I’ve read hundreds of articles on this matter, trying to figure out what is so shocking about Trump being a liar.
(Library of Congress / Unsplash)
For the past four, maybe even five years (if you count the 2016 Election), we’ve all become accustomed to seeing ridiculous headlines on our screens, paired with soundbites of Donald Trump mumbling, with a possible additional roast by a CNN correspondent.
This got old, quickly, and soon I found that watching the news felt like I was watching reruns of episodes on a one-man sitcom that got canceled after one season. I get it. It’s the media’s job to report on everything happening around the world.
But consuming media nowadays feels like a strain on my mental and emotional wellbeing. It’s a constant repetitive cycle of consuming everything wrong with the world, except I’m consuming it in a hundred different ways from a hundred different people, and I have this sick feeling in my stomach because I already know all of the terrible things they’ll say about the condition of the world.
Last week, when I saw the headlines on President Trump’s coverup of the coronavirus, I was a little surprised to see that these huge media outlets were themselves surprised at his actions, at his thought process. A headline from Daily Beast reads “Bob Woodward Reveals New Tape of Trump’s Shocking COVID Comments”.
I’ve read hundreds of articles on this matter, trying to figure out what is so shocking about Trump being a liar.
If you haven’t been reading the news, which is completely understandable, here’s a breakdown on this specific lie Trump told. In the beginning, when terror surrounding COVID’s presence in the US began to percolate through the population, to viewers and citizens at the time, Trump made it clear that the virus wasn’t going to be bad at all. We had nothing to worry about.
Now, not trusting Donald Trump is like breathing to me.
It’s extremely instinctive and completely natural for me to not listen to our president. Not only that, but the way this virus had affected us on a global scale along with cold, hard scientific fact made it clear that this man had no idea what he was talking about.
The only thing that I’ve learned from this “shocking” incident is that Trump thinks America consists of peoples who would only ever listen to him and nothing else. And maybe that’s true for the part of America that voted for him. But most of us knew that he was lying, that he knew that he was lying, and that everything he said was just a testament to the fact that he isn’t equipped to see America through a pandemic.
The fact of the matter is, there are people who trusted Trump in his efforts to repress panic and incite calm. But experts say that this response is what powered the epidemic in America. Other citizens and leaders followed his attitude towards the virus, defying social distancing, wearing a mask, and testing.
I’m not shocked, but I am genuinely confused as to how Trump’s response could have lowered the number of coronavirus cases in the country, which is the ultimate goal.
When asked why he played it down Trump said he “didn’t want to create a panic”. Well thank you, Mr. President, these past six months have been the calmest six months we’ve collectively faced.
For now, I’ll try to avoid the news, fail, and then sit in my room in a ball of tears and yes, panic, waiting for our lives to begin again.
Anushka Dakshit is a Staff Writer at Rowdy Magazine. She likes to read, watch really long films, listen to old Bollywood, and listen to sad music when it rains. She wants to use her writing to discuss the nuances of womxnhood and culture and is passionate about social justice, femininity, and words that bring her catharsis. You can reach her at anushkadakshit@ufl.edu