The Whole Truth

The overwhelming problem with the President's response to this pandemic has been his unrelenting affliction for speaking in hyperbolic certainty.

He has created a campaign and then a presidency predicated on hyperventilated, manufactured truths that have provided pablum and sustenance for those who drink the Kool Aid, but have only led to escalated difficulties at each turn.

From the near collision course with North Korea, to his impenetrable Wall, to the tariff wars with China and others, from his intended withdrawal from the climate change accord, to the perfect conversation with the Ukrainian President and his dalliance with Russia, Mr.Trump's one constant is his complete assurance of his superior knowledge of the situation and the supposed ease with which whatever dilemma posed will be resolved.

It is the essence of his DNA and his presidency. And when now his bluff has been called by a virus that knows no way but forward, when the emperor stands before this nation clothed in nothing but his lack of comprehension, when this illness is not distracted or deterred by grotesque mischaracterizations then we as a nation are left with everything to fear and no one in charge.

So today we can only hope that Mr. Trump and Mr. Kushner fully cede the spotlight and the response to those who come armed with actual knowledge and understanding. For the President's misstatements, misunderstandings and miscalculations have left us in a state of triage. 

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That is all we ever wanted, and nothing this President has even remotely provided. And the result is racing through every town, every hospital and every heart in this nation.