NOW I WANT SOME ANSWERS, MISTER, I NEED TO KNOW
In 1963, about a week after President Kennedy was assassinated, Malcolm X gave a speech in which he referred to the murder as a case of “chickens coming home to roost.” He didn’t use the term “karma,” but he was suggesting that what goes around, comes around, and that America’s hands weren’t clean. Of course, he was right. He was also roundly denounced by respectable people on every side of the political spectrum. A little over a year later, Malcolm X was dead, the victim of an assassin’s bullet. There was a lot of that going around in the ‘60s.
I lived through that history, and it informs my reaction to the news that Donald Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. As October Surprises go, this one will be hard to top. To be quite honest, I don’t know what to think. A prudent man would wait for more information before opining. But here I am anyway.
There are people who argue that Trump is faking, and while I’m not ready to go that far, the official story seems kind of fishy. The timing is off, and we don’t know who knew what, when. Trump has strongly implied that he got it from Hope Hicks, who (according to Trump) got it from hugging some random cop or soldier. Apparently her job requires her to hug a lot of men in uniform. Maybe that’s how it all went down, but it seems just as likely that Trump himself was Patient Zero in the White House outbreak.
I ask myself, why not just take the news at face value? But nothing about the Trump presidency should be taken at face value. Trump was having a disastrous week. His tax returns, the debate fiasco, Melania’s “fuck Christmas” tape, Brad Parscale’s meltdown and arrest, and polls that refuse to get better no matter what he tries.
What does Donald Trump do when he’s had a bad day? He changes the subject. Here’s a new scandal to distract you from the old scandal. And so far – it’s early days, admittedly – it seems to be working.
It would be entirely on-brand for Team Trump to use a staffer’s COVID diagnosis as the basis for an elaborate story that not only changes the subject, but also provides him with an excuse to skip the next debate. On-brand, of course, is not the same thing as true. Add that to the fact that Trump and the people around him are inveterate liars, and it would be naïve not to entertain a suspicion or two. But suspicion isn’t certainty.
No matter how improbable the official story may seem, the alternatives seem even less rational. So I’ll wait for future developments before diving further down that particular rabbit hole. But if Trump tweets at his usual pace for a few days and then pops out of quarantine early claiming that he kicked the virus’s butt, you’re damn right I’ll be suspicious.
For the moment, I’m less concerned about Trump’s health than I’m relieved that Joe Biden and his wife have tested negative. This despite the best efforts of Team Trump, who recklessly refused to wear masks at Tuesday’s debate in defiance of the ground rules they’d agreed to. That also is entirely on-brand for the guy who bragged about engaging in unprotected sex.
And for everyone who’s insisting that the only proper response to the Trump/virus news is to wish them all a speedy recovery, I would argue that in this case, while compassion is necessary (always), it’s not sufficient. Trump needs to be held accountable for spending the past eight months vehemently downplaying the seriousness of the virus. As recently as Tuesday’s debate, he mocked Biden for wearing a mask.
If Donald Trump is a victim, he’s a victim of his own narcissism. He took deliberate risks, very much like someone who drinks and drives, or enjoys a weekly game of Russian Roulette, or handles poisonous snakes in church every Sunday to prove his faith. You can get away with those things – for a while.
But he should have known better. And his responsibility is greater because he’s supposed to be the president. He set a bad example, but that’s the least of it. His dishonesty and incompetence have already led to 200,000 deaths and counting.
“Get well soon” doesn’t quite do justice to the moment, in my opinion.