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Good thread. @paulkrugman suggests a key motivator of the failure to act on coronavirus was active malevolence, not mere "executive underreach."
I agree. And I'd like to add an additional point about this. 1/ https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1345019523892715520
I agree. And I'd like to add an additional point about this. 1/ https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1345019523892715520
In this case, the inaction was in part rooted in a specific iteration of malevolence, the belief (which turned out to be wrong) that only parts of the country that opposed Trump would seriously suffer and die. Trump mused openly about protecting Florida from NY, NJ and CT. 2/
The idea that virtuous Real America needed to be protected from depraved, diseased Blue America, has long been a hallmark of Trumpism. He attacked urban districts as rodent infested. He mused to Florida's governor that he'd wall off the virus. 3/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/02/trumps-reelection-hopes-may-depend-blue-americas-rebound/?itid=lk_inline_manual_38
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/02/trumps-reelection-hopes-may-depend-blue-americas-rebound/?itid=lk_inline_manual_38
This is crucial to understanding the role that *toxic illiberalism* played in the failed coronavirus response.
The false-choice frame offered by some commentators -- Trump is either Mussolini or incompetent -- utterly fails to account for this. 4/4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/15/biden-coronavirus-policy-reverse-trump-failures/
The false-choice frame offered by some commentators -- Trump is either Mussolini or incompetent -- utterly fails to account for this. 4/4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/15/biden-coronavirus-policy-reverse-trump-failures/
