Let’s consider Mike Pence. Steadfast. Loyal. Vice president extraordinaire — if you are of Donald Trump’s political persuasion, whatever that is. And head of the federal coronavirus task force.
Oops.
We’re to believe what Pence says. Not the facts.
Repeatedly, Pence has said of this historic pandemic what the facts simply do not support: The news is good. Trump has flattened the curve.
Don’t worry that your relatives are dying or on a life-debilitating ventilator, the economy is tanking, states are going back into lockdown, children are not safe at school, hospitals in too many cities are over capacity — good luck if you have an appendectomy or heart attack — deaths are spiraling, no other country has our appalling caseload and the government has decided to privatize COVID-19 statistics.
Hide the real toll of the virus just before an election? Perish the thought. Or, for too many, just perish.
We have never before had a president and vice president who, out of zeal to be reelected, kill off the voters. Go figure.
If you have been stuck in your house out of fear for your life from the virus or desperately are trying to make ends meet as a front-line/essential worker, you may not know that Trump has decided that no longer will the Centers for Disease Control keep the official statistics on what is happening with the novel coronavirus. Those numbers are being privatized and sent to the White House. Politicized.
Honestly, folks, who could make this stuff up?
(Elections have consequences.)
Even as cases of the coronavirus spiked to impossible heights (even as most other countries’ levels were falling) and Florida alone has had more coronavirus cases than the entire European Union, Pence has smiled and smiled and assured Americans all is well. And, then, finally, he started wearing a mask.
And, as the CDC were reporting 3.4 million Americans testing positive for the virus and 137,000 people having died (and thousands having lost their health forever), Pence insisted that Americans should no longer listen to the public health agency once considered the best in the world.
Weighing in on the emotionally fraught decision on whether local school districts should open this fall, Pence said: “We don’t want CDC guidance to be a reason why people don’t open their schools.” Really? Ignore the medical experts? The CDC wants schools to be careful Very careful. What does Pence want? His boss’s approval?
We know from Trump’s niece Mary that his family was outrageously dysfunctional. Her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Produced the World Most Dangerous Man” asserts that a sociopath (Trump’s father) produced an arrogant narcissist (Trump) who grew up to destroy lives. What is Pence’s excuse?
We know Pence is a bigot — most notably against gays and lesbians, almost ruining Indiana’s economy when he was governor for his homophobic efforts. He is sycophantic (he has never disputed his boss in public and may soon be the definition of “groveling” in dictionaries). And, apparently, he is not very bright. (Seriously, can he not read a graph that shows COVID-19 cases on the upswing?)
Perhaps he thinks he will be president if Trump isn’t.
An astute reporter named Rick Wilson wrote a book: “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever.” So far, so true. Chiefs of staff. Cabinet members. Personal lawyers. FBI directors. An attorney general. Generals. Et cetera. Watch out for Pence’s political career.
Facts — yes, facts — Pence did not tell us: We haven’t hit the worst of the pandemic. Thousands more will die. The virus will continue to kill and maim for another year at the least. The economy is in desperate trouble — 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment.
(Trump daughter Ivanka — an official White House senior counselor — suggests to the unemployed that they “find something new.” Well, in a pandemic/depression, sure. Prostitution? Drug dealing? Vice president of a defunct tech company?)
Emails from you, dear readers, suggest that you are split. Half of you think Trump is a genius. Half of you think he is our worst nightmare.
Think carefully, fellow citizens, about how you are going to weigh in on what Trump and Pence are doing. How you want the future of this great country to play out.
Everyone, stay safe out there. The veep certainly will. But what does he think will happen next?