SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Donald Trump turns around to greet supporters after speaking at a campaign event at Xtreme Manufacturing on September 13, 2020 in Henderson, Nevada. Trump's visit comes after Nevada Republicans blamed Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak for blocking other events he had planned in the state. (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
How Should America Respond When Its President Commits Negligent Homicide?
Holding giant rallies, as he did over the weekend, will lead to increased infection spreads and more deaths. There will be other Herman Cain’s who will die in a few months because of what Trump is doing right now.
Sep 14, 2020
Bob Woodward interviewed Donald Trump back in January and February and now tells us that, way back then, Trump realized that the coronavirus was not only quite deadly and would infect even children, but also was airborne and highly contagious.
Right now it's fashionable to attack Bob Woodward for having sat on all that information, and debate whether he had a "duty to warn."
It's a reasonable discussion, but it misses the larger picture.
"Trump didn't just ignore what he knew about this virus, he actively lied about it to the American people. And he continues to lie about it to this day."
If Donald Trump knew how deadly Covid was, Bob Woodward could not have been the only person he told. Everybody in the Cabinet, the Vice President, the Health and Human Services Secretary, and pretty much everybody working around him in the White House had to have known.
He even put Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus task force back then. They all knew.
So rather than asking why Woodward didn't tell us, shouldn't we be asking why our government officials, who are paid to keep America safe, also didn't tell us or do anything about it?
We talk a lot about the "Trump Crime Family" but his entire Cabinet knew how bad this was last winter, too. Not only are Trump and his kids grifters and liars, but he put together an entire cabinet of grifters and liars.
In fact, it went beyond that. Senators Kelly Loeffler and Richard Burr, both Republicans, dumped stock after getting briefed about this knowledge.
A physician and professor at George Washington University has suggested that Donald Trump is guilty, at the least, of "negligent homicide." And certainly this is criminal political behavior.
Trump didn't just ignore what he knew about this virus, he actively lied about it to the American people. And he continues to lie about it to this day.
Holding giant rallies, as he did over the weekend, will lead to increased infection spreads and more deaths. There will be other Herman Cain's who will die in a few months because of what Trump is doing right now.
Other countries that took testing and contact tracing seriously are now able to return to something that resembles normalcy. Taiwan, for example, has not had a case of local transmission since April. Nobody is dying there.
"The inaction and lies from Trump and those around him in the White House have lead to nearly a quarter-million dead Americans, more than in every war and conflict since 1945 combined."
We here in the United States are almost a year behind them, with our economy reduced to rubble, all because Donald Trump didn't want to "panic" the stock market.
The inaction and lies from Trump and those around him in the White House have lead to nearly a quarter-million dead Americans, more than in every war and conflict since 1945 combined.
Virtually all these deaths can be laid at the feet of those people in the White House and their leader, Donald Trump, who lied or remain silent.
How should America respond to leadership whose knowing, intentional lies and actions killed more Americans then "the enemy" in North Korea, North Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan over a 70 year period?
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream" (2020); "The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America" (2019); and more than 25 other books in print.
Bob Woodward interviewed Donald Trump back in January and February and now tells us that, way back then, Trump realized that the coronavirus was not only quite deadly and would infect even children, but also was airborne and highly contagious.
Right now it's fashionable to attack Bob Woodward for having sat on all that information, and debate whether he had a "duty to warn."
It's a reasonable discussion, but it misses the larger picture.
"Trump didn't just ignore what he knew about this virus, he actively lied about it to the American people. And he continues to lie about it to this day."
If Donald Trump knew how deadly Covid was, Bob Woodward could not have been the only person he told. Everybody in the Cabinet, the Vice President, the Health and Human Services Secretary, and pretty much everybody working around him in the White House had to have known.
He even put Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus task force back then. They all knew.
So rather than asking why Woodward didn't tell us, shouldn't we be asking why our government officials, who are paid to keep America safe, also didn't tell us or do anything about it?
We talk a lot about the "Trump Crime Family" but his entire Cabinet knew how bad this was last winter, too. Not only are Trump and his kids grifters and liars, but he put together an entire cabinet of grifters and liars.
In fact, it went beyond that. Senators Kelly Loeffler and Richard Burr, both Republicans, dumped stock after getting briefed about this knowledge.
A physician and professor at George Washington University has suggested that Donald Trump is guilty, at the least, of "negligent homicide." And certainly this is criminal political behavior.
Trump didn't just ignore what he knew about this virus, he actively lied about it to the American people. And he continues to lie about it to this day.
Holding giant rallies, as he did over the weekend, will lead to increased infection spreads and more deaths. There will be other Herman Cain's who will die in a few months because of what Trump is doing right now.
Other countries that took testing and contact tracing seriously are now able to return to something that resembles normalcy. Taiwan, for example, has not had a case of local transmission since April. Nobody is dying there.
"The inaction and lies from Trump and those around him in the White House have lead to nearly a quarter-million dead Americans, more than in every war and conflict since 1945 combined."
We here in the United States are almost a year behind them, with our economy reduced to rubble, all because Donald Trump didn't want to "panic" the stock market.
The inaction and lies from Trump and those around him in the White House have lead to nearly a quarter-million dead Americans, more than in every war and conflict since 1945 combined.
Virtually all these deaths can be laid at the feet of those people in the White House and their leader, Donald Trump, who lied or remain silent.
How should America respond to leadership whose knowing, intentional lies and actions killed more Americans then "the enemy" in North Korea, North Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan over a 70 year period?
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream" (2020); "The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America" (2019); and more than 25 other books in print.
Bob Woodward interviewed Donald Trump back in January and February and now tells us that, way back then, Trump realized that the coronavirus was not only quite deadly and would infect even children, but also was airborne and highly contagious.
Right now it's fashionable to attack Bob Woodward for having sat on all that information, and debate whether he had a "duty to warn."
It's a reasonable discussion, but it misses the larger picture.
"Trump didn't just ignore what he knew about this virus, he actively lied about it to the American people. And he continues to lie about it to this day."
If Donald Trump knew how deadly Covid was, Bob Woodward could not have been the only person he told. Everybody in the Cabinet, the Vice President, the Health and Human Services Secretary, and pretty much everybody working around him in the White House had to have known.
He even put Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus task force back then. They all knew.
So rather than asking why Woodward didn't tell us, shouldn't we be asking why our government officials, who are paid to keep America safe, also didn't tell us or do anything about it?
We talk a lot about the "Trump Crime Family" but his entire Cabinet knew how bad this was last winter, too. Not only are Trump and his kids grifters and liars, but he put together an entire cabinet of grifters and liars.
In fact, it went beyond that. Senators Kelly Loeffler and Richard Burr, both Republicans, dumped stock after getting briefed about this knowledge.
A physician and professor at George Washington University has suggested that Donald Trump is guilty, at the least, of "negligent homicide." And certainly this is criminal political behavior.
Trump didn't just ignore what he knew about this virus, he actively lied about it to the American people. And he continues to lie about it to this day.
Holding giant rallies, as he did over the weekend, will lead to increased infection spreads and more deaths. There will be other Herman Cain's who will die in a few months because of what Trump is doing right now.
Other countries that took testing and contact tracing seriously are now able to return to something that resembles normalcy. Taiwan, for example, has not had a case of local transmission since April. Nobody is dying there.
"The inaction and lies from Trump and those around him in the White House have lead to nearly a quarter-million dead Americans, more than in every war and conflict since 1945 combined."
We here in the United States are almost a year behind them, with our economy reduced to rubble, all because Donald Trump didn't want to "panic" the stock market.
The inaction and lies from Trump and those around him in the White House have lead to nearly a quarter-million dead Americans, more than in every war and conflict since 1945 combined.
Virtually all these deaths can be laid at the feet of those people in the White House and their leader, Donald Trump, who lied or remain silent.
How should America respond to leadership whose knowing, intentional lies and actions killed more Americans then "the enemy" in North Korea, North Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan over a 70 year period?
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.