DICTATORSHIP CANCELLED: Trump self-pwns

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BREAKING:

WASHINGTON — President Trump said early Friday that he and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus, throwing the nation’s leadership into uncertainty and escalating the crisis posed by a pandemic that has already killed more than 207,000 Americans and devastated the economy.

“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Mr. Trump received the test result after one of his closest advisers, Hope Hicks, became infected, bringing the virus into his inner circle and underscoring the difficulty of containing it even with the resources of a president. Mr. Trump has for months played down the severity of the virus and told a political dinner just Thursday night that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”

Mr. Trump’s positive test result could pose immediate difficulties for the future of his campaign against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic challenger, with just 33 days before the election on Nov. 3. Even if Mr. Trump, 74, remains asymptomatic, he will have to withdraw from the campaign trail and stay isolated in the White House for an unknown period of time. If he becomes sick, it could raise questions about whether he should remain on the ballot at all.

Even if he does not become seriously ill, the positive test could prove devastating to his political fortunes given his months of diminishing the seriousness of the pandemic even as the virus was still ravaging the country and killing about 1,000 more Americans every day. He has repeatedly predicted the virus “is going to disappear,” asserted that it was under control and insisted that the country was “rounding the corner” to the end of the crisis. He has scorned scientists, saying they were mistaken on the severity of the situation.

Mr. Trump has refused for months to wear a mask in public on all but a few occasions and repeatedly questioned their effectiveness while mocking Mr. Biden for wearing one. Trailing in the polls, the president in recent weeks increasingly held crowded campaign events in defiance of public health guidelines and sometimes state and local governments.

When he accepted the nomination on the final day of the Republican National Convention, he invited more than 1,000 supporters to the South Lawn of the White House and has held multiple rallies around the country since, often with hundreds and even thousands of people jammed into tight spaces, many if not most without masks.

A positive test will undercut his effort to change the subject away from a pandemic that polls show most Americans believe he has mishandled and onto political terrain he considers more favorable. Mr. Trump has sought to focus voter attention instead on violence in cities, his Supreme Court nomination, mail-in ballots and Mr. Biden’s relationship with liberals.

Aside from the campaign, the symbolism of an infected president could rattle governors and business owners trying to assess when and how to reopen or keep open shops, schools, parks, beaches, restaurants, factories and other workplaces. Eager to restore a semblance of normal life before the election, Mr. Trump has dismissed health concerns to demand that schools reopen, college football resume play and businesses resume full operation.

In his eighth decade of life, Mr. Trump belongs to the age category deemed most vulnerable to the virus. Eight out of every 10 deaths attributed to it in the United States have been among those 65 and older.

Mr. Trump has been resistant to permitting details of his health to be made public, raising questions about his overall condition. He made an unannounced trip in November to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that prompted speculation that he had an undisclosed medical ailment, but the White House insisted that he simply underwent routine tests, without revealing what they were or what they showed.

But while Mr. Trump has been reported to have high cholesterol and tips the scale at 243 pounds, which is considered obese for his height, the president’s doctor pronounced Mr. Trump in “very good health” last year after his last full medical checkup. And, unlike many of those who have succumbed to the virus, he will have the best medical care available.

A variety of people around Mr. Trump were previously infected by the virus, including most recently Robert C. O’Brien, his national security adviser who had a mild case before returning to work in August. Others infected include Kimberly Guilfoyle, his son’s girlfriend; a White House valet; Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary; as well as some Secret Service agents, campaign advance workers and a Marine in the president’s helicopter unit. Herman Cain, a former Republican presidential candidate and political ally of Mr. Trump’s, died of the coronavirus in July after attending the president’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., where Mr. Cain, like many in the arena, was seen not wearing a mask at least part of the time.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly expressed confidence in public about his own health, saying he was not concerned about being exposed despite his various close calls. “I’m on a stage that’s very far away, and so, I’m not at all concerned,” he said last month, brushing off worries about crowded rallies.

Behind the scenes, though, the self-described germophobe was angry in the spring that his valet, who is among those who serve him food, had not been wearing a mask before testing positive, according to people in touch with him. Mr. Trump privately expressed irritation with people who got too close to him.

According to the president, he began taking the hydroxychloroquine anti-malaria drug proactively around this time and later said it caused no adverse effects. In the days after Ms. Miller’s positive test, Mr. Pence opted to stay physically away from Mr. Trump to avoid a possible exposure, while three top public health officials, including Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who is on the White House’s coronavirus task force, went into some form of self-quarantine.

The White House ordered some employees to work from home and those who came to work to wear masks except when sitting at their desks an appropriate distance from their colleagues. Just as Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence were being tested every day, those coming into proximity to them were subject to daily tests as well, while other White House employees had tests every several days. But those protocols were soon relaxed and most White House officials were rarely seen wearing masks, at least when the president was present.

While the coronavirus is much deadlier than the flu, the vast majority of people infected by it recover, especially if there is no underlying condition, but the threat climbs with age. If Mr. Trump becomes symptomatic, it could take him weeks to recover.

Under the 25th Amendment, a medically incapacitated president has the option of temporarily transferring power to the vice president and can reclaim his authority whenever he deems himself fit for duty.

Since the amendment was ratified in 1967, presidents have done so only three times. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan underwent a colonoscopy and briefly turned over power to Vice President George Bush, although he did not explicitly cite the amendment in doing so. President George W. Bush did invoke the amendment twice in temporarily turning over power to Vice President Dick Cheney during colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.

Under the Presidential Succession Act, if both Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence were unable to serve, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California would step in. In the spring, the White House said that it had no plan for such an eventuality. “That’s not even something that we’re addressing,” said Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary. “We’re keeping the president healthy. We’re keeping the vice president healthy and, you know, they’re healthy at this moment and they’ll continue to be.”

There is a long history of presidents falling seriously ill while in office, including some afflicted during epidemics. George Washington was feared close to death amid an influenza epidemic during his second year, while Woodrow Wilson became sick during Paris peace talks after World War I with what some specialists and historians believe was the influenza that ravaged the world from 1918 through 1920.

Four presidents have died in office of natural causes: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt, while Wilson endured a debilitating stroke and Dwight D. Eisenhower had a heart attack in his first term and a stroke in his second. Four others were assassinated in office: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.

But such health crises in the White House have been rarer in recent times. Since Reagan was shot in 1981, no president has been known to confront a life-threatening condition while in office.


zedvictor4
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@oromagi
TRUMP:   Virus, what virus?....Oh this virus.
MisterChris
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It's literally sickening to me that you are using this as an excuse to push your political agenda. "DICTATORSHIP CANCELLED: Trump self-pwns?" What the actual fuck is wrong with you? What if he DOES die? Do you know how disrespectful and insensitive that is? It could literally throw our nation in crisis. And no, Trump wasn't the best president. Yes, it's ironic he got the virus. But also no, he did NOT say COVID wasn't a problem. Seriously, what the fuck. 


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so people who have covid is self pwned now?
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Man, y'all are overreacting. Trump did downplay the virus, BUT he did not say there was none. Arguably, this could prove how easily the virus is to catch.
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It's literally sickening to me that you are using this as an excuse to push your political agenda. "DICTATORSHIP CANCELLED: Trump self-pwns?" What the actual fuck is wrong with you? What if he DOES die? Do you know how disrespectful and insensitive that is? It could literally throw our nation in crisis. And no, Trump wasn't the best president. Yes, it's ironic he got the virus. But also no, he did NOT say COVID wasn't a problem. Seriously, what the fuck. 

+1

wtf man
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Look at this. The left laughing at a deadly disease. When RBG died, I didn't see Trump laughing or the majority of the Conservative base laughing. Having people wish death upon a president is a disgrace to democracy, and this is what the left stands for. 
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@Vader
A lot of people celebrated when Trump's brother died.

sickening tbh
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ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha 
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@Vader
Hey. The guy knew the risks and didn't bother to take the precautions...He's only got himself to blame...And yep, hopefully a message to others on the left or right with the same laissez faire attitude.

He might be the most inept President ever....But get well soon Donald.
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@oromagi
throwing the nation’s leadership into uncertainty
Really? Appears to me, the Constitution is very clear abut the certainty of the nation's leadership. Just because no one bothers to read the bloody thing, with comprehension, does not change the facts.
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@fauxlaw
Oh, I know....silly NY Times Chief White House correspondent Peter Baker and all his silly Pulitzer Prizes.  What would a guy who scooped a hundred presidential scandals from Monica Lewinsky to Trump's taxes last week know about the state of mind in national leadership?  You'd think a guy who wrote two award winning books about presidential impeachment would be more familiar with ARTICLE II., Section 1 and how

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
Fortunately for American serenity,  Pelosi, McConnell, Trump and Pence are all on the same page regarding what shall constitute Inability to discharge Powers and Duties in the current specific emergency of the President's  life threatening infection and his  highly experimental  medical treatments.  Good thing Pence did not totally dodge the question of disability  in last night's debate and definitely didn't exhibit symptoms of conjunctivitis  (a common early indicator of coronavirus infection) and most definitely didn't cancel his entire Friday schedule tonight while Right WIng militia men are getting arrested in swing states for planning to incite civil war and assassinate government officials at the President's behest.

Nope. No uncertainties here.  Silly experts.

8 days later

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@MisterChris
TDS has long lasting effects on the mind. 4 more years of exposure could be fatal to susceptable at risk people.
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@oromagi
Indoctrination and confirmation bias are the worst mental disorders in the world. Entire civilizations are destroyed and millions of people are slaughtered because of people who have such disorders. I seriously doubt you have any critical thinking skills based on this politically indoctrinated  regurgitated rant. Just an outside observation. This rant gives evidentiary credence to what some psychologists and mental health experts  call TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome).
Theweakeredge
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Look. I don't like Trump, I'm a progressive, leftist, whatever. I also do not accept that we should wish him dead, or even sick in the least. That is sickening, to say the least, at worst proves you uncaring and cold. The entire purpose of progressivism and, for me, the left is to work towards equality and care for every person. Laughing at someone who is sick with a deadly virus is terrible.

Stop this.
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I'm having fun reading this thread. 
fauxlaw
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@Theweakeredge
Honest question, considering you and I sit at opposing poles politically. Is your aim of equality one of opportunity, or outcome, or both? I really would like to know. I'll tell you my position: equality of opportunity is the only guarantee a democracy can offer. To guarantee equality of outcome is to assure that individual ambition is defeated. Not my idea of a beneficial political position.
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@fauxlaw
Thank you for the sincere question.

To answer - I would say both are my goal. The fact that they may be democratically unviable does not deter me from trying. Similar is the Christian trying to live up to their interpretation of jesus, even though they admit that their own holy book says it's impossible.  Not only that, but assuming to guarantee something is also a deterrence from what I feel the right thing is. Whenever I want "equality of outcome" I feel that doesn't accurately describe what I want, I want a base starting line that means everyone has what they need to survive. A minimum wage that's above the poverty line, free healthcare like most of the civilized world has or is adopting, stuff like that.
fauxlaw
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their own holy book says it's impossible.
You're going to have to cite that claim, because I've read it in four different languages, and find no statement of that conclusion. In fact, just the opposite. Matthew 5: 48, at the conclusion of the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount [therefore, not a single verse, as alleged scriptorians are wont to do] but the context of a complete chapter [and the context continues for another two chapters], we find, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." That's a command to be perfect. Period. full stop.

A minimum wage that's above the poverty line
You do know, don't you, that the Fair Labor Act of 1938, which first offered a minimum wage, never said a minimum wage was expected to provide an income that would sustain more than one person, and that, from when it started, until today, allowing for inflation from then to now, that min wage would not be anywhere near $15/hour, which is well above the current poverty line for an individual [$400/week]. But I wonder why your goal is so low when there is truly no ceiling for the money supply. All you require is ambition, planning, and execution, none of which are entitlements. But the first is usually the piece most difficult to acquire if not had. Get that, and a lot of problems are solved.
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@fauxlaw
Your going to have to cite that claim
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"  [Romans 3:23]

"As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;" [Romans 3:10]

That's some pretty essential reading, you sure you've read it in "four different languages"? Your verse is simply contradictory to mine, that's a problem with the book, or you are incorrect, because I could provide a couple more verses proving my point. You know what? I think I will.

"And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." [Mark 10:18] (Of course Jesus is being cheeky here, considering that he is god.)

"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." [Ecclesiastes 7:20]

But I wonder why your goal is so low when there is truly no ceiling for the money supply. All you require is ambition, planning, and execution, none of which are entitlements. But the first is usually the piece most difficult to acquire if not had. Get that, and a lot of problems are solved.
As for the 15 dollars an hour, 1/9 workers are being payed wages which leave them beneath the poverty line., this is simply a start, my hard claim isn't 15 dollars an hour. 

The wealth distribution in america, where the top 1% get 40% of the wealth and the bottom 25% don't see a quarter, this makes it hard for those with "ambition" to rise to the top. Not to mention, this is on a small scale individual basis for success, not an overall success for a nation of people


One more thing, as this is completely off topic from the topic itself, perhaps a debate or separate forum topic would work better for this conversation?

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@Theweakeredge
And you have just fallen into the trap into which I warned you people fall when they cherrypick a verse. You have to look at context. In the case of Romans 3: 23, you must read the follow-up in 24, 25, 26, at least, which stipulates that by the atonement of Christ, and man’s pursuit of redemption, they are justified, and can progress.
 
For Romans 3: 10, I give you the same resolution.
 
Mark 10: 18: You have just read through a number of potential sins man falls into, culminating with verse 13. Then, the resolution, from 14 onward: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the Kingdom of God.” We must become innocent, through recognition of Christ, and his atonement. We must repent, and be forgiven, such that we can, ultimately, achieve the challenge of perfection as given in Matthew 5: 48. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nowhere near perfect, but that is my goal.
 
Do not cherrypick verses. I once met a woman whose Bible seemed very thin for what I was used to. Looking through it, I noted many pages torn from it. Asking why that was so, she said, “I remove anything I don’t understand.” Nice method, I suppose, if your goal is to have only that which you understand, or agree to, but that not the purpose of the scriptures. We study until we understand. We do not treat it like a cafeteria.  Do not cherrypick, and you’ll find that it al actually has relevance
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Eh, Nah, I'd argue that, that is ultimately contradictory. If we could reach the level of Jesus, than Jesus wouldn't be very special would he? Nope. He is literally God, if we reached that level, wouldn't that mean he wasn't really a special god? 

Not to mention you completely dropped my second point and ignored my question.