Who knows what to think?
There’s Donald Trump infected with Coronavirus. It would be massively impolitic to say he deserves it, but what about feeling that way? After all, though he’s the kind of man who would undoubtedly delight in an adversary’s suffering, we want to try to be better than he is.
It strikes me that the only way to proceed is to try to separate Donald Trump’s two roles. He is, first of all, a man. He may not be humane, but he’s undeniably human. There’s nothing attractive about human suffering, however unattractive the human. For Trump the man, we can only wish a rapid recovery and as little pain as possible.
But then there’s Trump the President. The worst ever US President, as Joe Biden so accurately told him at the first (and possibly last) Presidential debate. His mishandling of the epidemic, his confused and above all confusing messages have ensured that 7.5 million of his fellow citizens (whose safety, as President, he’s charged with protecting) catch the virus and, as of today, 213,000 have died.
Trump on his way to hospital
Wearing a mask. Just a tad late...
Even his own infection is down to his casual refusal to take even minimum precautions, such as wearing a mask. Indeed, at that same Presidential debate, he mocked Joe Biden for wearing his so often. He travelled and held meetings with others in closed spaces while infected, as did members of his staff, notably Hope Hicks who may well have been the source of his contagion.
It’s clear that this behaviour ensured that he’d eventually be infected. Now that it’s happened, it’s clearly a self-inflicted wound. He brought it on himself, and he deserves it.
But just how much does the President deserve?
Well, a bad case would indeed be entirely merited. After all, a lot of people have been through that experience because of his blithe ineptitude. Having him suffer a similar dose would be only just.
Intubation, however, I’d never wish on anyone, not even President Trump. No one should be forced to go through that if it’s avoidable. It’s an unpleasant, painful procedure, vital in certain severe cases, but not to be wished on anyone.
I certainly wouldn’t want to see him die of the disease. Firstly, and most importantly, because I oppose the death penalty in any circumstances. I wouldn’t wish death on anyone, not even President Trump, and certainly not Donald Trump, the man.
That’s the good and commendable reason for not wishing his death. But there’s another, less admirable maybe but, I hope, perfectly comprehensible. It’s by no means certain that Trump will lose the election in a month’s time. Right now, though, it looks like there’s a good chance he will. That would mean that after next January’s inauguration, Trump the man and Trump the (ex-)President will become one again.
If things go that way, I’d like him to face not only the despair of his own richly-deserved defeat, but also the trial he has certainly earned, the conviction and, one can but hope, the prison sentence to which it leads. After all, it’s a fate he and his supporters seem only too ready to wish on others. I see no reason why he shouldn’t undergo it himself.
So, it seems to me the right attitude is one of sympathy with the man. But no complacency over the President’s ineptitude. And still less for his crimes.
On the other hand, I can’t help admitting that there’s a lot to be said for the attitude in Linda Grant's tweet:
2 comments:
I've been wishing him kharma for some time. Also, someone posted today that Ruth Bader Ginsberg has just won her first case with God.
Yes, I love that comment about Bader Ginsburg. And I want karma for him too. But I think that would come most effectively in a massive defeat in November, followed by arresting and charging with his criminal offences. I don't want him to go through the pain of intubation, and I don't want to die, but I want him to face punishment for the things he's done.
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