March 16, 2020: President Trump is Whining, Not Winning

 

3/16/20: No matter how fast Dr. Zero tries to run from reality, reality and the virus continue to gain.

 

____________________ 

Trump gives himself a “10” on a scale of 1-10.

____________________

  

As of this morning: the U.S. had 3,744 confirmed cases. That was 3,729 more than the president predicted. 

Now, just a few hours later, we have hit 4,093. 

Trump might like his ill-informed followers to keep believing this is only flu by another name. A recent estimate from the CDC, puts the mortality rate from COVID between 5x to 35x greater.

 

There was never going to be any way anyone could completely stop this. The overarching problem has been that Dr. Zero was a month too slow in realizing the gravity of the threat. For instance, Trump was absolutely the last person running for president to accept the fact that holding large rallies might enhance the spread. Now, CDC is recommending no gatherings of more than 50 people, for the next eight weeks. That includes political rallies – and even weddings. 

While the president dawdled, governors and others stepped up and made hard choices, shutting down large swaths of the country. Trump didn’t want to do anything drastic because the stock market might dive, and he couldn’t brag about it going up anymore. Now it’s diving anyway. Schools have been ordered closed in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

 

On Sunday, the Federal Reserve made an emergency decision to slash interest rates to nearly zero and take a number of steps to prop up the U.S. economy, which will be staggered in weeks ahead. 

Dr. Zero spoke for several minutes yesterday, as part of a news conference, and said he was “thrilled” by the Fed’s decision. 

He said Wall Street would be very happy. 

Dr. Zero really cares about Wall Street.

 

While the number of infected persons rose dramatically, the economy took hit after hit. New York City shut down its school system, the largest in the country. The governor of Ohio ordered bars and restaurants to close starting Sunday at 9 p.m. A sliver of good news: a patron at the Tailgate Grill in North Canton, Ohio left a $900 tip, to be split between the nine people working when he stopped in for a final drink. California and Massachusetts followed suit in closing bars and restaurants. The governor of California ordered “entertainment venues” to shut down and asked people over age 65 to “self-isolate.” Connecticut shut down all gyms, movie theaters and casinos. 

Thousands gathered for a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago on Sunday. By nightfall Illinois had joined the list of states closing bars and restaurants. “There are no easy decisions left to make as we address this unprecedented crisis,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker explained to the people of his state. “As your governor,” he said, he could not allow the “gravity of these decisions” to dissuade him “from taking the measures that the science and the experts say will keep people safe.”

 

Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts explained his decision to close so many businesses, saying the virus was “incredibly contagious.” 

NBA star Karl-Anthony Townes decided to do his part and donated $100,000 to the Mayo Clinic to assist with testing. 

Meanwhile, Trump focused during his talk on Sunday on how unfair the free press was being to him. 

The nation finds itself in uncharted territory, and the president is whining, not winning. Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach have closed their beaches. The Kennedy Space Center is closed. Columbus, Ohio shut down all parks. Chick-fil-A has announced it will be closing dining room seating. The price of Brent crude oil, the world benchmark, fell to $31.83 per barrel, on slumping demand. Gasoline prices will be going down, which consumers will like. But many drilling outfits in the U.S. will be idled since that’s below their break-even point. Two ER doctors in the U.S. have fallen ill with the coronavirus and are in critical condition.

 

The president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, William Jacquis, offers these frank words of warning: 

I am deeply saddened by this news, but not surprised. As emergency physicians, we know the risks of our calling. We stand united with our colleagues and our thoughts and prayers for a full and speedy recovery are with each of them and their families.

 

It is my hope that these colleagues and their cases serve as a reminder to each of us to stay vigilant. This virus is dangerous, and its impact is still unfolding. 

 

Even Mar-a-Lago has been shut down for a deep cleaning, after several people who partied with the president there, weekend before last, tested positive for COVID-19.

 

Worldwide, the news is mostly grim. Italy saw a spike of more than 3,500 COVID cases Sunday, bringing the total number of infections to 24,000, and then spiked again today, to 28,000. Iran has almost 15,000. The death toll, globally, has topped 7,000. In France, health experts warn that the situation is “deteriorating very quickly.” Air France and British Airways announced they were cutting flights by 80 percent. Massive layoffs are sure to follow. Germany sealed its borders and the German Minister of Economics warned that the nation’s economy was going to contract. The only question was by how much. The Czech Republic, Cyprus, Poland and Slovakia have joined a growing list of countries banning foreign travelers. The number of confirmed cases in Spain soars to 9,400. Germany has nearly 6,700. Switzerland, a nation of less than nine million people, has 2,200 cases. By comparison, Russia has only 90, although you know Vladimir Putin would never allow the truth to emerge if there were more. China, South Korea, and Singapore seem to have stemmed the spread. So there’s hope; but those nations are worried that their citizens, returning from Europe and the United States, will bring the infection with them. 

And this worrisome sign: the Chinese economy is expected to contract in the first quarter of the year, for the first time since 1989. Retail sales for the first two months fell a staggering 20.5%. That was much, much worse than a predicted 4% drop. Industrial output fell by 13.5%. 

As Quartz reported this morning, 

“The impact of the coronavirus on consumption has really started since late January. Almost the whole February saw retail sales halted. Apart from daily necessities and food, other categories of retail goods have all been impacted hugely by the epidemic,” Terry Hong, an analyst with Chinese brokerage Guotai Junan International, told Quartz. He also expects retail sales for March to continue declining, and the first half of the year to sustain “significant impact” from the virus.

 

Significant damage in this country is almost certainly on the way, and one thing is sure if it occurs. 

Dr. Zero will say it wasn’t his fault.

 

Asked in today’s press conference how he thought he and his administration were doing in addressing the coronavirus crisis, Dr. Zero went high for once instead of low. Trump gave himself a “10,” on a scale of 1-10, 10 being highest. 

Of course, he did.