Trump's Re-Open Plan: Looks Like Swiss Cheese Offering Him Cover to Cast Blame

New Topic Same Stage to Give Trump Cover

(To blame Governors for future failure)

Trump’s reopen plan – as it were – highlights here from AlterNet – re: His public presser announcement introduction:

“The plan Trump made public on Thursday (April 16) wasn’t a plan.”

§  He opened by declaring victory over the virus, saying we have hit the peak.

§  He then basically showed a series of posters that Mike Pence will be able to hold up, on the rare occasions he speaks these days, to replace the poster with the social distancing guidelines he’s been holding up for the last month.

§  The new posters outline three phases to be used to begin to resume normal business.

(Note: There’s nothing especially wrong with them — except for the fact that none of it can happen as long as the virus is still in the population and there’s no way of knowing who has it now or who had it in the past).

§  He did say that he would “let the governors call the shots” on decisions to relax restrictions state by state.

According to the Washington Post, however, that’s his #1 plan and by design:

“Trump’s the-buck-stops-with-the-states posture is largely designed to shield himself from blame should there be new outbreaks after states reopen or for other problems, according to several current and former senior administration officials involved in the response who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.”

At the briefing CDC Director Robert Redfield re-emphasized the importance of “early diagnosis, isolation, and contact tracing. Then in classic Trump style and mode this happened:

Trump quickly jumped in and interrupted Redfield saying there are “…wide open plains, wide open spaces … where you’re not going to have to do that.”

Trump then said there are places where the virus has been completely eradicated and that he expects to see stadiums full there, all of which is simply not true.

There are hotspots developing in less populated areas all over the country, including a horrific outbreak in one of his favored states, South Dakota, whose Republican governor continues to carry the Trump banner and pretend it isn’t happening.

Trump is still engaging in magical thinking, believing that if he vamps long enough, this crisis will go away. And his aides have obviously devised a strategy for him to blame others when it doesn’t.

Since there is no national testing strategy, and no way to reopen successfully without one, the president of the United States is essentially washing his hands of the crisis, and no only but he basically supported the several states now more or less advocating armed revolt against their state government’s “stay at home” mandate seen here.

The main story continues here – very good article.

My 2 cents: Nothing to add to this – the story stands alone and it’s very good. 

Check it out, and thanks for stopping by.