Throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been too little attention paid to Trump’s contribution to the savaging of American lives for his political ambitions – from the media, from Democrats, and the general population. Sadly, although he is no longer in a place he should never have been allowed to visit, much less occupy, his influence is still wreaking havoc on American lives.
Despite a few media types attributing the responsibility of COVID’s destruction on America to Trump’s criminal negligence, there has been very little attention given to Trump’s continual downplaying of the pandemic throughout his time in the White House.
Now there is proof that after the pandemic began ravaging the nation, he “contributed to Americans embracing beliefs that neutralized social distancing norms.”
In other words, not only is Trump guilty of criminally negligent homicide in deliberately aiding the plague to sweep across America, he encouraged his acolytes’ bad actions that spread the virus throughout the population. Worse yet, he did it purposely as a part of his electoral campaign strategy to remain in the Oval Office.
As reported over at PsyPost:
“People who endorsed President Donald Trump’s denials of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to adopt justifications for deviant behavior related to social distancing … during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak. The study has been published in the scientific journal Deviant Behavior.”
The study focused on whether Trump’s lies that there was little danger to Americans from a virulent global pandemic actually affected Americans in thrall of an ignorant and brutal narcissist; particularly whether his devotees would embrace his lies and flout sound medical science’s urgent calls to accept and practice mitigation efforts to preserve human life. As the study’s author, a distinguished research professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati, Francis T. Cullen noted:
“It was possible that Donald Trump’s apparent influence was spurious and explained by factors such as low self-control, political party and [religious] beliefs, and demographic characteristics.
In the end, the question we addressed is: Did Donald Trump’s denials about the dangers of the pandemic contribute to Americans embracing beliefs that would neutralize social distancing norms and permit, if not encourage, non-compliance with these norms?”
The results of the study provide a damning indictment of Trump as well as reveal the willingness of Americans most likely to take the word of a failed business man and has-been reality television actor over the well-founded recommendations of lifelong medical scientists.
Professor Cullen’s findings are in line with another study his researchers conducted that revealed support for Trump was associated with his followers intentions to purposely defy social distancing guidelines. And in yet a different study, researchers discovered:
“Americans who used Trump to obtain information about COVID-19 were less likely to view coronavirus as a severe health problem, less likely to view public health advice as effective or easy to follow.”
Apparently those American are so ridiculously stupid that they were flummoxed over how to follow simple mitigation advice such as wear a mask, wash your hands, don’t touch your face and stay six feet apart. And it is noteworthy that a year later in the midst of a second wave of a more infectious COVID-19 variant they still resist that simple advice. Some Republican governors even ban public entities, public schools, and private businesses from enforcing those mitigation efforts.
Of course it didn’t help that in an effort to pander to the religiously stupid, Trump was instrumental in spreading an incredibly deadly religious message prior to Easter to “pack the churches;” then take a bleach enema or an unltraviolet light-emitting suppository. Advice that no small number of Trump’s followers heeded as if uttered from the mouth of their biblical god, or a real medical scientist.
The genuine atrocity is that everything Trump did to “play down” the effect of the virus was motivated by political expediency, not ignorance.
He was warned by his own national intelligence and security people a full two months before the virus landed on American soil that COVID-19 posed a serious threat to the nation, but he wasn’t interested.
He admitted to a nationally recognized journalist that he knew in January that the virus was airborne, but “played down” the threat as if it was not a national health hazard.
He even went so far as to tell his devotees that the seriousness of the virus was nothing but a “hoax used by the Democrats to prevent his reelection.” A claim that nearly 20 percent of Americans, mostly his devotees, embraced at great peril to themselves, their families, and their communities.
Professor Cullens summed up best how devastating Trump’s actions were in aiding the virus’ spread:
“He has been a source of non-compliance, and has transformed many leaders in the Republican Party (especially governors) to portray vaccines as a threat to liberty. By being the Denier in Chief, it is arguable that many of his more faithful followers have made choices that have cost them their health and even lives.”
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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