So, what is it that Trump should have done differently?

[The Grand Nudger]

The idea that the president of the united states can be washed of blame by distributing that blame out among lower level government officials is absurd.

[The Grand Nudger]

-I'd add that blaming china for some psuedo-attack as a way to shift blame is even more absurd. The president of the united states is responsible for foreign policy, and is the commander in chief of the armed forces.

[CarveTheFive]

Trump gets plenty of blame.

I just saw my city council on tv last night standing next to each other not social distancing. Therefore, my local city council is behaving in a way that could literally kill me.

[The Grand Nudger]

Plenty of city council members are mouthbreathers, for sure. So what? Those mouth breathers aren't the president of the united states.

Those mouth breathers do not have command of the immense power of the united states government, are not responsible for foreign policy, nor do they command the armed forces. Some other mouth breather does that, and if the best we can do is to say that some low level city council mouthbreather does the same stupid shit that the moutbreather occupying the office of the presidency does...we're not exactly absolving the president of anything.

One is left to wonder exactly what trump would have to do to be held uniquely responsible for his own uniquely unqualified actions before a trumpit thought he fucked up. Accidentally hit the red button while trying to order a burger? Is that enough? Or do we blame the engineers who made the bomb and the technicians who rigged the football or the handlers who keep the president moving from nap-time to arts and crafts? Maybe some other country's government, for failing to shoot it down?

In this country of personal responsibility, it is appalling that the person in the position of being responsible for so much simply doesn't believe in responsibility, and more tragic still that those to whom and for whom he is explicitly responsible are willing to accept such a notion.

[polymath257]

Trump should have taken the threat seriously LONG before he did. Closing the border to China was helpful, but neglecting the internal readiness was criminal.

Do you think he will be impeached again?

No, but hopefully he won't be in office much longer.

Trump should NOT have been promoting untested treatments. He put many lives in danger by his actions.

He did it - what's going to happen? Why did the governors and mayors, and doctors allow it???

Huh? How were they supposed to shut him up when he was at the podium doing that?

Trump should have prepared so that states do not now have to compete against each other for vital supplies. Instead, the federal government should be supplying those necessities. By his failure to act, he has put more lives in danger.

Why didn't the individual states check on the inventory - you know, sort of a check and balance thingy.

Because that is one of the jobs of the federal governmnet: to coordinate exactly this sort of thing across states.

Trump should take responsibility for his failures and seek for ways to rectify them instead of placing blame on anyone and everyone else.

you see failures, because you hate Trump. You have no idea what all has happened, and you are not recognizing that the Senators, and Representatives and governors, and all the hierarchy of health departments are at fault for not cooperating in making sure the states are prepared for an epidemic. There is all kinds of blame to go around. you just don't have the smarts to figure it out, because it is a very chaotic system, and all you hear is people blaming Trump

It is the job of the EXECUTIVE branch, headed by Trump, to do these things. I don't see failure simply because I despise Trump. I despise Trump because of his long list of failures. It would have been *so* nice if he could have risen to this occasion, but not a chance.

If Trump was too distracted by the impeachment proceedings, which had already run their course by the time the virus showed up, then he isn't fit for the office of the president. Other presidents have continued to do their duties in spite of harsh criticism and even impeachment.

He was not distracted - you were.  You were praying for a conviction, and that he would have been removed, and the Vice-president would have made everything better.

During the impeachment trial the Senate Majority leader announced a Congressional meet concerning the CoronaVirus - do you remember what Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer said afterwards???

If Trump can't do more than one thing at a time, he is incompetent for that job.

Trump should NOT have been trumpeting his 'ratings' when the country is in crisis. At the very least it shows a lack of perspective.

Trump should have told the truth early and often about the risks and to be honest about what is known and not known. he seems to be completely unable to do this in any endeavor, but it was necessary for safety in this one.
All that Trump has done is show that he is an egotistical, incompetent blowhard who fails to take responsibility for his own failures.

Why can't they get rid of him???

Because we have a system so corrupted by partisanship that the Reps won't do what is necessary for the good of the country. The failure of democracies tends to happen when demogogues get power from the populace.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Another thing he could have done (and should continue to do) is to wear a mask during these pointless briefings he keeps holding.

This would have the dual benefits of 1) showing people he takes this thing seriously, and 2) hiding the part of his face where the lies come out.

Boru

[Pat Mustard]

In this country of personal responsibility,

When people talk about personal responsibility they very rarely include themselves in the people who need to exercise it.

---

Another thing he could have done (and should continue to do) is to wear a mask during these pointless briefings he keeps holding.

This would have the dual benefits of 1) showing people he takes this thing seriously, and 2) hiding the part of his face where the lies come out.

Boru

Ball-gag would be better.

[The Grand Nudger]

That may be the case...but I know that the president swore an oath. So that mouthbreather is duty bound by choice.

If he didn't want to do the job, he shouldn't have taken it.

[TaraJo]

Another thing he could have done (and should continue to do) is to wear a mask during these pointless briefings he keeps holding.

Yes!  I've noticed that!  If you watch the news, if you watch the reporters at his press conferences, if you watch late night tv shows, they've all changed: they're practicing social distancing, they're staying home and/or they're wearing masks.  The difference can be subtle, but it's there.  

Then you have Trump.  He's having his daily press conferences, outside, with a whole bunch of his yes-men, crowding around him and his podium, none of them are wearing masks.  

I was hoping that, a year or two from now, everyone would look back at this and say we overreacted.  People are saying that WAY too soon.  You say it was an overreaction when you haven't seen how bad it gets and most Americans in flyover states haven't..... yet.  It's going to get worse, though.  The really dangerous thing about this virus is that it has a really long incubation period.  It's not like, you catch it and 2-3 days later you're showing symptoms.  This is the kind of thing, you get infected and you can be showing no symptoms, spreading it around to the rest of the world for a good 2-3 WEEKS before you show any symptoms.  

Trump has always been the republican ID: he does what he wants and what his party wants with no regard for consequence or other people or legality.  And the republican party has been spreading an anti-authority, anti-science agenda for at least 30 years.  It's going to come back to bite them now.  A lot of those rioters in Michigan are going to get themselves and others killed.  A lot of the states that prematurely end the quarantine are also going to kill a lot more people than they should.  This is what happens when you spend 30 years trusting business men and distrusting scientists and doctors.

[Fireball]

Another thing he could have done (and should continue to do) is to wear a mask during these pointless briefings he keeps holding.

This would have the dual benefits of 1) showing people he takes this thing seriously, and 2) hiding the part of his face where the lies come out.

Boru

That would be the Lie-Hole® instead of a pie-hole. You read it here first!