2020 US election - It Came from Washington DC

[SilverFang01]

Ah, he must be finally going to finish his physical.

Good. Good.

Right.

He hasn't tweeted in 16 hours. If he could, he would. He didn't, so he can't. And now they're emergency flying him to Walter Reed.

Asymptomatic my ass.

[LynnInDenver]

Also, at the end of the day, love or hate the man (and while I do prefer him to his opponent I'll accept the electoral results either way), I'm not going to hope this kills him, and I hope no one else here does too. I have relatives and close friends who were barely spared the Reaper thanks to COVID, and while I know there is not a lot of love for Trump here politically, I hope, as human beings, that everyone here will not wish for his death.

Edit: For the record, I would say the same if Biden was afflicted.

Yeah, not wishing for his death here (that would firmly put me over to some category of Evil on the Alignment chart, plus the added chaos it would add in a timeline where we've gotten enough in one year, THANK YOU VERY MUCH), but I'll be honest in that I can't scrape up much sympathy for him getting it, either.

[Labster]

Well, he rode the helicopter out of the White House and into the sunset.  There is a chance that this could be his last day at the White House.

The idea that they "won't let the President die" is crazy.  This is not how disease works when we have no treatment for it.  Yes, he will have better medical care than most people, but that doesn't mean that there is much they can do to save him.  Only his own immune system can do that.

[robkelk]

Ah, he must be finally going to finish his physical.

Good. Good.

Right.

He hasn't tweeted in 16 hours. If he could, he would. He didn't, so he can't. And now they're emergency flying him to Walter Reed.

Asymptomatic my ass.

According to his doctor, he "remains fatigued".

I've seen too many episodes of Yes Minister. In politics, "fatigued" means anything but fatigued.

[robkelk]

News that Donald Trump had contracted the coronavirus with a month to go before the U.S. presidential election was met with a mix of bewilderment, humour and intrigue in Russia Friday.

State TV hosts, who frequently amplify or reinforce Kremlin messaging, spent the day pondering the implications for the upcoming election but also reinforcing the notion that the U.S. president's illness was yet another indication of the fading greatness of a once-great superpower.

"Well, we hope Donald Trump gets well," said Olga Skabyeva, host of the talk show 60 minutes, before breaking into a grin and delivering the punchline.

"Donald, hold on. Melania, hold on, too! No matter how you spin it, you're still our candidate !" she said, playing up a common theme on state TV: that Russia "owns" Trump.

So, yeah - even toe-the-party-line Russian TV admits there's a connection between Russia and Trump.

[robkelk]

Juxtaposed headlines:

Boris Johnson saw small uptick in popularity after he contracted coronavirus. Will Trump see the same?

Shock, sympathy, mockery: World reacts to Trump infection

Don't mock Trump for COVID-19 diagnosis; instead push to protect the vulnerable: Rev. Al Sharpton

[robkelk]

The Betoota Advocate (Australia's version of The Onion): Trump Family Records More Cases Of Community Transmission Than Entire State Of Queensland

[LynnInDenver]

I've seen too many episodes of Yes Minister. In politics, "fatigued" means anything but fatigued.

I'm thinking there's a sliding scale for how this is playing out. But I agree that it could mean more than just tired because he's gotten a mild case.

Official story: Going to Walter Reed is purely a precaution in case there's a quick deterioration, but his symptoms remain mild. This is at one end of the scale. Mind, this is probably going to remain the official story, like saying a football player that took a fatal hit and died on the field, "died on the way to the hospital", even if it's on the opposite end of the scale.

Second step on the scale: Still somewhat precautionary move, but indications that he's becoming more than mildly symptomatic that would have prompted it. Could just be shortness of breath here, since that's a common added symptom.

Third step on the scale: Rapid deterioration that mandated actually being hospitalized in a hurry. My understanding is that COVID-19 kind of has something of a variable timeline, depending on factors like how much of a viral load you got, when you got it versus when you start showing the symptoms that you got it, and whether or not your immune system has decided it's not doing enough and kicks into overdrive and does all the collateral damage to you in the effort to kick COVID out.

Fourth step: Looks like the third step, only without the pulse on the other end, either from the immune overreaction or pneumonia.

[robkelk]

Further information: TIME Magazine has a photo of him walking out of the helicopter after it landed at Walter Reed. (Third photo down in this article.)

So probably not step 3 or 4.

[Labster]

So if you were to take Trump's age and risk factors into account, he has a 5-10% chance of dying in the near future. Not likely, but as I've said upthread on another topic, I wouldn't want to throw that die.

But, he's been hospitalized within a day of a positive test. And he's receiving an experimental therapy, so I guess our President has agreed to be a guinea pig for Dr. Washuu-chan. So who knows at this point.

Worst case scenario, since this is 2020, he also got Joe Biden infected on the debate day. And both candidates die. And that just leaves us with President Kanye. Okay, that won't happen, but we have a potential scenario where all electors for the Electoral College have been elected to support a dead candidate, which means they're essentially free to vote for whoever they want.

Either way, it looks like the debate was not only a shitshow, it was a superspreader shitshow.

[Black Aeronaut]

Like others have said, I don't particularly wish that the man dies.

Though I would say that there is a certain poetic justice if he does.

That said, it would be bad if he does die from COVID. Because I can just see all the Good Ol' Boys out there, screaming and foaming at the mouth that this was all a plot by the Democrats to remove an obstacle, Putin style.

And the inverse, I feel, would be true as well - that if this is just a mild case, he's going to laugh it all off and proclaim that no one should be worried about the virus.

And many will drink from that particular punch bowl of kool-aid, being all "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." (And what's worse is that the context of the original verse fits, too. I checked.)

[Labster]

I think we're building to the series finale here.  Lots of loose threads are getting wrapped up:

Remember how Kellyanne Conway who works for Trump, and her husband George Conway who founded an anti-Trump PAC, had a teenaged daughter that was trying to emancipate herself?  And remember how Trump has been trying to ban TikTok because the K-pop stans ruined their Tulsa campaign rally?  And remember how Ben Carson died after the outbreak of coronavirus at the rally?  Well, among all of the people getting sick is Kellyanne Conway, whose daughter chose TikTok as the platform to announce to the world that her mom has Covid.

And then there's the campaign staff.  While Paul Manfort went to jail back in season one, the 2020 campaign managers have been having a hard time.  The ex-manager, earlier this week, was arrested as a Florida Man for threatening to kill himself, and was put on a 72 hour psychiatric hold.  And the current campaign manager has a case of Covid.  He's planning to work through it.  Honestly not sure which one I'd rather be.

Remember how earlier this week there was a "debate"?  And all of the people on the Trump side of the audience didn't wear masks?  Well, a lot of them are now infected.  So far there are no known infections on the side of the room wearing masks.  But the party chair has Covid, as well as a couple senators.  And remember how everyone panned the debate and wanted the candidates to stop trying to debate?  Well, with the President getting sick, we will thankfully hear no more from them.  It's kind of hard to consider how awful an event the debate was.  It was panned by virtually everyone -- except the Proud Boys, who think they're taking orders from the President now and are using it as a recruiting tool.  But other than the white supremacists, everyone else hated it.  People stopped watching because of the lack of decorum, myself included.  And now, people are going to get sick and potentially die because of it.  I didn't even think it was possible to fail at a debate this badly, but here we are.

Here we are, 31 days out from the election, and elected officials are being quarantined off the campaign trail.  It's October, and it's going to be a whole month of October surprises.  Remember how Trump never released his taxes?  Earlier this week the New York Times got them.  Yes, this week.  Also, the President's niece sued him for fraud.  It's all coming together.  You're not going to want to miss the surprising finale!

[GethN7]

Like others have said, I don't particularly wish that the man dies.

Though I would say that there is a certain poetic justice if he does.

That said, it would be bad if he does die from COVID.  Because I can just see all the Good Ol' Boys out there, screaming and foaming at the mouth that this was all a plot by the Democrats to remove an obstacle, Putin style.

And the inverse, I feel, would be true as well - that if this is just a mild case, he's going to laugh it all off and proclaim that no one should be worried about the virus.

And many will drink from that particular punch bowl of kool-aid, being all "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."  (And what's worse is that the context of the original verse fits, too.  I checked.)

I for one am of the opinion this was no conspiracy, Trump got COVID because, despite all his precautions, his job forces him to take risks that will get him put in danger of infection, and that happened. Anyone who thinks this was a conspiracy is an idiot.

As for him laughing this off, I doubt that will happen. If anything, since he and Melania got it, I'm optimistic this may be a sobering experience for him since even he was afflicted, and it may even humble him a bit concerning his own mortality. Can't say for sure, but hope springs eternal.

And I believe it may be overly pessimistic to think people who like Trump to some degree (raises hand) are going to laugh off COVID no matter what. I've considered this plague to be deadly serious since day one, and I would be very disappointed if this experience does not leave Trump a little more grateful for his life assuming he passes through this trial of disease alive. Assuming he tries to laugh it off in any way, I will be the first to voice my disgust if he takes this lightly.

[Jinx999]

As for him laughing this off, I doubt that will happen. If anything, since he and Melania got it, I'm optimistic this may be a sobering experience for him since even he was afflicted, and it may even humble him a bit concerning his own mortality. Can't say for sure, but hope springs eternal.

And I believe it may be overly pessimistic to think people who like Trump to some degree (raises hand) are going to laugh off COVID no matter what. I've considered this plague to be deadly serious since day one, and I would be very disappointed if this experience does not leave Trump a little more grateful for his life assuming he passes through this trial of disease alive. Assuming he tries to laugh it off in any way, I will be the first to voice my disgust if he takes this lightly.

The Brazilian president Bolsonaro got Covid and proceeded to laugh it off and claim his recovery was evidence that it was overblown and could be cured by taking anti-malarial pills.

[SilverFang01]

The Fuck Your Feelings crowd is feeling a little hurt that not everyone is expressing sympathy towards the President or that Biden has not cancelled his campaign.

[Norgarth]

While I agree that it's not a conspiracy (though there will no doubt be loons who do, there are nutcases who will believe anything is a conspiracy), I've got to raise an eyebrow at your comment 'all his precautions' like he was using a lot of them, since he often avoided one of the simplest precautions, wearing a mask.

His habit of avoiding masks (and his followers as well) is likely a major component in him getting infected.

[GethN7]

While I agree that it's not a conspiracy (though there will no doubt be loons who do, there are nutcases who will believe anything is a conspiracy), I've got to raise an eyebrow at your comment 'all his precautions' like he was using a lot of them, since he often avoided one of the simplest precautions, wearing a mask.

His habit of avoiding masks (and his followers as well) is likely a major component in him getting infected.

Granted, makes sense. While Trump has always been a notorious germaphobe, that was a huge hole in his COVID defenses that struck me as bizarre even for him.

[robkelk]

While I agree that it's not a conspiracy (though there will no doubt be loons who do, there are nutcases who will believe anything is a conspiracy), I've got to raise an eyebrow at your comment 'all his precautions' like he was using a lot of them, since he often avoided one of the simplest precautions, wearing a mask.

His habit of avoiding masks (and his followers as well) is likely a major component in him getting infected.

Granted, makes sense. While Trump has always been a notorious germaphobe, that was a huge hole in his COVID defenses that struck me as bizarre even for him.

It isn't that bizarre. He was told by experts that he needed to do something - but how many times during his presidency has he ever listened to the experts, and how many times has he trusted his own judgment instead of admitting to himself that somebody else might know more than he does?

Deliberately ignoring the advice to wear a mask is just another example of his ego not letting him admit he might not know everything.

[GethN7]

While I agree that it's not a conspiracy (though there will no doubt be loons who do, there are nutcases who will believe anything is a conspiracy), I've got to raise an eyebrow at your comment 'all his precautions' like he was using a lot of them, since he often avoided one of the simplest precautions, wearing a mask.

His habit of avoiding masks (and his followers as well) is likely a major component in him getting infected.

Granted, makes sense. While Trump has always been a notorious germaphobe, that was a huge hole in his COVID defenses that struck me as bizarre even for him.

It isn't that bizarre. He was told by experts that he needed to do something - but how many times during his presidency has he ever listened to the experts, and how many times has he trusted his own judgment instead of admitting to himself that somebody else might know more than he does?

Deliberately ignoring the advice to wear a mask is just another example of his ego not letting him admit he might not know everything.

Point duly noted.

[robkelk]

Trump's out of the hospital... and, in his ego, he threw away the possibility of getting the sympathy vote.

"If he used this as an opportunity to communicate with Americans on a sort of more personal basis, it could have, in some ways, a positive impact on his campaign," [American University communications professor Leonard] Steinhorn told CBC News.

Instead, upon his departure from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening, Trump downplayed the seriousness of the disease, releasing a video telling Americans they should not fear the virus, not let it take over their lives and that he feels better than he did 20 years ago.

"He wants his personal experience to vindicate the policies, the policies he's had to reopen America," Steinhorn said. "And to vindicate everything he's been saying and doing."

He needs to make up a lot of ground, there's not a lot of time to do it and he's wasted this opportunity — if anything, he's polarized people even more about it.

[robkelk]

VP debate tonight. Considering the current COVID-19 outbreak in the White House, Harris has insisted on a physical barrier between the candidates.

[hazard]

Sensible of her.

[DHBirr]

"Lock her up!  Lock him up!  Lock everybody up!"  Trump tweets his anger that none of the people he dislikes have been arrested yet.

“Where are all of the arrests?” Trump said, after several dozen tweets on the subject over the past 24 hours. “Can you imagine if the roles were reversed? Long term sentences would have started two years ago. Shameful!”

By early afternoon, Trump was letting loose his frustrations in an all-caps missive that seemed aimed at nobody in particular.

“DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, THE BIGGEST OF ALL POLITICAL SCANDALS (IN HISTORY)!!! BIDEN, OBAMA AND CROOKED HILLARY LED THIS TREASONOUS PLOT!!! BIDEN SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO RUN - GOT CAUGHT!!!” Trump tweeted.

Even William Barr – or should that be Lavrentii Barria? – has said he's not going to prosecute on those "charges."

-----
God made me an agnostic — who are you to question His wisdom?

[Rajvik]

Sensible of her.

not really, even the NY Times is saying that it is useless

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/...d=msedgntp

they are however 12 feet apart

[robkelk]

Sensible of her.

not really, even the NY Times is saying that it is useless

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/...d=msedgntp

they are however 12 feet apart

Quoting from the very first line in that article:

The plexiglass barriers installed for the vice-presidential debate are useful only for protecting against droplets: “Those are really just splatter shields.”

Which means they aren't useless. Splatter shields are a good adjunct to other measures to control the spread of airborne droplets.


EDIT:

Another solution, experts said, is simply to move the debate online. “I don’t understand the resistance to a virtual format,” said Natalie Dean, an epidemiologist at the University of Florida.

Which is exactly what Canada did last week during the Green Party leadership debate, so it's been proven to work in a political setting.