After ‘Learning So Much’ in the Hospital, Trump Tells Us to Drop Dead (Video)

By
Ted Millar
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One day before being released from Walter Reed Naval Hospital for treatment for COVID-19, Donald Trump stated in a video he “learned a lot about Covid,” adding:

“I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school, this isn’t the let’s-read-the-book school. And I get it and I understand it and it’s a very interesting thing and I’m going to be letting you know about it.”

Trump learned so much that one day after returning to the White House, he killed any chance of a second round of pandemic-related economic stimulus.

At least until “after the election.”

Clearly contracting the highly contagious virus responsible for over seven million Americans’ infections and 210,000 deaths did nothing to improve Trump’s empathy.

Trump made the decision after a conversation with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who reportedly instructed the president to halt negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because she was “stringing him along.”

Then came the following tweet storm:

Cody Fenwick, writing for Alternet, asks the question, “Is President Donald Trump actively trying to lose the 2020 presidential election?”

He writes:

“Trump perhaps thinks he can win by running on a pledge to pass the stimulus after the election.

“He’s almost certainly wrong, and his framing is disastrous for his own side. First, he’s criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for insisting on a supposedly overly generous package, which is at odds with Trump’s ostensible populist messaging and disregard for the deficit in other cases. Second, a recent poll found that 74 percent of voters said that the Senate should focus on economic relief instead of approving a new justice for the Supreme Court. Explicitly saying you’re going to do the exact opposite is like a slap in the fact to voters, especially those who are struggling most. Even putting aside the context of the stimulus negotiations, rushing through the Supreme Court nomination was not overwhelmingly popular with voters to begin with. And it opens up the Republicans to attacks over health care and abortion where they’re particularly vulnerable.”

Less than one month until the general election, in the midst of a global pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in a century, for which there is no vaccine, and is resurging so aggressively 22 people within his orbit to date have contracted it, Donald Trump just told the American people, “Re-elect me or you get nothing.”

Back in May, House Democrats passed a $3 trillion aid package to supplement the economic assistance contained in the CARES Act intended to fight the pandemic and the ensuing recession.

This included additional direct payments to individuals and families, unemployment insurance funds, and aid to state and local governments trying to contend with shrinking tax revenues.

But, of course, the Republican-controlled Senate, under McConnell’s “leadership” refused to pass the bill.

They only agreed to meet with Democrats in July when CARES Act funds were expiring.

Nancy Pelosi responded to Trump’s intransigence:

 “Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress. Walking away from coronavirus talks demonstrates that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus, as is required by the Heroes Act. He shows his contempt for science, his disdain for our heroes–in health care, first responders, sanitation, transportation, food workers, teachers, teachers, teachers and others–and he refuses to put money in workers’ pockets, unless his name is printed on the check. At the same time, the President is abandoning meeting the needs of our children as they adjust to learning in-person, virtual or hybrid. Instead, Trump is wedded to his $150 billion tax cut for the wealthiest people in America from the CARES Act, while he refuses to give real help to poor children, the unemployed and America’s hard working families. Clearly, the White House is in complete disarray.”

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) commented:

“I’m incredulous. Given President Trump’s own COVID diagnosis and his earlier comments in support of a bill with ‘much higher numbers’ it is confounding and unconscionable that he would suddenly order a cessation of negotiations over a much-needed COVID-19 relief bill. American families and America’s small businesses are hurting and cannot afford even more delays—especially when a deal is within reach.”

Wednesday morning, however, Trump appeared to walk back his refusal with an offer to “sign right now” a bill to approve immediate $1,200 stimulus checks.

Maybe it’s all the dexamethasone steroids Trump’s doctors administered in the hospital.

Even some prominent lawmakers are considering it.

Nancy Pelosi commented on a call with Democrats after Trump’s tweets:

“Believe me, there are people…who think that steroids have an impact on your thinking. So, I don’t know. I do practice medicine on the side without benefit of a diploma, as a mother and a grandmother, but I hadn’t gone into mental health yet.”

With dexamethasone’s side effects like aggression, anxiety, irritability, depression, mood swings, and difficulty thinking, perhaps it’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Image credit: www.meneame.net

Ted Millar
Ted Millar is writer and teacher. His work has been featured in myriad literary journals, including Better Than Starbucks, The Broke Bohemian, Straight Forward Poetry, Caesura, Circle Show, Cactus Heart, Third Wednesday, and The Voices Project. He is also a contributor to The Left Place blog on Substack, and Medium.

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