The Coronavirus response is partisan.
"This is voluntary. I don't think I'm going to be doing it. I feel good. I just don't want to be doing it."
Trump, on face masks, April 4, 2020
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| Click: No masks for me |
Americans take cues from the sources they find credible. During January and February Trump, Fox, and talk radio had a message: the virus was foreign, it wasn't coming here in significant numbers, it wasn't that serious, it was just a bad flu, it would fade away in the spring. The economy was great, the stock market was great. Don't ruin this with unnecessary talk of doom.
Democrats and mainstream media took a more somber, worried tone.
Democrats and mainstream media took a more somber, worried tone.
The Trump team said the Democrats were playing up the virus for partisan reasons, that it was their new hoax, just like impeachment had been. Donald Junior said Democrats were so partisan and depraved they were actually cheering for deaths, just like they were cheering for recession, because they wanted to bring Trump down.
Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina wrote comments to Fox consumers that were typical for the time, February 7, 2020. "Thankfully, the United Sttes today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus. . . The public health preparedness and response framework that Congress has put in place and that the Trump Administration is actively implementing today is helping to protect Americans."
Shortly after this public assurance he made wholesale liquidations of his stock market assets. He was receiving classified briefings saying the problem was much greater than people understood. He is facing criticism for these sales. Burr's comments, though, were typical of the then-GOP/Trump/Fox public position: yes we know the virus is out there but relax. We have this under control.
Stock market investors generally believed the assurances. The stock market hit an all time high in late February. The Democrats appeared alarmist. They were bears in a bull market.
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| Fox News screenprint, Feb 7, 2020 |
Stock market investors generally believed the assurances. The stock market hit an all time high in late February. The Democrats appeared alarmist. They were bears in a bull market.
In March events caught up. The stock market crashed. The virus had spread widely, people were dying.
Trump and Fox turned from virus minimizers into virus believers.
But not really.
The original partisan divide has not changed. Trump's message switched . Now the virus is serious and Trump understood it all along, which is why his early, aggressive, actions were so prescient and valuable. Trump saved lives and his actions will allow America to get back to work promptly. He is a cheerleader, and we are winning big. People influenced by Trump have reason to be optimistic: we have masks in abundance, ventilators aplenty, medicines he has heard that work great, over the counter zinc that works, and a vaccine on its way soon, very soon.
People drawing cues from Trump get the message social distancing policies are maybe-probably overdone and that the cure worse than the disease. They see the president and his virus experts standing in close contact. Trump appears untroubled. They are responding accordingly.
People drawing cues from Trump get the message social distancing policies are maybe-probably overdone and that the cure worse than the disease. They see the president and his virus experts standing in close contact. Trump appears untroubled. They are responding accordingly.
There is a danger here for Democrats.
At some point the progress of the virus will allow the country to unwind distancing and go back to something nearer normal. The pacing of that will take place under a partisan interpretation. Democrats believe the virus more serious than does Trump, so will likely think Trump is rushing it; Republicans have been led to think Democrats are exaggerating for political purposes.
Trump has a happier message. He is the optimist; Democrats the kill-joy. Democrats are trying to re-connect with the Party's working class roots. Working people want to get back to work. They have bills to pay.
At some point the progress of the virus will allow the country to unwind distancing and go back to something nearer normal. The pacing of that will take place under a partisan interpretation. Democrats believe the virus more serious than does Trump, so will likely think Trump is rushing it; Republicans have been led to think Democrats are exaggerating for political purposes.
Trump has a happier message. He is the optimist; Democrats the kill-joy. Democrats are trying to re-connect with the Party's working class roots. Working people want to get back to work. They have bills to pay.
2 comments:
"The cure is worse than the disease" is a misnomer and does not hold up under scrutiny.
There is no "cure", so right off the bat this is a lie.
The "cure" in this statement refers to social distancing which cures nothing. It is a mitigation, akin to a condom.
As long as we are parsing semantics, I think we should consider calling this epidemic what it actually is. A plague.
We associate this term with mediaeval "Black Death" and the connotations are terrifying.
Maybe this is exactly what people need to hear, and if they are frightened enough, behavior may follow and some of the absurdities we are hearing will stop, especially from those in positions of responsibility.
New subscriber: you have some great insights into politics, Peter — valuable. It would be much more useful, I’d say, if you weren’t such a partisan though. I teach Critical Thinking and “psychology for democracy”. A vital component of that is understanding “motivated reasoning”, I could use your blog as a textbook example. If we are going to move beyond partisan division to create a better America, I would encourage you to consider adding some critical thinking to the mix. Instead if motivated reasoning. It would help your work and open doors to converse withthose you oppose so vehemently.
Cheers
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