COVID Update August 26: Remember the quaint old days when we were fighting over wearing masks?

Oh, good times. 1/

If the pandemic were a Democratic hoax (Q?), as evidenced by all the people that "have" Coronavirus but they're not sick (who ever heard of that, right??), why should that prevent me from going to a bar, to church, or to a motorcycle rally?

Trump can run on the pandemic after all.

How? Aren't there 176,000 people dead, millions infected, the worst record in the world?

That would take some special form of spin, right?

Not if you have the right people to blame. And he does: scientists.

Welcome to Trump Middle School!

Public enemy number 1 is clear in this pandemic. You know those people telling you what you can't do? no football season, no schools, no just going on with your life?

That's right! The enemy is clear. Its public health professionals.

And to make sure we don't hear from these nanny-state brainiacs again, rather than just OVERRULE the CDC or the FDA, Trump decided he needed to EMBARASS them.

The @US_FDA got treated to a triple humiliation of: having their authority pulled on testing, being shamed into over-promoting a drug (about the biggest humility that can be inflicted on them), and being the subject of a Trump "deep state" tweet. https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1298459995168747520?s=20

What Trump did to the FDA wasn't just him getting his way. This was Trump dunking the nerdy kids in the toilet and giving them a whirly.

And then he got to those spoil-sport weenies at the CDC.
Those are the kids in class that tell on you for not following the rules.

The scientists telling people to wear masks, get tested & get contact traced. And isolate themselves! No way.

Details on the CDC flap today. https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1298659348617424896?s=20

So for those that cheered as the bully pick on the rule followers in middle schoolers, what Trump did in forcing the CDC to say you don't need to test if you're asymptomatic is a pure adrenaline rush.

Why would you ever give the scientists the power to tell us what to do?

Trump was elected by people who make fun of the hall monitor, the HR department "diversity" sessions, and people who generally get in their way.

The people who make a big deal about a bunch of old & Black & sick people dying.

Its not a Trump thing. Its a cultural thing.

At colleges all over the country, parents are telling kids not to agree to get tested as they might get kicked out and the virus won't harm them.

Kids are refusing to do any contact tracing. Tell on my friends at the party with me? No way.

In fact anything a public health official tells you to do? A mask? Testing? Contact tracing? Quarantining-- also made not necessary by the CDC today?

At best, its overkill from the nanny state. At worst, its a conspiracy. A deep state conspiracy.

If you think this sounds like Trump is on your Facebook page, its not far off. Trump isn't leading. This isn't fascism.

It's populism. It's taking your cues from those cheer you.

I have heard from 3 states today, 3!, who told me they have county health commissioners that haven't been testing asymptomatic people any way and trying to drive down test counts. Now they are empowered. Today they are quoting the "CDC" and saying I told you so.

But wait, Andy! Won't that catch up to Trump? Won't it catch up when there is less testing? When hospitals fill? When more people die?

The people worried about that? Those aren't the people Trump cares about or appeals to. He's pushing the bureaucrats out of the way.

But wait, Andy! Didn't the CDC sign off on this? The FDA?

Its true. Redfield & Hahn-- unless Trump had their children at knifepoint (I'm not saying it happened. I'm not saying it didn't), they're 21. They're grown ups. They're paid by the taxpayers.

But bullies never act alone. There's always the Cohen-like henchman, the Hahn who whispers he didn't mean it, the co-opted Redfield, the fawning Lindsay Graham, the enabling Mitch McConnell & the thinks she's strong Debby Birx.

You've met all these characters. In middle school.

They all have one thing in common. They go home every night & pray there is no tweet about them. That they don't meet the bully next.
And when Trump has them there, he's won. And he paves the way for the more sadistic versions like Tom Cotton to follow.

The effect of all of this on science? On taking a vaccine? Watch this clip with @mtosterholm and listen to the conversation. https://twitter.com/LemonadaMedia/status/1298659082593808384?s=20

Here's the thing. Bullies aren't actually tough. Trump had to wait for Anthony Fauci to be in surgery.

And eventually someone of the school bus does stand up & tell the bully they've had enough. That if you're going to pick on the scientists, you're going to go through them.

There are people who stand up for people their entire careers.

Tough former prosecutors who know what getting discriminated against feels like.
People who have gone through real hard times before & don't scare easily.

Strength comes from unity & from purpose. People can only be pushed along for so long before they push back.

It will get much much uglier before it gets better. But when bullies fall, they fall hard. /end