it and most urgently, how to effectively treat it. It was like flying blind, wasn’t it? We didn’t know whether to see it as just another media-fanned panic over the latest virus (SARS, Swine flu, West Nile, Ebola, etc.) or as something that was truly pervasive and dangerous this time.
How bad was it? We still don’t really know. It was uncharted waters.
There’s a challenge in the reality show Big Brother where contestants are set loose in a pitch black room and tasked with not only finding hidden targets (usually safety for the week or possibly a luxury item), they also need to discover a way out of the place. As would be expected, the players bump into things, each other, stick their digits in disgusting-feeling goop and, as was the case this year, lose their shorts (a woman got stuck on something in the dark room and they were pulled off -- and yes, she was wearing underwear).
Those participants who are instructed to endure the less-than-desirable test gripe and moan and mutter to themselves about how unfair and difficult it is to try and find something you don’t know you’re looking for in conditions where there’s nothing but your senses, sans vision, to point you in the right direction. For the people watching at home, it’s great entertainment, viewed with a sense of relief that real life isn’t like that.
Or is it?
Who felt comfortable, from the outset, that there was enough known about the CCP virus to devise fail-safe and unassailable solutions to something no one could understand much less pin down? In the beginning, the media labeled it the “novel coronavirus” and seemed to cheer on the notion that everyone was at high risk and therefore the whole country needed shuttering -- schools, businesses, offices, churches, amusement parks, movie theaters, cruise ships, major sports, gyms, you name it. Put on a mask? What for? Dr. Fauci and the World Health Organization originally said wearing one wouldn’t prevent the spread.
Anyone who claims we weren’t stumbling around in obscurity like the houseguests on Big Brother during one of their challenges is lying -- or seeing hindsight through rose colored glasses. Democrats grasped an opportunity to damage Trump’s reelection chances through pinning the mounting death toll to the president even though he’d gone along with Congress’s massive relief bills and even directed military hospital ships to hot spots to stave off a mad rush on medical capacity.
Meanwhile, blue state governors and mayors were implementing policies where ultra-vulnerable seniors were haphazardly put in situations they couldn’t escape. Does it really take much smarts to not place infected patients in a crowded environment involving health-challenged old folks with little or no immunity? Tens of thousands died, yet the media still insists that these bungling Democrat politicians “cared” more about their constituents and “took it seriously.” Hogwash.
People who aren’t fully consumed with the persistent panic disseminated by liberal cable news channels and newspapers recognize that everything that could’ve been done was done. President Trump’s optimism during the crisis hasn’t cost a single American life, and those who claim otherwise are shameless political opportunists with an agenda separate from health concerns. Election Day will reveal where the country comes down on the matter. Do people see through the ruse?
Suburban baseball mom Trump supporter stays mum. Are there more like her?
With mainstream establishment media coverage of President Trump well over ninety percent negative, it’s no wonder why people aren’t always confident about expressing their support for the president’s reelection campaign in public. Experience shows there could be a psycho Trump Derangement Syndrome afflicted kook embedded in your next door neighbor or even lurking inside a parent you considered a friend at the little league baseball fields.
One anonymous Northern Virginia mom wrote about her experiences at Spectator USA. Does she sound like you or someone you know? Anonymous wrote, “[T]he pandemic changed life as we know it. In May, while our state was still under a shelter in place order, the same senior moms who reminded us to vote in their primary were hosting faux ‘prom dinners’ for their seniors and taking photos (many without masks) that were posted on social media. Rules for thee, but not me. It’s the Democrat way.
“Thankfully, in June, youth baseball games started back-up. I made the comment to my fellow baseball mom, how did we get here? She quickly proclaimed that it didn’t have to be like this: if we’d had a true lockdown like other countries and if we had consistent messaging from the government, we’d be on our way out of this mess. So, yeah, it’s all Trump’s fault. What about China’s role? What about the wealthy business and leisure travelers who spread the disease to our most vulnerable populations, I wanted to say — the nursing home residents, illegal immigrants and essential workers? But, I said nothing. I remain silent.
“Am I just a wimp? Maybe, but there’s so much hate targeted towards Trump and his supporters...”
As I mentioned a week or so ago, our experience mirrors this woman’s in many respects. My son’s “Trump 2020” mask has had a way of giving people confidence that other Trump people are out there and all they need to do is give an approving glance or a thumbs up. It’s almost like a secret society where the majority pretends to go along with the vocal minority, and then the surprise is sprung when the votes are tallied.
One can only hope more people start speaking their minds. But signs are everywhere that the “silent majority” will roar at the ballot box.
Democrats are working overtime to make the 2020 election all about a Chinese virus and the government’s response to it, but Americans won’t be fooled by the distraction. Joe Biden’s and his fellow party members’ overreaction to the pandemic has turned a lot of people off, and there’s no way the country would ever accept another lockdown. What then, Democrats?
COVID-19
coronavirus
2020 Election
Trump administration response
Joe Biden
silent majority
polls
Rage
Bob Woodward
Carl Bernstein