A common refrain by Trump supporters to any criticism regarding his handling of COVID-19 is “you need to get behind the president.” OK, and do what specifically?
Should I correct his misinformation, some of which is “actively harmful to Americans” according to John Oliver?
Should I say it was OK to ignore the warnings of the pandemic risk in January and February when we could have done some planning such as needs assessment and alert various parties to better understand roles?
Should I support his and his sycophants’ efforts to heighten just criticism of China and the WHO to the point of disproportionate blame for COVID-19 to mask just blame toward his failures?
Should we say it is OK to push for the public outcry of supporters without accountability to get governors to act more rashly in reopening the economy?
Should we tolerate his abuse of powers toward inspectors general, firing two and discrediting the obvious conclusions in the report of another?
So, please help me understand the kind of support this corrupt and deceitful president needs.
musingsofanoldfart 
I would only add … should we support the mishandling of our tax dollars under the $2.3 trillion stimulus bill, such that wealthy corporations received more benefit than small businesses, while Trump rejected any oversight on how our money was spent? Great post, Keith … I shall re-blog!
Jill, great point. Let me add to your thought. No other president needs greater oversight than this corrupt and deceitful person. Firing the IG who was supposed to govern the money should alarm every member of Congress. Yet, it only a few GOP members have given a damn about this potential for malfeasance. Keith
Good point, Keith. They have found it so easy to simply turn away, pretend they don’t see. I hope every bloomin’ one of them is voted out in November! The GOP surely does not live up to what those letters stand for these days.
Jill, if you just consider the easily available data – six corporate bankruptcies, even more failed businesses, a Foundation which was used for self-dealing and ordered to be disbanded and what he has done in the White House – it indicates a person who cannot be trusted with money without oversight. Keith
Keith, you see it. I see it. Many, many others see it. But there is one segment of our society that has blinders on and considers it all a bunch of “liberal lies” spread by the “fake news.”
Thank goodness some of them are FINALLY beginning to take a second look. It’s just unfortunate that it’s taken a pandemic and multiple deaths for it to happen.
Nan, the fact poison control in Kansas saw a 40% uptick in ingested disinfectants shows why Trump must not abuse the gravitas of the office with his misinformation. Too many poor souls don’t realize taking the president at his word is a fool’s errand. Keith
Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
We keep hearing Trump’s minions saying that we should ‘get behind’ Trump, and I’ve offered a few times to do just that … get behind him with a baseball bat in hand! Joking aside though, Keith asks the question … get behind him and … what???
Jill, many thanks for the reblog. You are a peach. Keith
My pleasure, Keith … and thanks! It’s rare that anybody calls me a peach … I love it!
My pleasure.
The only thing l would get behind Trump for is to jab a sabre in his back and make him walk the plank into a sea of Covid-19. If he swims, good for him. Maybe we can used his blood to made a successful vaccine. And if he succumbs to the disease, oh well, at least we got behind him.
Rawgod, well that is vivid. I will stick with a resounding defeat at the ballot box. I did get unsurprisingly tickled he was blaming his lowered poll numbers on his campaign manager. As my wife said tonight during the news, why must he blame others? Keith
Tell her he knows everything he does is perfect, so obviously it is always someone else’s fault.
Rawgod, so true. This is why I cannot fathom why people support him. Comments like this indicate a person very few would want to work for or if they did, regret it. Keith
Note to Readers: While I am in agreement with stimulus funds, I have three concerns:
– it highlights we should have planned earlier, back when we knew of the pandemic risk; we could have followed the UK model and funded employers to keep furloughed folks on the payroll. The certainty of a job would have positively affected attitudes and spending.
– as Jill and I discussed, firing the IG was a disturbing move by an untrustworthy president.
– the stimulus reveals the poor stewardship of the debt increasing 2017 tax law; now we needed tap debt, so it shows why we should not when it is unnecessary.
A good post, Keith. —- Suzanne
Thanks Suzanne.
Good post, Keith! I can’t believe the whole disinfectant ordeal the other day with Trump…telling us that injecting it could actually cure the Coronavirus. I don’t think he’s been doing as many briefs after that! Thank Goodness! Ha ha ha! They opened more businesses over here in Texas! Not a good idea!
Lisa, the disinfectant thing may end up being his Marie Antoinette “Let them eat cake,” remark. I think most businesses and people will be smart about things. It is the emboldened minority of folks who will make less than wise decisions and not practice social distancing, etc. Keith
Very true, Keith! We can only hope most of the public will make good decisions.
True.
If I was in the USA I would get behind Trump….
If he was on the edge of a pier or a cliff.
Roger, is this a Stephen King “The Dead Zone” analogy? Keith
Might be…
Better not comment anymore….
Other than
Didn’t read the book, but saw the movie. Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen were very good.
Roger, the book is excellent as well. I used to read a lot of Stephen King, especially when he was more eerie and less horrific. The movie does justice to the book. My favorite King book is “The Stand.” Keith
Note to Readers II: This came across my screen a few minutes ago: Former President George W. Bush closed out a three minute video calling for unity during the COVID-19 pandemic with the following:
“In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God,” Bush said. “We rise or fall together, and we are determined to rise.”
This should be well received by many and is an issue that should be embraced by people in leadership positions. So, here is the what the US president responded with:
“Trump rips George W. Bush after he calls for unity amid coronavirus outbreak
In an early morning tweet on Sunday, Trump called out Bush for his failure to support him as he faced an impeachment trial earlier this year over his alleged dealings with Ukraine. He cited apparent comments from Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, who asked why Bush didn’t push for ‘putting partisanship aside’ amid the trial. ‘He was nowhere to be found in speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history,’ Trump said.”
Why? The former president said let’s be united and the current president said don’t listen to him because he did not support me at a time of crisis. Me, me, me. Forget being united to help people. Me, me, me. This person is supposed to be a leader, but as can be gleaned he keeps whiffing at balls on the tee.
A leader would say, “I support the former president’s call for unity.” End of statement.
Well said, my friend. We are all people … at the end of the day, when you strip away the detritus, we are all in this together and ought to be able to stand together, to help one another … to care about each other. That we cannot, that we have a ‘leader’ who divides us intentionally because “United we stand, divided we fall” … this will lead to our downfall. I applaud George W. Bush for his words, his sentiments, and I condemn Trump for his.
Agreed. It is hard to define just one remark that indicates why the US has a leadership void. This one is a good candidate. A former president says “unite” and the current incumbent says “divide.”
Note to Readers III; A real leader might also tell Alex Jones to cool his jets. Talking about eating your neighbors serves no purpose. As John Oliver pointed out, Mr. Jones was wearing an $8,000 watch when he said it. Sadly, there will be too many who will cheer on that BS. Of course, a smart interviewer might have asked, does that not give them the right to eye you as a meal?
To be brutally frank, we have too many real problems than having to worry about what malevolent comment is spewed by this person.