It is beyond unthinkable that 5 weeks before I originally posted this Trump was complaining to Bob Woodward that the virus was very serious and airborn. I just had to go back and try and remember what our life was like then. This post is from March 14, 195,ooo Americans ago.
PANDEMIC ADVICE FROM A BEAVER
Remember those days when we were washing our hands and not wearing masks because the CDC was telling us we didn’t need them? I was trying vainly to decide whether to cancel the beaver festival or keep planning for it, because there was a lot of work yet to do. People are saying Trump was foolish to say these things to Woodward and must have been oblivious to how important the taped interviews were.
I think he knew very well. He was just showing off.
Think about it, Trumps statements are shocking to us because we can hold in our mind the opposite things he was sayin aloud at the timee (It will go away, only 15 cases. more people die from the flu) at the same time we hold the news that he was alarmed (It’s really bad and it’s airborn). How could he lie to us when he knew the truth?
Being able to think two opposite things is a developmental accomplishment. A toddler or a cat never thinks that cookie looks really tasty but remembers he’s not supposed to take anything from the counter. A toddler never weighs opposite beliefs and considers the morality. He can’t.
Trump is aware of only one thought at a time. He thought this would make him sound presidential. Like he was dealing with serious things. He was proud of it.