Donald Trump's asinine behavior might just get all of us killed amid coronavirus outbreak

Donald Trump loves to pretend like he knows everything, but the problem with a pandemic like Coronavirus looming large over America is that there are real-life consequences to his actions. People will actually die because of the U.S. President's inability to speak sense. A prime example of that is Donald Trump questioning whether the Influenza vaccine could be used to combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) at a roundtable on the coronavirus outbreak, one that included his task force and several pharmaceutical company CEOs. "If you take a solid flu vaccine, you don't think that would have much of an impact on Corona?" asked Trump, to which someone bluntly replied, "No." Trump's complete lack of understanding of the situation was laid bare and this comes at a time the country has reported more than 100 cases of Coronavirus, including 9 deaths. 

Trump then told the press that a vaccine would be ready in a couple of months, which again was contradicted by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reported CNN. Dr. Fauci told Trump that the vaccine would take at least 18 months before it was ready to be made accessible to the public. Trump just wouldn't let it go and kept repeating the same. "I mean, I like the sound of a couple of months better, if I must be honest,” said Trump, according to Vox. Dr. Fauci would interrupt the President two more times during the press briefing to remind the President that a vaccine for Coronavirus would take more than a year, at the very least. 

The President was also guilty of trying to claim that the situation was under control despite the CDC warning America to brace for a Coronavirus outbreak. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "These are things that people need to start thinking about now. We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad," said Messonnier. Trump repeatedly announced to the media and at his rallies that "We've done a tremendous job." He also rated his own response to the coronavirus at an "A+++."

If that wasn't enough—Trump has also referred to the virus as Democrats' new hoax. "The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. They’re politicizing it. One of my people came up to me and said: ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.’ That did not work out too well. They could not do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. This is their new hoax,” said Donald Trump, according to The Guardian. Democratic 2020 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders hit out the President for his assessment of the situation, tweeting: Why does this president repeatedly think that scientific facts are hoaxes? This is the most dangerous president in the modern history of our country. He is putting our people’s lives at risk. 

The Coronavirus press briefings got embarrassing to the point that the White House forbade the media from taping video or audio. The press was only allowed to take pictures. It is embarrassing for a nation like the United States that a message on Coronavirus—which ideally should be made accessible in all formats to the people for their own safety—is being censored to protect the President's fragile ego. The White House also proceeded to put out a press release highlighting tweets that praised Trump's response to the Coronavirus. Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s ordered Pentagon officials to not take any measures, including urgent health decisions, that might contradict Trump's take on the Coronavirus. Esper asked the Pentagon to take Washington's permission prior to making any decision. General Abrams said, “he would try to give Mr. Esper advance warning, but he might have to make urgent health decisions before receiving final approval from Washington,” as per a report by The New York Times.

It's not entirely surprising given that Donald Trump doesn't exactly believe in science. Trump has always been a climate change denier and mocked global warming, citing unusually cold winters. He also argued that Al Gore should be stripped of his Nobel Prize because of the cold winter. Al Gore was rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his "efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change."

So for the love of all that is holy, and your own good, please DO NOT take advice from the President as he clearly has no idea what he's talking about. If you want any information on Coronavirus please lookup the CDC website. If you believe you have the symptoms of Coronavirus, please visit the local hospital.