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Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Covid-19 Crisis Is Putting Trump’s Disdain of Science to the Test. How’s He Doing?


As I witness the unfolding of the Covid-19 pandemic in our country and our president’s handling of it, I find myself thinking about climate change.
Some cartoonist will draw a cartoon of Trump being hit over the head by a 2x4 labeled “Covid-19” and “Science.”
The pandemic is, hopefully, a wake-up call for Trump regarding the importance of science in addressing the world’s challenges, such as climate change.
Trump has said he knows more than the generals, more than the experts in every field of study. He bathes in the adulation of evangelists who actually believe that he was sent by God to save our country, to “make America great again.” They truly think he can do no wrong.  Or can he?
I’ll never forget the 2-hour Frontline program on Sept. 27, 2016, called “The Choice 2016” about Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, which I wish PBS would air again.  You can watch the full program online.
In that Frontline report, we learned about “the Donald’s” personality in ways that ring even more true now that we’ve experienced over 3 years of him playing the role of President.


Fast forward to 36:18 of that documentary to see how Trump found a mentor in Roy Cohn, a lawyer hired to defend the Trump Organization in a federal lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in their rental properties. In the following 4 minutes of that documentary you’ll see exactly where Donald Trump acquired the persona which we see every day in our president. The key rules instilled by Roy Cohn are:
  • Never settle or admit anything, never admit a mistake
  • If someone hits you, hit back harder and never stop
  • Even when you lose, claim victory
  • Tell a lie long enough and people will think it’s the truth
  • Use lawsuits like machine gun bullets
  • Take no prisoners
Roy Cohn was described as a “street fighter,” and in Donald Trump we see what it’s like when a street fighter becomes president.
I believe that history will not be kind to Donald Trump once he is gone, nor will it be kind to those who fell under his spell, whether they are US Senators or Representatives or ordinary citizens. The 2018 elections were the first proof that.



2 comments:

  1. Dunning-Kruger effect

    I appreciated your commentary in today’s Denver Post. 4/9/2020.

    Additionally Irecently became aware of this personality description that describes Trump, have you?

    In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. It is related to the cognitive bias of illusory superiority and comes from the inability of people to recognize their lack of ability.

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  2. Thanks for mentioning Dunning-Kruger. I considered mentioning it, but didn't want to get too clinical -- and space in my Post ad was limited. Thanks for bringing it up here.

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