As the United States commemorates 244 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there's not much to celebrate. Cases and deaths from the coronavirus outbreak continue to spike, causing several states and cities to rethink easing restrictions, which had been originally done due to political pressure. There is also a national conversation of sorts over the way certain members of law enforcement treat Black people. Presiding over all this is President Donald Trump, who just told us that this is what we have to live with.
To date (7/3/20), the U.S. leads the world in the number of people getting sick and dying from COVID-19, and it is likely to spike further if people don't start wearing masks. But Trump wishes it would all go away, because it puts a crimp in his re-election plans. He doesn't wear a mask, claims to have been checked for the virus every day (which is easy for him to say since we don't know his medical history), and undercuts his coronavirus task force whenever possible (need a reason why Dr. Anthony Fauci isn't on TV much any more?).
Recently, the President went to Tulsa, Oklahoma to relive the good old days of his barnstorming political tour, only to go home with new cases of covid among his staff and a half-empty arena full of people with no masks and hardly any social distancing.
Elsewhere, loyalty is still a big deal to the President. It's why Attorney General William Barr runs interference for him, sacking those who get too close to the truth about Trump's alleged misdeeds. It's also why former aide John Bolton and niece Mary Trump were threatened with lawsuits on national security grounds over unflattering books they wrote, but are being published anyway.
Befriending dictators has always been a priority for Trump. In spite of reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin offered bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan, Trump--who's also been roasted by critics for watching Fox News instead of reading classified briefings--brushes them off as a "hoax". He can't afford to offend Putin if he wants to be re-elected.
Even the Supreme Court has been turning on Trump, despite its conservative majority. They ruled against the President on LGTBQs losing their jobs because of their sexual orientation, and for eliminating protections for "Dreamers" threatened with deportation. How the justices really feel about Trump will be determined when they eventually rule on releasing his tax returns.
Trump likes to be the star of the show, and no amount of racial insensitivity or killer virus is going to stop him from being in the limelight. It's why the Republican party bent over backwards (as they have so many times in the past few years) to accomodate the President by moving portions of its convention from Charlotte, NC to Jacksonville, FL, so he can accept his party's nomination in a sold-out arena without bothering with masks or social distancing.
Unfortunately, the GOP convention in late August also coincides with the anniversary of a racial incident in Jacksonville 60 years ago, in which Blacks protesting segregation were attacked by whites with ax handles. Not that Trump cares about any of that local historical stuff, mind you.
We know Trump wants to keep America safe, so he issues executive orders to protect statues and names of military bases that had something to do with the side that lost the Civil War. Or turn a blind eye to those in law enforcement who don't believe Black lives matter, and that the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Elijah McClain in Colorado and others were a means to an end.
Much of 2020 so far has been a complete blur, from the President's failed removal from office to the millions infected with a virus that he took too long to deal with. Donald Trump's leadership (or lack thereof) is driving this country into the ground, and most Americans can't wait until November to vote him out. Oh, he'll eventually wear a mask. But it will be used to commit highway robbery at the polls, ensuring himself of another four years (or so) in the White House. Just like he did in 2016.
Happy Fourth of July.
