The Trump Presidency: Part 21

[PhantomWolf]

UV light? Injecting disinfectant?

Here’s an idea, Mr. President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals

Hah!! How do you know this testing is even safe, hrmmm? They said that Nuclear testing was safe too, just ask the Mayor of Las Vegas, she'll tell you all about it.

 

[carlosy]

There is an idiom in law... which apparently is a quote from Napoleon

Never interrupt your opponent when he's making a mistake.

How many more 'mistakes' are they going to pass without interruption?
Has it ever changed anything?

It's not like he is POTUS for a few weeks.

 

[The Don]

It's all the fault of the meanies in the press.

The White House says the media has "irresponsibly" taken President Donald Trump's comments on injecting disinfectant into the human body to treat coronavirus "out of context".

At a briefing on Thursday, Trump hypothesised about using disinfectants or ultraviolet light inside the body as a treatment. His comments which have been widely criticised by doctors.

Disinfectants are hazardous substances and can be poisonous if ingested.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said: "President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasised again during yesterday's briefing.

"Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...a2f11caa0e000677b940c0&pinned_post_type=share

If the President doesn't want to be taken out of context, perhaps his statements shouldn't be verbal Rorschach tests

 

[alfaniner]

Today's press briefing is going to be a hoot, I bet. I can't wait for the question section. His crazy speculation from yesterday has been reported by the BBC, and even elicited a safety warning response from the Lysol manufacturers. Of course, he's going to say that only CNN ran with it endlessly and lied about what he said.

Of course, we're going to hit 50,000 deaths today, a significant milestone. That requires some serious distraction on his part.

 

[pgwenthold]

It's all the fault of the meanies in the press.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...a2f11caa0e000677b940c0&pinned_post_type=share

If the President doesn't want to be taken out of context, perhaps his statements shouldn't be verbal Rorschach tests

The president speculates about injecting disinfecting and it is the MEDIA who is irresponsible?

 

[Horatius]

The president speculates about injecting disinfecting and it is the MEDIA who is irresponsible?

They irresponsibly reported what he actually said, instead of what he meant!

 

[pgwenthold]

Movie producer Seth Grahame-Smith tweets:
Dear @realDonaldTrump I've eaten 7 tide pods and my wife is sticking her head in the oven and neither of us feels any better yet PLEASE EXPLAIN??

Of course it wouldn't work. Clearly, you are idiots. Tide is a detergent, not a disinfectant, and the oven is a source of IR light, not UV.

How do you expect results if you don't actually do what he says?

 

[Garrison]

It's all the fault of the meanies in the press.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...a2f11caa0e000677b940c0&pinned_post_type=share

If the President doesn't want to be taken out of context, perhaps his statements shouldn't be verbal Rorschach tests

I have seen the video of Trump saying this, there is no out of context here, no sane person is going to take his statement as being anything other than suggesting that the scientists 'should look into' injecting people with disinfectants, the average five year old has been taught they are dangerous.

 

[Horatius]

How many more 'mistakes' are they going to pass without interruption?
Has it ever changed anything?

It's not like he is POTUS for a few weeks.

What would they be able to change if they did drag out his every single stupid utterance every day?

He's the President until he loses the election, dies in office, or ends a second term. Nothing they do this week will change that. They tried with the impeachment, and I hope you remember how well that worked out. All the elected officials who supported him then still support him now, so there's no other realistic way to get him out of office but those three. So it behooves them to use his stupidity in the most strategic way possible.

And letting him ramble uninterrupted is having an effect. He's finally losing the support of senior voters, which is huge news. Every time they see him on the news saying something spectacularly stupid, he probably loses a few more.

 

[Mojo]

They said that Nuclear testing was safe too,

Safe? It even kills viruses!

 

[slyjoe]

What would they be able to change if they did drag out his every single stupid utterance every day?

He's the President until he loses the election, dies in office, or ends a second term. Nothing they do this week will change that. They tried with the impeachment, and I hope you remember how well that worked out. All the elected officials who supported him then still support him now, so there's no other realistic way to get him out of office but those three. So it behooves them to use his stupidity in the most strategic way possible.

And letting him ramble uninterrupted is having an effect. He's finally losing the support of senior voters, which is huge news. Every time they see him on the news saying something spectacularly stupid, he probably loses a few more.

The pandemic is also actually killing his voters, especially in battleground states.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/23/how-coronavirus-could-upend-2020-battlegrounds-204708

 

[Meadmaker]

It's all the fault of the meanies in the press.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/wor...a2f11caa0e000677b940c0&pinned_post_type=share

If the President doesn't want to be taken out of context, perhaps his statements shouldn't be verbal Rorschach tests

That's exactly right.

I could have some sympathy for Trump if he were an ordinary person yapping on the internet or having a casual conversation. Obviously, he wasn't talking about injecting Clorox into your veins. The thing is, it wasn't clear what he was talking about. He was just kind of rambling, almost thinking out loud.

Presidents shouldn't do that.

I think holding the daily press conferences is a great idea. People really need to be informed of what's happening, What progress is being made toward the goal. The thing is, those daily press conferences should be almost all about the task force. If Pence, Fauci, Birx, or the admiral who does logistics whose name I can't remember have updates, they should update. On most days, when there isn't anything of great significance to discuss, the President should introduce them and stand back. There's really no reason he even has to be there.

However, that's not his style. In his mind, it's not about getting vital information to people. It's about him. It's about his ratings. He has to be the center of attention, so he has to do the talking.

Well, if that's what he wants, then that's what he can do, but these are the consequences of doing that.


Even in cases like this, I would just love to see his office say, "The President was speaking informally and said some things that were not clear yesterday. What he meant to ask Dr. Fauci was.....(insert something sensible here, that his office staff made up)."

You'll never see that. It would require him to admit that he made a mistake. Instead, he blames the press for "taking his words out of context". No they didn't. There's no context where those words made any sense.

 

[slyjoe]

That's exactly right.

...snip

Even in cases like this, I would just love to see his office say, "The President was speaking informally and said some things that were not clear yesterday. What he meant to ask Dr. Fauci was.....(insert something sensible here, that his office staff made up)."

You'll never see that. It would require him to admit that he made a mistake. Instead, he blames the press for "taking his words out of context". No they didn't. There's no context where those words made any sense.

There is one context where the words make sense. It is the context where Trump actually believes a disinfectant injection or putting UV light in your body might help.

 

[pgwenthold]

That's exactly right.

I could have some sympathy for Trump if he were an ordinary person yapping on the internet or having a casual conversation. Obviously, he wasn't talking about injecting Clorox into your veins. The thing is, it wasn't clear what he was talking about. He was just kind of rambling, almost thinking out loud.

Presidents shouldn't do that.

.

He is the president. He could call the directors of the NIH and CDC to his office and they would be there this afternoon. And then he could ramble on and speculate and suggest all he wants, including stupid stuff. It would show him to be a clueless buffoon, but it wouldn't be on display for everyone (I'm sure the people he works with already knows he is) and it wouldn't be dangerous.

You don't do it through the press, or through twitter, or whatever. He's the friggin president. He has resources at his advantage. He just doesn't care.

 

[timhau]

They irresponsibly reported what he actually said, instead of what he meant look, squirrel!

Fixed.

 

[Mojo]

Safe? It even kills viruses!

I hope Donnie doesn’t find out.

 

[tyr_13]

The context was that in a discussion about what kills the virus in the environment and on surfaces, Trump suggested injecting the disinfectants that kill the virus ON SURFACES into people's lungs and using cancer causing, tissue burning, UV light under the skin.

The context makes what he said more stupid. Adding additional details makes it more stupid.

That's because it was a stupid thing to say.

 

[alfaniner]

The context was that in a discussion about what kills the virus in the environment and on surfaces, Trump suggested injecting the disinfectants that kill the virus ON SURFACES into people's lungs and using cancer causing, tissue burning, UV light under the skin.

The context makes what he said more stupid. Adding additional details makes it more stupid.

That's because it was a stupid thing to say.

Compounded by the fact that it was publicly spoken. It's one thing if he speculates in a private meeting with the medical personnel but the milieu was completely wrong for it.

But he wants to be the man who says (assuming by some infinitesimal chance that it worked) "See! I was the first person who suggested it! I saved the world!!!"

 

[slyjoe]

The context was that in a discussion about what kills the virus in the environment and on surfaces, Trump suggested injecting the disinfectants that kill the virus ON SURFACES into people's lungs and using cancer causing, tissue burning, UV light under the skin.

The context makes what he said more stupid. Adding additional details makes it more stupid.

That's because it was a stupid thing to say.

Was it before or after the context where he disagreed with Fauci and the CDC director on whether the Coronavirus will be here in the fall?

 

[pgwenthold]

Compounded by the fact that it was publicly spoken. It's one thing if he speculates in a private meeting with the medical personnel but the milieu was completely wrong for it.

But he wants to be the man who says (assuming by some infinitesimal chance that it worked) "See! I was the first person who suggested it! I saved the world!!!"

And even if the excuse is "he was just suggesting that scientists try to figure out ways to deliver disinfectants into the body to kill the virus" the answer is, duh. There are thousands of biologists and chemists in the country who spend their lives trying to devise ways to deliver deadly pharmaceuticals to specific places in the body where they only damage the bad things. The concept of drug development and delivery is a huge field. They don't need the dumbass president to suggest that they inject anti-viral agents in the body. The question is, how do you do that safely and effectively? As I said in my other response, he has the ability to ask these questions to scientists in the privacy of his office, and not look like a buffoon to the nation. They would tell hi what it would take.

It reminds me of the movie MASH, where Henry brings in Spearchucker Jones to lead the football team, and Henry says, "I was thinking maybe we should have some plays we could run." Because, obviously, former pro football player Spearchucker Jones never thought about drawing up any plays.....