Trump, Covid and empathy for the world’s least empathetic man | Robert Reich | Opinion

For a few minute right this moment I discovered myself feeling sorry for Donald Trump. The poor man is now “battling” Covid-19 (the pugilistic verb is displaying up everywhere in the information). He’s within the hospital. He’s out of practice. He’s 74 years previous. His chief of workers reportedly says his signs are “very regarding”.

Joe Biden is praying for him. Kamala Harris sends him heartfelt needs. President Obama reminds us we’re all on this collectively and we need to ensure that everyone seems to be wholesome.

However maintain on: why ought to we really feel empathy for one of the unempathetic individuals on the earth?

One motive is out of respect. He’s a human being. He’s our president.

But there’s an asymmetry right here. Whereas the Biden marketing campaign has taken down all destructive tv promoting, the Trump marketing campaign’s destructive advertisements proceed continuous.

And at virtually the identical time that Biden, Harris, and Obama supplied prayers and consoling phrases, the Trump marketing campaign blasted “Lyin’ Obama and Phony Kamala Harris” and charged that “Sleepy Joe isn’t match to be YOUR President”.

Are you able to think about if Biden had contracted Covid relatively than Trump? Trump can be throughout him. He’d assault Biden as weak, feeble, and previous. He’d mock Biden’s mask-wearing – “See, masks don’t work!” – and lampoon his unwillingness to carry stay rallies: “Guess he bought Covid in his basement!”

How can we even be certain Trump has the illness? He’s lied about every thing else. Perhaps he’ll reappear in a day or two, refreshed and relaxed, saying “Covid is not any large deal”. He’ll declare he took hydroxychloroquine, and it cured him. He’ll boast that he received the “battle” with Covid as a result of he’s robust and highly effective, with out crediting the perfect medical care cash should purchase.

In the meantime, his “battle” has distracted the nation from revelations that he’s a tax cheat who paid solely $750 in taxes his first yr in workplace, and barely something for 15 years earlier than that; and that he’s a failed businessman who’s nonetheless shedding cash.

And from his cringeworthy debate efficiency final week, through which he didn’t need to condemn white supremacists.

It even takes our thoughts off the most important motive Covid is uncontrolled in America: as a result of Trump blew it.

He downplayed it, pushed accountability on to governors, after which demanded they permit companies to reopen – too early – in an effort to make the economic system look good earlier than the election.

He has muzzled and disputed specialists on the CDC, promoted crank cures, held maskless marketing campaign occasions, and inspired followers to not put on masks. All of this has contributed to tens of 1000’s of pointless American deaths.

Trump’s “battle” with Covid additionally diverts consideration from his and Mitch McConnell’s perversions of American democracy.

That is the place the asymmetry is deeper. McConnell is now shifting to substantiate Trump’s supreme court docket nominee Amy Coney Barrett, after having prevented Obama’s nominee from getting a Senate vote for nearly a yr on the premise of a concocted “rule” that the subsequent president ought to determine.

But Biden received’t discuss growing the dimensions of the court docket in an effort to steadiness it, and Democratic leaders have shot down the thought.

Nor do Biden and high Democrats need to recommend making Washington DC, and Puerto Rico into states – a step that may treatment the weird inequities within the Senate the place a naked majority of Republicans representing 11 million fewer Individuals than their Democratic counterparts are in a position to verify a supreme court docket justice.

It will additionally assist rebalance the electoral college, which made Trump president in 2016 regardless of shedding the favored vote to Hillary Clinton by greater than 3 million.

Democrats fear this is able to strike the general public as unfair. Unfair, when Trump received’t even decide to a peaceable transition of energy and refuses to be sure by the outcomes?

When he’s already claiming the election is rigged in opposition to him and can be fraudulent except he wins?

When he’s now readying slates of Trump electors to be licensed in states he’ll allege he misplaced due to fraud? When he’s urging his followers to intimidate Biden voters on the polls?

Whether or not responding to Trump’s hospitalization this weekend or to Trump’s bigger political maneuvers, Democrats need to act decently and properly, to take the excessive street and be honest. They need to shield democratic norms, values, and establishments.

That is admirable. It’s additionally what Democrats say they stand for.

However the different facet isn’t enjoying the identical sport. Trump and his enablers will do something to retain and enlarge their energy.

It’s potential to be sympathetic towards Trump this weekend whereas acknowledging that he’s subjecting America to an ethical take a look at.

What sort of society does the nation need: one primarily based on decency and democracy, or on viciousness and uncooked energy?