Trump uses COVID briefing to muse about injecting disinfectants
Posted by Josh Taylor / April 24, 2020
Historically, in times of national crisis, Americans have rallied around the president. During 9/11, for example, George W. Bush’s approval ratings spiked. Unusually, Donald Trump is not seeing the “rally around the flag” effect. His approval ratings briefly rose, but his ratings have dropped to pre-coronavirus levels, largely as a result of his daily briefings. After the most recent meeting, in which Trump suggested the injection (as in, into your veins, where your blood lives) of disinfectant, those ratings are likely to suffer more.
Trump’s approval ratings also suffered when he gave FEMA permission to limit sale of essential goods to Canada, saying that he would use the Defense Production Act to stop US companies from selling personal protective equipment, such as N95 masks, and other medical equipment to Canada. Trump also directly asked 3M not to sell N95 masks to Canada.
3M criticized Trump’s order on humanitarian grounds, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that Canada will begin producing N96 masks, which it will not sell to the U.S. He also severely criticized the U.S. president.
International media organizations are increasingly attacking Trump for his handling of the pandemic. The Independent thinks that the United States is going to lose its superpower status forever because of Trump’s bungling. In a meeting of international leaders, the Trump administration tried to convince everyone to call COVID the “Wuhan Virus.” Pick your battles, dude.
The Guardian claims that the initial six weeks of the outbreak were the most important test of the Trump presidency––a test he failed by neglecting to take the virus seriously. The drive-through testing sites he promised are nowhere to be found, further suggesting his approval ratings will plummet––and more importantly the number of deaths will rise.
Almost a million physicians have also called on Trump to abandon his efforts to return American business to normal by Easter. They warn that a premature return to normal will certainly lead to unnecessary death.
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