I am not a conspiracy theorist, but honestly, as long as the info comes only from Trump's personal doctor and knowing just how dire his chances to win are right now, i would not put it beyond Trump to do this to garner some sympathy and dodge the next debates.
On the other hand, not being able to hold rallies really hurts a guy like trump. But it worked really well for Bolsonaro to have covid but be fine after.
But as counterpoint: Hope Hicks actually has covid (the white house tried to hide that at first, so it is probably true) and Trump contracting it through her is hardly unlikely.
So for now, i'd think we might see Trump having to go to the hospital in two weeks.
We well know by tomorrow whether Biden is infected or not. Probably today.
Tho i would not think he is. They were 3 meters apart. It is possible, but i do not think it is probable. Pence is seemingly not infected, and he has closer contact with Trump than biden.
We well know by tomorrow whether Biden is infected or not. Probably today.
Tho i would not think he is. They were 3 meters apart. It is possible, but i do not think it is probable. Pence is seemingly not infected, and he has closer contact with Trump than biden.
The whole thing is ultimately a dice roll unfortunately. I know people whose wives/husbands got it but they didn't.... The debate was a few days ago, it could be up to just about two weeks until biden is in the clear.
I forgot if I mentioned this, but did anyone see the right wing's reaction to Chrissy Teigen? Mark Dice especially was horrible, and it's like they don't understand anything.
We well know by tomorrow whether Biden is infected or not. Probably today.
Tho i would not think he is. They were 3 meters apart. It is possible, but i do not think it is probable. Pence is seemingly not infected, and he has closer contact with Trump than biden.
Biden tested negative for it, so that's good. Now instead of having a debate, i'd like to see Biden address how we would've tackled the pandemic instead. Trump has sucked but it would help to see what Biden stands for. The last proper argument he made was against opening the economy back in April. its been a long time since then and the situation has changed drastically.
I think people need to realize that although America is a 1st world country, it has tons of issues similar to the 3rd world nations... But some of those countries have done fairly well in handling the pandemic. 9 months from the lockdown, you just cant still have the statement that choose health over the economy. Hopefully we get to a better state from here.
TBH I don't think biden will be able to do much about the pandemic in general. When the US was doing lockdowns they largely weren't as effective as they should have been because of the right wing, a large portion of which listens to trump and refuses to maintain basic safety measures. IF biden wins... what are the odds that people would behave differently? Add to that the sheer amount of damage the economy has taken already, the US now is in much worst position to handle this.
TBH I don't think biden will be able to do much about the pandemic in general. When the US was doing lockdowns they largely weren't as effective as they should have been because of the right wing, a large portion of which listens to trump and refuses to maintain basic safety measures. IF biden wins... what are the odds that people would behave differently? Add to that the sheer amount of damage the economy has taken already, the US now is in much worst position to handle this.
I think you are wrong to blame the right wing alone. Yes, they did refuse to wear masks but the majority of the cause of the spreads other than recent rallies has been because of the youth ignoring restrictions and crowding in areas. The right wing support base is stronger in smaller towns and states, whereas the higher densely populated states in general tend to have moderate or left wing supporters who would comply if leadership shows better.
And if you cant expect it from the President, who else?
The right mostly say this. At least Diamond and Silk aren't so evil. In general though, these people are horrible, but they're often left unchecked by centrists/moderates and liberals under the guise of "freedom of speech," while the further left often get attacked for criticizing the bad ones.
Trump's going to the hospital for covid. I don't feel bad at all whatever happens, but I will feel bad if he recovers.
I think you are wrong to blame the right wing alone. Yes, they did refuse to wear masks but the majority of the cause of the spreads other than recent rallies has been because of the youth ignoring restrictions and crowding in areas. The right wing support base is stronger in smaller towns and states, whereas the higher densely populated states in general tend to have moderate or left wing supporters who would comply if leadership shows better.
And if you cant expect it from the President, who else?
I don't doubt kids are idiots but I would argue even this is fueled by trump's inept response to the virus... Overall, I think the situation here is that trump had an unique opportunity to actually control the pandemic. If him with legitimate medical professionals had called for a shutdown then both sides would have listened. Meanwhile I don't think there is anything a democrat president can say that would get a substantial portion of the right wing to wear masks or stay home for a few weeks.
I think you are wrong to blame the right wing alone. Yes, they did refuse to wear masks but the majority of the cause of the spreads other than recent rallies has been because of the youth ignoring restrictions and crowding in areas. The right wing support base is stronger in smaller towns and states, whereas the higher densely populated states in general tend to have moderate or left wing supporters who would comply if leadership shows better.
And if you cant expect it from the President, who else?
The youths aren't innocent, I agree, but the president could have done way more but chose not to. Given how many right wingers kiss his ass, Trump could have encouraged them to take the virus seriously, he could have made masks mandatory and made people isolate themselves or quarantine when necessary. He could have made it easier for more people to quarantine by passing more covid relief checks and the likes. He could have shut down the country.
So far, NJ and even NY has done well enough because they kept the states shut for a while, while TX, FL, and etc saw cases go up because they reopened and/or people refused to wear masks or distance themselves.
I don't doubt kids are idiots but I would argue even this is fueled by trump's inept response to the virus... Overall, I think the situation here is that trump had an unique opportunity to actually control the pandemic. If him with legitimate medical professionals had called for a shutdown then both sides would have listened. Meanwhile I don't think there is anything a democrat president can say that would get a substantial portion of the right wing to wear masks or stay home for a few weeks.
Yes, thats my point. You would expect this from the leader of the country and his response or lack thereof is helped. But even where states dictated terms, things could've been way better. You could've setup stronger social distancing norms, stricter guidelines for business and even fines for mask violators.
We saw none of this, or even if we did, we saw it quite late.
The hardcore Trump supporters are not massive in numbers or even if they are, are concentrated. People dont have to like the president to be expected to follow, so its not about democratic leader at all. Biden has experience dealing with various outbreaks during Obama era and far deadlier, albeit not one that spreads as badly.
The youths aren't innocent, I agree, but the president could have done way more but chose not to. Given how many right wingers kiss his ass, Trump could have encouraged them to take the virus seriously, he could have made masks mandatory and made people isolate themselves or quarantine when necessary. He could have made it easier for more people to quarantine by passing more covid relief checks and the likes. He could have shut down the country.
So far, NJ and even NY has done well enough because they kept the states shut for a while, while TX, FL, and etc saw cases go up because they reopened and/or people refused to wear masks or distance themselves.
Yes, thats my point. I am using youth to just counter the argument that right wingers didnt follow and could've been the reason of the spread. California has done better than most states considering it was the first to be affected....
Also, i dont think just having a vaccine is enough for the future. We need a proper protocol in place for such emergency situations to be handled with. Again, look at the east asian nations and see what a great job they' done. Take tips from them and learn from it.
Oh I misunderstood. California hasn't done much better though, it's done pretty badly actually. Cases have gone up thanks to beachgoers and the likes. It's actually been in the top 5 for most positive cases or something, I believe?
Never gonna happen as long as there are right wingers who have convoluted views of freedom.
h I misunderstood. California hasn't done much better though, it's done pretty badly actually. Cases have gone up thanks to beachgoers and the likes. It's actually been in the top 5 for most positive cases or something, I believe?
Never gonna happen as long as there are right wingers who have convoluted views of freedom.
Yea, it has been higher but you must also consider that its population is much higher than the rest of the 4. Also, if you take out LA, the land of pseudo intellectuals , cases would be significantly lower. The beach and party goers definitely did contribute and that would be the youth, but considering that Californias is the most populated, had its first case, it has lower daily cases on an average or atleast the big number peaks have been shorter.
The population being higher doesn't mean much though when the cases keep going up. Even NY and NJ cooled off and I believe went down for a while despite being populated as well.
TBH I don't think biden will be able to do much about the pandemic in general. When the US was doing lockdowns they largely weren't as effective as they should have been because of the right wing, a large portion of which listens to trump and refuses to maintain basic safety measures. IF biden wins... what are the odds that people would behave differently? Add to that the sheer amount of damage the economy has taken already, the US now is in much worst position to handle this.
People can be influenced. It is harder now than back then because people accept this as new normal and are not as scared, but for the argument:
Had Trump tried to coordinate a response that all 50 states would adhere to, a lot of lives could have been saved. I am aware of the fact Trump cannot directly force states to lock down, but that does not mean he cannot (if he were capable) be a moderator of that debate.
I will give germany as an example where the same constellation was in place: Merkel cannot force the 16 members states to lock down, but very quickly started a dialogue between them. First she (and her ministers) assured the PM of the states that there would be a strong economic response, so the measures they take would not kill off all their businesses. They they argued for several days between the PM, Merkel and the health minister, about what kind of response they could agree on.
There were hardliners and those that did not want to do anything at all, but the key takeaway was that most states adhered to a certain baseline of reaction and the states that didnt fell in line soon after when their casenumbers rose and others didnt.
That let to a fast and coordinated response even without directly forcing anyone, just by communicating properly and persuasion.
Basically: Even if the US had hardline states that said they would not do anything, Trump could have convinced almost all red states and most blue ones to adhere to certain baselines and the states that did not comply would have had to fall in line once they couldnt handle what was coming for them. That would also have shown a bipartisan effort to curb the disease and not have polarized society more than it already was.
Biden can do just that. At least for Blue states (which are often the most populous ones), he can install coordinated baselines of reactions, for example how to react when an outbreak happens, how to support communes with an outbreak, things like that. That will be the maineffort: Communication between whitehouse and states and states and communes.
That is actually very smart and savvy. I think it will pay off.
What has to be seen is that this election will very probably be decided in Pennsyvlania and the voters there that Biden needs to get are white and often lean republican. That is why he distanced himself so strongly from sanders int he debate, this is why he went with 'bad apples' about the police (not only for pennsylvania, this one was also for wisconsin, but still).
Republicans often put much emphasis on politeness and proper conduct (yes, even when electing Trump). The reason they often like Biden is because Biden understands that. He is a human with his flaws, but Biden is not (perceived) like Clinton who most voters could imagine would murder a political opponent. He didn't treat Sanders like Clinton did and he does not treat Trump like Clinton did.
Biden now pulling ads (and telling everyone he does) is a better help for his reelection chances than these attack ads (at this point) would have been. And he ramped up the door to door campaigning in the same wake to make up for it.
People think Biden is a stupid demented man, but at least his campaign is VERY smart. Much smarter than Clinton's ever was.
That is actually very smart and savvy. I think it will pay off.
What has to be seen is that this election will very probably be decided in Pennsyvlania and the voters there that Biden needs to get are white and often lean republican. That is why he distanced himself so strongly from sanders int he debate, this is why he went with 'bad apples' about the police (not only for pennsylvania, this one was also for wisconsin, but still).
Republicans often put much emphasis on politeness and proper conduct (yes, even when electing Trump). The reason they often like Biden is because Biden understands that. He is a human with his flaws, but Biden is not (perceived) like Clinton who most voters could imagine would murder a political opponent. He didn't treat Sanders like Clinton did and he does not treat Trump like Clinton did.
Biden now pulling ads (and telling everyone he does) is a better help for his reelection chances than these attack ads (at this point) would have been. And he ramped up the door to door campaigning in the same wake to make up for it.
People think Biden is a stupid demented man, but at least his campaign is VERY smart. Much smarter than Clinton's ever was.
Dunno if it will pay off, and in fairness it could, but to me it seems like a waste of a freeby. If the situation was reversed trump would be openly mocking biden...
As for the bold part.... I think it should go "republicans often put much emphasis on politeness and proper conduct on democrats". That politeness and proper conduct conveniently can be looked over when it comes to their own. remember in the 2016 republican convention when you had republican speakers talking about executing hillary? Or even with the supreme court nomination on an election year... Republicans did not elect a vicious bully like trump on accident. The guy has 95%+ approval in the republican party.
It's fairly clear biden's mind is doing well by now, he has held his own in debates against trump and sanders (without a shred of a doubt the tougher adversary). Though I will make the case that being smarter than hillary in a campaign is comically low bar. Probably pretty near where trump has buried the bar over the past 4 years....
Dunno if it will pay off, and in fairness it could, but to me it seems like a waste of a freeby. If the situation was reversed trump would be openly mocking biden...
As for the bold part.... I think it should go "republicans often put much emphasis on politeness and proper conduct on democrats". That politeness and proper conduct conveniently can be looked over when it comes to their own. remember in the 2016 republican convention when you had republican speakers talking about executing hillary? Or even with the supreme court nomination on an election year... Republicans did not elect a vicious bully like trump on accident. The guy has 95%+ approval in the republican party.
It's fairly clear biden's mind is doing well by now, he has held his own in debates against trump and sanders (without a shred of a doubt the tougher adversary). Though I will make the case that being smarter than hillary in a campaign is comically low bar. Probably pretty near where trump has buried the bar over the past 4 years....
Of course Trump would mock biden, but for Trump, that would be the smarter move. Biden can get into the republican base to some extent because he is unthreatening (that is why republicans want to claim that he is controlled by 'the left': Because Biden himself is THAT unthreatening).
This is an instance of the campaign playing out Biden's strength while Clinton's campaign failed to play out hers. They wanted to present clinton as something which she was not: A champion for feminism. Clinton is not that person.
But Biden IS a devout catholic, a nice guy and a people person. Putting more emphasis on that by pulling attack ads (but obviously exchanging them for other ads and ramping up your door to door efforts) is a smart move.
Much like it was a smart move not to 'temper trump' when he won in 2016, even tho most people thought he should become 'more presidential' after he won the primary to be able to win.
Had Trump tried to coordinate a response that all 50 states would adhere to, a lot of lives could have been saved. I am aware of the fact Trump cannot directly force states to lock down, but that does not mean he cannot (if he were capable) be a moderator of that debate.
I mean, had Trump encouraged his followers to wear masks and socially distance from each other and actually took the virus seriously, then we'd likely have been in a much better shape. That'd probably be the only thing he had to do, and a lockdown might not have been required except maybe apart from young partygoers.
