It is 4PM on the west coast and most major networks are airing the daily Coronavirus press conference from Washington DC. After about 15 minutes of important information shared by Dr Fauci or Dr. Birx, our President goes into a long discourse with himself citing: how great he has responded to the crisis, how terrible the Democrats are, a blame target (China, WHO, the Press or Obama). He generally prefers to spar with the press and frequently fails to mention the pain of death 40,000 American families have felt. The purpose of this short article is to propose a national response to these press conferences that might help to silence the President and save lives.
One theme that is visible in most of these conferences is the apparent contradictions in Trump’s statements over time. These contradictions have become so apparent that even Matt Drudge, a conservative spokesperson, has begun to criticize the President. Some of the most glaring contradictions include:
· Trump’s forced pivot from calling the virus a “Democratic hoax” to a national emergency when the stock market crashed
· Incessant praise of China for its early handling of the virus (see Politico article, 4/15/20) followed by intense condemnation recently
· Around March 6th Trump called for national unity to fight the virus but, within 24 hours, called Governor Inslee of Washington a “snake” when the Governor pleaded with Trump to “stick with the science.”
· President Trump on March 7 said, “Anyone who wants a test can get a test.” Democrats and Republicans now know how ridiculous that statement was.
· Last week the President proclaimed his absolute power as a President to open the country; this week he is passing his responsibility to the governors
· Last week the President shared Phase I of the Federal guidelines for re-opening the country. By Friday he was tweeting support to the “Liberate” groups who were dangerously protesting States implementing these guidelines. Trump said these people “like him”.
What is the solution to this problem? We must convince our President to stop talking and let the scientists speak. How do we do this? We simply “flip the switch” to another channel if the network covers the President’s talk for more than 5 minutes. Additionally, I would recommend discontinuing watching that network for the rest of the evening. Networks and advertisers will pay attention to this national boycott.
According to a very recent NBC /Wall Street Journal poll, 66% of the individuals polled trusted what their governors have said when it comes to coronavirus, but only 36% have trusted what Trump has said. If these polling figures are an accurate measure of public trust, it is time to pull our President off the airways. By boycotting our President’s afternoon political rallies, we can cause this to happen. Maybe, we can begin to think clearly again.
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