Whenever you read about an obvious scam perpetrated by Donald Trump, it’s important to remember one thing: He’s lying to his own disciples more than anyone else.
Step One: Blame China
It’s already well established that ever since he tried to coin his own phrase for the virus, the “Chinese virus,” Trump’s intention has been to find a visible culprit to blame in order to deflect criticism of his unforgivable ineptitude. Namely China.
Step Two: Scapegoat the experts
The Trump White House has also been actively floating trial balloons about firing Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, after Fauci made the mistake of saying on CNN that the president should have enacted preventative measures earlier in the crisis.
Step Three: It’s the governors’ fault the economy sucks
As we’ve all witnessed, Trump is framing his out-of-touch pronouncements about the pandemic as “cheerleading” for the country. There’s cheerleading and then there’s clinical delusion — best illustrated by that “this is fine” cartoon dog meme. He thinks (or claims he thinks) that he’s being positive, but he’s actually just shielding himself from accountability by continuing to downplay the emergency.