So the President caught the ‘Rona
Published 10-08-2020
Apparently it was a good weekend to be off social media and not tuned into the news.
Samuel turned thirteen Friday, yes thirteen. I swear it was only yesterday Vince and I were bringing him home from the hospital, I think it was actually Homecoming that Friday in 2007, and the surprise visit we made to the office to say hello was a little more chaotic than I intended.
To celebrate the momentous occasion of hitting the teen years Sam invited four friends over for pizza and all night video games - the ultimate sleepover. Armed with a snack cabinet busting at the seams, Vince and I were as prepared as humanly possible.
The boys were well behaved, considering they drank four 2-Liters of soda and ate approximately 48 slices of pizza, ice cream sundaes and their weight in popcorn.
I hope their parents forgive me.
So after recuperating and cleaning up on Saturday after everyone went home Vince turned on the news to see what we had missed.
Apparently all hell was breaking loose, and all because the President caught Corona.
All the pearl clutching aside, and there has been much of that in the news coverage of the President’s hospitalization and subsequent return to the White House, I have half expected COVID-19 to enter the Trump bubble at some point. The business of the nation does not stop because of a virus. Nor should it. And the President has not shied away from being visible during this crisis. Rightly so, I might add.
Even with every precaution and preventative measure that is taken, all risk can not be eliminated, and our leaders should recognize that as essential employees have faced the challenges of the “new normal” they can too.
It’s not surprising that a relatively healthy 74 year old man can have a mild case of Corona, one who enjoys a good fight and absolutely hates germs, has the absolute best healthcare available - including cutting edge treatments, and a medial team on standby at his residence. It’s also not surprising that those who don’t have the same access, don’t have the same results.
In between all the press hysterics and cable news bloviating on lines of succession and dire predictions of an incapacitated president were rumors and innuendo, partially fueled by the President’s own Chief of Staff speaking off the record with a statement that was worded to be taken in any number of directions by a press pool already feverish in their angst against this administration.
It was an unnecessary turn of the news cycle, and really stupid when it’s about the President’s health. Especially towards the end of a chaotic campaign season. The fact that it came moments after an on-the-record press conference with the President’s medical team made it doubly stupid.
Is it surprising that the President received some supplemental oxygen Friday before he went to the hospital? No, it’s a standard procedure kind of thing, and while there would be cause for concern had the President’s stats continued to decline, that they didn’t was reason to be relieved.
To take the stance that non-disclosure of this in the moment as proof of some nefarious plot as to the devious nature of the medical staff at Walter Reed isn’t really befitting the national press and professional talking heads, but is symbolic of their reaction to everything Trump since he rode the escalator.
For those that have family members in nursing home lockdowns, have a closed business due to government mandates, or have someone in the hospital fighting this horrible virus, the President’s quick recovery could signal hope that our country can find a way out of this Corona madness we find ourselves in.
With good treatments for those who get the worst of this virus, and therapies that reduce the worst outcomes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and a way to move forward.
But that would require a media, and social media companies, that weren’t interested in promoting fear and panic in an effort to hurt the reelection chances of President Trump.
At any cost.
A Congress that required China to repay American costs of this virus - including individual patient treatment and medicines could be helpful to the American public. Instead this Congress is trying to bail out the busted budgets of blue states and give asylum to those here illegally.
Quite helpful when the labor market is still trying to recover from the shutdowns earlier this year.
Under President Trump’s leadership middle class wages were rising and our economy growing - at all levels - before the virus was unleashed on the world. A tightened labor market, which was the goal of President Trump’s policy stances on trade and immigration, were having a positive effect on all segments of the economy.
For our country to gain back what has been lost this year, we need a leader who faces challenges and risks with confidence and certainty, not someone who prefers to stay locked away while other people handle what’s essential.