WILLING ENABLERS: The boasting started very early...

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020

...as American journalists slept:
Way back then, the phenomenon of the daily "briefing" hadn't even started.

The so-called briefings weren't daily yet. But in a briefing on February 26, President Trump was already boasting about the way he had shut down travel from China:
QUESTION (2/26/20): At what point would you be considering loosen the travel restrictions regarding China?

TRUMP: When we’re at a point where we don’t have a problem. You know, we’re not going to loosen the travel restrictions. That’s what saved us.

Had I not made—Mike alluded to it— Had I not made a decision very early on not to take people from a certain area, we wouldn’t be talking this way. We’d be talking about many more people would’ve been infected.

I took a lot of heat. I mean, some people called me racist because I made a decision so early. And we had never done that as a country before, let alone early. So it was a, you know, a bold decision. It turned out to be a good decision.

But I was criticized by the Democrats. They called me a racist because I made that decision, if you can believe that one.

We have to all work together. We can’t say bad things, and especially when we have the best team anywhere in the world. And we really gave it an early start. We gave it a very early start.
The president praised his own "bold decision," in which he'd decided "not to take people from a certain area" in China. He said we'd "never done that as a country before."

His bold decision had saved us, he said. He seemed to say that his decision had given us "a very early start" in combating the virus.

When the briefings became a daily affair, variants of this narrative emerged as a favorite among All the President's Monologues. At that time, Vice President Pence was cheerleading hard, and he was making false statements:
PENCE (3/9/20): And once again, because of the unprecedented action that President Trump took in January—suspending all travel from China; establishing travel advisories for portions of South Korea and Italy; establishing screening of all direct flights, all passengers from all airports from Italy and South Korea—we have—we have bought a considerable amount of time, according to all the health experts, to deal with the coronavirus here in the United States.

PENCE (3/13/20): Mr. President, from early on, you took decisive action. You suspended all travel from China. You created travel advisories—South Korea and Italy. We screened all travelers from all airports in both of those countries. And on the unanimous recommendation of your health experts, you, at midnight tonight, will effectively suspend all travel from Europe. And Americans that are returning will be screened and asked to voluntarily participate in a 14-day quarantine.
Did we ever "establish screening of all direct flights, all passengers from all airports from Italy and South Korea?" We don't know, and given the way our discourse works, there's no obvious point in trying to find out. That said:

By now, it's widely known that President Trump didn't "suspend all travel from China" and didn't "effectively suspend all travel from Europe." But by March 14, the cheerleader in chief was even more overwhelmed by the president's early greatness:
PENCE (3/14/20): I think you can’t overstate how unprecedented and extraordinary the suspension of all travel from China was when the president made that decision before the end of January, and the travel advisories with portions of Italy, South Korea; the screening of personnel coming into our country.
The greatness of the president's decision couldn't be overstated! By the next day, President Trump took over this role from his veep:
QUESTION (3/15/20): Mr. President, the other day, you said that you were not responsible for the testing shortfall. A very simple question: Does the buck stop with you? And on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your response to this crisis?

TRUMP: I’d rate it a 10. I think we’ve done a great job. And it started with the fact that we kept a very highly infected country—despite all of the—even the professionals saying, “No, it’s too early to do that.” We were very, very early with respect to China. And we would have a whole different situation in this country if we didn’t do that.
By now, President Trump was saying that he'd been "very, very early" with respect to travel from China. When he gave himself a perfect 10 for his response to the crisis, he cited his very, very early decision as his first case in point.

As the days of plague dragged by and the briefings became longer and longer, this narrative became perhaps the most relentlessly recited of the stories now referred to as All The President's Monologues.

The president praised the greatness of his decision in the daily briefings of March 16, March 17, March 19, March 21 and March 22. On March 24, he praised the decision in newly embellished ways during his high-profile Fox News Virtual Town Hall:
QUESTION (3/24/20): Mr. President, when was the moment that you thought, “We got to move on this?"

TRUMP: Well, I think when I started seeing and reading about China, and seeing what was going on in China—Wuhan, specifically. It seemed to come mostly out of there—that area, the province.

And when I saw that, and I saw the kind of death they were, you know, talking about on television, in the papers, and I started reading a lot about it. And, really, when I had to make a decision: Do I stop people from China and specifically that area—but from China—to come into the country? And everybody was against it. Almost everybody, I would say, was just absolutely against it. We’ve never done it before. We never made a decision like that.

QUESTION: Did somebody come to you with a bit of information, a piece of data? Was it a world leader? Was it a member of your own team? What was it?

THE PRESIDENT: No. No. It was instinct. No. We had a large group of people right behind me in the Oval Office. And I made it—I consulted with Mike. But we made a decision. I made a decision to close off to China. That was weeks early. And, honestly, I took a lot of heat. Sleepy Joe Biden said it’s xenophobic. I don’t know if he knows what that means, but that’s okay. He said it’s racist, what I did.

Thousands and thousands of more people—probably tens of thousands would be dead right now if I didn’t make that decision. And I must say, doctors—nobody wanted to make that decision at the time. It was very, very early. Call it luck or call it talent; it doesn’t matter. We made a great decision.
No one had come to him with information. It had just been a matter of instinct.

Sleepy Joe was calling him names, but he'd made the decision to close off to China "weeks early." You could call it talent or you could call it luck, but it had been a great decision, made at a time when "almost everybody was just absolutely against it."

So it went at the Fox Town Hall. The next day, at the regular daily briefing, Trump was at it again:
TRUMP (3/25/20): We’re the ones that gave the great response, and we’re the ones that kept China out of here. And if I didn’t do it, you’d have thousands and thousands of people died—who would’ve died—that are now living and happy. If I didn’t do that early call on China—and nobody wanted that to happen. Everybody thought it was a—just unnecessary to do it. And if we didn’t do that, thousands and thousands of people would have died, more than what’s happened. So that’s it.
On March 26, he repeated his favorite message again. "We got very lucky when we made a decision not to allow people in from China at a very early date," the president said. "I say that because some people don’t want to accept it."

This messaging went on and on, day after day after day. Cable news channels and broadcast channels kept letting Trump broadcast these claims in prime time.

Eventually, this nonsense was going on for more than two hours per day. And as the days and weeks went on, it became harder and harder to get clear on some of Trump's claims.

Some of the time, he praised his experts for having advised him on China. On other occasions, he seemed to say that everyone had opposed his decision—the decision he had made on instinct, or perhaps because of talent.

On some occasions, he seemed to say that the United States had been the first country to shut off travel from China. More often, he seemed to say something different—that this was the first time the United States had shut off travel in this particular way.

Weeks went by as the commander staged these nightly performances. And now, for something a ;little bit different:

It's stunning to see how little pushback he received from the indolent journalists who sat before him in the White House briefing room.

By now, fact-checks have established some basic facts about the China matter:

The United States wasn't the first country to restrict travel from China. Indeed, it wasn't anything like the first.

The United States didn't "suspend all travel from China." Something like 40,000 people entered the United States from China even after the president's limited travel ban.

Reporting has seemed to establish the fact the experts and aides had been advising trump to shut down travel long before he decided to do so. That said, Trump said so many contradictory things during his weeks of briefings that it's a little hard to know exactly how to refute or establish his claims.

The sheer absurdity of Trump's self-praise should be apparent for all to see. It's amazing to think that these absurd monologues were broadcast day after day, week after week, long after it became clear that the daily sessions were exercises in political messaging rather than sources of reliable information.

It's easy for liberals to see the craziness of the president's daily songs in praise of himself. It's harder to see the way the members of the mainstream press behaved as they were handed these monologues day after day after day after day in the White House briefing room.

The network executives who aired these briefings were letting President Trump campaign for re-election. The people who sat before him day after day behaved a great deal like the "potted plants" who became famous during the Iran-Contra hearings.

Because career journalists won't talk about this, it's hard for liberals to see this problem. We can see the absurdity of Trump's behavior. But how did upper-end journalists comport themselves, day after day, in that briefing room?

We'll ponder that question in the next few days. Very few others will.

Tomorrow: Donald Trump voted by mail!

Read 'em and weep: For transcripts of all White House briefings, you can just start here.

139 comments:

  1. "The president praised the greatness of his decision in the daily briefings of March 16, March 17, March 19, March 21 and March 22."

    Dear Bob, we realize that for you, serfs of the liberal zombie cult, it is unimaginable that anything other than your cult might deserve to be praised.

    We do realize that you zombies experience terrible convulsions every time anyone or anything other than your zombie cult is praised.

    Sad, very sad. Please be assured that we humyns warmly sympathize with your struggle to overcome your awful condition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mao, is that all you got? Us 'zombies" (apparently anyone that doesn't consider Trump to be infallible) get upset, or worse, suffer convulsions, when anything other than "our cult" gets praised. Could it not be that you go into convulsions when anyone accurately or inaccurately faults your hero? TDH's whole post was about Trump's ludicrous and inaccurate boasting over and over about his own extraordinary handling of the current crises, thru luck or genius relying on his instinct, when everyone was against it - shown by tDS to be a crock of sh-t. You don't point out at all anything inaccurate or unsupportable in TDH's post. You're like a robot.

      Delete
    2. At the time the restrictions were set, what is now inadequate was too much for W.H.O. and the sources in this CNN piece.

      If Trump has heeded some of contemporaneous arguments he’d be rightfully pilloried.

      Delete
    3. https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/07/health/coronavirus-travel-ban/index.html

      Delete
    4. "TDH's whole post was about Trump's ludicrous and inaccurate boasting over and over about his own extraordinary handling of the current crises, thru luck or genius relying on his instinct, when everyone was against it"

      Dembot, why shouldn't one boast a bit when they did something right, something very important, when everyone was against it?

      That's certainly something to be proud of.

      It's not my fault that you zombies experience painful convulsions when the Orange Man takes credit where it's due and well deserved.

      Dear Bob didn't have to write this whole squirming post about it, but we guess his convulsions were unbearable. Like we said: we sympathize.

      Delete
    5. It is very bad taste to boast about this small stuff when so many people are dying in NYC, when hospitals cannot get PPE to protect frontline medical workers, and when we are all stuck in our homes because there is no testing.

      Delete
    6. It’s always in bad taste. It comes with the man. It’s build-in and has not made it easy for his supporters in the public or in the WH. People can hear it loud and clear and make their own judgments about whether to vote or to work with him.

      Delete
    7. Mao, no convulsions yet, sorry to disappoint. Stick some more pins in your voodoo doll, perhaps. That you rely on stupid name calling all the time - I'm and anyone else who doesn't toe the line you want, a 'Dembot" - seems you're the one having convulsions. After all, if I wanted to I could have called you an "obsequious sycophant" when it comes to Trump - but I refrained from that.

      Delete
    8. If you didn't have convulsions, dear, you'd react to what's dear Bob is squirming about with something like: yes, stopping visitors from China early was a good move. And those who, at the time, smeared it as 'racist' were wrong.

      Full stop. See how easy it is?

      Delete
    9. The end of Feb wasn't particularly early when Trump was warned about the Pandemic in January and did nothing.

      It is racist to assume that someone has the virus or did something to help spread the virus simply because they are Asian. Most of our Asian American population has nothing to do with China but they are being called names and harassed because of Trump's race baiting. I spoke with a Chinese-American friend, born in Hawaii but living now in TX, and he said he has two reasons to stay home -- the virus and Texan idiots.

      Delete
    10. "It is racist to assume that someone has the virus or did something to help spread the virus simply because they are Asian"

      If you think it is, then don't do it, deambot. By all means.

      But what does it have to do with stopping flight from China?

      Delete
    11. If Trump has heeded some of contemporaneous arguments he’d be rightfully pilloried.

      Cec,

      He ain't gonna be able to bullshit his way our this clusterfuck.

      Delete
    12. Sorry, it was the end of Jan not Feb, but it was also hours after the airlines announced that they were stopping their flights.

      https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2020/04/heres-the-truth-about-the-travel-ban/

      Delete
    13. It’s always in bad taste. It comes with the man.

      Cec, you forget to add that you don't like his tweets but love his policies. Bwahahaha!!!

      Delete
    14. mm, do you love all of any politician’s policies?

      I don’t have to declare that I support him and will vote for him in every post. I also can criticize him without launching into a knock on some democratic or Fox News as some virtue gesture counterbalance.

      The devil and I aren’t under such strictures.

      Delete
    15. On Jan. 14, W.H.O. was tweeting that there was no incidence of human transmission of Coronavirus.

      Delete
    16. mm, everyone of us longs for someday. When “the black bat, night, has flown”.

      For one reason or another.

      Delete
    17. "Some day, and I don't know when that day will be, people like you who have enabled this lunatic temperamentally unfit megalomaniac ignorant manifestly unqualified jackass will have to look yourselves in the mirror and figure out what the fuck you were thinking."

      Let's not overthink this. They love Trump's bigotry.

      Delete
    18. Cec. Not a great fan of poetry, but I will say you and your fellow cult has inflicted a terrible black plague on my country. I didn't expect an honest response from you and I was not disappointed. You're not as clever as you think.

      Delete
    19. More feeling, dear Hillary, please.

      ...oh, and incidentally: "black plague"? I thought you were quite a stickler for distinguishing bacteria from viruses. And now this? Tsk. Disappointing.

      Delete
  2. Yes, Trump has over-praised his decision to cut off travel from China. But, Bob's comments are quibbles at best. Trump did cut off most travel from China. He did do it earlier than most. He did do it against the bad of WHO and Joe Biden. The Chinese ban did save thousands of cases.

    Perhaps an excuse for Trump's continued boasting is the media's failure to give this decision the praise it deserves. There's a reason why US deaths per million are only 91, while Spain is 375, Italy 329., Belgium 337, France 221, UK 167, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Didn't you get the memo.

      Fuck off and go to hell

      Delete
    2. I hear thalidomide did help with morning sickness but the haters in the media will never acknowledge that.

      Delete
    3. Union Carbide doesn't get enough credit for all the people they didn't kill in Bhopal.

      Delete
    4. Trump's excuse for continued boasting about the China ban is because it was one of the few things he did and he is desperately trying to take attention off the truth: he came to this late and has done a horrible job as president with this virus.

      Thousands will die because he came late to this. The economy will suffer deeply. His response was incompetent and foolish and cost a lot of lives.

      You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it.

      Delete
    5. Millions are saved because Trump banned China while Democrats tried to stop it. 20,000 Chinese pouring over the borders every day into March is what Democrats would deliver. Thank god we dodged that bullet.

      Delete
    6. Just thousands?

      George LORD GOD Soros would do well by firing you on the spot, for your appalling lack of imagination, dear dembot.

      Delete
    7. Every expert will stand up and say that the death rate we end up with represents a major success and the biggest decision made to achieve it was Trump's early flight bans. They will say we had 60,000 and if we "started earlier" we would have had 58,000, but if Hillary were president we would have had 4,000,000 dead.

      Yes, dembots, even Fauci will be spreading the good news. Wait for it.

      Delete
    8. I regret to inform you Trump apologists, most of the cases in the US came Europe. Not China. So no, the China ban was not that important.

      What was important was recognizing it was a pandemic, calling it a pandemic and beginning sheltering in place right around the time the NBA shut down, Apple stores shut down etc. Ie. when it was obvious it was hitting us hard.

      Trump did it four weeks after that. That is why many thousands will die because of his poor leadership on this particular issue.

      Sleep tight. At least your stocks were up for a while.

      Delete
    9. Fox news will try to venerate his failure of course.

      Every expert? Of course not. But it will be an interesting chapter in the history of propaganda if he can pull off disappearing his incompetent failures on this matter.

      But we know, you know, everyone knows he came to this late and thousands will die because of that mistake. Not to mention the vast, life changing financial aftershocks that will come due to his incompetence and failure as a leader in getting us through this crisis.

      (Sorry, I know you like him. I'm not saying I'm a Dem and Dems are good. I hate Dems. But he have to be real, we all know the score on this one. Stop lying to yourself about his failure to address this on time.)

      Delete
    10. "many thousands" is still pathetic, dear dembot. George LORD GOD Soros is not going to like it.

      I'd suggest 'hundreds of millions'.

      Delete
    11. Fauci is currently on thin ice with Great Leader.

      Delete
    12. Mao, it sounds like you are rooting for the virus. Why would anyone do that?

      Delete
    13. Mao Cheng JiApril 13, 2020 at 1:44 PM

      You're avoiding the issue which is Trump didn't address this on time and most of the cases in the US came Europe, not China.

      Delete
    14. I know why your zombie cult does it, dear Corby: hoping to win the election.

      Why anyone else would do it, and why you're hearing voices inside your head - that I don't know. Do you have any good explanations? The Russkies, I presume?

      Delete
    15. Dembot, he addressed China what it was coming from China, and he addressed Europe when it started coming from Europe. What's your problem?

      Delete
    16. It doesn't take a dembot to see Trump came to this late and thousands will die because of his incompetence.

      Delete
    17. Mao, Soros? What about the Rothchilds?

      Delete
    18. Mao, what about Sheldon Adelson?

      Delete
    19. The virus entered the country via flights to New York from Europe, weeks before Trump implemented a ban on travellers from China on January 31. By the time he stopped travel from Europe in mid-March, thousands of people were already infected. Unfortunately, his response was late on this pandemic. Not the worst mistakes of any president in history. Everybody makes mistakes. Let's be honest about this one. He came to it very late and thousands more will die that would have in a scenario of a competent response. We all know it.

      And none of this is to say Democrats are good. They're not. I hate Democrats.

      Delete
    20. Perhaps the stupidest thing Trump did was disband the pandemic task force years ago. A very bad move.

      Delete
    21. @1:34PM I regret to inform you Trump apologists, most of the cases in the US came Europe. Not China. So no, the China ban was not that important.

      Maybe Trump's China ban was the reason why fewer cases came from China.

      Delete
    22. Maybe it was. But given the other numerous missteps Trump made why do you think the media should isolate the China travel ban and praise him for it? Why did he dissolve the federal pandemic team. Imagine how that expertise right in the White House could have mitigated the toll of Covid-19. That football analogy was right. You don't boast about the lone field goal in a 60-3 rout.

      Delete
    23. Jay Rosen‏Verified account @jayrosen_nyu

      The battle to keep Americans from understanding what went on January to April is going to be one of the biggest propaganda and freedom of information fights in modern US history.


      https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/07/testing-coronavirus-trump/

      … So much is public that the manufacture of confusion will have to be massive.

      Jay Rosen, media critic and professor of journalism at NYU is one very sharp dude.

      Delete
    24. Actually, I know you like him because he makes your stocks go up and you can buy deck chairs and fancy cars that mean nothing while you look down on poor mothers who are working raising children, but no, that is not the case.

      Studies show the cases came in from Europe before he made the China ban.

      Delete
    25. "The virus entered the country via flights to New York from Europe, weeks before Trump implemented a ban on travellers from China on January 31."

      Share more irrelevant factoids, dear dembot, please.

      Delete
    26. AnonymousApril 13, 2020 at 2:47 PM

      It wasn't .

      The football analogy is spot on.

      Delete
    27. Mao Cheng JiApril 13, 2020 at 2:52 PM

      That avoids the issue: Trump came to this late.

      Your avoiding the most important issue.

      Delete
    28. "That avoids the issue: Trump came to this late."

      What you typed there, dembot, isn't an "issue".

      It's a typical example of meaningless word-salad, dembottery.

      Delete
    29. AnonymousApril 13, 2020 at 2:50 PM - You're concerned about poor working mothers, yet you're unaware that the poor did extremely well since Trump was elected.

      That is, before the current pandemic, of course. Time will tell how the economy shakes out now.

      Delete
    30. We already know what happened from Jan to April. Trump prevented 20,000 Chinese and Euro travelers per day from coming into the US against Democrat attempts to welcome them, saving MILLIONS of lives.

      Some governors like Cuomo made lousy calls when it came to social distancing and their populations ignored them when they did.

      Most governors made appropriate calls and will make appropriate calls for their states when the time comes.

      Trump provided many times the numbers of ventilators and beds needed, the most worrying question when the Chinese pandemic took hold, an inevitability because the CCP lied and covered up.

      Trump managed the pandemic perfectly from start to finish, saving millions of lives that Democrats tried to end by Orange-Man-Bad virtue signaling over "racist" travel bans.

      Delete
    31. The U.S. banned travel from the Schengen area in Europe at the same time that the EU did.

      https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/eu-to-ban-entry-to-26-schengen-area-countries/

      https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/eu-to-ban-entry-to-26-schengen-area-countries/

      Delete
    32. Why did Trump disband the White House pandemic team?

      Delete
    33. David, the poor didn't do "extremely well" since Trump was elected. that sounds like a cut and paste from one of his tweets.

      You're just looking at belief confirming statistical chimeras. But I hear what you're saying. I know there are some statistics that show improvement which is great.

      The group that has done extremely well under Trump, and Obama, and Bush and every president since Reagan is the rich.

      Trump has done some things right. I'm not a Democrat. I hate Democrats.

      On this particular presidency defining issue though, he was incompetent and late and we will suffer deeply for it. Maybe apologist propagandists can paper over it. Maybe. But no one, not you, not anyone can objectively say that he has handled this well. You know he has made grave mistakes and very, very poor decisions.

      That is not an advocacy of Democrats.

      Delete
    34. Mao Cheng Ji - no, you are wrong. It's very easy to understand. Trump addressed this pandemic far too late and thousands will have died because of his indecision and incompetence.

      Now, write a response, read it and you tell me who is serving up the word salad.

      Delete
    35. You are, dembot; I already told you. Your drivel has no discernible meaning, other than Orange Man Bad.

      Delete
    36. The desperation to get anyone at all to believe them about Trump's greatness is over the top.
      The writing is on the wall. Everyone knows the Presidency is gone. They're just hoping the wave doesn't take the Senate too.
      The desperation in their writing is delicious.
      Pro tip the white House staff: Count the silverware.

      Delete
    37. "Everyone knows the Presidency is gone"

      Tsk. But that would leave no one for you dembots to obsess about. No one to love-hate with all your dembot hearts. Emptiness. And no more checks from George LORD God Soros.

      Y'all would simply self-destruct, I'm afraid. And that would be so sad, so very sad. Let's hope you're wrong, dembot...

      Delete
    38. Mao Cheng JiApril 13, 2020 at 4:16 PM

      I'm not saying Orange Man bad. I love Trump. I'm saying Trump addressed this pandemic far too late and thousands will have died because of his indecision and incompetence. It's not that big a deal. Everyone makes mistakes.

      But me, you, everyone, Trump himself, we all know the score. He screwed it up. He surrounded himself with the wrong people and got to this late. Yes, there will be some dead. But it's not as bad as George Bush, the perpetrator of the worst crime of the century.

      Trump is on it now though hopefully. I hope he doesn't spend too much more time on pathetic propaganda videos. That was sad. That's why I'm saying "Hey, we all know the score, let's not pretend here people."

      Still Mao, I believe he can get us through the rest of this tragedy. Even though it is somewhat a byproduct of his incompetence.

      Delete
    39. So Mao, what about Sheldon Adelson? Tyler Durden never told you about him??

      Delete
    40. I've seen a few, but generally concern-bots are not common here.

      Alas, your word-salad is just as repetitive and dull as the rest of your colleagues.

      Delete
    41. So Mao,

      Do you feel Orange Man Good?

      WAIT LET ME GUESS - HHHHHHHILLARY. Hillary - go ahead Mao. Respond to a question about Trump by bringing up Hillary.

      Mao - Orange Man address pandemic as early as possible and with competence??? ? Orange Man good??? I see your answer is Hillary Man bad. Speaking of repetitive and dull!!!

      Hannity pulled Hillary out tonight! That's how desperate they are to take our eyes off the obvious truth of Trump's incompetency in this matter.

      It's has to be one or the other right? They can't both be bad!! How is that possible????

      Also, what about Sheldon Adelson Mao, my sweet young virgin? Let's talk about Sheldon Adelson.

      Delete
    42. Mao Cheng JiApril 13, 2020 at 11:18 PM

      Your post doesn't address the issue: Trump addressed this pandemic weakly and far too late.

      Delete
  3. The reason is because the virus hit Europe earlier compare with Canada not even close. Bragging about the partial travel ban with china is like bragging about the field goal your team kicked in a 56-3 loss.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Canada has fared better because there response was coordinated between the federal government and the provinces. Left, right and center have come together and worked for the common good. Stop trying to excuse divisive incompetence the blood is in all your hands.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes David Trump deserves much praise for stopping the virus dead in its tracks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Why is Somerby referring to Biden as "sleepy Joe"? There is no need for him to further Trump's insults for him.

    Second, the problem isn't that Trump allowed Americans in China (or elsewhere) to return to the US, but that they were not tested or quarantined as they came off the planes.

    Expecting Trump to stop tooting his own horn in the midst of an election year is ridiculous. There have been discussions elsewhere about OANN, Trump's favorite news service. Because they always ask softball questions that support Trump's propaganda efforts, shouldn't Somerby identify which reporter is asking these questions in today's excerpts? Shouldn't Somerby be telling us what proportion of reporters are making life easy for Trump and how many are asking tough questions? Shouldn't there be some form of analysis, instead of these cherry-picked examples Somerby loves, loves, loves?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, dear Corby: 'Creepy Joe' seems outdated these days.

      We should switch to a more accurate epithet: 'Rapist Joe'. So be it.

      Delete
    2. When you say "we," you seem to be referring to you and Somerby. Somerby introduced the Sleepy Joe reference, not any reporter, and he isn't quoting Trump with that. Why is Somerby talking about Biden that way, when Somerby is supposedly a liberal? No one expects YOU to behave well, Mao, but what is Somerby's game when he gratuitously calls the presumptive Democratic nominee the same name as our demented President?

      Delete
    3. At the very least it will be a saw off between rapist Joe and rapist don

      Delete
    4. Calm down, dear Corby, please. We're begging you.

      Delete
    5. Thus it begins. This is what we can expect from Trump's paid troll farms from now until the election.

      Delete
    6. Corby, they had this in place, which followed the directives of the CDC at the time.


      https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-members-presidents-coronavirus-task-force/

      “ In accordance with the declaration, beginning at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time; Sunday, February the 2nd, the United States government will implement temporary measures to increase our abilities to detect and contain the coronavirus proactively and aggressively. Any U.S. citizen returning to the United States who has been in Hubei Province in the previous 14 days will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine to ensure they are they are provided proper medical care and health screening.

      To be clear, this applies only to U.S. citizens who have been in Hubei Province in the past 14 days prior to their attempted entry into the United States.

      Any U.S. citizen returning to the United States who has been in the rest of Mainland China within the previous 14 days will undergo proactive entry health screening at a select number of ports of entry and up to 14 days of monitored self-quarantine to ensure they’ve not contracted the virus and do not pose a public health risk.

      Additionally, the President has signed a presidential proclamation, using his authority pursuant to Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, temporarily suspending the entry into the United States of foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the 2019 novel coronavirus.

      As a result, foreign nationals, other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled in China within the last 14 days will be denied entry into the United States for this time.

      Once again, these actions will become effective at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time; Sunday, February 2nd. These prudent, targeted, and temporary actions will decrease the pressure on public health officials screening incoming travelers, expedite the processing of U.S. citizens and permanent residents returning from China, and ensure resources are focused on the health and safety of the American people.”

      Delete
    7. That may have been what was on the books, but people returning to the US reported walking off the planes without any questions and without any quarantine suggested or mandated. You can't just issue a directive without implementing it and following up to make sure it was happening. That is another reason why Trump's leadership stinks.

      There was supposedly stimulus money in the last aid bill, but I know several small business owners who cannot get the loans because the money is not available at their bank, and when they try to go to a different bank, they are refused because they have no banking relationship with that bank. So, in practice, the help isn't reaching small business owners who need it. The problem is with follow through, and you need government workers to do that, but Trump has been systematically gutting the government, so it doesn't work well in a crisis, no matter what good ideas Trump or Congress may enact.

      Voters will hold Trump accountable for that, because it affects them directly.

      Delete
    8. What you describe as what people or small business owners are saying is apocryphal.

      That doesn’t mean that it’s not true to some extent or that there aren’t government screwups. No one could ever convince a conservative of that.

      I’m saying that yours is a different argument than saying that such measures weren’t in place.

      Delete
    9. government screwups...

      Bwahahaha!!! You're a pip, Cec.

      Vote for Trump, Incompetence With Attitude, that's what republiCONS stand for.

      Delete
    10. In 2016 the Obama administration enacted regulations that nursing homes must have a infectious disease expert employed on at least a part time basis. Additionally they enacted regulations that required nursing homes to have procedures in place to prevent the introduction and spread of contagious diseases within the facilities. Guess what...
      Trump the great deregulator eliminated those regulations.
      Why?
      The White House pandemic team...
      All gone thanks to Trump.
      Funding for pandemics all cut by Trump and the GOP house and senate...
      Why?

      It's not just the incompetence of the moment. It's 3 years of institutional neglect and rot.

      It never ends with this toad.

      Delete
    11. Announcing something is a far cry from putting it into place. Trump's people are incompetent.

      For example, how exactly is Trump's government going to pay people without health insurance for the costs of treating COVID? Will they need a test to prove they have COVID? Many cannot get tested, and they currently need it to qualify for sick leave, another catch-22. Hospitals are currently struggling because with so many people out of work and lacking insurance, they are not getting paid for the treatment they provide to those who are hospitalized. How will we respond to a recurrence if hospitals close due to insolvency, especially in rural areas where many have closed even without this pandemic?

      We still have a situation where nurses don't have proper protective equipment, because FEMA is not sending all needed supplies to the worst hit areas, but is sending 50% and letting suppliers sell the other 50% to the highest bidder. Good old Trumpian capitalism! But at least FEMA is involved now, instead of bidding against hospitals and states and driving up the prices on everything. The next stage will involve the financial hit to State and local economies, after they figure out how much money they've lost trying to supply their hospitals, shelters, food banks, extra emergency policing, and so on. How will Trump deal with widespread municipal bankruptcies? Will bailing out the billionaires be enough to address that?

      Delete
    12. I think we can all take comfort now that it has just been announced that Ivanka and Jared have been named to the newly created "Council To Re-Open America".

      Yeah, baby, a slum lord and the maker of cheap knockoff jewelry made in China will be deciding the fate of 300 million Americans.
      And not a single public health expert on the council.

      You just can't make it up.

      Delete
    13. What, not a single psycho-wife of former president is invited? What a shame.

      Delete
    14. Mao - your question deviates from the point. Address the issue head on instead of constantly avoiding it..

      Delete
  7. Remember when the left wing media held Trump accountable for his racist lies about Obama's birth certificate.

    ReplyDelete
  8. With Trump, the boasting probably started in early childhood. Imagine having to compete for parental attention with Trump's older, more accomplished siblings, while having nothing to actually brag about. "Look how big my fingers are, daddy!" "Not as big as your brother's, Donnie, now leave me alone while I count my money."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It beats what Joe Biden did with his fingers.

      Delete
    2. It beats what Joe Biden did or didn't do with his fingers.

      FTFY

      Delete
  9. Trump is lazy. Travel ban was easy and didn't require any action on his part. And as we now know travel ban paired with months of inaction and the usual lies and insults was a failed strategy that is now costing lives.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nutcase Nancy was telling people to go to Chinatown and lick people on February 25.

    Voters know the truth, Nutcase Nancy and Deblasio will be featured in never ending ads near the election. Trump will quantify the number of lives saved by his early action.

    Meanwhile demented Joe Biden will be fighting a rape allegation that is true, corroborated at the time, and has been reported.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People have lived in CA's San Francisco Chinatown since before CA became a State (1849). There was no reason to shun them simply for being Asian American, any more than people living in any other part of the city. She was pointing out that you need to worry about people testing positive and coming from infected areas, not people with no connection to the virus. De Blasio, for example, has no greater likelihood of having the virus simply because he is Italian American and they have a lot of virus in Italy.

      Even if the allegation against Joe Biden is true (as alleged), it still doesn't constitute rape.

      When I see someone using names like Nutcase Nancy, I know exactly where that person is coming from. That's why it bothers me when Somerby does it. There are enough trolls around without Somerby pretending to be liberal while repeating troll garbage.

      Delete
    2. Penetrating someone with fingers against their will isn't rape? I didn't know that. Apologies to Joe Biden.

      Delete
    3. "There was no reason to shun them simply for being Asian American"

      Dear Corby, you're embarrassing yourself.

      But we feel charitable today, so we'll assume that you're being disingenuous. Because the alternative is much worse.

      Delete
    4. Corby, refresh yourself on the Chanel Miller case.

      No that we know if this happened or not.

      Delete
    5. Chanel Miller's case was about sexual assault, not rape.

      Delete
    6. I know. When TDH blogged on the case there was discussion here about the aftermath of the case being that the law was changed in California as to digital penetration being rape.

      Delete
    7. "Her attacker Brock Turner, a former student and swimmer at Stanford University, was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated/unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person."

      Rape is penetration with the penis, not with an object or fingers.

      I have long thought that Biden was sleazy, touched women and children inappropriately on many occasions, and I don't like his politics, but I will vote for him willingly if he can make this nightmare of Trump stop.

      Trump is arguably worse than Biden in his treatment of women, but neither of them is OK and I wish we had a better candidate. If he can put Trump out of office, that is enough and we can look for someone better in 2024.

      Attacking Biden by accusing him of rape is going to rally Democrats behind him, because it is such a transparent attempt by conservatives to protect Trump, who is more vulnerable to that charge than Biden is. If we have to count the number of accusations, 27 tops 1 any day of the week. Sad that it has come to this, but Trump is much worse than Joe Biden, even if the allegations against him are true.

      Delete
    8. "Attacking Biden by accusing him of rape is going to rally Democrats behind him, because..."

      There's no 'because'. Zombie 'feminists' adore zombie rapists. Bubba Demigod Clinton being the obvious case in point.

      "Rape is penetration with the penis, not with an object or fingers."

      Hmm, interesting. I had the impression that a penetration with any object is rape. Could you cite your source, please.

      Delete
    9. According to wikipedia:
      "Until 2012, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considered rape a crime solely committed by men against women. In 2012, they changed their definition from "The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will" to "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." The previous definition, which had remained unchanged since 1927, was considered outdated and narrow."

      I guess CA's law is outdated and narrow. Why am I not surprised.

      Delete
    10. Corby, my point is that after the Miller case, California changed the definition of rape to include digital penetration. A blanket statement about it not being rape isn’t true.

      That said, I don’t know what happened between Biden and this woman or where she claims the assault happened. I don’t know if she’s lying or not.

      Whether a Trump accuser has a more compelling claim than Biden’s accuser, I don’t know either. The statute of limitations is up and that makes it a political matter.

      Delete
    11. Thank you, I didn't realize the law had been changed.

      There isn't a single Trump accuser, there were 27 of them, the last I heard. Biden stopped his actions and left when Reade told him "no" and although his response was unpleasant, he seemed to mistakenly think his advances were welcome (based on Reade's account). That is slightly different than any of Trump's alleged assaults.

      Delete
    12. Weinstein's defense was that he thought his rapes were welcome too. Apologies to Biden and Weinstein and all other rapists who thought she wanted it.

      Delete
  11. “It's easy for liberals to see the craziness of the president's daily songs in praise of himself.”

    Liberals, like Somerby (supposedly), read the fact checks and the reporting in the mainstream media. That’s how Somerby knows “it's widely known that President Trump didn't "suspend all travel from China" and didn't "effectively suspend all travel from Europe."”

    After all, “By now, fact-checks have established some basic facts about the China matter:”

    I wasn’t aware that non-liberals were genetically, constitutionally, or otherwise prevented from reading these same fact checks. And yet “The sheer absurdity of Trump's self-praise should be apparent for all to see.” Yet it is not.

    Somerby seems to be implying that the performance of “upper-end journalists” at the briefings has failed to inform the non-liberals that Trump is absurd, or that any kind of questioning would elicit anything other than absurd self-praise from Trump.

    Aside from lumping all the journalists at those briefings into one group, (as if they were all members of the mainstream press), Somerby seems to assume that their questioning of Trump could somehow cause (certain) non-liberals to see what they heretofore refuse to see.

    That seems unlikely.

    ReplyDelete
  12. “For transcripts of all White House briefings, you can just start here.”

    You will notice that the reporters are not identified by name. Just “Q”.

    It is of no small importance to try to figure out who is asking what question and what media outfit they work for.

    I have as yet been unable to find a list of the reporters at those briefings, and I don’t recognize most of them when watching the videos.

    ReplyDelete
  13. David while Trump's travel ban was actually a good call and ahead of conventional wisdom it's effectiveness was almost totally diminished by his subsequent horrible decisions. There's no using buying time if you waste it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trump travel ban: Reduced the dead from 4 million to 60,000

      Trump failure to formulate an exactly perfect response on the first day possible instead of the second: 2000 deaths

      Net lives saved: 3,942,000

      Hillary and Biden open border policy: 4 million deaths

      Lives saved by perfect early response of forcing nationwide lockdowns as soon as they thought they had the opportunity to seize power from governors, after entry into the US of hundreds of thousands spreading disease through the month of February: 0 with failed hospitals and ventilator and bed shortages due to impossibility of gaining control of spread after failure to ban travel.

      Net lives lost: 4 million

      Delete
    2. The travel ban didn't reduce the deaths. The stay-at-home orders issued by the Govs have done that. Trump gets no credit for that. You also need to factor in the loss of lives due to lack of proper equipment, which Trump is still complicating, not solving.

      Those people came into the US anyway. Even an open border policy wouldn't have changed that. Testing people at the airports would have prevented more deaths. Widespread testing would have prevented the need to totally shutdown in unaffected areas, saving people money. You can chalk up the increase in domestic violence deaths to Trump too, since he and the RNC prevented reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, with its preventive measures.

      There is no evidence that any COVID is coming in through the Mexican or Canadian borders. Instead, COVID is spreading South via Americans visiting other countries. That is why they wouldn't let the cruise ships dock anywhere in South America.

      Neither Hillary nor Biden is in favor of an open border policy, at this time or any time in the past.

      Delete
  14. Trump presser at 5 PM

    ReplyDelete
  15. “Willing Enablers…”

    As Bob is pointing out, Trump’s disinformation is being spread world-wide; almost like a virus. Just as the enablers did before, leading to his election. After all, you need to be fair and balanced. Trump deserved – and still deserves – much more airtime than anyone else. Ratings, everyone!

    Oh wait, there’s a word for disinformation! Memes. They mutate, just like viruses, bacteria and the entire gamut of life on Earth. Some people are consumed by the Trump memes, ready to die, others seem to be inoculated against them.

    I’m not too optimistic about the idea of inoculating America to the Trump memes . But certainly, as I believe Bob is pointing out, that can only be countered by we, the hoi-polloi, if we respond to the virus of Trump and the entire Republican party with determination. What is to counter this menace? The Democratic party? If that’s true, then we’re severely fucked. Because they seem unable to contol counter-narratives.

    Showing Trump every single fucking day will not help, MSM, and his gaffes are too numerous to document. He stopped holding press conferences, until recently, and now you show up?

    Holy Shit. Another name for Trump.

    Leroy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Dems are hampered by the need to tell the truth.

      Trump and Republicans get to lie all they want.

      Delete
  16. Fewer US deaths proportionally, the only measure that counts, than

    Italy
    France
    Germany
    Switzerland
    Spain
    UK
    Netherlands
    Belgium

    and counting.

    Trump's leadership has saved the country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As if...Democratic governors have saved the country, along with all the people who stayed home and all of the service workers who have made that possible.

      Trump did nothing. He didn't even close Mar a Lago when his friends started getting sick.

      The "and counting" part is what you have to pay attention to. We haven't hit our peak yet whereas several of the countries listed are declining in new cases.

      We could have done better -- whatever the numbers wind up at. Ask John Prine. Ask Terence McNally.

      Delete
    2. "Democratic governors have saved the country"

      By having a whole lot more dead people (both in absolute numbers and percentages) in their states than in R's states?

      Nice dembottery.

      Here they are, your heroes, with the number of deaths per 1 mil population:

      New York 513
      New Jersey 275
      Louisiana 190
      Connecticut 168
      Michigan 161
      Massachusetts 124
      DC 76

      USA Total 71

      Delete
    3. When it comes to the discussion of, with, or by feral Trumpers, It’s hard to tell the difference between trolling, parody, and belief in spite of evidence. But the claim that “Trump saved the country” has begun its Orwellian ride, so it’s instructive to look at the facts by “the only measure that counts.”

      The US has reported about 24K deaths from COVID-19. Our population is about 330M. So the mortality in deaths per million residents is 71.5. German losses to the virus are about 3200, and Germany has about 83M people. So German mortality is about 38.5 per million residents.

      Make America Gruesome Again.

      News reports say the models indicate that Germany and the US will hit their peak death toll at the same time, around now, give or take a week. Official US death totals are under-reports by a large margin. The reasons are various. In hard-hit areas like NYC, there has been a spike in deaths at home, but no tests are given to people who die at home for the obvious reasons. Likely, many of those deaths are from COVID-19, but they’re not counted as deaths from the virus.

      The governor of Florida, DeSantis (R-They walk amongst us as human) is doing all he can to prevent news organizations from finding out which nursing homes in the state are infected. There are no good motives for this, but lower death counts from COVID-19 will likely be at least a by-product.

      German numbers are likely more trustworthy because they’ve conducted a better testing program, reaching about 16% of their population. We’re under 9%.

      Delete
    4. I wonder why Mao left out California?

      Delete
    5. I wonder why “Mao” left out Sweden.

      Number of deaths per 1 mil population (vs other Nordic countries):

      Sweden 91
      Denmark 49
      Norway 25
      Iceland 23
      Finland 11

      “Too bad. If not for liberal zombies, we could've had a normal life now. Just like they do in Sweden”
      “Mao” 3/31/20

      Delete
    6. Dear Dembot, you dedication is flattering.

      Yes, we could have normal lives now. Like they do in Sweden.

      Are you under the impression that you refuted it somehow? Or are you just being a dembot?

      Delete
    7. Cuomo's leadership failure in NY should not reflect on the rest of the country so those numbers should be set aside. Trump provided all the supplies and beds needed but the failed NY leadership in the early days encouraging everyone to ignore the virus and the public ignoring the advice after it was finally given has taken its toll.

      Delete
    8. Hey Dimbot,

      Nobody is trying to refute that you are a heartless lost-cause propagandist. I agree that would be a fool’s errand. That to someone like you, taking a sauna with the boys and stopping by the furniture shop for a horsemeat sandwich is more important than your neighbor’s health, is also irrefutable.

      Delete
    9. Ah. This makes you what: Swedophob, dembot? Nice. Go on, please.

      Delete
    10. 1:31,

      It's a fucking hoax.

      Delete
  17. This aged well. Fauci just ripped the room a new one defending Trump.

    AnonymousApril 13, 2020 at 1:31 PM

    Every expert will stand up and say that the death rate we end up with represents a major success and the biggest decision made to achieve it was Trump's early flight bans.

    Yes, dembots, even Fauci will be spreading the good news. Wait for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your desperation is duly noted.

      Delete
  18. Everyone got a peek at Trump's future ads today. Fauci stood at the podium and essentially created another one.

    The reason they will be effective is there is no arguing the fact that Trump has successfully led the country through this terrible time.

    The next phase will be hard and extend into next year, and no one is going to trust a Democrat with the economy or the disease.

    ReplyDelete
  19. LINK

    Is this (our) species even viable?

    Same thing Bob is wondering.

    Leroy

    ReplyDelete
  20. After coronavirus, Chris Cuomo’s needs are basic and he longs to be Trump ( although he’s not aware of that).

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2020/04/13/chris-cuomo-trashes-cnn-gig-during-covid-19-meltdown/amp/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 5% of the world's population.
      20% of the world's covid-19 deaths. Winning

      Delete
    2. Tsk. You're too harsh on Mr. Cuomo, 9:41.

      Delete
    3. Aren't you supposed to be fucking your mother in hell?

      Delete
    4. Am I? I thought I was supposed to be a virgin. Tell us more about your sexual fantasies.

      Delete
    5. Mao trying to up his game now that some real trolls have arrived. "Liberal zombie dembot"
      Ain't moving the needle.

      Delete
    6. Mao is Putin's retarded nephew assigned the meaningless task of trolling an obscure blog hardly anyone reads years before the election. Now that the real trolls have shown up, Mao desperately tries to be relevant. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.
      Poor Fredo er I mean Mao

      Delete
    7. Mao's laziness is also a Right-wing trait.

      Delete
    8. Dear dembots. One suggestion, if I may : less standard dembot drivel, and more of your adolescent sexual fantasies, please.

      Delete
  21. Hello viewers around the Globe, Herbal Penis Enlargement product is 100% guarantee to Enlarge and get a better ERECTION ,the reason why most people are finding it difficult to enlarge Penis is because they believe on medical report, drugs and medical treatment which is not helpful for Penis Enlargement . Natural roots/herbs are the best remedy which can easily Enlarge your Penis permanently Contact Dr Olu via Email : Drolusolutionhome@gmail.com or via Whats App : +2348140654426 for Natural root and herbal remedies put together to help you get Enalarge and Erect healthy. Thank you.  

    Once again God bless you Dr. Olu for what you have done in my life.  





























    Hello viewers around the Globe, Herbal Penis Enlargement product is 100% guarantee to Enlarge and get a better ERECTION ,the reason why most people are finding it difficult to enlarge Penis is because they believe on medical report, drugs and medical treatment which is not helpful for Penis Enlargement . Natural roots/herbs are the best remedy which can easily Enlarge your Penis permanently Contact Dr Olu via Email : Drolusolutionhome@gmail.com or via Whats App : +2348140654426 for Natural root and herbal remedies put together to help you get Enalarge and Erect healthy. Thank you.  

    Once again God bless you Dr. Olu for what you have done in my life.  












    Hello viewers around the Globe, Herbal Penis Enlargement product is 100% guarantee to Enlarge and get a better ERECTION ,the reason why most people are finding it difficult to enlarge Penis is because they believe on medical report, drugs and medical treatment which is not helpful for Penis Enlargement . Natural roots/herbs are the best remedy which can easily Enlarge your Penis permanently Contact Dr Olu via Email : Drolusolutionhome@gmail.com or via Whats App : +2348140654426 for Natural root and herbal remedies put together to help you get Enalarge and Erect healthy. Thank you.  

    Once again God bless you Dr. Olu for what you have done in my life.  





























    Hello viewers around the Globe, Herbal Penis Enlargement product is 100% guarantee to Enlarge and get a better ERECTION ,the reason why most people are finding it difficult to enlarge Penis is because they believe on medical report, drugs and medical treatment which is not helpful for Penis Enlargement . Natural roots/herbs are the best remedy which can easily Enlarge your Penis permanently Contact Dr Olu via Email : Drolusolutionhome@gmail.com or via Whats App : +2348140654426 for Natural root and herbal remedies put together to help you get Enalarge and Erect healthy. Thank you.  

    Once again God bless you Dr. Olu for what you have done in my life.  

    ReplyDelete
  22. Looking forward to asking my boss for a 20% raise, when it's safe to go back to work.
    This virus is a godsend for the leverage of workers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish the virus was a godsend for the leverage of workers. My son in law just get laid off. With millions of newly unemployed workers looking for jobs, workers would seem to have less leverage than before.

      Delete
    2. Yeah 20% unemployment is great for worker leverage.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, 15 million workers being begged to come back to work to save the economy is great for worker leverage.

      Delete