Before the election, Trump tried to bizarrely convince people that all the reporting about "COVID COVID COVID" was just a political trick, and that, watch, after the election Democrats and the media would immediately stop talking about it.
Of course it wasn't just nonsense, it was dangerous. And not only has the infection spread to ghoulish numbers, but two days ago the 3,000-death marker got passed, as 3,200 Americans died on that one day alone. On 9/11, 2,917 people died. And the President at the time spoke a great deal about it. You may have read and seen the coverage, it was widespread. On the other hand, yesterday, with 3,200 American deaths, Trump was silent to note the milestone. Silent, too, were all Republicans in Congress. Perhaps when Trump said that Democrats and the media would not be talking about COVID COVID COVID, he meant himself and all elected Republicans in Congress and just misspoke. Indeed the coronavirus is spreading so fast now, despite the GOP silence, that I thought we might even reach 300,000 deaths overall yesterday -- an almost ghastly thought because we were 3,302 deaths away. The good news is that, no, we didn't get there yesterday. Nor did we have another day with 3,000 deaths. The bad news is that we almost did. On both counts. Yesterday, 2,994 Americans died. And so far, 299,692 Americans have died of COVID COVID COVID. So far. And no, Trump didn't say a word about it. Nor did Republicans. Of course. Pretty much the only thing they did talk about is how they were still trying desperately to steal the election which has been certified by every state and undermine democracy. Back in February, Trump said that the coronavirus was just like the flu and would disappear soon, like a "miracle." It is not just like a flu, and it did not just disappear, either like a miracle or in any way. I won't repeat all the different times Trump and his complicit participants kept saying the pandemic would be over soon, business would be back, and we'd only have a small, manageable number of deaths. I don't have it in me. Nor the space to type it all. A couple weeks ago, I wrote that it seemed possible that we could have 400,000 deaths by Joe Biden's inauguration. I think at this point we can change "possible" to "likely." At this point, getting "only" 2,500 deaths a day would be low -- and that would take us passed the 400,000 mark. And keep in mind that we've only just now reached the 14-day point after Thanksgiving when all the new cases from the holiday travel will start showing up. And further, it seems probably that we'll go through all that again as mindless people travel yet again for Christmas. And perhaps for New Years. While I hope I'm wrong, I not only don't expect to be -- and worse, it doesn't matter, since it's not like the virus will stop spreading on January 20, 2021. Even with the blessed vaccinations that are coming, it is going to take half a year to start looking at conditions where the pandemic will largely be behind us. And yes, numbers should start dropping eventually as people do get vaccinated. But even dropping by two-thirds means 1,000 days a day. And through it all -- Trump and the complicit Republicans in Congress with quite-literal blood on their hands will be silent. As will so many members of their party that is tearing at the fabric of democracy. Well...silent except for forming in mobs to tell you why wearing a face mask for a few weeks violates their freedom, but it's okay to harass and threaten to kill public officials trying to keep you save and count votes properly. The silence is deafening. This is not about Trump, we know who he is. This is about the delusional Republican Party that enables him, tears at democracy, and is complicit.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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