“As
the US death toll from coronavirus [approaches 100,000 deaths], Donald Trump
was spending his Memorial Day weekend doing what he'd typically do during any
other time off during his presidency -- golfing and tweeting.
“From
threatening to ‘override’ states if they
didn't permit the reopening of houses of worship to pressuring states to reopen
their businesses to restarting presidential travel -- Trump's weekend
activities mark his latest attempt to return back to his presidential normal as
the country continues to reckon with the toll of a global pandemic.
Weekend
golfing:
“Trump
was spotted at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday and Sunday.
It was the first time the press has recorded a visit to a golf course since
March 8. But unlike past holiday weekends, Secret Service members on the green
with Trump on Saturday were wearing masks. Trump and his golfing partners,
however, were not.
“Trump,
who frequently chided former President Barack Obama's golf habit, defended his
decision to head to the golf course over the weekend, after he said Joe Biden's
presidential campaign launched an ad about it.
"‘They
think I should stay in the White House at all times. What they didn't say is
that it's the first time I've played golf in almost 3 months, that Biden was
constantly (...) vacationing, relaxing & making shady deals with other
countries, & that Barack was always playing golf,’ part of Trump's Sunday
tweets said.
“Trump
called into a program earlier this month and said he missed golfing. ‘I do miss
it. I haven't played really since this problem that we have started. I haven't
been able to play golf for a while, I've been very busy and I think it's just
one of those things,’ Trump [the pathological narcissist] said on a PGA golf
program on NBC.
“About
an hour after Trump returned to the White House from his Virginia golf club on
Sunday, the White House announced that Trump had issued travel restrictions
against Brazil, which has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus.
Weekend
tweeting:
“Trump
appears to have also spent a considerable amount of time online over the
weekend, tweeting or retweeting content from others nearly 100 times over the
course of two days on his [twitter] account.
“The
comments from Trump were wide-ranging and not necessarily focused on the
pandemic. He attacked political opponents, promoted Fox News shows, and
repeated his frequent criticisms of the Russia investigation while infrequently
interspersing retweets of public health guidance from the federal government in
between.
“Trump
also focused several attacks on the appearance of female Democratic
politicians. Some of the President's tweets also verged on misinformation and
conspiracy. One tweet promoted ‘some very good studies’ about the use of
hydroxychloroquine, which has been unproven as a treatment or prophylactic for
coronavirus.
“Seriously
ill Covid-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine
were more likely to die or develop dangerous irregular heart rhythms, according
to a large observational study published Friday in the medical journal The
Lancet, coming just days after Trump said he was taking the medication.
Trump
even took time to spar with a former ally, his first attorney general, Jeff
Sessions. Trump tweeted that Sessions ‘should drop out’ of
the Alabama Senate race, criticizing him again for recusing himself during the
Russia investigation.
“Just
one tweet over the weekend referenced the Memorial Day holiday, which honors
American military personnel who died while serving. And like many of his other
tweets over the weekend, it seemed to focus on attacking perceived ideological
opposition.
"‘This
Is Whom You Disrespect When You Dishonor Our Flag,’ the tweet said, paired with
a video of a casket draped in an American flag being taken off an airplane…”
(CNN).
"Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf," Mr. Trump wrote in 2014 (Common Dreams, May 25, 2020).
ReplyDeleteIts ye old "do as I say and not as I do." Mr. Trump is famous for living that way, and we can all point to countless examples of it. Yes, his base believes in him with each passing day even if most of them definitely are not his kind of people. In that respect they are stupidly loyal to a man who cares not a whit about them.
Delete"...Trump spent the long holiday weekend bemoaning everything but the tragic roll call of death -- while also finding time to claim he got "great reviews" for handling the crisis.
ReplyDelete"In his most politically significant maneuver, he heaped intense pressure on North Carolina's Democratic governor to permit a normal, crowded Republican National Convention, despite fears such a mass gathering could seed virus hot spots. Trump warned he could pull the huge money-earner out of Charlotte, which was picked to play host in August...
"On social media, he waged a weekend of Twitter wars against his critics, targeting a favorite foil, Barack Obama, after Trump's return to the golf course -- his 266th such trip in office -- sparked calls for him to concentrate more fully on the pandemic.
"And he indulged his preoccupations on his tax returns, Hillary Clinton, Fox News, slanders against MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, the Russia investigation, Joe Biden's mental health, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, mail-in voting in November and highlighted dangerous and unproven Covid-19 therapies promoted on conservative media he has tested himself.
"And Tuesday morning, he continued to attack Biden, going after the Obama administration's swine flu response. 12,469 people in the US died from the H1N1 flu in 2009 and 2010, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"In between Twitter eruptions, a mask-free Trump solemnly presided over Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery, and tweeted a campaign-style video of himself leading observances..." (CNN).