Commentary: The media's insane reaction to Trump's balcony appearance proves that they WANT you to live in fear



To hear the media tell it, President Donald Trump tried to kill us all yesterday.

In case you missed it, after being cleared to leave by the medical professionals who were caring for him, Trump returned to the White House — his home — on Monday and emerged onto his own outdoor balcony, removed his mask, and waved.

In spite of the fact that Trump was, yet again, a) outside, b) on the premises of his own home, and c) not within six feet (or, from what I could tell, 60 feet) of anyone, the condemnation of Trump was swifter and perhaps more hysterical than usual.

CNN predictably led the pack, with one on-air host actually suggesting that the shot of Trump removing his mask shouldn't be shown because "that's going to kill people."

Actually, it's not at all clear that CNN led the pack, because some reactions were even more hilariously over-the-top.

This is one of the most despicable scenes in modern American political history. It reveals the depths of his narcis… https://t.co/wKjwzfoqDU
— Marc Lamont Hill (@Marc Lamont Hill)1601941716.0

Of course, it goes without saying that diseases — even airborne ones — require proximity for transmission. A person who has COVID-19 (or any other contagious disease) does not just breathe a noxious cloud of disease that disperses infinitely until it finds someone to infect.

There's a maximum distance that disease-carrying aerosol droplets can travel in the air, and it's less than 6 feet, which is how we came up with the whole 6-feet-of-social-distancing thing. Which is also why the president standing outside of his own home with no people even in visible range represented literally zero threat to anyone.

Compare, if you will, the contrast with how the president's behavior was received with the way defiance in the face of literally any other disease would have been received. If a person who has cancer posts that they aren't going to let fear of cancer dominate their lives, they are rightfully lauded as brave.

Same goes for people who have HIV, or Hepatitis B, or whatever. If you get a disease, even a contagious one, you're not SUPPOSED to cower in fear of it. You should take reasonable precautions to prevent spreading it to others, yes, but no one is lauded for going inside and hiding indefinitely, as President Trump is apparently now expected to do.

A different set of rules applies, however, to COVID-19. According to the media, you're supposed to cower in fear of it. Consider the statement that so many have objected to: Trump did not say that you should not fear COVID, or take any precautions regarding COVID whatsoever; rather, he said that you shouldn't allow fear of COVID to dominate your life.

To paraphrase Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit," every time you step out your front door, you incur risks. You incur risks that you will die in a car wreck, catch an infectious disease (other than COVID-19), get mugged, or have any number of other terrible things happen to you.

Now, your response to that can be one of three things. One, you can just sit in your house and live in fear — which will probably not extend your life anyway because you'll soon be dealing with crippling depression and a bevy of health problems that are caused by inactivity. Two, you can completely ignore all dangers and take no precautions at all to protect yourself, which is also not advised. Three, you can determine that you're going to take reasonable precautions like driving the speed limit, wearing seat belts, and carrying a reasonable means of self-defense, but not let fear of the outside world dominate your life.

The president's message Monday encouraged Americans to take the third course when it comes to the coronavirus. For all of American history, this has always been considered the laudable course of action.

And let's be real for a minute: We are never going to rid ourselves of the coronavirus completely. Even after a vaccine is developed, it's going to remain around and be dangerous to vulnerable populations, much like the flu. No magic pill is coming that is ever going to make this disease vanish from the face of the earth, now that it's been loosed on the world. We are all going to have to decide whether we will allow fear of it to cripple us indefinitely, or if we will determine that, while we should take reasonable precautions to prevent unnecessary spread of this disease, we won't let fear of it dominate us.

I don't agree with everything Trump says, or even most of the things Trump says. But I agree with him 100% on this. And before this year, I couldn't have imagined anyone disagreeing with the principle.

Sadly, it appears I was wrong.

Former NY Times reporter: Trump encouraging us to not let COVID-19 'dominate' our lives might be 'most presidential thing' he's 'ever said'



Former New York Times reporter and now anti-lockdown author Alex Berenson said President Donald Trump's encouragement to the American people to not let COVID-19 "dominate" their lives might be the "most presidential thing" Trump has "ever said."

What are the details?

Upon his release Monday evening from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after testing positive for the coronavirus last week, Trump released a video message telling Americans regarding COVID-19, "Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. You're gonna beat it ... don't let it take over your lives. Don't let that happen. We have the greatest country in the world."

Berenson — who's been critical of lockdowns in response to the pandemic — appeared Monday night on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" and had high praise for Trump's words.

"That might be the most presidential thing this president has ever said," he told Carlson, adding that "he's not actually saying, 'Don't be afraid of COVID'; he's saying, 'Don't be afraid of one another,' OK? Because this is a respiratory virus. It spreads between people. And the only way to really make it go away permanently is to lock us all away permanently — and that can't happen. That is not compatible with life."

Berenson told Carlson that despite COVID-19's "tiny death rate," our country has "gone crazy, and we have sacrificed our kids, and we have sacrificed society, and Donald Trump walked out of that hospital today and said what needed to be said. We have to stop being so afraid of this."

He also said that the United States has "put people on the moon. We're the first manned flight in 1903. What has happened to us that this rather dismal virus has scared everyone to death? I do not understand it, and we have to get out of this."

What else?

Berenson additionally pointed to the stark contrast between Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, in regard to the coronavirus.

"People can vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump for all kinds of reasons, but Joe Biden has barely gotten out of his house it feels like in the last six months, and Donald Trump has lived, OK?" Berenson said. "And he took a chance. He rolled the dice, and he got caught. He actually did get the coronavirus — but guess what? It's not that dangerous, and it looks like he's gonna be fine, even though he's a 74-year-old man who's mildly overweight. So that's the lesson we should take here: We need to live."

'Don't let it dominate you!': President Trump issues video message about coronavirus after returning to the White House



President Donald Trump issued a reassuring video message to Americans after returning to the White House on Monday from a stay at the Walter Reed Medical Clinic.

The president had a short photo op at the White House after he took off his mask, and then posted a video to his official social media account.

"I just left Walter Reed Medical Center, and it's really something very special. The doctors, the nurses, the first responders. And I learned so much about coronavirus," the president said.

https://t.co/OxmRcZ5nUZ
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1601942373.0

"And one thing that's for certain. Don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. You're gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines. All developed recently," Trump continued.

"And you're gonna beat it. I went, I didn't feel so good. And two days ago, I could have left two days ago. Two days ago I felt great, like better than I have in a long time. I said just recently, better than 20 years ago. Don't let it dominate, don't let it take over your lives. Don't let that happen. We have the greatest country in the world," he added.

"We're going back. We're going back to work. We're going to be out front. As your leader, I had to do that. I knew there was danger to it, but I had to do it. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that's a leader would not do what I did. And I know there's a risk, there's a danger, and that's OK. And now I'm better, and maybe I'm immune, I don't know," the president said.

"But don't let it dominate your lives, get out there, be careful. We have the best medicines in the world. And they're all happened very shortly, and they're all getting approved. And the vaccines are coming, momentarily. Thank you very much," he concluded.

The president stunned the political world when he tweeted early Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positively for the coronavirus. He was later taken to Walter Reed Medical Center out of an abundance of caution. The president's physician said that he was exhibiting mild symptoms and had received treatment for the coronavirus.

Here's the video of the president arriving at the White House:

Trump salutes Marine 1 after arriving back at the White Housewww.youtube.com

School board member says she hopes President Trump dies of COVID-19. Now she's resigning.



A Maryland public school board member is resigning Tuesday after posting on Facebook that she hopes President Donald Trump dies of the coronavirus, WFMD-AM reported.

What are the details?

The Washington County Board of Education — which is in Hagerstown — issued a statement Sunday noting that it will formally accept board member Jacqueline Fischer's resignation at Tuesday evening's meeting, the station said.

After Trump indicated that he tested positive for COVID-19, Fischer published several posts on her personal Facebook page, WFMD said. One of them stated, "Of course Trump wouldn't wear a mask and kept posing [with] people. He is an … [expletive] who does not give a fig about anyone but himself. He could care less how many Americans die from this virus even if he is the one who expose them. I hope he dies from it. That would take care of a lot of America's problems."

According to Herald-Mail Media, Fischer also wrote posts saying:

  • "Since he has tested positive for VOVID19 [sic], maybe the country will get lucky and he will die. Wouldn't that be an act of karma!"
  • "Trump keeps down playing [sic] the virus, either by ignoring it or by lying about it. Now that he and Melania have tested positive for the virus, maybe he will change his tune. But I doubt it. Only if he dies of COVID19 [sic] will there be a change of attitude in the White House!"

Fischer told the outlet that her posts came after she got into an argument about the presidential debate.

"I said it in a heated moment after that terrible debate thing that happened the other night," she added to Herald-Mail Media. "That's what set me off."

In the aftermath Fischer added to the outlet in regard to her wish that Trump would die that "I don't really agree with that. I don't wish anyone to die. It was just out of frustration. I really wish he would lose the race is what I should have said."

But the damage was done.

Jerry DeWolf, chairman of the County Republican Central Committee, told the Herald-Mail that the organization planned to file a formal ethics complaint with the county and a complaint with the state board of education.

"I think she should resign immediately or be forcefully removed by the state board of education," DeWolf added to the outlet. "I would advocate that for anyone of any political persuasion who is calling for the death of the president of the United States of America. It is absolutely sickening and disgusting."

Prior to her resignation announcement, Fischer told the Herald-Mail that she should probably delete the posts and can understand the upset over them.

"This is a very diverse country, and people's feelings range to a full spectrum of emotions," she added to the outlet. "Obviously there would be some people who would be very upset at that. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are very upset at some of the stuff Trump says and does."

While the school board is nonpartisan, Fischer told the Herald-Mail she is a Democrat and anti-Trump.

DeWolf noted to the outlet that, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but as an elected official I think these are absolutely disgusting and abhorrent comments. This is a disgusting comment for any American to make, but particularly that she is an elected board of education member. She's in charge of 3,000-plus employees and 22,000 students for the Washington County public school system. Although it's her personal page, her page was public. She wants people to be able to see what she's writing. And she's telling the world that she hopes the president of the United States will die. She does it repeatedly."

How did the local GOP react to her resignation announcement?

"THANK YOU Ms. Fischer for your resignation," the Republican Central Committee said, according to WFMD, adding that "we look forward to the conclusion of this situation on Tuesday when her resignation is official ... Our community can now begin the healing process and work to build a better educational system deserving of our great county."

Anything else?

A number of prominent left-wing figures were positively giddy over the news that Trump had contracted COVID-19. Card-carrying Trump-hater Kathy Griffin — who won't soon live down her bloody Trump head stunt or her embarrassing apology for it — tweeted to the president that, "I'd like to volunteer to be your caregiver. I'm a patriot."

Trump on Monday said he would be leaving the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the evening after spending the weekend there for coronavirus treatment.

"I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good!" Trump tweeted." Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"

Trump and First Lady Melania test positive for COVID



President Donald Trump tweeted on his official social media account that he and the first lady had tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday evening.

"Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19," the president tweeted.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately.… https://t.co/CIIB2LDQtr
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1601614446.0

"We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" he added.

The news came after the president confirmed earlier on Thursday that his longtime aide Hope Hicks had tested positive for the virus.

"Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible!" he tweeted.

Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19.… https://t.co/guNmSgcZbV
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1601606661.0

The president and the first lady indicated that they will go into quarantine.

Here's more about the startling development:

White House Advisor Hope Hicks Tests Positive For COVID-19www.youtube.com