Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

Yeah...sigh...total deaths now stand at 30,844.

Hopefully the number isn't...nope. 33,286 at time of writing. Two thousand and change. Again.

[arandomuser]

Don't worry, you Republicans still have us beat, every fucking day. Thanks to the morons that are burning 5G masts because they think that was what spreads the Coronavirus. Or OANN where they think that a North Carolina lab created the virus, and that it was linked to Fauci and Bill Gates. Whom apparently has become the rights next boogeyman after EVERY FUCKING GEORGE SOROS conspiracy out there.

yep, and not just the right, i hear from alot of progressives who will eagerly go along with it if its "owning the DNC and neoliberals" i just really hope twitter isnt a large part of the electorate..

[Benggaul]

Hopefully the number isn't...nope. 33,286 at time of writing. Two thousand and change. Again.

34,641, but a few thousand were added that were actually attributed to the past week as a result of the new CDC rules. That doesn't lessen the blow in terms of total life lost, but at least it doesn't mean there was a sudden explosion of fatal cases overnight.

[Breccia]

This Reuters exclusive is bad news for anyone who claims chloroquine drugs are a "gamechanger", whether or not they do so on camera while gagging a horde of doctors.

Trump's FDA was in such a hurry to get chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to patients, they had to drop their standards -- importing the cheap stuff from India and Pakistan. Specifically, some makers who had been cited for such poor results they had an import ban placed on them, had that ban lifted. Meaning, it's not just possibly but likely that some of the tests being run in various US hospitals could be testing a defective product -- one that could have an effect lesser than the real thing, or causing more and worse side effects, both of which wreck the study but also make the drug look bad, even if it was supposed to work.

"But Breccia! Large amounts of the drug were needed to treat so many patients, and it was needed quickly! Surely that means lowering your standards to get enough is okay!"

Hmm. Interesting. Hey, remember that time insert-US-automaker-here said "I know we're required by the government to run safety checks on our vehicles, but we need to sell a lot of them, bah, I'm sure they're fine"? There might be one or two specific examples I can Pinto.

Also, no, we don't need that much. Remember, the only reason we're doing this at all is because Trump said the stuff works, without any useful evidence or medical training to back him up. Even FOX News covered the
clinical study, and God bless them, their headline was "Hydroxychloroquine does not clear coronavirus, but can alleviate symptoms, study says". Aww, how cute, wook at widdle Foxxie Woxxie pwetending to do science with the big boys! Also, FOX "forgot" to mention the patients kicked out of the trial, because the drugs were killing them, and instead focusing on those who merely got diarrhea.

But then there's the major issue. Let's say, hypothetically, that there isn't enough of the stuff Trump claims is a wonder drug "what's the worst that can happen?" for proper testing, and you have to buy a bunch of shit-grade pills from Pakistan. Fine. Let's even pretend you get great results. Hooray! Now what? If there's barely enough for tests, there isn't enough for treatment.

I am reminded of the 15-inch Richelieu gun of WWII. Specifically, how the Nazis stole this weapon from the French in 1940, but they didn't know fully how they worked until April 1944. During this exhaustive testing, they had also used up every round of ammunition for the stolen weapon -- and D-Day came shortly afterwards, where a salvo of 15-inch guns might have been exceptionally useful.

- - - Updated - - -

So let's hear how Kushner's personal stash is doing.

The Trump administration paid a bankrupt company with zero employees $55 million for N95 masks, which it's never manufactured

Oh...that's...not ideal.

In this chaotic effort to obtain supplies, the Trump administration awarded a $55 million contract to Panthera Worldwide LLC, a company with no expertise in the world of medical equipment, for N95 masks, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Panthera's parent company filed for bankruptcy protection last fall, and one of its owners last year said it'd had no employees since May 2018, The Post reported, citing sworn testimony. It's no longer listed as an LLC in Virginia, where its main office is, after fees went unpaid, the newspaper said.

Panthera, which describes itself as a tactical training company for the US military and other government agencies, has no record of producing medical supplies or equipment, The Post said.

Posting via Business Insider because WaPo paywall. If you can bypass the paywall, go for it.

Incidentally, the next time someone says "we should cut welfare, because it's full of fraud and waste" I'm going to bring up this post again and point to it. Then, I'm going to check the posts that follow this post over the 24 hours that follow. If that someone didn't also decry the actions taken by Trump, handing millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars to a dummy corporation, then their argument will be considered null and void.

[Adam Jensen]

Trump is on twitter calling this an "endless vacation." Meanwhile we've had 600+ new deaths today.

[Edge-]

Trump is on twitter calling this an "endless vacation." Meanwhile we've had 600+ new deaths today.

I went to look...

"LIBERATE X STATE!" - pick whatever state people are protesting in. So...I guess these states are "cucking" the federal government? And there's nothing he can do about it? Man, if they were truly not free and had like, left the union, you'd figure he could "DO SOMETHING" about it.

"We built you [Cuomo] thousands of hospital beds and ventilators blah blah you didn't use." - No honey, you didn't build shit. You bought shit. And NY bought most of their own shit.

"OH GOD BUT H1N1 AND OBAMA AND BIDEN AND 17K PEOPLE DIED" - Honey, you're at almost double that now.

"ENDLESS VACATION FOR CONGRESS!" - Ignoring that he appears to think only Democrats are on vacation, like...people can work remotely, and Congress should be working and voting remotely right now. Does he not know what working from home is?

"WHO IS ALL TO BLAME!" - Because of course.

And uh...an old video of a bunch of trucks in front of the White House? HOLY SHIT GUYS IS IT FINALLY FUCKING INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK?!

[solinari6]

"ENDLESS VACATION FOR CONGRESS!" - Ignoring that he appears to think only Democrats are on vacation, like...people can work remotely, and Congress should be working and voting remotely right now. Does he not know what working from home is?

Actually, Nancy is at least in part responsible for the House not working remotely.

[Edge-]

Actually, Nancy is at least in part responsible for the House not working remotely.

Well...she actually brings up a fair point then, because I'm not sure what the Constitution would actually have to say on the matter and that kinda matters a lot. And security concerns are...yeah, those are big, so understandable if those are hurdles for now.

But that doesn't mean that they're on bloody vacation was more the point I was trying to get at.

[Milchshake]

My election hot take is that Trump fomenting violence in Michigan won't help him win there.

The key to the 2018 Wave and the Biden Surge was suburban moms.

They care way more about normalcy and vote more often than the Online Left.

[Edge-]

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-...avirus-testing

Governors asked the Feds for assistance with testing, because they can't get enough themselves.

Trump basically told them to fuck off and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Such leadership. Much wow. If only I could tell the employees that work under me to "figure it the fuck out" when they're having problems and come to me with help, and not get fired.

[kaid]

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-...avirus-testing

Governors asked the Feds for assistance with testing, because they can't get enough themselves.

Trump basically told them to fuck off and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Such leadership. Much wow. If only I could tell the employees that work under me to "figure it the fuck out" when they're having problems and come to me with help, and not get fired.

So it looks like the main land US is going to get the full Trump Towel throwing experience from this.

[Felya]

My election hot take is that Trump fomenting violence in Michigan won't help him win there.

It depends how many people see them blocking ambulances during a pandemic.

[Edge-]

It depends how many people see them blocking ambulances during a pandemic.

Or ER entryways, and then argue with doctors that come out to plead that they clear the way so that people don't die.

[Zaydin]

Or ER entryways, and then argue with doctors that come out to plead that they clear the way so that people don't die.

Did the MAGAts in Michigan actually do that? If so, wow these people are insane and selfish.

[Milchshake]

For anyone wondering why Trump is calling for insurrection in certain states.

He just got internal polling numbers vs. Biden in those states.

They were not good.

[Felya]

Did the MAGAts in Michigan actually do that? If so, wow these people are insane and selfish.

Yep, some of the images are interesting. Like one guy with a ‘give me liberty or give me death’ poster without a mask, while 3 of his buddies next to him wearing masks. I think his buds disagreed to an extent... lol

[Breccia]

"ENDLESS VACATION FOR CONGRESS!"

He probably sent that from his golf course.

[Rasulis]

For anyone wondering why Trump is calling for insurrection in certain states.

He just got internal polling numbers vs. Biden in those states.

They were not good.

Considering how bad he is botching the COVID-19 virus response, I am surprised that he still has any supporters left. On the other hand, maybe some people are used to subpar performance. So they think the way the Federal government is handling the COVID-19 pandemic is normal.

[Xyonai]

In 'Hey, wouldn't Conservatives be throwing a collective Shit-fit if Obama said the same thing?' news, Trump's continued umbrage with blue states that refuse to open up early has him siding with protesters of Stay at Home orders with a collection of Tweets calling for a handful of states (Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia) specifically to be, uh... "Liberated".

In a series of Twitter posts, Trump said: “Liberate Minnesota!,” “Liberate Michigan!” and “Liberate Virginia,” adding to the final one, “and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

Now do I think Trump is actually making calls for violence? Yes and No. Trump's a bombastic idiot with a flair for the dramatic so it's more than likely he just went with such dire verbiage to scare his base into action. But the wording is fairly deliberate, so while I don't actually think he wants someone to open fire I can imagine he wants his supporters to be as belligerent and disruptive as they can with continued protests to spite Governors he doesn't like.

[Felya]

In 'Hey, wouldn't Conservatives be throwing a collective Shit-fit if Obama said the same thing?' news

Yeah, the last couple of months have been especially bad. Like... Imagine if Obama, spent first half of his first national state address on corona, to talk about a peace treaty with Taliban. The Bundies would be attacking the White House by now...