Opinion | Questions on the White House negligence

Jasmin Sani, The Panther Editor-in-Chief

Can someone explain to me why our commander-in-chief – the president of the United States, the leader of our country – is so abhorrently brushing off his coronavirus diagnosis like it was just a bump in his campaign trail? The 74-year-old, clinically obese man presents three major risk factors for COVID-19, according to Chapman viral infection specialist Jerika Lam.

I doubt any medication or treatment President Donald Trump received during the three nights he spent at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is enough to make him “immune,” as Trump said to Fox News Oct. 11. This self-report is especially ludicrous when viewing videos of the president struggling to breathe while he stood on the White House Truman Balcony.

So who or what is the president trying to impress? Is it his supporters who call the coronavirus a hoax, or his image and reputation of saying “I don’t think science knows?”

This isn’t even a display of political theater at this point. It’s a one-man show of a classic Greek tragedy, nearing its climax as the character slowly succumbs to their fatal flaw. The outcome of this hubris, however, is one no one in the audience wants to see. The death of any individual infected with the coronavirus is horrific. So, too, is the negligence in the White House.

The president’s physician cleared Trump to engage with the public starting Oct. 10. Seizing the opportunity, Trump spoke to hundreds gathered on the South Lawn of the White House Oct. 10 and is planning an Oct. 12 rally in Florida, to no doubt continue downplaying the severity of the virus and commend himself for his “speedy recovery.”

But one big, black, crevasse of a plot hole in this theater performance is missing. Despite Trump saying he took another COVID-19 test Oct. 9, no results have been made public.

Is propaganda still considered propaganda if a majority of its audience is cognizant enough to realize its deception?

I am truly in awe at this administration’s attempts to lie and mislead. I cannot find one honorable reason for them to tokenize the president’s recovery when so many people have died. And in Trump’s case, there’s only a sliver of a chance he’s genuinely healthy enough to interact with others.

For normal people who get sick with COVID-19, they’re instructed to rest and isolate for at least two weeks from diagnosis. But no – President Trump, despite his age and weight and health issues, is better than the 37 million people who’ve been infected globally. He apparently has an impeccable immune system, which is why you should vote for him come Nov. 3.

I mean, where is the logic behind this?

If anything, the president being vulnerable and empathetic with the pandemic during this time would help his campaign attract moderate voters. There is no shame in admitting hardship and struggle to overcome obstacles that will unite the country, especially when it comes to a virus that’s taken over 1 million lives.

Not everything has to be a win. The coronavirus pandemic isn’t a game, but the excuses made by the Trump administration make it feel like one. Don’t be fooled.