Up front I want to emphasize that I appreciate the polite conversation being had right now. It's refreshing to have differing perspectives without the cliche personal insults for people daring to present differing opinions.
When it comes to the virus, governors have had the control within each of their states to regulate matters as they want. Trump does not have the same power as each state has. The problem is both governors and the president have allowed the virus to be a political issue instead of a health matter.
For what it's worth, the U.S. fatality rate seems like it's certainly not out of the ordinary. Is it this low because of Trump? Is it this high because of Trump? I suppose it depends on how a person wants to criticize or praise Trump.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality
As for the Trump rallies, the criticism is fair so long as there is equal criticism for the lack of masks at many of the anti-police protests and at the Biden celebration rallies. In all those cases, there has been more than ample evidence of a lack of masks and unsafe conditions. As long as those criticizing Trump also criticize Pelosi, then the criticism is fair. But I fear many only criticize the politicians who do not reflect their political views. I would have all politicians criticized fairly for being hypocrites in their reaction to the virus. For example, we have politicians imposing curfews and trying to restrict travel for others while they go to Hawaii for a "conference".
https://www.kcra.com/article/political- ... i/34706995
As a point of discussion on the Trump comment, I thought this article helped to show how the media has had an agenda against Trump and is essentially a shill for Biden (so far):
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house ... olute-joke
Most mainstream media outlets lean left, and even more lean anti-Trump. I can definitely understand why many dislike Trump, but the media should be held to the same standard as a president. Furthermore, the media is a long-term entity; the president is a maximum eight-year presence. With an honest and unbiased media, the people can have a clear and balanced idea of what is happening and reach accurate conclusions on important issues. When the media becomes a pawn of a single political party, that is a concern.
As for Trump, he might embody the concept of disliking the messenger but liking the message. I believe many who voted for Trump are not the vile people CNN and MSNBC commentators have suggested they are--I imagine many voted for Trump because his stance on certain issues are more in-line with those voters than Biden's stance. (The eradication of student debt on a massive level is one issue I have with Biden, as it benefits those who have college degrees at the cost of those who could not or did not attend college as well as those who paid off their student debt. It also ignores how that tax money could be better spent. I'm all for some relief for students who willingly entered into an agreement to borrow the money, but not at the cost being presented by Biden.) Biden is just another lifetime politician and part of the establishment. He is just the anti-Trump candidate and offers next to nothing as a leader. I hope I'm wrong, but I have yet to see anything inspirational from a guy who has done so little despite a lifetime in government. (Can we please finally have a third and fourth political party in the U.S.?!)
To respond to the Trump bleach/disinfectant issue, the media jumped at the chance to make Trump look bad and took him out of context. Here is the transcript. Anyone who has heard Trump talk over the past four years knows he just rattles stuff off the cuff. He will never be accused of being eloquent or well spoken, but people knew what he meant and the media couldn't help itself in its hatred for Trump to interpret his poorly phrased comments in the worst manner possible.
Here are the comments by Trump:
"A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposedly we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. (To Bryan) And I think you said you’re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting, right?"
"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful."
Later, Trump clarified his comments after a reporter asked Bryan whether disinfectants could actually be injected into COVID-19 patients.
"It wouldn’t be through injections, almost a cleaning and sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t work, but it certainly has a big effect if it’s on a stationary object."
Anyhow, thank you to anyone taking the time to read another anonymous online person's comments. And thank you for the polite political conversation--I enjoy hearing other people's points and discussing them.
Ignore any virtue-signaling; it's clearly just you.
Ignore any activism; it clearly doesn't exist.
Be very careful!
Don't be indoctrinated!
Ignore your common sense!
Everything is entirely normal and ignore the radical changes to culture.