There would inevitably be a lot of stupid things said about President Trump having tested positive for COVID-19, but nothing is more infuriating than the ignorant confidence with which liberals in the media are declaring that they know how and why the president got infected.
No one knows how or why. There’s a good chance that it might have come from a close aide who had it without knowing it, and who actually may have tested negative but was in fact a carrier.
And yet, Washington Post editor Fred Hiatt wrote Sunday with the blind certainty found only in this city’s media that Trump “got sick because he arrogantly refused even the simplest of precautions.”
Yet those “simplest of precautions,” such as mask wearing and physical distancing, even when mandated and followed have not proven to eliminate the risk of infection. Democrats who swear up and down that they know “the science” better than anyone else have also gotten sick.
It’s true that Trump has been skeptical of masks, a disposition that probably has something to do with even the sainted Dr. Anthony Fauci stating boldly in the early months of the spread that the face coverings were worthless. Indeed, Fauci gave the impression that it was hopelessly naive to believe that a mask would work as a preventive measure, telling CBS News that “wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better … but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is.”
Now, Fauci is a hype man for masks, the same way he’s a hype man for urging people to be outdoors as much as possible after first telling people to barricade themselves inside.
Trump has been seen wearing a mask at times. The White House says everyone who comes into close contact with him is frequently tested — remember when testing was supposed to be the surefire way to shut the virus down? — and he’s rarely seen in close physical proximity with more than three or so people at a time.
You might call those “the simplest of precautions.” Unfortunately, the president still got sick, as is known to happen from time to time in the middle of a pandemic related to a freak virus that spreads through the air.
Hiatt actually wrote in the Washington Post that we should expect “to hear an apology” from Trump over having gotten sick. I knew there would be ignorant things said about Trump getting sick, but asking him to apologize for something out of his control? That has got to be the absolute dumbest.
