this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2024
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I don't understand this sentiment at all. I know it's a popular one - but how in the hell does instigating a violent coup attempt improve people's views of the man?
The coup was bad, yes, but don't forget the hundreds of thousands dead from COVID. Trump has even less plausible deniability for that.
It probably would've been the same had Clinton been President. He wasn't a vaccine skeptic like much of his base, but he certainly played up the rhetoric a bit, while pushing for a rapid rollout of the vaccine.
He belittled and ignored Fauci and downplayed the severity of the virus. He refused to wear a mask which would've helped get a lot of the right wing on board with mask-wearing. He held huge rallies without taking precautions, and some attendees got sick and died as a result. (Most notably, Herman Cain.)
Sure, but none of that has anything to do with policy, nor do I think him wearing a mask would do all that much to get his base on board.
His actual public actions
Source:Basically, he was against masks, in favor of social distancing, and urged rapid development of vaccines (Pfizer vaccine was available around the end of 2020). He took and recommended others take the vaccine as well.
It's impossible to know exactly how Clinton would've responded, but I imagine it would be quite similar, with a bit less rhetoric and perhaps a little more distancing at rallies, just given what Biden did (but it's hard to say exactly, since mask-wearing became a form of speech).
So the main difference I see between Trump and Clinton/Biden is optics, not policy. And given the death rates between states (e.g. Florida vs California), there isn't a clear difference based on the party that was in power, and differences are more easily explained by climate, population density, and demographics. So sure, you can probably point to cases where people contracted COVID at a rally or something, but in terms of policy, there doesn't seem to be much difference between left and right on the COVID response outcomes.
So all in all, I think Trump's rhetoric around COVID was terrible, but I don't think it's fair to pin those deaths on him because they likely would've happened had he lost in 2016.
You seem to be implying that is the reason I find myself disliking him less now than in 2016 which couldn't be further from the truth. That's among the most pressing arguments against him.
That's equally unfair as me saying 'I don't see how Harris supporting gender-affirming surgeries for undocumented immigrants in custody' makes people want to vote for her.
Shouldn't that be a disqualifying factor?
Sure but that doesn't really change anything. I don't think he was fit for the job to begin with.