Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
When it comes to politics, this has been a week for the record books, especially to the immediate south of our border. Yes, I have read the comments that we should ignore President Donald Trump and everything that goes on in the United States and concentrate only on Canadian politics, but I simply disagree.
Our two countries are intrinsically entwined. There is no getting around it. What happens in the United States has far more impact on their neighbours to the north than on any other country in the world. It is why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau almost visibly bites his tongue and chooses his words particularly carefully every time he or his government is compelled to respond to a shot across the bow from the president of the United States. Some people criticize him for that, but in reality he has little other choice. It is just the way it is.
The really big news, of course, is that President Trump and many of his senior officials have tested positive for the coronavirus. I am not as surprised at the conspiracy theories that have arisen from this as I am at the level of vitriol directed at the president, many hoping he does not recover. One wit on Saturday Night Live yesterday, when referring to the news that Trump had COVID-19, quipped that he felt very sorry…for the virus!
There are some things you don’t make fun of, or treat maliciously, and being infected with the coronavirus is one of them. To me, it says something not very nice about people who do that. Heaven knows I am no fan of Donald Trump, but I do not wish him ill. I hope he fully recovers along with his wife and others who may have been affected by his condition.
I believe, however, that Trump’s illness and its spread to those around him sends a huge message to Americans and to the rest of the world as well. That message is that his reluctance to not take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously enough, to downplay its significance and to virtually ignore scientific advice and the importance of wearing masks and respecting social distancing, is wrong and it didn’t work.
It was a huge mistake and if it was an actual strategy, it was a disastrous miscalculation not just for him but for the millions of people who were affected by the virus, many of whom have died due to the lack of informed leadership and the resulting ineffective management of the virus. Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for that. When he emerges from his illness, it will be interesting to see if he has learned anything other than how to spin it all to his advantage. Sadly, probably not.
I do find some of the conspiracy rumours interesting, but not particularly credible. Although when President Trump’s doctors and his chief of staff give two very different versions of the state of his health, one does tend to wonder what is really going on there.
I believe that Donald Trump is genuinely ill although clearly the extent of it is still up in the air. In addressing this, George Conway, one of his greatest critics (ironically married to one of Trump’s greatest supporters, Kellyanne Conway), pointed out that Donald Trump treated illness as a weakness and would never admit to it if he did not have to.
However, I also expect that after they got over the initial shock, Trump campaign organizers were rubbing their hands with glee at the opportunity fate had handed them. The timing, from their perspective, could not be better. The onset of his illness was a perfect excuse for Trump’s disastrous performance at Tuesday’s presidential debate. They have a good reason to duck future debates and they have a reasonable chance of gaining some public sympathy for the president given his current circumstances. They will milk that all the way to election day. And as a bonus, they have cramped Joe Biden’s ability to aggressively attack the president for the remainder of the campaign. Polling a few days after the presidential debate showed Biden ahead nationally by 13 points. My guess is that will now narrow considerably.
So, why should all of this be of interest to Canadians? Frankly, I think all other issues and reasons aside (of which there are many), the COVID-19 pandemic, all by itself, should be enough. Few countries have managed the current pandemic as poorly as the United States of America and much of the blame for this falls at the feet of Donald Trump.
The United States has a population of close to ten times that of Canada. To date they have had 7.41 million cases of COVID-19 resulting in 209,000 deaths, the worst known record, world-wide. The Americans have about four per cent of the world’s population and are closing in on 20 per cent of COVID-19 infections. This behemoth is sitting on our doorstep, where in this country on a per capita basis our ability to control the COVID-19 virus is more than twice as effective as that of the United States.
If we want to keep it that way, we have every reason to be wary and every reason to be aware of the Trump administration’s political behaviour, especially in relation to COVID-19, and every reason to keep our borders closed until they get their act together. What has happened in the United States could easily happen here. We cannot ignore U.S. politics.
We need to watch them like a hawk.
Hugh Mackenzie
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Hear, hear — absolutely we should pay attention to American politics. That’s why I write about it so much here.
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Having said that, I must disagree with you, Hugh, that Trump’s bout with covid will narrow Biden’s lead. So far it just seems to be widening it. Majorities of Americans feel that he is mismanaging the pandemic and that he got it by his own doing, according to polls I have read in the past few days. It may be that if he had come out saying “I really get how this feels now, I have true sympathy for everyone else who’s been afflicted by it, and I’ve reactivated the Coronavirus Task Force to create a national response plan, led by the epidemiologists, money no object,” Biden’s lead might be narrowing. But he’s doing almost the opposite.
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Anna-Lise Kear is correct about Trump being mentally ill. It has been noted by literally thousands of mental health professionals in the USA, based on his publicly-observed behaviours. Mary Trump describes its roots in her book. The most important component is lack of empathy, which is constantly observable in him. That lack of empathy is what prevented Trump from having the normal motivation a leader would have to respond to a pandemic. He literally doesn’t care whether Americans live or die, or even wants them to die if their deaths might benefit him politically. (When blue states alone were being hit with it, he held back in the hope of blaming their Democratic governors.) Narcissism not only lacks empathy but includes narcissistic rage, at which point the person becomes actively destructive to others. An article on Narcissistic Personality Disorder gave the example of a man who was delighted to find out his ex-girlfriend had committed suicide due to the way he treated her, because it meant that he was significant. This is the example I use to explain just how dangerous NPD is in someone who has world-affecting power.
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My feelings on whether I want Trump to recover or die are simple: whichever saves the most lives of other people, at a time when such deaths are counted by hundreds of thousands. How humanity deals with the pandemic is a clue to how we will deal with a less immediate but nonetheless much greater threat: climate change. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.
Mr. Vowels; the stock market is only one indicator of a leader’s effectiveness. From my reading, and as I understand, DT inherited a decent economy when he took office and that he has harmed with trade wars. He has not had a pristine performance in the economy, promising jobs he had not delivered (even pre-COVID).
Are you saying that the people in the US have to ignore all other indicators of good leadership for the whole of the country(not just a “base”) for one indicator only? I am open to being corrected on the state of the US economy/stock exchange.
DT is not used to being accountable, so when he is challenged (for example, legally or ethically) by others, he fights back and grieves like a toddler who cannot get his own way. Those in public office come under constant scrutiny, it is a part of the job. DT’s immature behaviour in response to criticism is part of his psychology. I would assert that he is not a person who knows himself very well, he hasn’t done that kind of personal work; lots of others who must work with him and be under his governance, suffer. Thanks for listening.
Although it’s true that Trump has not handled the pandemic well. When he closed the borders early he was condemned as a racist by the world. He is one of the only presidents that has not invaded foreign soil. (Carpet bombing innocent civilian populations). He is undoing years of multi lateral trade agreements that favoured countries with cheap labour which could be exploited by industrial nations. Like him or not he is undoing years of poor trade decisions and bringing jobs back to America.
In Canada, Ford received a huge government subsidy to build EVs recently. They will be sold cheaper around the world than they will in our own domestic market. This situation pertains to almost everything produced in this country. It’s the only way to encourage manufactures to return to Canada with all our levels of taxation . How can we manufacture in Canada and compete with the world without subsidizing the whole manufacturing sector.?
How will the Federal government encourage other companies to return to Canada with our layer upon layer of taxation. All these unilateral trade agreements signed over the last 25 years have aloud the outsourcing of almost all manufactured goods. How will we address the insurmountable federal and provincial deficits in this country without a viable industrial base?
Mulroney and Regan signed the North American free trade agreement, this marked the beginning of the outsourcing process. How are Canadians suppose to compete with China in the manufacturing sector now?
Like him or not Trump is doing what he was elected to do. He recently approved a rail line which will help Alberta bring goods to market. On the other hand we have crippled the oil and gas industry in Canada and the revenue stream it created. Which means higher taxes for all Canadians to make up the shortfall. Being a Canadian is going to become very expensive, be prepared.
Well said, Dale! You left virtually nothing for me to append; a sad case indeed. I watched the entire debate, and even though Trump’s constant interruptions are his stock in trade, I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing. But Trump and his supporters still claimed victory for the greatest presidential embarrassment in living memory.
Initially, when his illness was reported, I was skeptical. I felt that it was a last resort; a plea for the sympathy vote from one who deserves none. When I saw the footage, however, of him inside the White House (before leaving for the chopper ride to Walter Reed); he looked extremely unwell.
It behooves him to make a speedy recovery. As the “mensch in residence” at the Oval Office (and the only “law-and-order president” who can tame the uprisings he fomented), he will lose if he does otherwise.
here we are in the cold light of reality. A few days ago 45 contracted a virus that has killed 20900 of his fellow countrymen, now he is saying that it is not to be feared. The hubris of this nincompoop knows no bounds and he, and his spin doctors, will try to turn this to his advantage. All I can hope is that our leaders and those in control of the border keep it sealed shut.
As Dale Peacock said I am saving my compassion for those that deserve it and 45 has not demonstrated any iota of compassion.
I’m reading a lot of bad things about Trump on here but until the corona virus hit the U.S. there economy was the best it has been in years the unemployment rate was the lowest in years and the stock market was at an all time high. You can say what you like that he is crazy or dose n;t care for his country or the people in it but figures don’t lie. The thing is he has done all this with the Dem.s fighting him every step of the way. I don’t know much about U.S. politics and have no say in who they elect but I do agree with Hugh that whoever wins it will affect us. My only advice would be just be careful what you wish for you just might get it . Look what we got when people wanted change so bad.
I wish Trump and his wife and the others involved in this current sensation good health and recovery.
A wish I would extend to Biden and any other human afflicted.
A respectful note to Dale. I hope you are well. Do try to stay detached from the spectacle playing out in the US. In the end we have no influence and life is short.
Hugh, good summary. I cannot provide the source, but have heard that the reckoning for DT should be conducted in the form of the Nuremburg Trials, post WW2. He is ill, and possibly suffers from an untreated form of malignant narcissism, sociopathy, and/or delusional thinking. He does not seek treatment for his psychological disorder, but feeds his need for adulation and worship by the many campaign rallies he has attended over the course of his 4 years in office. His form of illness has been devastating to the American people, generally. Specifically, as David Fromm (The Atlantic) has written, DT has overseen the total corruption of the Republican Party (GOP). Quite sincerely, my prayers are for the American people, to be out of their nightmare. Thank you for listening.
Hugh: Well said! I agree.
I agree with your most of your ‘take’ on the U.S. trifecta of taxes/debate/Covid blazing to the south of us right now. It’s a s**t-show plain and simple.
But I take exception to the suggestion that those who do not wish this vile man ‘get well wishes’ are lacking in compassion or humanity.
The instinct for justice and fairness is a distinctly human emotion and it is not wrong. Why on this green earth should anyone feel sympathy for a man who won’t denounce white supremacists, a man who is a super-spreader of disease and misinformation, a man who was impeached, a man who locked children in cages, a man who encourages violence, a man accused of sexual misconduct by 20 women, a man who a man who receives the best medical care in the world after paying virtually nothing in taxes, a man who 4 years ago this week mocked Hillary Clinton for having pneumonia and a man whose lies and malfeasance contributed to the death of 209,000 Americans?
One might hope that this event is a learning experience for Trump but when has he ever learned from anything? He simply doesn’t have it in him.
I’m saving my compassion for the innocent lives he has destroyed on so many fronts.
Hugh.
I believe that Donald Trump is genuinely ill although clearly the extent of it is still up in the air
You are not telling us something we do not already know!
Just look at the problems he has caused in the US/World.