By Lynn Venhaus
Trump has lied more than 22,000 times in less than 4 years. We have normalized this Pinocchio, which is really sad and mind-boggling. The fact-checking is exhausting. But this irresponsible narcissist leader’s dishonesty on the coronavirus pandemic is misleading and dangerous.
Today, he said this:”Our doctors get more money if someone dies from Covid. You know that, right? I mean, our doctors are very smart people.” WHAT?
This isn’t the last time he will lie about COVID-19 in his desperate attempt to hold on to power by downplaying his destructive response. But attacking health care workers now?Those of us believing in science and the health professionals know his alternative reality he is babbling about at these super-spreader rallies is false – deny and deflect, his M.O.
We have more than 88,500 new cases. How does this magically disappear in his narrative of ‘turning the corner’?His disregard for the public good is killing people. Blowhard Donald Trump Jr. told egregious hack Laura Ingraham that deaths are down to “almost nothing.” That’s the way he described 1,004 deaths on Thursday.
Our total count is 228,000-plus. They are down-playing this to the detriment of containing the spread. The arrogance and incompetence is unbelievable.This week, Bob Woodward released the Jared Kushner recordings basically saying their coronavirus response was a political strategy. All about re-election. Red states vs. blue states.This is a national disgrace.
Seven months in, still no national plan, health care workers are overwhelmed, bed capacity is maxing out, and surges continue. Everything we did in March, April and May is erased.
Now, Trump is pushing a baseless conspiracy that greedy American health care workers are overcounting coronavirus deaths, besmirching their integrity at a time they’re nearly at the breaking point.
His base still think it’s overblown. Believe at your own peril. No one is going to change the base’s opinion on their cult leader. Facts mean nothing. Only if they have been touched by the virus.
We shake our head because this is where we are, less than 100 hours from the first polling places closing on Election Day.There must be some accountability for making a pandemic political and a polarizing issue. This has resulted in more deaths than it should have.
And the fact that there are people who don’t care is something I can’t wrap my head around, on this 30th day in October in 2020.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.