On the bright side, COVID-19 is helping Donald Trump become a “ratings hit”

I thought, upon first pass, that this was something posted by a parody account. Sadly, though, it’s apparently real. This is an actual tweet from the President of the United States in the middle of a global pandemic.

And, yes, he used the phrase, “the numbers are continuing to rise.” And they are. Only I’m not talking about ratings.

Over the past two days, the number of coronavirus deaths in America has doubled, and Donald Trump is posting quotes about how his daily press conferences are getting better ratings than The Bachelor.

This, I hope most of you would agree, is absolutely, fucking insane.

Yesterday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that we’re likely going to have “millions of cases” in the United States, and that there could be “between 100,000 and 200,000” deaths from coronavirus. And today, with the death toll already at 2,391, and footage going around the internet of bodies being loaded into a truck by forklift in Brooklyn, the President is essentially posting about how much it must be kills the libs that this is turning out to be good for his brand. It’s absolutely unconscionable.

Here’s the context in which this came to me, as I was reading through my Twitter feed this afternoon. First there was a photo of bodies lined up along the corridor of a New York hospital, and then there was Donald Trump gleefully sharing quotes about how he was getting “Monday Night Football type numbers”.

The juxtaposition of these two posts was just too much for me… I’d wanted to write today about Donald Trump’s call for GM to start making ventilators in an Ohio factory that the company no longer even owned, and his ridiculous move to quarantine New York without having the authority to do so, but, when I saw this, just felt as though I had to vent instead.

There’s nothing I can say that I haven’t already said. The man is unstable. He’s not up to the job, and he knows it. Every elected Republican official knows it. The only people who don’t know it, are the sad, stupid fuckers in their red hats, who have so much invested by this point that they can’t hope to extricate themselves. So they just slip deeper and deeper in. And the Republican Party continues to go along for the ride, knowing that Trump’s personality, at this point, is all that they have, other than blatant racism and tax cuts for the wealthy, to hold a coalition together. And that’s the truly sad thing. They know the party is dead. They know it’s over. If that weren’t the case, they would have pushed Donald Trump out during the impeachment trial, putting everything they had on Pence, who would have given them the exact same results, without all the death, cynicism, narcissism and uncertainty. But they knew that the Republican Party was Trump’s party now, and they decided to go along with it for the corporate welfare, the tax cuts, and the tremendous high that comes with power. And so we all just sit here and watch this ridiculous drama play itself out — the saddest reality show over. The ratings, of course, are great, because everyone wants to know how close they are to death, as the least capable man that America had to offer attempts to navigate us through these dangerous waters, but we all know how it ends. It’s not how it ends, but when. We know it ends in carnage, humiliation, and lots of finger pointing. And the ratings, you can be sure, will be tremendous.

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61 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    Posted March 29, 2020 at 11:26 pm | Permalink

    Fred Gutenberg: Tonight was the night where it became clear. The current resident of the White House is using these coronavirus press conferences as a replacement for his hate rallies. Rather than using them to lead America, he is using them to divide America. Time to stop covering them.

  2. John Brown
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 7:58 am | Permalink

    If he likes these ratings, just wait for his trial for treason. That, and his public execution will be most viewed downfall of a fascist buffoon ever!

  3. Nobody
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 9:05 am | Permalink

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/25/npr-member-station-wisely-bails-live-coronavirus-briefings/

  4. Dawn
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 9:40 am | Permalink

    What is doubly tragic is that we have to focus on this virus and saving lives and we don’t have the time to address the fact that this shit show of a human should be removed from office due to his cognitive, emotional and behavioral incompetence.

  5. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:23 am | Permalink

    It is a significant development that the President is bypassing fake news and Americans are listening directly. One of the worst TDS cases I have seen in which the patient had actual FITS of screaming “I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM I HATE HIM!!!!!!!!” has transformed into “I don’t hate Donald Trump. I like how he is handling the coronavirus. I am now supporting him.”

  6. Max
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:51 am | Permalink

    This reality show sucks.

  7. Amy
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 11:33 am | Permalink

    As the virus starts to take hold in the areas where his fans live, including some of my family, and they go through the reality check we did two weeks ago and counting, it’s going to be the wrong kind of satisfaction to feel, and also irritating if these people use up all the ventilators careful isolators like myself may need down the road. I’m still mostly nice Amy, but boy does all this boil my blood.

  8. Jean Henry
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 11:42 am | Permalink

    Trump feels ‘threatened’ by the truth.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/30/coronavirus-yamiche-alcindor-trump/

  9. Jean Henry
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 11:44 am | Permalink

    Alcindor, who is a black woman, tried to finish her question, but Trump interrupted again: “Look, let me tell you something. Be nice. Don’t be threatening. Be nice.”

  10. Bob
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 12:27 pm | Permalink

    It’s a small thing but considering they can’t figure out how to mic the reporters questions during Whitmer’s presser today, I don’t feel so great about out technology for battling this virus.

  11. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 12:30 pm | Permalink

    Context. Trump was specifically addressing Cuomo’s request for 30k ventilators. Limited resources. If we go with Mark’s number Cuomo is requesting half of our current supply of “full feature” ventilators. How are you guys going to feel if Cuomo through political manipulations gets a disproportionate number of ventilators at your expense from Trump?

    I don’t trust Cuomo at all maybe Trump does not either?

    This article I posted is relevant I think:

    https://jacobinmag.com/2020/03/andrew-cuomo-medicaid-coronavirus

  12. Lynne
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 12:57 pm | Permalink

    There is really no way there is an alternative to Trump being in office until January 2021 (barring some seriously good luck). I think we need to find ways to focus our energies working together to defeat Trump.

    Something btw just made a LOT harder due to the death of my friend Isaac (known him since he was just a boy because one of my BFFs is his sister) . He was a perfect example of a white male Bernie supporter who wasn’t a sexist racist jerk and who I had hoped would lead that wing of the party more in the future.

    https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1244455989883146240

    We have to focus on the issue at hand now. Luckily the thing most of us need to do now is to stay at home. There are only seven episodes of Tiger King after all! What else can people do? Talk to their friends about the importance of registering to vote and educating people about how to vote by mail! We can protect our democracy from home!

  13. iRobert
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 1:09 pm | Permalink

    Yes, Mark, I agree it is absolutely fucking insane.

    So you can imagine how amazed I am that some people actually think this is appropriate and productive. Or at least they pretend they do.

  14. Anonymous
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 3:03 pm | Permalink

    Fox News contributor Byron York shares the following:

    From @henryolsenEPPC: ‘Let’s be honest. Impeachment hurt Trump’s response to coronavirus.’

  15. Anonymous
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 3:05 pm | Permalink

    If only we’d looked the other way when he attempted to coerce another nation into launching a false investigation into his primary political opponent. We’ve brought this on ourselves. When will we learn?

  16. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 3:11 pm | Permalink

    It’s true Whitmer does not know what is going on. She had LARA effectively ban doctors from prescribing it just the other day. Now the FDA has approved it for coronavirus. Oops. iRobert, you say the policy move would be reversed when “the shortage” is over. Any evidence of that? I guess we’ll never know since doctors could take Whitmer and LARA to the cleaners no doubt. Presumably Whitmer’s medication ban is null and void.

  17. iRobert
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 3:49 pm | Permalink

    I’m sure Governor Whitmer has no problem with approved treatments and drugs being prescribed.

  18. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 4:23 pm | Permalink

    “If only we’d looked the other way when he attempted to coerce another nation into launching a false investigation into his primary political opponent. We’ve brought this on ourselves. When will we learn?“

    Maybe, just maybe, there are real (indirect) consequences for pushing and supporting clearly false narratives into the world? Maybe the truth actually matters? Maybe when there a lot of people committed to abusing the truth—those violations end up hurting us all in various ways?

  19. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 5:41 pm | Permalink

    Why should Whitmer stick her nose in doctors and patients’ business in the first place?

  20. Nobody
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:04 pm | Permalink

    “Why should Whitmer stick her nose in doctors and patients’ business in the first place?”

    Because the state licenses professionals to ensure the safety of their constituents.

  21. stupid hick
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:14 pm | Permalink

    “Maybe, just maybe, there are real (indirect) consequences for pushing and supporting clearly false narratives into the world?”

    Behold what a trump cultist will write without the slightest hint of irony.

  22. Anonymous
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:23 pm | Permalink

    The governors order was not to prevent off label prescription of chloroquine for legitimate patient use as a last resort. It was a warning to doctors not to prescribe to friends and family where no formal doctor patient relationship existed because some were hoarding the drug for themselves and their loved ones.

  23. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:34 pm | Permalink

    Yes, be my guest: Behold the lack of irony.

    Do you think I don’t know how you will react to something I write?

  24. stupid hick
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:44 pm | Permalink

    I’m not talking to you and I don’t care how you react. Please carry on.

  25. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:57 pm | Permalink

    Anonymous,

    But the “reminder” had various purposes and that is probably HW’s point. Part of the purpose, I believe, was obviously to serve a strictly political purpose to go against Trump. Nowhere in the reminder was there a notion that she was trying to prevent hoarding of a drug that **might serve** as an “off label prescription of chloroquine for legitimate patient use as a last resort.” That notion was conspicuously absent in the “reminder”. Instead the notion that was pushed very hard in the “reminder” was the idea that she wanted to avoid hoarding of a drug for an illegitimate reason (Corona)because we need the drug available for legitimate reasons (malaria etc) and purposes.

    Do you see there might be a difference between what she did and what you are claiming she did?

    https://www.michigan.gov/documents/lara/Reminder_of_Appropriate_Prescribing_and_Dispensing_3-24-2020_684869_7.pdf

  26. Anonymous
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 8:04 pm | Permalink

    No, please explain.

  27. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 8:58 pm | Permalink

    I am saying in addition to wanting to stop hoarding her intent was to try to score political points by putting herself in the limelight as someone who was willing to standup against Trump and his belief in the anecdotal evidence that chloroquine might be effective against Corona. I think what I am saying answers HW’s question more completely. The evidence I have is admittedly subtle. But if you read the “reminder” she at no point identifies the possibility of Trump being correct about the drugs effectiveness as one of her reasons for discouraging/ forbidding hoarding… Certainly we do not want people to hoard because we already know it is effective against certain diseases AND IT MIGHT be effective against Corona also. I am not necessarily against the “reminder” but I do question the true reason for which they/ she may have issued the “reminder” in the first place. It is definitely up for debate. But if she was not trying to dunk on Trump wouldn’t she have held out the possibility of its effectiveness against Corona as the main reason hoarding would be highly unethical and deserving of very harsh penalty?

  28. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 9:31 pm | Permalink

    “Because the state licenses professionals to ensure the safety of their constituents.”

    Too bad they didn’t do that. Someone who could have been saved by the drug combination might have died in the time between Whitmer’s warning and the FDA’s approval.

  29. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 9:34 pm | Permalink

    “stupid hick
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 6:44 pm | Permalink
    I’m not talking to you and I don’t care how you react. Please carry on.”

    You quoted him, dork.

  30. Sad
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 9:38 pm | Permalink

    I really miss McDonalds.

    It’s awful.

  31. Sad
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 9:39 pm | Permalink

    I’m sick of this stupid stew HW keeps dropping off.

  32. Anonymous
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:00 pm | Permalink

    That’s a lot of words, FF. It’s almost as if you are right there with me at the hospital, but one step ahead of all the consultants. Thanks!

  33. Jean Henry
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:02 pm | Permalink

    I heard McDonald’s is planning to dial back their menu on the assumption this shut down will last a long time and because so many of their suppliers are overseas, SAD. So you better go grab your fish sandwich asap.

  34. Lynne
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:18 pm | Permalink

    I think what FF is trying to say up there is that Gov Whitmore is female and therefore if she has an opinion, it MUST be evil and designed to harm an innocent man like Trump. hahahaha.

  35. Jean Henry
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:26 pm | Permalink

    FF– a man of so many words and so little meaning

    Pleonasm or tautology? I suspect both.

    Bloviating was pretty good.

    Wait… got it! Loggorrhea– literally “diarrhea of words”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logorrhea_(psychology)

    Uh oh:
    ” Excessive talking may be a symptom of an underlying illness and should be addressed by a medical provider if combined with hyperactivity or symptoms of mental illness, such as hallucinations.[17] Treatment of logorrhea depends on its underlying disorder, if any. Antipsychotics are often used, and lithium is a common supplement given to manic patients.[18] For patients with lesions of the brain, attempting to correct their errors may upset and anger the patients, since the language center of their brain may not be able to process that what they are saying is incorrect and wordy.”

  36. stupid hick
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:36 pm | Permalink

    Would someone with more patience please explain to the half wit that I’m talking ABOUT his demented buddy not TO him?

  37. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 10:54 pm | Permalink

    If you talk about someone don’t act like they are dumb if they defend their self because you weren’t talking to them. That’s dumb.

  38. stupid hick
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 11:36 pm | Permalink

    Whine about it to your baby-sitter, Jean Henry. I don’t care how dumb you think Frosted Flakes is.

  39. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 11:41 pm | Permalink

    Jean,

    I wish I was more concise too.

    If you read the “reminder” issued and you keep in mind that it is not illegal to “go off label” then it really is a strangely worded letter if the sole purpose really was to prevent hoarding.

  40. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 30, 2020 at 11:54 pm | Permalink

    That’s pathetic, stupid; no meaning in what you say, just nihilistic rants.

  41. stupid hick
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 12:08 am | Permalink

    “That’s pathetic, stupid; no meaning in what you say, just nihilistic rants.”

    Behold what a trump cultist will write without the slightest hint of irony.

  42. Jean Henry
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 12:13 am | Permalink

    Shit head– “Whine about it to your baby-sitter, Jean Henry. I don’t care how dumb you think Frosted Flakes is.” When did you become the self-appointed MM comments moderator? I’ll say whatever the fuck I please. Wasn’t talking to you. Skip over if it bugs you, asshole.

  43. Jean Henry
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 12:16 am | Permalink

    FF: “I wish I was more concise too.” Then uses more words to say the same thing.

  44. Jean Henry
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 12:25 am | Permalink

    This is excellent. The reporter properly puts the screws to the law prof who suggested ‘the cure may be worse than the virus.’ I wish more journalists were this hard on their Trump-compromised interviewees.

    “Conservatives close to Trump and numerous administration officials have been circulating an article by Richard A. Epstein of the Hoover Institution, titled ‘Coronavirus Perspective,’ which plays down the extent of the spread and the threat.”

    Epstein, a professor at New York University School of Law, published the article on the Web site of the Hoover Institution, on March 16th. In it, he questioned the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, said that “public officials have gone overboard,” and suggested that about five hundred people would die from covid-19 in the U.S. ”

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-contrarian-coronavirus-theory-that-informed-the-trump-administration#intcid=recommendations_the-new-yorker-right-rail-popular_c445e997-9afa-44fa-9b83-55c9cf08deab_popular4-1

  45. stupid hick
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 2:02 am | Permalink

    I wasn’t talking to you, Jean Henry, I was talking to the Hyborian Warlord. And I will appoint whoever I choose to be his baby-sitter here. You’re welcome. I suggest you change the diaper on his head more often.

  46. Jean Henry
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 9:25 am | Permalink

    Shit head— you literally used my name and addressed me. And Completely out of context. I’ve got enough assholes to deal with here. Enough diapers to change. Why join their ranks? Really.

  47. Jean Henry
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 9:29 am | Permalink

    This is what you say if you are addressing HW:
    “Whine about it to your babysitter Jean Henry.” Or better “Whine about it to Jean Henry, your babysitter.”

    “Whine about it to your babysitter, Jean Henry” addresses me.

    Grammar matters sometimes, Shit Head

  48. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 9:48 am | Permalink

    Why would I need a babysitter when I am the one schooling you every single day?

  49. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 1:41 pm | Permalink

    Event 201 Pandemic Exercise: Highlights Reel
    1,791,252 views•Nov 4, 2019

    centerforhealthsecurity

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLw-Q8X174

  50. Frosted Flakes
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 7:46 pm | Permalink

    https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/biden-considering-michigan-gov-whitmer-for-potential-vice-presidential-pick-81456197867

    You guys have almost no instincts for the truth. It’s pretty amazing.

  51. Sad
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 7:50 pm | Permalink

    Ha – Ha-Ha Trump’s so done.

    Adios Amigo!

    But really, Biden?

  52. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 8:06 pm | Permalink

    See the post before yours. There has never been a mobilization of resources like this for an illness before. The President is going all out to save our country and the people see it.

  53. Sad
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 10:09 pm | Permalink

    Ha – Ha- Ha

  54. Sad
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 10:10 pm | Permalink

    Ha-Ha-Ha

    Ha-Ha-Ha

  55. Sad
    Posted March 31, 2020 at 10:10 pm | Permalink

    Ha

  56. Posted April 1, 2020 at 7:11 pm | Permalink

    Michigan now how has 337 deaths, and Donald Trump is bragging about his Facebook followers.

  57. Anonymous
    Posted April 1, 2020 at 7:50 pm | Permalink

    The Scorpion and the Frog.

  58. Jean Henry
    Posted April 1, 2020 at 8:57 pm | Permalink

    HW— all Trump did was sign a relief package the Dems pulled together and finally start taking expert advice.

    Kudos to him for doing two things right.

  59. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted April 1, 2020 at 11:45 pm | Permalink

    House dems tried to delay/block it by adding ridiculous items like Green New Deal and abortion and the arts. While they were ‘doing the derp’ our country was in jeopardy.

  60. Posted April 3, 2020 at 7:06 pm | Permalink

    And now he’s making jokes about fucking models.

  61. Jean Henry
    Posted April 3, 2020 at 9:27 pm | Permalink

    https://gfycat.com/graywealthycanary

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