We are battling two viruses, often concurrently, but both devastating in different ways. The COVID-19 virus is a pandemic on a scale never seen in our lifetimes and has gripped all of humanity. It is an invisible enemy that has rapidly spread to all corners of the earth, reaching a milestone of 100,000 deaths in America. Alternatively, the other virus, Trump virus, has been slower moving, spreading its vitriol and elements of fear and hate over the course of the past 3 1/2 years. COVID-19 is truly a global epidemic but the Trump virus has predominantly infected America, although many of its actions have created a contagious ripple effect across the planet.

Coronavirus may soon have a therapeutic and vaccine; Trumpvirus had a vaccine, called Impeachment, but it failed to cure us of this disease.

Trump has made 16,241 false statements or misleading claims (i.e., LIES!) in his first three years of office, according to the Washington Post. He’s a pathological liar. He lies about affairs with porn stars, collusion with Russia, the Ukraine scandal, the path of a hurricane and everything else that comes out of his mouth. He attacks s***hole countries, Muslims and Mexicans, the FBI, the NFL, and the fake news media. He spreads conspiracy theories so disgraceful that his latest one prompted Twitter to put fact checks on his tweets. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal says this virus has completely debased the office of the presidency. His sole purpose is to divide us, to put a wedge in all our daily lives. He has never had the aspiration to be the President of all Americans, just simply his shrinking base of old white people, mostly blue collar, angry males.

But just as COVID-19 uses humans to spread infections, the Trump virus has its own vehicle for transmission: the Fox “News” Propaganda Machine. This channel is the epitome of Fake News, living in an alternative universe. It’s like wag the dog: Trump gets his opinions from Fox, tweets them out, Fox then reports it as news and then it becomes policy. Want to audition for a job in the White House? Go on Fox and say something outrageous about immigrants or democrats and you’re hired. All the while, the Fox business model is to protect, defend, spin and deflect the moronic lies that come out of his mouth on a daily basis. Sadly, many Fox viewers don’t see the appalling behavior and tweets Trump spews out on a daily basis, slowly corroding our civility and morality in our society.

Until this year, all of Trump’s crises were self-inflicted: he colluded with Russia and therefore got the Mueller investigation; he threatened Ukraine for dirt on Biden and therefore got impeached. In both investigations, he obstructed justice in unprecedented ways. But with COVID-19, he actually has a genuine crisis on his hands that he did not create! Of course, he has stumbled and fumbled every step of the way and this has now shed new light on his (lack of) leadership skills. He was warned several times in early January of this pending pandemic and did nothing. In fact, all of February he was golfing and tweeting about the stock market. When COVID-19 finally landed on our shores, he said in early March there were 15 cases and soon there will be zero. He refused the World Health Organization’s offer for testing which has set us back for months. Recent modeling shows his passive behavior cost Americans thousands of lives and is the main reason we lead the world in both confirmed cases and deaths. And then he tells America to inject disinfectants into their bodies, a statement so outrageous that Lysol and other manufacturers literally had to issue formal statements to not try this at home! His behavior was so embarrassing they had to shut down the daily Task Force briefings. Instead of leading and managing the crisis with the Governors, he attacks them all and has no plan. New York’s Cuomo presents an amazing array of statistics and facts every day as Trump was waddling to the podium with some ridiculous statements and then goes on to attack mode with the media. Meanwhile, we still have no adequate testing, tracing or treatment and there is no leadership at the federal level, deferring the entire burden to the states’ governors.

Trump has always defied science: he doesn’t believe in climate change, he’s rolled back all the EPA regulations for polluters, he was touting hydroxychloroquine like a snake oil salesman (what have you got to lose?) and then took it himself defying all the medical data that suggests it offers no efficacy and can actually cause heart arrhythmia, especially for older age and obesity. He doesn’t believe his own phased guidelines to reopen as he tweeted to Liberate Michigan and other states and applauded Georgia for reopen early before realizing he would be dangerously at fault for all the new cases. He refuses to be seen wearing a mask, perhaps for vanity reasons, but also as a symbol of defiance towards science. Sadly, his State TV, Fox, often perpetuates this argument. This virus has no morals or values and only cares about the economy, because he knows it’s the only way he can stay in power and get reelected. 

None of us know when the COVID-19 will end, and we may have a second wave in the Fall that could be even more devastating. But the Trump virus has an end date if we act swiftly and smartly. This nightmare can abruptly end on November 3rd. Please vote on November 3, the Trump virus is a disgrace and embarrassment to this great nation. One virus is enough to deal with at a time.