Neon Leon: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.” ...

Neon Leon: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.”     ...: “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.”                                                                                               ...

“na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye.”  

                                                                                                               

After four years, most people at home and abroad know about the President's character flaws. We all have them, of course.  But unlike the blowhard with a six pack in his belly, the dude who primps endlessly in the bathroom mirror, the guy who gropes women on the elevator, the liar who is damn good at it and the CEO knee deep in stolen money, Trump is different. He indeed has similar flaws, but there are two other life long character flaws which are uniquely enhanced by the enormous power of the presidency--an insatiable love of money and power.

How did Donald acquire these flaws?  The answer to that question is revealed in the best selling book  "Too Much and Never Enough--How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man" by Dr. Mary L. Trump's (his niece). Time and again she points to his father Fred's unflinching brutality and how Donald , seeking paternal approval had to be as cruel as his father, who taught him that  emotions and empathy are shameful signs of weakness and that cheating and lying are perfectly acceptable business practices.  

As for his mother, Mary Anne, she is portrayed as largely indifferent towards Donald, noting that the absence of closeness between him and his mother was consistent.  In the past, however, he has given his mother credit for his sense of showmanship which he used so effectively in his TV show, The Apprentice.

The result of his upbringing is a man with zero empathy for people who suffer, a man with few ethical or business scruples, a man who lies effortlessly and continually and a deeply insecure man who simply cannot quit talking about how great he is. Enough. He is who he is and is never going to change. 

Ed. Note:  If readers would like to review the full list of the executive orders and legislation passed by the Trump Administration click here .

In this blog I will attempt to show how Trump has or has not fulfilled his campaign pledges. I will also peer into the the Washington political swamp and see how how successful Mr. Trump has been in draining it. Further, I will shed some light on that ever growing (currently north of 20,000), infamous list of reported lies from numerous fact checkers.  Lastly I will present a chronological breakdown of how Trump responded to the outbreak of Covid 19.

      CAMPAIGN PROMISES

Tax cuts

Trump promised to lower the corporate tax rate  as well as "huge" tax rates for the working class. 

This one is largely a promise kept.  The tax plan passed in December 2017, lowering corporate taxes down from 35% to  21%.  The tax cuts for individuals will expire in December of 2025 and they will see a tax hike.  Corporate taxes have no expiration date.

Paris climate deal

Trump can notch up a win here.  He has dismissed climate change as a hoax for years and repeatedly complained that the Paris  Accord (signed by 200 countries) stifled American growth.  On November 4th, the USA will officially leave the agreement.

Supreme Court nominee

He vowed to appoint a conservative member to the court.  He actually appointed two--Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. And, of course, he is hellbent on replacing the deceased Justice Ginsburg.  Mr Trump has also appointed a record 200 judges to lower federal courts.

Bombing IS

Mr Trump promised that he would "bomb the so-called Islamic State group into obliteration."

Promise kept, but with limited effect. The president dropped the "Mother of All Bombs" on an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan in April 2017.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense said the attack left 36 ISIS fighters dead according to the Associated Press.

Defeating ISIS

Candidate Donald Trump vowed to defeat ISIS, the which seized control of territory in Syria and Iraq starting in 2014.  While America has indeed largely defeated the terrorist group, Trump takes too much credit for the win.  In a March 2018 speech, he said 

"In Iraq and Syria, we’ve taken back almost 100 percent, in a very short period of time, of the land that they took. And it all took place since our election. "  According to numerous military reports, at its peak in January 2015, ISIS in Iraq and Syria covered about 35,000 square miles. When Trump took office in January 2017, the caliphate had shrunk to about 23,300 square miles, courtesy of the Obama administration. 

Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem

Mission accomplished:  In 2017, he said he formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and approved moving the US embassy. It opened in May 2018. 

Bringing all the troops home

Trump has failed to bring all the soldiers home, but he has made some strides from time to time.

Recently, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of the Pentagon’s Central Command, said the 5,200 troops in Iraq to help fight remnants of the Islamic State and train Iraqi forces “will be adjusted” after consultations with the government in Baghdad.

Despite President Trump’s demand last fall for a complete withdrawal of all 1,000 American forces from Syria, some 500 troops remain.

In February, US and Nato allies agreed to withdraw all troops from the country within 14 months if Taliban militants uphold a new peace agreement. This reporter doubts whether the militants will play nice in the long run.

Trade deals

Trump called Nafta "a disaster" and warned that the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) "is going to be worse, so we'll stop it". He also pledged to correct the trade deficit with China.

Here again, all of his promises have not been fully achieved.  Consider:  Mr Trump followed through in his first few days on his pledge to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). He later said he would consider re-joining the TPP if he got a better deal. That better deal was the signing of the USMCA pact last November.  It was designed to replace Nafta. However, the US has reimposed aluminium tariffs on Canada, while Canadians  retaliated with  with numerous tariffs on American goods.

The US and China, meanwhile, fell into an escalating trade battle with both parties slapping tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of goods.

In August the US and China held talks over their so-called "phase-one" trade deal - signed early this year - that is aimed at easing the trade war. But according to Forbes Magazine,  "Phase one is on life support."  Lori Ann LaRocco, author of the book “Trade War: Containers Don’t Lie” and a trade columnist focused on supply chain data at industry publisher FreightWaves, said “China has not met its obligations under the deal as of April 1 data and I think that trend still holds.” 

Ban on Muslims

At first, Mr Trump initially promised to ban all Muslims entering the US, but switched to "extreme vetting" after he became the party's presidential candidate.

The upshot?  Promise kept, but with a few caveats: As president, he introduced two travel bans which were shut down in the courts. A third ban was successful in part as the US Supreme Court ruled President Trump's ban on six mainly Muslim countries can go into full effect, pending legal challenges. And in January, the US announced it was blocking citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar  from obtaining certain types of visas. 

Reverse Obama's Cuban policies

Obama had sought to  reopen diplomatic relations and improve trade.

As president, he told an audience in Miami that he promised to "cancel the Obama administration's one-sided deal."

Promise kept:  In 2017, Mr Trump reimposed some trade and travel restrictions lifted by Obama. He kept the embassy open in Havana, but didn't name  an ambassador. 

Last year, the administration announced a ban on travel to Cuba for American group tours as well as cruise ships.  Further restrictions include a suspension of private charter flights between the countries, which will increase economic pressure on Cuba. 

Obamacare

One of Mr Trump's oft repeated pledge was to repeal and replace Obamacare which was designed to extend healthcare to the estimated 15% of the country who are not covered.  

This promise failed.  The Trump administration has managed to strip down elements  of the law (enrolment periods are shorter, some subsidies have been cut).  The fine for people who didn't purchase health insurance had been eliminated by Trump in 2017.  However, a ruling in December 2018 by a federal judge disagreed. The judge said that the penalty fine was an "essential" part of the law and meant "the entirety of Obamacare is therefore not constitutional."  The law, however, remains in place as an appeal heads to the US Supreme Court, with a ruling expected in 2021.  And, of course, there is no real Republican replacement for Obamacare. (On Sept. 24, Trump did unveil his  “America First Health Care Plan” but its not an actual plan. It contains precious little, other than a symbolic gesture to ensure those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage (already in the ACA), a promise of $200 gift certificates for seniors to help with their prescription drug purchases (it’s anyone’s guess where the money will come from ), and a fuzzy statement requiring hospitals and insurance companies to be more transparent in terms of their pricing. The only actual policy measure put forward was a pledge to work with Congress to end hospital surprise billing.

A border wall paid for by Mexico

His vow to build a wall along the US-Mexican border was one of the most controversial of Mr Trump's campaign promises. Mr Trump also insisted that Mexico would pay for it.

This promise has been a loser in many ways.  Consider these points:  (1) Mexico has not paid a dime for the wall. (2) He has redirected defense and some other funds to build or replace sections of the wall, a decision that has faced legal challenges. (3) 

Democrats and some Republicans have publically baulked at a bill that could reach $21.5 billion by numerous estimates. (4) As of Aug. 7, work had been completed on 30 miles of barriers where none had existed prior to Trump’s presidency, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

On another 245 miles of border, better primary and secondary barriers have been built to replace “dilapidated and/or outdated designs,” with more in progress, according to Customs and Border Protection. Trump says such replacements should count as new wall because they involve “complete demolition and rebuilding of old and worthless barriers.” In a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Aug. 28, Trump said his administration has “already built 300 miles of border wall” and is “adding 10 new miles every single week,” and he said the wall “is almost complete.”  Umm, not quite. The administration is on track to just barely meet Mr. Trump’s mandate of constructing 450 miles of border wall by the end of the year. But much of it will not be in the Rio Grande Valley, an area historically prone to illegal crossings where private landowners have fought in court against the construction project. 

China as currency manipulator

 Mr. Trump repeatedly pledged to label Beijing a "currency manipulator" on his first day in office, during an election campaign when he also accused China of "raping" the US. China has been accused of suppressing the yuan to make its exports more competitive with US goods.

Promise kept.  In August 2019, the administration officially named China as a "currency manipulator". (The US Treasury department defines currency manipulation as when countries deliberately influence the exchange rate between their currency and the US dollar to gain "unfair competitive advantage in international trade").

But in January, the US reversed its decision when China had agreed to refrain from devaluing its currency to make its own goods cheaper for foreign buyers.

Deporting all illegal immigrants

Mr Trump repeatedly told his supporters that every single undocumented immigrant - of which there are estimated to be more than 11.3 million - "have to go".

After the election he scaled it back to some two to three million deportations of people who "are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers".

In fiscal year 2019 deportations were at 267,000, a slight rise on the year before, though not as high as the 2012 peak of 410,000 under the Obama administration.

Mr Trump's plans for immigration reform faced defeat this summer when the Supreme Court ruled against his administration's bid to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), which protects about 650,000 young people who entered the US without documents as children.  So, in lieu of these facts, I would say that this promise is not kept, but not without trying.

Rebuilding infrastructure

The country's infrastructure "will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it", Trump said in his victory speech in November.

Promise not kept.  He has repeated his vow to spend big on the country's roads, rail and airports, but as yet, there is little sign of action. 

In April 2019, Mr Trump and Democratic leaders agreed to spend $2tn on infrastructure, an agreement that later fell apart. This June there were reports the Trump administration had a $1tn plan in the works, but no announcement has been made.

Ditching Nato

Mr Trump has repeatedly questioned the military alliance's purpose, calling it "obsolete". One issue that irked him was whether members were pulling their weight and "paying their bills". In one New York Times interview in July 2016, he even hinted that the US would not come to the aid of a member invaded by Russia.

This one is a mixed bag.  Consider:  As he hosted Nato's secretary general at the White House in April 2018, the US president said the threat of terrorism had underlined the alliance's importance. "I said it was obsolete," Mr Trump said. "It's no longer obsolete."

In July 2018, Mr Trump reiterated his support at the Nato summit, but suggested the US might still leave if allies did not acquiesce to his budget demands.

Mr Trump has continued to argue that Canada and European members of Nato are not spending enough to support the alliance, and in July said the US will move nearly 12,000 troops out of Germany.

That move was immediately derided by many Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including frequent Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) who called the plan “a grave error,” “a gift to Russia,” and “a slap in the face at a friend and ally when we should instead be drawing closer in our mutual commitment to deter Russian and Chinese aggression.”

If  Trump's goal here was to simply increase Nato spending by members, then he has succeeded.  According to Nato chief Stoltenberg, more members of the 29-nation coalition are now meeting the guideline of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense and nine members will meet the mark this year, up from three just a few years ago while a majority of allies are set to meet that goal by 2024.  

Torture

Not.  Mr Trump said he would approve waterboarding "immediately" and "make it also much worse", adding "torture works".  But after his inauguration, the president said he would defer to the opposite belief that waterboarding is indeed torture which was held by former Defence Secretary James Mattis and then-CIA director Mike Pompeo.

   

       DRAINING THE WASHINGTON SWAMP 

 

The Trump administration has a long list of characters who have imprisoned or charged with criminal counts, to wit:   

• Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was arrested in August after being charged with fraud in connection to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign close to the Rio Grande.  He, along with three others, was charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors for personal profit.  In addition, The Texas Tribune reported on Sept. 2  click here that "The 3-mile border fence along the shore of the Rio Grande will fail during extreme flooding, according to an engineering report that is set to be filed in federal court. The report is one of two new studies...that found numerous deficiencies in the 3-mile border fence, built this year by North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel. [Earlier] Reports...from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune...found that segments of the structure were in danger of overturning due to extensive erosion if not fixed and properly maintained."

• Paul Manafort, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison in 2019 for a spate of charges from Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, including tax and bank fraud, and conspiracy against the United States. 

• The Mueller probe brought 100 charges against 34 people, six of whom were Trump associates, while the other 25 were Russians accused of interference. 

• Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison, having pleaded guilty to charges related to securities fraud conspiracy and making false statements.  

• Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. stepped down from his seat for conspiring to misuse $250,000 of campaign funds for his personal expenses. The California Republican was sentenced to 11 months in March.

And some of Trump's donors have been entangled in criminal probes.

• Lobbyist Sam Patten pleaded guilty to illegally funneling foreign money into Trump's inaugural committee and was sentenced to three years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. 
• New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, a close personal friend of Trump's who gave $1 million to the inaugural committee, was charged with  solicitation of prostitution.  The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled last month that law enforcement violated Kraft’s rights by taking the video and that it can’t be used in trial. The video was deemed as "pornographic".
•  The Trump campaign's former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, convicted of lying to investigators, spent two weeks in prison. 
• President Trump's longtime friend and  political adviser Roger Stone had his sentence commuted by Trump just days before having to report to prison in Georgia after he was convicted last year of all seven counts brought by the Justice Dept.--five counts of lying to Congress, one of witness tampering and one of obstructing a congressional committee proceeding. 
• Prosecutors indicted Lev Parnas and Igor Furman  (associates of Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani) for circumventing election laws prohibiting straw donations and foreign contributions to US political campaigns, including a super PAC supporting President Trump's re-election campaign. Both men have pleaded not guilty in the case.  
• According to unnamed sources in the Washington Post, Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge longtime GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy in connection with efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests. 

For years,  Broidy has been under investigation for his alleged role in a campaign to persuade Trump administration officials to stop an investigation of Malaysian government corruption and also for his efforts to stop the extradition of the outspoken Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, back to China. 

(Guo is wanted in Beijing for fraud, blackmail and bribery).

Three weeks ago, prosecutors obtained a guilty plea from Nickie Mali Lum Davis, a Broidy business partner, who confessed to taking part in the schemes. 

Of course, any report on the swamp must include the perennial denizens of the Swamp--lobbyists.

Sure enough, according to a July 6 report by the Associated Press, click here forty lobbyists with ties to President Donald Trump helped clients get more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump’s own ethics policy. The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural hoopla (which is also under investigation) or were part of his presidential transition. Many are donors to Trump’s campaigns, and some are prolific fundraisers for his reelection.

Mike Tanglis, one of the authors of Public Citizen's report, said, “The swamp is alive and well in Washington, D.C. These (lobbying) booms that these people are having, you can really attribute them to their connection to Trump.”

Of course, Trump and his extended family couldn't miss out on the action either.  In a complaint filed July 28 with the Federal Elections Commission, the non profit Campaign Legal Center released an 81 page report which charged that the Trump reelection campaign violated the law by masking millions in spending.

The filing said that the president’s reelection campaign hid $170 million in spending to major vendors, family members and associates by diverting the money through firms headed by Brad Parscale, who was replaced as campaign manager early July.

The filing alleged that the campaign laundered money in order to hide payments to contractors and advisors as well as Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who is dating the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.  Nothing will happen with the filing because for most of the last year the FEC has only had three members, which is not enough for a quorum. 

HE WHO SPEAKS WITH FORKED TONGUE

"A lie can travel half-way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."  Mark Twain

One year ago, I addressed the lies of Donald trump in my blog titled "He's Going Down"  At that time fact checkers listed some 5,000 lies.  As I write today, the number is 20,000.  To be fair, these lies are not all unique, some have been repeated 100 times or more.  Forbes magazine  has produced graphs showing where these clusters are.

My favorite one still remains:

“I started out in Brooklyn. My father gave me a very small loan of a million dollars in 1975.  I payed him back with interest." That gem, often repeated in some form by Trump during his presidential run, is not true. The loan was over $60 million, at least, and much of it was never repaid.  The New York Times published a blockbuster investigation click here that showed Trump has received $413 million dollars (in today’s money) from his father, Fred. The investigation also uncovered “instances of outright fraud,” among other “dubious” tax schemes which are currently being investigated by state and federal courts.

His first lie appeared the day after his inauguration:

"The overall audience, was I think, the biggest ever to watch an inauguration address, which was  a great thing."  

Nope.  Forest Service Videos of Obama's and Trump' inaugurals show a great sea of blank space in the Washington Mall for Trump whereas Obama's was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see.  Politifact said this:  "Even including TV watchers, Trump trailed several prior presidents.  He falls into 5th place since 1969, behind Obama in 2009, Nixon in 1973, Carter in 1977 and the high-water mark of Reagan in 1981." 

Other gems include:  "Hillary Clinton won the popular vote because it was fraudulent",

"America pays the most in taxes" and "Flynn Did Nothing Wrong."

Fast forward to the the last few months:  

"After the last administration nearly killed the US auto industry, I saved the U.S. auto industry ... We brought you a lot of car plants… (and Japan) “announced five car companies are coming to Michigan.”  Actually, The Bush and Obama administrations helped save the auto industry.

Fiat Chrysler is building a new plant in Michigan.

Auto industry jobs fell by about 3,000 in 2019.

No Japanese car makers announced plans to expand in Michigan.

Democrats and Joe Biden “want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning.”  Not.  Biden has proposed reinstating an Obama administration policy related to addressing housing discrimination.  Experts said Biden’s proposal would not result in a mandate forcing local jurisdictions to build low-income housing or do away with single-family zoning.

“Biden failed to condemn far-left violent groups like Antifa, instead faulting only the brave men and women of law enforcement.”  Not.  Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has on several occasions denounced violence, arson and looting tied to protests against police brutality.  Shortly after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Biden said “needless destruction” and “violence that endangers lives” is not necessary. A week after Kenosha police shot Jacob Blake, Biden said he condemns violence “of every kind by anyone,” a direct conflict with Trump’s claim that he has failed to critique violent groups. 

   COVID 19--208,000 DEAD

What follows is a partial timeline of Trump's actions related to the Coronavirus provided by Congressman Lloyd Doggett (T).  For the full timeline,  click here.  

May 2018--The Administration disbands the White House pandemic response team.

July 2019--The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency left her post, and the Administration decided to eliminate the role.

January 22--“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”

January 24-- “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

January 30--"The lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless in the case of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak on US soil,...This lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.” [Memo from Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro]

February 2--“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”

February 7--“It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu... This is deadly stuff” [Trump in a private taped interview with Bob Woodward, made public September 9]

February 10--“Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

February 26--“The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”

February 28--“We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of medical.”

March 6--“You have to be calm. It’ll go away.”  “I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

March 12--Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tells Congress that the country does not have sufficient testing. “The system is not really geared to what we need right now,” he said. “That is a failing. Let’s admit it.”  "You know, you see what's going on. And so I just wanted that to stop as it pertains to the United States. And that's what we've done. We've stopped it."

March 13--The Atlantic reported that less than 14,000 tests had been done in the ten weeks since the administration had first been notified of the virus, though Mike Pence had promised the week prior that 1.5 million tests would be available by this time.

March 16--“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment-try getting it yourselves,”

March 19--I intended "to always play it down.”  [Trump in a private taped interview with Bob Woodward, made public September 9]

March 24  --“I'm also hopeful to have Americans working again by that Easter - that beautiful Easter day.”  “They have to treat us well, also. They can’t say, ‘Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that.’”

March 26--“I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’”

March 26-- “We’ve had a big problem with the young, a woman governor from — you know who I’m talking about — from Michigan,”

March 27--“Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington. You’re wasting your time with him…”

March 29--“Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door? How do you go from 10,000 to 300,000?”  “Unfortunately the enemy is death. It's death. A lot of people are dying. So it's very unpleasant.”

March 30--  “I haven’t heard about testing in weeks. We’re testing more than any other nation in the world. We’ve got these great tests...But I haven’t heard about testing being a problem.”

“We inherited a broken test — the whole thing was broken.”

April 2--“...the Federal Government is merely a back-up for state governments.”

April 6--"You are not going to die from this pill...I really think it's a great thing to try."

April 11--U.S. death toll passes 20,000

April 14--“[w]hen somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total.”

April 15--U.S. death toll passes 30,000.

April 15--As Trump focuses on reopening, a leaked CDC and FEMA report warns of “significant risk of resurgence of the virus” with phased reopening.

April 22--“If [coronavirus] comes back though, it won’t be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain….it’s also possible it doesn’t come back at all.”

April 23--"I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that."

“So, supposing we hit the body...with a tremendous, whether its ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said, that hasn't been checked but you're gonna test it. And then I said, supposing it brought the light inside the body, which you can either do either through the skin or some other way…”

April 23--“You see states are starting to open up now, and it’s very exciting to see.”  

April 23--26 million jobless claims

April 24--U.S. death toll passes 50,000

April 27-- "I can't imagine why," [Regarding influx in poison control calls about disinfectant]

May 3-- “Look, we're going to lose anywhere from 75,000, 80,000 to 100,000 people”

May 5--U.S. death toll passes 70,000

May 5-- Consumer debt hits an all-time high

May 5--“Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse!”

May 5--“There’ll be more death, that the virus will pass, with or without a vaccine." 

 May 6--Brookings reports that  “40.9 percent of mothers with children ages 12 and under reported household food insecurity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”  Republicans block proposals to expand food stamps.

May 7-- 33 million jobless claims

May 8-- “This is going to go away without a vaccine. It is going to go away.  We are not going to see it again.”

May 11-- “Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!”

May 14-- “Could be that testing’s, frankly, overrated. Maybe it is overrated.”

May 14--“Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,”

May 16-- “We’ve done a GREAT job on Covid response, making all Governors look good, some fantastic."

May 18-- U.S. death toll passes 90,000

May 19--“When we have a lot of cases, I don't look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing,...Because it means our testing is much better. I view it as a badge of honor, really, it's a badge of honor.”

May 21--USA Today reports that mortgage delinquencies surged by 1.6 million in April, the largest single-month jump in history.

May 22--38 million jobless claims

May 27--U.S. death toll passes 100,000

May 29--“We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization”

June 6--U.S death toll passes 110,000

June 15--“At some point this stuff goes away and it’s going away.”

June 20--"Testing is a double-edged sword,...When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases, so I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'"

June 22--U.S death toll passes 120,000

June 25--“The number of China Virus cases goes up, because of GREAT TESTING, while the number of deaths (mortality rate), goes way down. The Fake News doesn’t like telling you that!”

June 25--“Coronavirus deaths are way down. Mortality rate is one of the lowest in the World. Our Economy is roaring back and will NOT be shut down. “Embers” or flare ups will be put out, as necessary!”

June 30--U.S. has just 4% of the global population, but 25% of global coronavirus cases and the second highest death rate per capita.

July 6--U.S. death toll passes 130,000

July 7--"I think we are in a good place." 

July 8--“In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November election, but it is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!”

July 18--U.S. death toll passes 140,000

July 19--“I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world”

July 19--“Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day”  “They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test”

July 21--"You will never hear this on the Fake News concerning the China Virus, but by comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well - and we have done things that few other countries could have done!”

July 27--"America will develop a vaccine very soon, and we will defeat the virus. We will have it delivered in record time."  

July 28--U.S. death toll passes 150,000.  

August 1--“Wrong! We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases,”  (Donald Trump in a retweet of Anthony Fauci saying the U.S. has seen more cases than European countries because it only shut down a fraction of its economy amid the pandemic)

August 3--"They are dying. That's true. And you — it is what it is.”

August 3--“OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!”

August 5--“If you look at children, children are almost - and I would almost say definitely - but almost immune from this disease.” 

August 5--“It will go away like things go away”

August 6--U.S. death toll passes 160,000

August 12--U.S. reports highest number of COVID-19 deaths in one day since mid-May

August 16--U.S. death toll passes 170,000

August 22--“Many doctors and studies disagree with this!” (Donald Trump in a tweet stating that the FDA is revoking hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, as they are “unlikely to be effective”)

August 22--“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”

August 23--The President claims that ballot drop boxes are a “voter security disaster” and a “big fraud,” “possible for a person to vote multiple times” and that they aren’t “Covid sanitized.”

August 26--U.S. death toll passes 180,000

September 4--There will be a vaccine “before the end of the year and maybe even before Nov. 1. I think we can probably have it sometime in October.”

September 9--U.S. death toll passes 190,000

September 10--“This is nobody's fault but China.”

September 14--Trump, was asked if he is afraid of Coronavirus risk at his rallies: “I’m on a stage, it’s very far away, so I’m not at all concerned.”

September 16--Reporter: “[The head of the CDC] said that the vaccine for the general public wouldn’t be available until next Summer or maybe even early fall. Are you comfortable with that timeline?” Trump: “I think he made a mistake when he said that. That’s just incorrect information.”

September 19--U.S. death toll passes 200,000 

Since the pandemic began initial jobless claims have increased by more than 58 million, according to the Dept. of Labor.

 As the election draws near, there has been a plethora of anti-Trump messages in print, on TV and videos from a myriad of groups and individuals who are united by their fear that we are witnessing the end of American democracy.  I am sure that many of you, dear readers, are aware of many of these postings.  But I  would like to submit one more which carries enormous weight. It was published on Sept. 24 by United Press International.  The full report is here.   Some excerpts:  "...489 retired generals and admirals, as well as former national security officials and diplomats signed a letter endorsing Joe Biden..."

"The signatories include [over]...200 retired generals and admirals, and [289]...former national security officials and diplomats, including former CIA and FBI Director William Webster as well as former defense secretaries William Perry, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta and Ash Carter."

"We believe that Joe Biden is, above all, a good man with a strong sense of right and wrong," they wrote.

For this writer, perhaps the most succinct comment was made by Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence from 2017 to 2019.  In an editorial published by the NY Times published on Sept. 17, he said  "We hear often that the November election is the most consequential in our lifetime. But the importance of the election is not just which candidate or which party wins. Voters also face the question of whether the American democratic experiment, one of the boldest political innovations in human history, will survive."