The Donald Trump Score Card

The U.S. never reached the 5 million tests per day that Trump predicted in April. In late June it was near 500,000 per day.

The number itself doesn't signify a successful testing system. It's a matter of whether the testing is done where it is needed, if the data is used in a meaningful manner such as for contact tracing, and if those who tested positive cooperate with social distancing guidelines that Trump, for ideological posturing purposes, has dismissed which renders testing self-defeating.



The US now has more covid-19 tests than it knows what to do with
Many labs can run thousands more tests a day . Containing the virus and reopening the economy both depend on figuring out how to use that capacity.
by Neel V. Patel archive page
June 27, 2020

The US now has more covid-19 tests than it knows what to do with

excerpt:

"Let’s start with what he got right: as of June 23 the US had successfully run 27,553,581 covid-19 tests (meaning tests that look for the presence of the virus, to determine whether someone is currently infected or not). So he’s more or less in the ballpark there. And current sources suggest that, yes, the US has carried out more tests than any other country.

But the US testing program can’t be considered “best in the world.” The US has run 83.24 tests per thousand individuals, according to numbers from Our World in Data. By comparison, Russia, which is also being hit hard by the virus, has run 120.07 tests per thousand people.

And the US is currently testing about 500,000 people per day, far behind the 5-million-a-day mark that Trump said the country was closing in on in late April. That is not necessarily because it can’t test more people: the country’s testing capacity has significantly improved since the pandemic began. Still, a Washington Post survey of about 20 states last month found the country was running at least 235,000 fewer tests a day than it could have run. While places with spikes in infections—like Arizona—are facing shortages, large swaths of the country are actually reporting underutilized availability."

 

Interesting data when you consider Trump is already diagnosed as a psychopath by many professionals and he is so anti-mask. I suspect there is a strong link to that in his most hardcore followers. People think you have to be stab people but being a psyco is often just Republicanism in its pure form. You look out for #1. They are not all mentally ill as they like to claim about others but anyone who would still vote for him I wonder. Seems lots of Republicans will not and have joined the dark side.

A lot of Trump voters are showing this traits. But people who disagree with them are still the mean and intolerant ones.
Even if you got rid of Trump we now know America is full of some very bad people.

You Might Be a Narcissist or a Psychopath If You Ignore Covid-19 Health Protocol

Jakarta. A study in the United States has shown that people who keep refusing to comply with public health guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 might have the so-called "Dark Triad" of personality traits – narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.


"Psychopathy and, to some extent, narcissism and Machiavellianism, predict not only antisocial tendencies but also various health behaviors and outcomes," Pavel S. Blagov, the researcher of the study and director of the Personality Laboratory at Whitman College said.

The study analyzed over 500 respondents in the United States in March. It measures their acceptance to the public health guidelines – whether they social distance, wear protective gear or follow basic hygiene.

Though most of the respondents did comply with the local and World Health Organization health protocol, some did not.
Blagov found the non-compliant respondents showed tendencies that could be linked to dark personality traits.
The respondents who showed disinterest in the health protocol scored higher on the psychopathic sub-traits – meanness and disinhibition.
"People scoring high on these traits tended to claim that, if they had Covid-19, they might knowingly or deliberately expose others to it," Blagov told PsyPost.
"It was clear from reports in the media very early in the pandemic that some people were rejecting advice to socially distance and engage in increased hygiene. I thought that personality might play at least a small role in it," Blagov told PsyPost.
People with "prosocial traits" are likely to support and promote social distancing and good hygiene. While those with "antagonistic traits" are likely to promote harm to other people's health and to be less cooperative in following Covid-19 preventive measures.


According to Blagov's study, the latter tend to act contrary to public health recommendations. They show less inhibition to risk other people's safety during a pandemic such as by not covering themselves when sneezing or coughing in public, touching communal facilities, not staying at home, not keeping their distance from other people and don't wash their hands frequently.

The study suggests that personality traits might be a factor in understanding the infectious respiratory disease.

However, the scope of the study is still limited as it only took samples from adults in the US. The health behavior measures used in the study also have not been tested.
Blagov stressed that the research does not necessarily mean people who got infected with Covid-19 have these dark personality traits.
Closer to home, despite repetitive warnings from the government, not everyone in Indonesia, including the capital Jakarta, has been following the Covid-19 health protocol.
During Ramadan and Idul Fitri in May, many were seen flocking to markets wearing no protective gear.
Many others defied government restrictions and went out of the city for mudik trips, which the government feared would increase the risk of spreading the virus in smaller towns and villages.
A study has also categorized Indonesia as a moderately unsafe country during the pandemic, scoring near the bottom of the list in government efficiency, quarantine efficiency and emergency preparedness.

 

Interesting that she bashed California, last night, but didn't have a problem with it when she lived here.

 

Trump has put himself at a disadvantage for the 2020 election in states with a significant immigrant population.



Trump's coalition is narrowing - CNNPolitics

excerpt:

"In 2016, for instance, Trump won just four of the 20 states where immigrants compose the largest share of the population, according to the Census Bureau. Now he faces a high risk of losing two of the four he won (Arizona and Florida) and is facing a serious challenge in the other two (Georgia and Texas).

Similarly, in 2016, Trump won just seven of the 25 states with the largest share of college graduates, according to Census Bureau figures. Now he's at high risk of losing two of those seven (Pennsylvania and North Carolina) and facing an unexpectedly tough challenge in a third, Georgia."

 

Trump's coalition is narrowing - CNNPolitics

excerpt:

"These patterns underscore the electoral bet Trump has imposed on his party: The groups he runs best with are almost all shrinking as a share of American society, while the groups that he's alienated are growing. Census data analyzed by Pew found that Whites without college degrees fell from 52% of all voters in 2004, the last time a Republican presidential nominee won the popular vote, to 42% in 2016; if that long-term trajectory continues, they'll likely constitute 40% in 2020. White Christians represented 54% of the population as recently as 2008; now they are around 44%, the Public Religion Research Institute has found. White evangelicals tumbled from 21% of the population to 15% over that same period. Many rural and small-town areas remain stagnant or are shrinking in population."

 

Even though he is a wealthy urbanite with little rural or religious experience, he garnered votes from rural and less educated groups in 2016 because they were hoping for a last ditch effort to fill their needs after hearing his sales pitch. The problem is that such groups are diminishing in their percentage of the population, leaving Trump with an increasingly narrow margin for election victory..

Trump seems to be aware of this, as he has dug his heels increasingly into the ground to try to harvest every last bit of them at the expense of alienating other groups that could have broadened his base .

 

The New York Times
By Dave Leonhardt
July 28, 2020

excerpt:

"All of these increases are worrisome reminders that crushing the virus is not a one-time event, at least not until a vaccine is available. It involves constant vigilance.

As countries take steps toward more normal functioning — reopening schools, workplaces and restaurants, for instance — they will often spark new outbreaks, which in turn will require more tests, quarantines and even limited lockdowns.

And yet all of these places are in a very different situation from the United States:

Even with the recent surges, the outbreaks elsewhere are much more contained and manageable than in the U.S. The U.S. has had about 15 times as many confirmed new cases, per capita, as Canada over the past week and 12 times as many as Hong Kong or Europe.

As a result, these other places still have the chance to keep their recent outbreaks from turning into something worse. Hong Kong has prohibited restaurant dining, limited public gatherings to two people and required mask-wearing in public at all times. Belgium is limiting people’s social contacts outside their family to the same five people over the next four weeks.

Much of the U.S. is responding less aggressively, even though its outbreak is more severe. Until that changes, many parts of the U.S. reopening — schools, pro sports and more — are likely to suffer setbacks, epidemiologists say."


image:

 

Trump has not only been dismissive of social distancing efforts which are needed to make testing successful at combating the virus, he has also belittled the tests themselves after previously promoting them.

He made misleading statements that the summer surge in new coronavirus cases was due only to new testing and that it wouldn't precipitate new morbidity and death. As the realization of new deaths became apparent a few weeks after the rise in new cases, he started dismissing testing altogether, the testing he had narcissistically claimed was the best in the world thanks to him.

 

Trump has an extremely superficial, self-centered mindset that is preoccupied with only a particular number, like the absolute number of virus tests, his rally attendance, and the viewership of his coronavirus press briefings that he boasted about as if they were a TV show that he had produced.

The viewership that he selfishly attributed to himself as a superstar was due to a thirst of the public that was looking for answers during a deadly global pandemic.

Such a mindset is inline with his other narcissistic comments, such as contending that he set more records with his mouth than Elton John did with his band.

 

'Hoax' Traces The 'Grotesque Feedback Loop' Between President Trump And Fox News
Heard on Fresh Air
Terry Gross
August 25, 20201:05 PM ET

'Hoax' Traces The 'Grotesque Feedback Loop' Between President Trump And Fox News

excerpt:

"When the virus was silently spreading in the United States in February and early March, some of his biggest stars [on Fox News] downplayed the threat, almost edged into denialism," he says. "And the biggest problem about that is that Trump heard it. He echoed it. They echoed Trump back. So we're into this grotesque feedback loop where they're telling each other it's going to be OK, and they are lulling the president into a false sense of security about the virus."

 

It's part of the reason for his waffling on issues such as immigration. He offered a compromise on DACA that included potential citizenship as a means of trying to coerce Congress into giving him U.S. taxpayer money for his border wall, an attempt that failed. He also doesn't want to appear that he is giving amnesty to DACA recipients which would upset his base.

In summer 2020, he sided with his base and raved about the Supreme Court decision that would allow him to dismantle DACA but not in the capricious way that he wanted.

 

The Chinese billionaire who owns the yacht upon which Bannon was arrested is wanted by China as a fugitive.


Opinion | The moral rot of Trump and his enablers has spread to the core
Dana Milbank
August 25, 2020

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...bannon-tests-reelection-theme-trump-me-first/

excerpt:

"On the eve of this week’s Republican National Convention, federal authorities arrested Bannon aboard a Chinese billionaire’s $28 million, 152-foot yacht and charged Bannon and three other men with defrauding donors giving to a private effort to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Bannon and his alleged co-conspirators had promised donors that “not a penny” would go to the organizers and “100 percent” would go to the wall. Instead, they allegedly used donations for such things as home renovations, boat payments, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments, credit-card debt, travel, hotels and consumer goods. Bannon allegedly squirreled away $1 million for himself and another organizer, much of it funneled through a nonprofit Bannon created called Citizens of the American Republic, ostensibly devoted to “economic nationalism and American sovereignty.” To top it all off: The small section of the wall the group did build was so poorly done that it is now in danger of falling into the Rio Grande."

 

Trump and his son haven't answered questions about their tax situation for loans that were forgiven. The IRS usually considers the forgiven portion to be income and taxable. Forgiven borrowers sometimes engage in financial activities that allow them to avoid paying the taxes. It's been an unresolved mystery as to how Trump managed taxes on some of his debt related to his failed casinos and other failed ventures. It may be a reason he is so protective of the privacy of his tax returns.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...bannon-tests-reelection-theme-trump-me-first/

excerpt:

"On Monday, the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, reported that the Trump Organization has refused to hand over some documents and that Eric Trump canceled an interview with prosecutors looking into whether the company paid proper taxes when a lender forgave more than $100 million of debt on a Trump hotel in Chicago."

 

Rachel Maddow covered this story last week

 

All of the Trump officials speaking on the White House lawn to promote Trump supposedly aren't promoting his reelection but rather speaking only in 'personal capacity' so as to not give the impression of violating the Hatch Act of using White House people on White house property for personal political gain.

It's also the reason why Trump is doing his reelection activities on the White House lawn. Performing them inside using officials other than he and Pence would be a violation of ethics laws, similar to how Kellyanne Conway violated the law when she promoted the merchandise of Ivanka Trump in the Brady press briefing room on live national TV after she became frustrated that Nordstrom dropped Ivanka's clothing line, apparently because it didn't want to be associated with Trump's bigotry.



Opinion | The moral rot of Trump and his enablers has spread to the core
Dana Milbank
August 25, 2020

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...bannon-tests-reelection-theme-trump-me-first/

excerpt:

"At the convention this week, we see Trump stripping the GOP of policy (the party declined to approve a platform) and replacing it with a cult of personality. He has stacked the speaking program with members of his family, his friends and himself — nightly. The lead consultant to the convention? A guy who produced “The Apprentice” for Trump and was a judge for Trump’s Miss Universe pageant.

Trump is using federal property — the White House itself — as a political backdrop for his campaign. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, using Israel as his campaign backdrop, is one of a host of officials violating laws and rules in ways previously unimaginable to play overtly political roles in the convention."

 

Trump having a sitting secretary of state Pompeo speaking on his behalf at an RNC presidential convention appears to be a first. Pompeo is doing it in a pre-taped speech from Israel.

 

Donald Trump's latest tax problem is more common than you think
more common than you think
By: Credit.com
Posted at 12:48 PM, Nov 03, 2016 and last updated 1:48 PM, Nov 03, 2016

Trump's tax problem is rather common

excerpt:

“As that empire floundered in the early 1990s, Mr. Trump pressured his financial backers to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in debt he could not repay. While the cancellation of so much debt gave new life to Mr. Trump’s casinos, it created a potentially crippling problem with the Internal Revenue Service. In the eyes of the I.R.S., a dollar of canceled debt is the same as a dollar of taxable income. This meant Mr. Trump faced the painful prospect of having to report the hundreds of millions of dollars of canceled debt as if it were hundreds of millions of dollars of taxable income.”

So what did Trump do? According to the Times, he may have been able to offset those tax liabilities by using a stock-for-debt swap provision that existed in the tax code at the time. Here’s how the Times describes it:

“The strategy, known among tax practitioners as a “stock-for-debt swap,” relies on mathematical sleight of hand. Say a company can repay only $60 million of a $100 million bank loan. If the bank forgives the remaining $40 million, the company faces a large tax bill because it will have to report that canceled $40 million debt as taxable income.

Clever tax lawyers found a way around this inconvenience. The company would simply swap stock for the $40 million in debt it could not repay. This way, it would look as if the entire $100 million loan had been repaid, and presto: There would be no tax bill due for $40 million in canceled debt."

 

Trump's tax problem is rather common

"Best of all, it did not matter if the actual market value of the stock was considerably less than the $40 million in canceled debt. (Stock in an effectively insolvent company could easily be next to worthless.) Even in the opaque, rarefied world of gaming impenetrable tax regulations, this particular maneuver was about as close as a company could get to waving a magic wand and making taxes disappear.”

According to the Times, Trump allegedly stretched this strategy one step forward by swapping debt with partnership equity in his then-flailing casinos."

 

Trump's tax problem is rather common

excerpt:

"Let’s go back to our earlier example: the $25,000 credit card debt. Let’s say the bank has agreed to forgive the whole thing, but you don’t want to get stuck paying income taxes on that $25,000. Since you’re an average American who doesn’t have stock to trade away and can’t do a “stock-for-debt swap,” let’s call this a “sock-for-debt swap.”

You send the bank a cardboard box full of your old socks and tell them that they are worth $25,000. They bank doesn’t really care, because they’ve already forgiven the debt and written it off their books, but you get to tell the IRS that the bank hasn’t really “forgiven” anything. You traded that credit card debt for $25,000 worth of fabulous, beautiful, old socks. So you’re in the clear."

 

Corruption on display, but some don't want to see it.