Virus humbles Trump

Saturday 3rd October, 2020

US President Donald Trump’s pertinacity knows no bounds. Having been ridiculed by President Barack Obama, he resolved to run for President. He made it to the White House as Obama’s successor. If Trump wants anything, he gets it. He made a determined effort to contract COVID-19. He refused to wear masks and made snide remarks about those who took precautions. He held rallies and his supporters gathered freely. He reopened the US economy amidst protests from healthcare experts who were worried about the staggering number of deaths. Cynics may say Trump has succeeded in his endeavour; he and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19 and are undergoing quarantine.

Most of the White House workers are believed to be infected as they followed their master and did not adopt preventive measures. It is doubtful whether anyone will go near Trump for a couple of weeks.

The COVID-19 infection could not have come at a worse time for President Trump, who is seeking a second term. The presidential election is only a few weeks away, and his opponent Joe Biden is leading in opinion polls. He has to do a lot of stumping. How he will manage to campaign remains to be seen. He may have to opt for virtual rallies.

Coronavirus can be considered a great leveller. It does not differentiate between the rich and the poor or the powerful and the powerless. It has not even spared the men who boast of having nuclear buttons on their desks and think no end of themselves. It has humbled the nations that used to cherish the delusion that only aliens could pose an existential threat to them. Now, a virus has brought them to their knees and sent their economies into a tailspin. It has also made them realise that their leaders and citizens are as vulnerable in the Global South.

The developed world is spending billions of dollars on space exploration; it is testing soil on Mars and stockpiling nuclear weapons capable of blowing this planet several times over. But no vaccine has yet been found to combat coronavirus effectively. What would have happened to Europe and the US if COVID-19 had been as destructive as Black Death?

Trump has proffered unsolicited advice on how to control COVID-19 and save lives. In April, he suggested that research be conducted into whether injecting disinfectants into the bodies of Covid-19 patients could help fight the virus. Luckily, nobody took his utterances seriously. His critics claim he also proposed irradiating patients’ bodies with UV light. He has come under fire from his opponents and the medical fraternity for these suggestions, which made him an object of ridicule the world over. If he is really convinced that the proposed remedies will work, he has now got an opportunity to prove his critics and doctors who took exception to his ‘expert opinion’ wrong; now that he has been infected, he can try those remedies to kill the virus. The White House must be having huge stocks of disinfectants.

Meanwhile, regrettably, Sri Lanka has lowered its guard. Sri Lankans seem to think the pandemic is over here. They are notorious for courting danger if how they drive or ride on roads is any indication. Trains and buses are overcrowded and eateries, theatres and cinemas are fully open. People follow the health guidelines perfunctorily. The health authorities are complacent and have stopped issuing warnings. The situation is ideal for the elusive virus to raise its head again, triggering a second wave of infections, which can be far worse than the first one. One can only hope that there will be no second wave of infections.