Recommended Reading

Paul Krugman has a tough-but-accurate (I think) overview of how the Trump Administration is dealing with the coronavirus. They're not treating it as a threat which could kill thousands of people. They're treating it as a threat to the two things Donald Trump cares about: The stock market and his personal popularity. Here's a selected paragraph…

So the Trumpian response to crisis is completely self-centered, entirely focused on making Trump look good rather than protecting America. If the facts don't make Trump look good, he and his allies attack the messengers, blaming the news media and the Democrats — while trying to prevent scientists from keeping us informed. And in choosing people to deal with a real crisis, Trump prizes loyalty rather than competence.

And of course, there's a problem with Trump's definition of "loyalty." It has to be to him not, say, to the Constitution or The Rule of Law. I'm wondering whether Roger Stone gets his Presidential Medal of Freedom before or after the pardon.