You know the Deja Vu feeling you get when you witness something and honestly believe you've already "seen that before?" For the longest time, I've been wracking my brain when it comes to describing Trump's reaction to the Coronavirus pandemic and I finally figured it out! I have seen this type of calamity before.
Back in my "earlier" life, I coached baseball (the teams that traveled throughout the United States). Eventually, I became a Varsity high school coach. So, I've evaluated a lot of ballgames and talent. I walked away from the game over a decade ago, but my experiences remain vivid memories.
While watching Trump throughout this pandemic and his wide ranging failures, I am reminded of a player who played for a local high school team. You see Jack (not his real name), came to a local team as a transfer (the head coach was a friend of the player's father). Jack rapidly became popular with many of the coaches because of his obvious speed playing in the outfield. He was lightening fast and could get to a lot of difficult fly balls. Unfortunately, Jack was not the best outfielder. He had a tendency to misplay routine routes and throw to the the wrong base once he "acquired" the ball. Often times, instead of making the routine play, he would instead have to rely on his speed for making up for mistaking balls flightpaths by diving instead and making the "sensational" grab. Even when he failed to make the routine play, his failing effort was rewarded because it was "sensational." All the while, the regular centerfielder (who never made an error his entire high school career), was forced to move to right field to make room for "Sensational Jack." His adoring fans (while overlooking or not realizing his poor play), rewarded him as a fan favorite for his "hustle."
And this reminds me of Trump. Instead of heeding the warnings and advice of his medical advisors, Trump misplayed the pandemic for several weeks, even taunting the virus as if it would merely disappear under the weight of his "sensational authority." Except we now know, his refusal to acknowledge the risks of the virus and his efforts to label it all as a hoax, exposed his weakness as a president. Only after several weeks and a huge upswing of confirmed cases and death, Trump's sycophants now claim Trump is acting "presidential" while Trump himself in all public briefings uses every opportunity to remind the nation just how "sensational" he is. Instead of making the routine play which would ensure the public's safety, Trump seems to be rushing now to "save the nation." In fact, Trump now admits that if under 200,000 Americans dies, he "saved millions" due to his "extraordinary" efforts. Except like Jack, far too many balls have been dropped and deaths are unnecessarily soaring.
Trump supporters now believe he is truly the best president ever for his decisive and timely actions (despite the fact that he refuses to take any responsibility like the kid in the outfield that blames the sun, the lights, or a blade of grass for causing them to misread or drop the ball). Like Jack, all awful efforts (if sensationalized), are interpreted as being the "best" - despite the fact any other president would have played it much better and saved so many more lives.
So like Jack's fans, Trumpers fail to recognize their dear leader lacks the social and intellectual tools to properly react and manage a crisis. Like Jack, coming in at the last second may look "sensational" more times than not, Trump still frequently drops the ball (and blames everyone else for his errors). And the errors in the game Trump plays have fatal results.
November is our chance to change Centerfielders. We need a steady hand managing the game we call our American Democracy. Just make sure you don't get caught up with all the glitz of a fancy play and lose sight that more often than not, such play loses ballgames. (As an aside, the right fielder went on to be widely recruited to play college ball, while Jack was ignored by recruiters due to being an inferior outfielder). Lets not drop the ball come November. Have a great week.
Back in my "earlier" life, I coached baseball (the teams that traveled throughout the United States). Eventually, I became a Varsity high school coach. So, I've evaluated a lot of ballgames and talent. I walked away from the game over a decade ago, but my experiences remain vivid memories.
While watching Trump throughout this pandemic and his wide ranging failures, I am reminded of a player who played for a local high school team. You see Jack (not his real name), came to a local team as a transfer (the head coach was a friend of the player's father). Jack rapidly became popular with many of the coaches because of his obvious speed playing in the outfield. He was lightening fast and could get to a lot of difficult fly balls. Unfortunately, Jack was not the best outfielder. He had a tendency to misplay routine routes and throw to the the wrong base once he "acquired" the ball. Often times, instead of making the routine play, he would instead have to rely on his speed for making up for mistaking balls flightpaths by diving instead and making the "sensational" grab. Even when he failed to make the routine play, his failing effort was rewarded because it was "sensational." All the while, the regular centerfielder (who never made an error his entire high school career), was forced to move to right field to make room for "Sensational Jack." His adoring fans (while overlooking or not realizing his poor play), rewarded him as a fan favorite for his "hustle."
And this reminds me of Trump. Instead of heeding the warnings and advice of his medical advisors, Trump misplayed the pandemic for several weeks, even taunting the virus as if it would merely disappear under the weight of his "sensational authority." Except we now know, his refusal to acknowledge the risks of the virus and his efforts to label it all as a hoax, exposed his weakness as a president. Only after several weeks and a huge upswing of confirmed cases and death, Trump's sycophants now claim Trump is acting "presidential" while Trump himself in all public briefings uses every opportunity to remind the nation just how "sensational" he is. Instead of making the routine play which would ensure the public's safety, Trump seems to be rushing now to "save the nation." In fact, Trump now admits that if under 200,000 Americans dies, he "saved millions" due to his "extraordinary" efforts. Except like Jack, far too many balls have been dropped and deaths are unnecessarily soaring.
Trump supporters now believe he is truly the best president ever for his decisive and timely actions (despite the fact that he refuses to take any responsibility like the kid in the outfield that blames the sun, the lights, or a blade of grass for causing them to misread or drop the ball). Like Jack, all awful efforts (if sensationalized), are interpreted as being the "best" - despite the fact any other president would have played it much better and saved so many more lives.
So like Jack's fans, Trumpers fail to recognize their dear leader lacks the social and intellectual tools to properly react and manage a crisis. Like Jack, coming in at the last second may look "sensational" more times than not, Trump still frequently drops the ball (and blames everyone else for his errors). And the errors in the game Trump plays have fatal results.
November is our chance to change Centerfielders. We need a steady hand managing the game we call our American Democracy. Just make sure you don't get caught up with all the glitz of a fancy play and lose sight that more often than not, such play loses ballgames. (As an aside, the right fielder went on to be widely recruited to play college ball, while Jack was ignored by recruiters due to being an inferior outfielder). Lets not drop the ball come November. Have a great week.
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