- Mar 11, 2015
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Trumps greatest skill is the ability to fool people by bullshitting them. But in this case his comparing his response to Obamas response to H1N1 2 months into his first term is fake news.
Trump’s comparison between coronavirus and the 2009 pandemic isn’t as useful as he thinks
It has not escaped President Trump’s attention that the outbreak of a new coronavirus across the United States can be molded into one of his favorite political tactics: comparing his administration favorably to that of his predecessor.
Over several weeks, Trump has repeatedly compared the coronavirus pandemic to the H1N1 influenza pandemic that emerged in California early in President Barack Obama’s first term. It’s a useful comparison for Trump in large part because he can use the comparison to ding not only Obama, but also former vice president Joe Biden, his most likely opponent in November’s general election.
The administration’s response was “a full scale disaster, with thousands dying,” Trump tweeted Friday, adding Sunday that it was a “catastrophe.” He has incorrectly blamed Biden directly for the outcome in that case.
As we’ve noted before, this effort by Trump is very similar to the one he used in response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. Shortly after the storm, he visited the island, celebrating the low number of deaths (under 20 at that point) and comparing his handling of the aftermath with the thousands who died after Hurricane Katrina under President George W. Bush. Of course, those numbers were going to spike and, in fact, doubled even as Air Force One was heading back to the mainland. The death toll eventually surpassed Katrina’s — but Trump has never acknowledged it.
What Trump’s doing now is comparing the total estimate of U.S. H1N1 deaths in 2009 and 2010 to the current tally of coronavirus deaths. (Or, really, covid-19 deaths, referring to the disease the virus causes.) To put it in terms he might appreciate, he’s noting that his score after one hole is significantly lower than what Arnold Palmer shot over the course of the 1960 Masters.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...onavirus-2009-pandemic-isnt-useful-he-thinks/
Trump’s comparison between coronavirus and the 2009 pandemic isn’t as useful as he thinks
It has not escaped President Trump’s attention that the outbreak of a new coronavirus across the United States can be molded into one of his favorite political tactics: comparing his administration favorably to that of his predecessor.
Over several weeks, Trump has repeatedly compared the coronavirus pandemic to the H1N1 influenza pandemic that emerged in California early in President Barack Obama’s first term. It’s a useful comparison for Trump in large part because he can use the comparison to ding not only Obama, but also former vice president Joe Biden, his most likely opponent in November’s general election.
The administration’s response was “a full scale disaster, with thousands dying,” Trump tweeted Friday, adding Sunday that it was a “catastrophe.” He has incorrectly blamed Biden directly for the outcome in that case.
As we’ve noted before, this effort by Trump is very similar to the one he used in response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017. Shortly after the storm, he visited the island, celebrating the low number of deaths (under 20 at that point) and comparing his handling of the aftermath with the thousands who died after Hurricane Katrina under President George W. Bush. Of course, those numbers were going to spike and, in fact, doubled even as Air Force One was heading back to the mainland. The death toll eventually surpassed Katrina’s — but Trump has never acknowledged it.
What Trump’s doing now is comparing the total estimate of U.S. H1N1 deaths in 2009 and 2010 to the current tally of coronavirus deaths. (Or, really, covid-19 deaths, referring to the disease the virus causes.) To put it in terms he might appreciate, he’s noting that his score after one hole is significantly lower than what Arnold Palmer shot over the course of the 1960 Masters.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...onavirus-2009-pandemic-isnt-useful-he-thinks/
