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Politico — Trumpology
What Is Trump Without His Crowds?
Thanks to coronavirus, he’s about to find out.

By MICHAEL KRUSE 03/13/2020 07:46 PM EDT

He has canceled events in Las Vegas, Denver and Milwaukee. And for the first time in a long, long time, Trump has on his typically merry-go-round docket of rallies … nothing.

All of a sudden, we live in a world without crowds.

[…]

In the estimation of Lee and other experts of her ilk, as well as the many people who have known him and worked with him for years, the way Trump is ties back to the way he was raised. The “complete emptiness inside,” the “bottomless void” that “can never be filled,” the “psychological defects” and “pathologically narcissistic traits”—all of this, says Lee, is a result of the core particulars of Trump’s upbringing: his distant and demanding father, the disruptive near-death experience of his mother when he was just a toddler, his banishment to military school when he was barely a teenager.

“The lack of love translates into desiring accolades,” Lee explained. “And the rallies are really the most critical crutches that he’s had. He needs his followers more than his followers need him.”

I’m quite satisfied with the response of this administration to the Corona virus. I’m quite sure based on 2009 that the response of the Obama administration would have been to ignore the problem. Which would continue until there were literally people dying in the streets. (Then they would respond to the bad optics with a screed about how everyone needs health insurance.)

Also last I checked, you don’t lose your constitutional rights as an American citizen to renter this country from anywhere, no matter what the epidemic where you were. Remember Ebola?

Are you perhaps seriously suggesting that we hold everyone that has been in Italy at the airport for three days while we test them for Corona virus and wait for the results to come back? Knowing that the test isn’t all that accurate to begin with?

"It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."

This gets people killed now... That's not a metaphor or anything.

> seriously suggesting that we hold
> everyone that has been in Italy at
> the airport for three days while

Someone watching a loved one die in an isolation room they can't enter will soon wish we had. Can you imagine Donald Trump rationally weighed the accuracy of the test?

It's no longer about admiration of his imaginary clothes.

"Quite satisfied."

In the estimation of Lee and other experts of her ilk....

So, the Goldwater Rule is dead? It's now okay to psycho-analyze a person without actually meeting them, talking to them, or doing a professional diagnosis; to do so publicly without obtaining the person's permission to discuss his or her mental health?

From Wikipedia:

The Goldwater rule is Section 7 in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Principles of Medical Ethics, which states that it is unethical for psychiatrists to give a professional opinion about public figures whom they have not examined in person, and from whom they have not obtained consent to discuss their mental health in public statements.

"Tonight I was asked by Jared through my son-in-law for my recommendations...."

Um, "through my son-in-law" means Jared is not asking "Facebook randos" for epidemiological advice. Do we know for sure that this was not simply a dinner table conversation that Joshua passed on and not an official request for advice.

For all we know, an egomaniac humble-bragged on Facebook ("I have direct channel....") that he was now advising the president through his son-in-law.

Conan covered how what the Times reports is not what the Times has. But on the customs side, supposedly all customs checkpoints have thermal cameras specifically for checking if anyone coming through is running a fever. That has supposedly been true for decades. And that is a whole lot of supposeds.

Do you trust that the government is actually doing something that citizens have no realistic way to verify? Even if they are, do you believe they are properly setup? After all they have such a sterling reputation for efficiency. It almost surpasses their reputation for competence.

I'm disappointed that the White House task force was disbanded, that seems like a very bad decision in hindsight. Information is hard to come by and evaluate at this point, because the coverage about this task force mentions that some of these experts "remained" in the White House??? So how to measure what is being done vs. what would have been done if the task force had its original organization fully intact? In any case one of the things that I have approved of with Trump is that he seems to have the ability to cut through red tape and get things done--such as various moves to eliminate stupid regulations and also to re-imagine trade agreements in ways that do not disadvantage the US. It would be great if everyone stopped politicizing this, wouldn't it?

His father is an ER doctor and it sounds like he spoke with his colleagues to get these recommendations. The recommendations look good to me and, as I understand it, many countries, like Israel are already using them. I’m guessing that what he recommended was not that far off the mark and are really kind of standard for this situation.

This is just another, “That Trump, he’s so dumb” hit piece. The administration has set up a task force, and put a seasoned professional, Dr Fauci, in charge. Do you really think they are wandering around the WH looking for FB recommendations on how to handle this? Also, which of the 8 recommendations are wrong and why? What would you do differently?

This is a fast moving situation that could potentially impact 330 million ppl. Our size alone makes this a difficult challenge to manage, without the confounding problem of federalism. Let this situation be a lesson to anyone who wants to hand their medical care over to a giant bureaucracy.

Odd. Claims made here are at odds with requirements cited by the CEO of Hotels.com:

"Dear valued customer,

As you may have seen in the news, the United States government has prohibited non-US citizens who are from the 26 countries that make up the European Union’s Schengen Area or who have visited the Schengen Area in the previous two weeks from entering the United States. These countries include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The United States government’s policy goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 13, 2020 but does not apply to persons aboard a flight scheduled to arrive in the United States that departed prior to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 13, 2020. The United States government has stated that they intend for this policy to be in place for the next 30 days.

This policy does not include or impact

• American citizens, permanent legal residents and their immediate families
• Any child, foster child or ward of a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident, or who is a prospective adoptee pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications
• Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and spouses and children of members of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Anyone traveling at the invitation of the United States Government for virus-related work, certain travelers related to NATO or United Nations work, and certain travelers doing work related to the CDC, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and other law enforcement issues
• Certain classes of air or sea crewmembers
• Anyone traveling from the United Kingdom who has not been to the Schengen Area in the last 14 days

While not prohibited from entering the United States, these travelers who have been to the Schengen Area may be required to return to the US through select airports where enhanced screening procedures have been established."

But of course, every Federal agency will immediately do what occurs to us, absent any instructions from their managers, and when they do NOT do this, it is obviously because they were personally prevented by the President.

By the way, this is another chance to view 8 USC 1182, and marvel at how your Congresspersons have not only ignored, but conspired to defy it.

Screw the Constitution for establishing-- or failing to prevent-- this State.

However, the Constitution doesn't allow government to have anything to do with health care or dealing with pandemics. To imagine it does by invoking "general welfare" is the same thing other socialists do to justify every bee in their bonnet.

Keep government out of the way and allow the market to work. Yes, even against pan[ic]demics.

So, the Goldwater Rule is dead?

No, it is quite alive and kicking. For Quid Pro Sundowner Joe, that is. The same psychos who cheerfully proclaimed that Trump is incompetent refuse to comment on the doddering old fool.

Recall this discussion?

Maybe it is prudent to re-establish the NSC pandemic team, as long as it's not full of Deep State wretches who are assisting what seems to be the entire bureaucratic apparatus of the federal government in trying to bring this President down.

As for any fumbling of the President and definitely the CDC (all thumbs knuckleheads) on this pandemic, just another reason to vote for the seemingly-more-clearheaded William Weld in the primary, even though I sense a disgusting streak of open-borders elitism inside him.

Are you perhaps seriously suggesting that we hold everyone that has been in Italy at the airport for three days while we test them for Corona virus and wait for the results to come back?

It would be a good start. The Constitution does not mean open borders.

Keep government out of the way and allow the market to work. Yes, even against pan[ic]demics.

It would probably be best, IMO, to keep the federal government mostly occupied on what it was Constitutionally designed for: foreign objects (travel bans, inspections of imported goods for virus contamination, controlling our borders, dealing with the cruise ship Petri dishes, etc.), while also tracking the movement of the disease and providing some emergency federal relief for state and local health departments, hospitals, etc. State and local health departments and private sector facilities can do the heavy lifting (producing drugs, beds, home oxygen machines, COVID tests [because the CDC did so fricken' well], etc.)

It would be a good start. The Constitution does not mean open borders.

mpetrie98 at March 14, 2020 10:47 AM

Actually, for returning US citizens it does. You have to have a really good reason to detain a U.S. citizen. The fact that they have been on a plane from Italy isn’t nearly enough to pass constitutional muster.

Hospitals in Switzerland already overwhelmed, this is only the beginning... patients already in the hallways...

My googling showed me that if I go to the US I will be asked to self quarantine 14 days.

I hope my parents don't die during this thing. I wouldn't even be able to go to the funeral.

It is interesting to see how the supply disruptions are affecting things locally. Even goods that are locally sourced are affected as companies scale back and send people home. They are trying to be good corporate citizens and all that so I don't complain too much, even though most of what they are doing is irrelevant. There should be a number of good academic papers in a variety of fields over this even next year.

My googling showed me that if I go to the US I will be asked to self quarantine 14 days.

I hope my parents don't die during this thing. I wouldn't even be able to go to the funeral.

NicoleK at March 14, 2020 11:46 AM
If you really want to do this, I would suggest renting an RV, and parking it where your parents live.

If I may ask, how old are your parents? If they are 60’s and non smokers probably ok. If they are 80’s they should self quarantine, in my opinion. And if you don’t have siblings nearby, they might need someone to grocery shop for them, unless they can get those things delivered.

I don't know if a firsthand account helps much. But it looks like one of my relatives is getting over the corona. Tested positive and all that. She says the reports that it is like a really bad flu or cold are accurate. As Isab says having someone drop off food every once in a while is really helpful. (soups and such) Palliative care is all that works right now.

> Tested positive

Shit, can't taunt you about "hysterical" anymore… But for the record, according to Johns Hopkins, 32 hours after you said "only 22," the United States is at 53.

I sincerely hope she feels well, and soonest.

We might all know someone, perhaps dear or dearest, very soon. Consider McArdle's lilipad.

Conan will require some typing, but for now:

> Recall this discussion?

Bringing a handful of individuals to the United States for treatment in the most controlled manner immaginable is different than throwing (or leaving) the doors open to all comers, including a virtually certain and high percentage of virulent carriers, during pandemic.

Meantime:

Emily Zanotti @emzanotti
2 hours ago

What’s the difference between Covid-19 and Romeo & Juliet?

One’s a coronavirus and the other is a Verona crisis.

(I stole this and I’m not even sorry)

27 replies 86 retweets 512 likes

Aunt in law is doing fine Crid. One of my cousins was bringing her food so she didn't have to cook too much. She is only in her 70s and in good health, so a bad bout of flu isn't that big of a deal. It isn't fun to be sick but that is life. All of this was to be expected.

You have been hysterical. Most likely because you think it will score political points for you. Which is funny. Because you keep setting the bar so low for Trump you are actually helping him get reelected. Once again, such is life.

You're out of your mind.

Nowhere does the Constitution allow "border control". Either you want government to obey the Constitution or you don't. If you don't, just admit it and be done with it. Or, pass an amendment allowing border control. (It would still be tyrannical, but it would then be constitutional.)

My parents are 71 and 75. They are non-smokers. But my dad is on blood thinning medication and had a stroke and is generally getting weaker, though he's pretty active still. They live downtown Boston a couple blocks from one really good hospital and a 5 minute drive from another. My brother is in DC so can't help, but they can probably get delivery and they are friendly with all their neighbors.

So they should be ok.

But you never know.

This is a good time to test all those natural and alternative remedies. Since people can't get medical care anyways, it wouldn't really be unethical to give some of them sugar pills. Might even help witht he placebo effect.

I had to look that one up Kent. Surprisingly you are right.

https://www.theamericanview.com/constitution-course-supplemental-assignments/what-authority-does-the-u-s-constitution-give-the-federal-government-regarding-immigration/

"The rules of immigration were reserved to the States through the 10th Amendment until the first Federal law was enacted in 1875. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the following year that immigration regulation was an exclusive Federal responsibility."

So until 1875 immigration was a state function. And in 1876 the Supreme Court reassigned that role solely to the federal government.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chy_Lung_v._Freeman

The justification from what little I dug up appears to be from Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 concerning treaties. Classifying immigration as a form of treaty with foreign governments and citizens. Though I will bow to others better knowledge. Most of what I see implies the court just decided the federal government had this power with no actual constitutional justification. Which wouldn't be a first for the Supreme Court. After all the reason the Supreme Court gets to decide what is and is not constitutional is because the Supreme Court said so and it wasn't politically expedient for other people to challenge that at the time.

Wrote Isab:

I’m quite satisfied with the response of this administration to the Corona virus. I’m quite sure based on 2009 that the response of the Obama administration would have been to ignore the problem.

Oh, for Christ's sake.

This thing eventually is going to reveal that "Trump Derangement Syndrome" isn't a virus of his critics; it comes from the sick response to lick his drooping balls regardless of all evidence.

Y'know, Auntie didn't take a (statistical) bullet for anyone… The fact that it happened once protects you not at all. It can happen again… To other people you love.

Perhaps someone will tell them what your Beloved Orangeman told the entire nation just four days ago, after your aunt had already been infected:

"It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."

Or would that seem distasteful?

A friend's wife passed this week -- nothing to do with coronavirus --- quite elderly and had been living in a nursing home for 4 years. The are only being allowed a tiny funeral (by the nursing home) and any where else they asked was like "no way!" Most the people that would attend would be elderly.

> It's now okay to psycho-analyze
> a person without actually meeting
> them, talking to them, or doing
> a professional diagnosis; to do
> so publicly without obtaining
> the person's permission to
> discuss his or her mental health?

Of course it's okay! I'm not a member of the American Psychiatric Association. My link says "Michael Kruse is a senior staff writer for POLITICO," so he probably isn't a member either. There's no oath to any professional guild. We can say whatever we want.

And this is really important: All these fuckers nowadays present themselves, through fatuous postures on electronic media, as open books, uncomplicated souls into which we can peer as deeply as if they stood before us in a room. It's been going on my entire life, and presumably long theretofore… I can imagine a mid-19th campaign team worrying about how telegraphed eyewitness descriptions would play in the newspapers of San Francisco, and warning Abe to back off the "stovepipe" headgear thing. "Gets in the way of that whole 'Trustworthy Prairie Lawyer' vibe we've been trying to build for you, Boss...."

So by his fondest invitation, I peer into Trump's soul and see an 8th-grader who is, as Eli Lake put it, "estranged from the truth." It's not that he's (merely) lying, else he could have put a stop to the Russia allegations from the word go… But his habit is to speak without regard to empirical coherence. This perception of him is richly affirmed with decades of example to refute any accusation of psychological sophistry.

Here's a piece about it. As condensed by the WSJ:

A review of draft copies of Trump's speech shows that instead of saying that the travel ban "will not apply" to trade and cargo," POTUS inserted an extra word, saying the prohibitions “will not *only* apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo.”

But on Friday, President Trump inflated the concept far beyond reality. At a news conference in the Rose Garden, he said that the company was helping to develop a website that would sharply expand testing for the virus, falsely claiming that “Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now” and adding that “they’ve made tremendous progress.”

In truth, the project at Verily — which has a total of about 1,000 employees — is in its infancy. A pilot program is planned for the San Francisco area, but a website has yet to be unveiled. Testing locations have not been identified, and the coronavirus tests themselves are not yet widely available.

But this ain't the guy. And those who can see intimates or hundreds of thousands of others suffer (and quite possibly die) without acknowledging his weaknesses are clouded by interior faults of their own which need no explication, professional or lay.

Tuesday—

"It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."

If we knew COVID-19 wouldn't kill any more than 50,000 Americans, would we still want all the emergency interventions that are being implemented, or demanded by politicians and media experts - quarantines and isolation, mass screening and testing, government control of testing, travel bans and restrictions, schools closed, major events cancelled, restrictions on public gatherings, activation of FEMA, field hospitals, emergency funding for individual and business costs - or would we cope with it the way we do with the flu every year?

If we knew COVID-19 wouldn't kill any more than 50,000 Americans, would we still want all the emergency interventions that are being implemented, or demanded by politicians and media experts

Yeah, I'm listening to the doctors, scientists, infectious disease experts and the like, who are all singing from the same hymnal on this one. I'm just kooky that way, but you do you.

If we knew COVID-19 wouldn't kill any more than 50,000 Americans, would we still want all the emergency interventions that are being implemented, or demanded by politicians and media experts - quarantines and isolation, mass screening and testing, government control of testing, travel bans and restrictions, schools closed, major events cancelled, restrictions on public gatherings, activation of FEMA, field hospitals, emergency funding for individual and business costs - or would we cope with it the way we do with the flu every year?

Ken R at March 14, 2020 10:25 PM

If the dems were in control of the government still, this is exactly how it would have been handled but when your goal is to take out Trump even if you have to kill kill the American economy to do it, you are going to go all in on panic.

Now, for this administration it is damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

I’m treating the issue like a flu I don’t want to get. And I think the dems can push panic all they want, but it still won’t be enough to drag senile Joe over the finish line. Most people are going to (correctly) direct their ire at the Chinese.

Of course it's okay! I'm not a member of the American Psychiatric Association. My link says "Michael Kruse is a senior staff writer for POLITICO," so he probably isn't a member either. There's no oath to any professional guild. We can say whatever we want.

You can. And Kruse can. Bandy Lee "and other experts of her ilk" however, are supposed to be bound by professional ethics.

...by someone without Ivy, legal, or machine-politics credentials....

Trump's degree is from Penn's Wharton School of Business. That's an Ivy credential.

> Trump's degree is from Penn's
> Wharton School of Business.
> That's an Ivy credential.

True… A sheepskin multiply stained by bankruptcies, 100+ court appearance and thousands of credible accusations of non-payment to working men, the kind who now will obliviously adore him, literally, to death.

The Presidency of the United States is his first political venture. But if you're saying he's nonetheless part of the usual stream....

Sorry. That was supposed to be "1100+ court appearances," and I didn't actually look up the number. It was from one of the pieces in 2016, when I was freshly amused by the man's capacity to squeeze faith from precisely the sort of people he'd stiffed for payment for his entire career... "It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."

Ivy-style! Let's put him in charge for a global generational crisis!

Isab Says:

"I’m treating the issue like a flu I don’t want to get."

Assuming you are over 60 years old this isn't just like a flu.

This is the time you open your ears and pay close attention to the scientists and experts.

I know you have spent years ignoring them in favor of your own beliefs... but this is your life Isab, don't be stupid.

You should be taking precautions beyond what you would do for a normal flu season. That doesn't mean buying 100 packs of toilet paper, but it does mean washing your hands more frequently than usual and avoiding large social gatherings.

"I’m treating the issue like a flu I don’t want to get."

“Assuming you are over 60 years old this isn't just like a flu.”

The numbers so far don't indicate a severely elevated risk for people in my demographic. (Non smoker, non drinker, no chronic heath problems)

Your *experts* have said that the same hygienic measures that prevent the spread of the flu will prevent the spread of Corona viruses. So I’m not sure exactly what your problem is.

The fact that you seem to be panicking is the best indicator I know of, that the rest of us shouldn’t be.

But, happy you are so concerned on my behalf. Let’s wait six months and revisit this. See who was right.

P.S. I may have already survived it. Had all the symptoms, and I do mean all, three weeks ago. Caught it from my husband who was on a 12 hour plane flight with Chinese nationals. So, who knows?

Isab,

I have no idea what your demographic happens to be... but if you are above the age of 60 you are at elevated risk relative to the standard flu.

"But, happy you are so concerned on my behalf. Let’s wait six months and revisit this. See who was right. "

I don't even know what this means.

Are we predicting whether or not you will be alive in 6 months?

The data is already in that folks above the age of 60 are at elevated risk when it comes to the corona virus as compared to the flu.

That answer is already available.

What happens to you specifically has no baring on the statistics of the population at large.

Furthermore, we already have data from across the globe indicating that folks above the age of 60 are at elevated risk.

"The fact that you seem to be panicking is the best indicator I know of, that the rest of us shouldn’t be."

As usual you are a moron... suggesting you should wash your hands and avoid large gatherings isn't "panicking"... that is what the epidemiologists are saying we should be doing.

It is a metered response.

Don't riot in the streets or start looting local stores... that would be panic.

Isab Says:

"P.S. I may have already survived it. Had all the symptoms, and I do mean all, three weeks ago. Caught it from my husband who was on a 12 hour plane flight with Chinese nationals. So, who knows?"

Okay... so you had all of the symptoms. Did you do the socially conscious thing and try to limit your exposure to other people?

Or did you just go about life as usual without a care or concern for anyone else around you?