TRUMP AND THE CORONA VIRUS

Great leaders choose often not to take the lead on issues that are unfamiliar to them. Even Napoleon let Cambaceres deputize for him and deal with many questions. He thought him better suited than himself.

Not Trump. He has hijacked the Corona crisis briefings, transforming the White House briefing-room into the the execution chamber of truth. He plays the matinee doctor with the usual mix of lies, bluster and cheap vendettas against the press. Even on such a serious issue as the Corona pandemic he feels obliged to be on his customary warpath. 

Human lives deserve better than his fake claims, misrepresentations and inroads into medical facts he knows nothing about. One can wonder why CNN still covers non-stop  a political rally disguised in some briefing format, wherein he boosts with the usual aplomb and berates the "China virus" ad nauseam.

Wiser men know when not to interfere with matters of life and death. Compassionate individuals will not impose their agenda on the back of trust. For the American president everything is weighted for self-interest.  Hence, most issues are debauched in a manner which will enter a crescendo until the presidential elections in November. There is more to come, since he had to change the format of the next G7 because of this pandemic. Nevertheless, count on Trump to pull another trick to make the G7 his own. His self-control is always short-lived. Considerations of tact and modulated response do not figure in his troubled psyche.

America finds itself in the same dire strait as other countries. The denial strategy of the Republicans is shameful. They started echoing Trump's "hoax claim" and end up for now in some pathetic chorus line around the entertainer-in-chief. They had better not repeat President Reagan's existential impropriety regarding AIDS. Immolation does not need to be repeated.

In a crisis like this, the mettle of a leader is made or unmade. Obama's voice  found a way into the hearts. Now, we are left with the confirmation that even in a dark hour this accidental leader's heart is on leave. 

This pandemic will test the mettle of our society. The threat to institutions as well as to the core of governance is real. The battle is also one waged about trust. Some European leaders act as if they understand that their responsibility is two-fold, saving lives and preserving transparency regarding choices made and decisions taken. This battle royal is also about the sum of enlightenment and reason as an added-value against the rise of populism.