How stupid is Trump?

H. l. Mencken (1880-1956)

So he predicted the inevitable rise of a populist presidency such as that of Donald Trump?

More recently Stephen King predicted such a president in his novel, The Dead Zone.

I haven't read any H. L. Mencken, but I will.

Will Self quoted him in an article about Charlie Hebdo. He said that good journalism should, "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted."

I use that a yardstick for satire and comedy.

So he predicted the inevitable rise of a populist presidency such as that of Donald Trump?

More recently Stephen King predicted such a president in his novel, The Dead Zone.

If there’s one important lesson people should have learned over the last five years, it’s to never listen to a Trump ever again. Probably the best example of this lesson can be found in Donald Trump and company’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic which, as a reminder, included lying to the public about how serious the virus was, putting the president’s son-in-law in charge of the government’s response, politicizing mask-wearing, and regularly holding super-spreader events. To listen to anything a Trump has to say about the disease at this point would be like listening to a proctologist’s advice after they were found to have performed a series of simple surgeries that left patients shitting out of their mouths. And yet, for some reason, people with the last name Trump still think they're eminently qualified to make medical recommendations on the matter.

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, Donald Trump Jr. took a break from taunting NBA players behind his computer screen to rage against vaccine mandates. Praising protests in Europe, the ex-president’s namesake said Americans should be fighting back against the one thing giving us a chance of ever ending the pandemic his father so royally botched. “You don’t hear about what’s going on as it relates to the riots in Europe on a daily basis now against the vaccine mandates, because our media wants to block that out,” Trump Jr. claimed falsely. (In fact, European protests have been extensively covered by, among others, The New York Times, ABC News, and The Washington Post.) “They’re going to make sure that you never hear about it because they don’t want you getting these kind of ideas that freedom may actually still exist in some parts of the world. Europe is pushing back and America’s sitting there like sheep like, ‘Oh this is great we’ll just go along with’ what these guys who have gotten nothing right in the last two years tell us. It’s absolute insanity.”

Does Junior realize that two years ago his father was president? Sadly, the jury is out there. Where the jury isn’t out is on the matter of the effectiveness of vaccine mandates, which are very much working, both in the U.S. and in Europe, and on the effectiveness of the vaccines when it comes to preventing seriousness illness and death; as of September, unvaccinated people were 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than their fully vaccinated counterparts.

Don Jr.’s call for people to rise up against one of the most important tools we have to fight COVID-19 comes amid the threat of the new omicron variant, which the World Health Organization has labeled a variant “of concern” and said poses a “very high global risk.” In the last few days, the U.S., Britain, the European Union and other nations imposed travel restrictions on flights from southern Africa, but experts believe they may be too late. (On Sunday, Canadian officials announced that two cases of the variant had already been detected in Ontario.)

Saturday, of course, wasn’t the first time Don Jr. had something uniquely stupid to say about vaccine mandates. In August, he lashed out at the Biden administration for its vaccine push, writing, “Next they’re going to waterboard you till you get vaccinated.” His online store, the shopping destination of choice for assholes, is currently selling apparel that read, “Powered by Natural Immunity” and “My Science Is Better Than Yours.”

In the same Fox interview, Jr. criticized Biden for…not curing cancer. “He was also going to cure cancer, if I remember correctly, Dan,” Trump Jr. told Dan Bongino. “Remember that? Everyone was, ‘Oh, that’s great, we should definitely elect him.’ I haven’t seen much movement on that.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he blames former President Donald Trump for infecting him with coronavirus last year, telling PBS’ Firing Line With Margaret Hoover he thinks it’s “undeniable” the former president’s lax approach to health precautions led Christie to have such a severe case of Covid-19 that he thought it might kill him.

Key Facts

• In an excerpt of the PBS interview, which is set to air Friday, Christie says he always “suspected” Trump gave him the coronavirus, but he believes a revelation from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that Trump tested positive three days before he participated in the first presidential candidates’ debate confirmed Christie’s suspicions.

• Meadows said in his new book, released Tuesday, that Trump tested positive on September 26, but continued doing debate prep with Christie and others without social distancing or mask-wearing.

• Christie tested positive for Covid-19 on October 3 and was admitted to the hospital later that day, where he would spend a week in the intensive care unit.

• Christie said in his own recently released book that Trump called him while he was hospitalized and asked him: “Are you going to say you got it from me?”

• Trump’s press representatives did not return a request for comment from Forbes.

Crucial Quote

“I can’t believe Mark Meadows didn’t tell me,” Christie said. “He had an obligation to tell us. To tell us that, hey, he [Trump] tested positive. I would have worn a mask if I knew that.”

Big Number

More than 500. That’s how many people Trump came into contact with between his first positive test on September 26 and his Covid hospitalization on October 2, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Key Background

Christie has been making the media rounds to promote his new book amid growing speculation he will run for president in 2024, which could mean a showdown with Trump in the Republican primary if the former president also chooses to run. Christie ran for president in 2016 in a crowded Republican field but dropped out of the race following poor showings in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Christie went on to endorse Trump just over two weeks after suspending his campaign, and largely stayed supportive of Trump throughout most of his presidency. Christie has distanced himself from Trump after the former president’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, but Christie says he still considers Trump a “friend.”