Post

I sort of had this half-baked idea:

Not only did the Trump 'administration' botch the pandemic response and everything, but they badly botched a crisis that, if Trump were really everything that his supporters and mouthpieces claim he is, would have potentially worked out to the great victory and vindication of Trump.

Consider:

Trump's supporters like to claim that he has visionary, practical, ballsy, decisive leadership skills. This is (IMO) nonsense, but let's smoke pot inject bleach roll with it!

So, in an alternate world where Trump is actually an effective leader instead of trying to outdo James Buchanan as the worst president, he actually pays attention to his own government's medical experts (that is the point of departure into fantasy; the inability to concede others' superior expertise or knowledge of things is a major flaw of Donald). Based on the increasingly dark view of the CDC, Pentagon, et al., he closes down the country (way back in mid-February, say), with no incoming flights except for returning residents who all must quarantine for 30 days in facilities. This plays to his base's notion of Trump as defending America against "da foreigners," and it also achieves the medical goal of insulating the country against the pandemic.

Then, going against the Republican leadership, he even exceeds the Democrats' calls to close everything and to resist calls for reopening, despite tanking the economy. He "comes out in support of" old and vulnerable people, and argues that stopping the virus is obviously the only priority. As the country goes on lockdown and full funding and help is given to medical services, state governments, etc., the virus follows a similar curve to Germany in the United States during March and April, instead of metastasizing into the world's example of "what not to do," along with fine leaders like Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Lukashenko in Belarus.

Then, with much much much less damage done and tens of thousands of lives saved, Trump could champion self reliance and economic independence for the United States while also fighting off the virus. Trump objectively looks good, and it seems like when the chips are REALLY down, Trump actually does have a spine, a set of balls, and a head on his shoulders. By June or July, the economic recovery can begin in earnest, while everything is made ready to test tens of millions of people anew come fall and winter. By November, with some kind of economic recovery underway, with much worse outcomes in many other countries, and with an objective win for Trump in terms of pandemic's first wave, his xenophobia and "great genius"ness work out in his favor and in the country's favor. He is reelected, thanks in large part to winning over suburban and older voters who might have been otherwise souring on him.

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When the psychosis wears off and you return to the actual timeline, it's so different:

Jan. 2020 -- "Fake impeachment," nothing else matters. Democrats suck!
Feb. 2020 -- I'm AWESOME! Bernie is where it's at (because he's the easiest to beat)! Democrats suck! The virus will magically go away!
Mar. 2020 -- Everything is wonderful and great in Amer--we might have a problem for a couple of wee--April is going to be a rough month.
Apr. 2020 -- We are doing wonderful things! Everything is great! Only liberals get corona! LIBERATE pivotal swing states!
May 2020 -- Everything is getting better! Ignore the 70+ thousand dead! China wanted this to happen! I like people who aren't captured and don't die of pneumonia!

And now, the administration is willing to feed thousands of people every day to the virus so that they can try to force the economy to reopen. No matter how much carnage it causes, they will downplay and ignore and attack the data of deaths, and simultaneously play up the economic recovery.

- Are the American voters going to go along with it, or are the scales going to fall off enough people's eyes that he is crushed in November?
- Will there be a death wave worse than the first one in June as a response to the premature openings?
- If you might die from going to the diner across town, how effective will any "fiat" reopening of the economy even be?

Stick around after these messages to find out!!! :-D

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