This week could very well mark the start of America’s coronavirus recovery. Why do we say this? Well, as impossible as it may have seemed for the past five months or so, Donald Trump has FINALLY stopped being a complete moron and acknowledged the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
That’s right! After months of insisting that America is on top of the pandemic, months of refusing to wear a mask, Trump now not only acknowledges that a situation exists but also carries a mask around with him and though he might not have worn one at conferences just yet, he’s recently been seen wearing one during his visit to a military hospital.
It’s worth noting that in spite of all this, Trump is still indeed a complete muppet. A big reason the situation has gotten as bad as it has is because he prioritised his reelection campaign over the lives of Americans, and even as he asked Americans to wear face coverings, he did so by saying that “they’ll have an effect” and that they show “patriotism”.
Where was Trump’s sense of “patriotism” for the past five months? Tsk tsk tsk. Looking past all of Trump’s shortcomings (and there are a lot) is hard, but we should take the small wins and the fact that he’s revived his daily coronavirus briefings is both a sign of how terrible his administrations response has been and how he’s finally starting to take this pandemic seriously.
In his first virus briefing since he suggested injecting disinfectant, Trump was a lot more toned down and actually stuck to a more scripted tone for the most part. Finally echoing what his coronavirus task force have been saying for months, he said “It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better. Something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the way it is.”
“We’re asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask. Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact, they’ll have an effect and we need everything we can get.” he added.
With cases rising like cakes in an oven, especially in the south and west, Trump’s recent poll results have suggested that his handling of the virus could just torpedo his reelection chances. Add to that Joe Biden’s rhetoric that Trump has failed Americans with his response to the pandemic and Trump could very well be out of office by November.
Until then however, he’s still POTUS and his change in tone will only benefit the United States fight against the pandemic. I mean, it would help if he actually wore a mask, but again.. baby steps :’)
