There are all kinds of bad jobs in this world – septic tank digger, manure inspector, portable toilet cleaner – but surely none is worse than mopping up for a serial liar who deserves jail time for criminal negligence.
I was reminded of this today while watching one of Donald Trump’s minions, Dr. Stephen Hahn (pictured above). He helms the Food and Drug Administration serves on what’s left of the White House coronavirus task force, and on occasion he’s compelled to appear on national TV – faced with the delicate challenge of talking commonsensically about Covid without somehow confirming that his boss is a sociopath who’s getting people killed.
I have a scintilla of sympathy for Hahn. He probably stays in his post because he wants to help slow the Covid surge. But the monumental problem, of course, is that Trump continues to soil everyone within his orbit, leaving them no choice but to bob and weave in response to his latest verbal idiocy. Which, earlier today on CNN, is what Hahn felt compelled to do.
One particular idiocy flew from Trump’s mouth last night, during his demagogic remarks at the White House, where, as expected, he ranted about “Marxist” protesters and defended dead Confederates, in the hopes of distracting us from his abject surrender to the pandemic – the inescapable issue on which he will be judged in November. But because he can’t resist the urge to play doctor, he shared this gem of scientific wisdom:
“Ninety nine percent” of the Covid cases in America “are totally harmless.”
That I did not know. Because he concocted his stat out of thin air.
If the spread of this pandemic is going to be slowed to the point where we can reasonably live with it until a vaccine is available, it’s imperative that the people who drink Trump’s Kool-Aid finally take the virus seriously. But how can that ever happen if he’s conning them that “99 percent” of the cases are “totally harmless” – and sharing that fake news at super-spreader events where maskless Trumpists are sitting shoulder to shoulder?
The fatality rate of the virus is roughly five percent, so that alone exposes his dangerous lie. Plus, roughly 35 percent of the cases are asymptomatic, which means that these innocent carriers can spread the virus to others. Plus, roughly 20 percent of the cases require oxygen or hospitalization, and the British national health service says that 45 percent of the hospital cases will need ongoing medical care; indeed, the long-term impact of the virus, on many who have ostensibly recovered, is just now being studied.
Which brings us to poor Steve Hahn, the FDA commissioner. (I know, he doesn’t warrant sympathy. But it’s a dirty job and somebody has to do it.) On CNN, he ran into host Dana Bash’s buzzsaw:
Dr. Hahn, I think it’s really important to stick to the question about the ’99 percent’ that the president threw out there. I can tell you, it’s not true, and that’s obviously not my opinion. It is fact, based on the CDC estimates. A third of coronavirus cases are asymptomatic. The World Health Organization says about 20 percent of people diagnosed with coronavirus are sick enough to need oxygen or hospital care. And this is really important, probably one of the most important misclaims or, frankly, lies that the president has put out there, because it really affects people’s health. If they hear the president saying, ’99 percent of people are fine,’ they’re not going to change their behavior…How does that make you feel, as a member of his own task force?
Hahn fled the “99 percent” question at top speed:
I totally support the CDC and the information that they’re putting out with respect to this pandemic. I think it’s, again, really important, the guidelines that we have emphasized, the data that we have. Again, it’s a rapidly evolving situation, and we’re going to have more data. But we absolutely must take this seriously. We must institute these public health measures. We cannot back off from those. It’s critically important for Americans to follow those guidelines and to protect the most vulnerable.
So Bash tried again:
Dr. Hahn, I realize this is not easy for you. You are doing – working really hard to try to protect Americans. So, I just have to ask you flatly, to that end, to protect Americans, is the president wrong?
Hahn’s timorous response:
I’m not going to get into who is right and who is wrong.
Bingo! But hey, I get it. Hahn didn’t want to state the obvious – that Trump’s “99 percent” remark was a dangerous lie that makes his job harder – because he wants to keep the job and doesn’t want to be a pinata on Trump’s Twitter feed. We got the government we deserved in 2016, and now, with lives on the line, it’s too fearful to function.
Nevertheless, Bash tried one last time:
So you won’t say whether 99 percent of coronavirus cases are – quote – “completely harmless” is true or false, what the president said at the White House last night?
Alas, Hahn by this point was hunkered in the bunker, and he wasn’t coming out:
Dana, what I will say is that (the virus) is a serious problem. People need to take it seriously.
But, in fairness to Hahn, most Republicans are similarly loath to confront the orange elephant in the room. On NBC News yesterday, Andrea Mitchell posed this question to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson:
(Trump) not only is not wearing a face-covering in public, but he held these huge gatherings over the weekend – South Dakota and again in Washington D.C. – against local objections in Washington. What example is that?
Hutchinson’s response was a master class in filibustering:
Well, in terms of the gatherings themselves, you know a lot of them were canceled here in Arkansas, 4th of July celebrations, just trying to minimize that exposure. But when you look at a national level, I think it is good that we celebrate our independence. That’s a controlled environment, it was outside at Mount Rushmore. I think it inspired many. Obviously, I would like to have seen more face-coverings there in order to set an example. But you have to, what you have to do on this virus, and there is a virus fatigue in our country right now. And you have to live life, you can’t stop every activity, but you have to be in a controlled environment in which you do protect yourself and others and take it seriously. So there’s this balance of reflecting to America how serious this, and a big a fight that we’re in. But at the same time, let’s manage our way through this so that we can continue to live life even though we’re all very, very tired of this virus.
You’ll note, of course, that he never addressed the core question about Trump.
It’s unclear how many illnesses and deaths it will take before Republicans finally renounce the super-spreader. But rest assured that whether they do or not, they’ll be in the docket with him in November – and Lindsey Graham’s 2016 prediction may finally come true: “I think he is a wrecking ball for the future of the Republican party.”