Lying To Avoid Panic Brings About Many More Deaths

I always knew he felt very bad about this because he was always talking about it. My friend Freddy after having a beer or two would talk about the time when he was in his early twenties. His story went something like this: “We were over at Casey’s house – he lived on the third floor of a three-decker up on East Broadway – it was a one of those hot summer nights when you don’t even get a breeze off the water and everyone moves slowly – we were having a party in his apartment and it was really hopping – everyone in a good mood –  good songs on the record player – dancing, joking,  you know all that stuff. I was with Casey when Jeanie came over and said she was on the back deck and smelled smoke like it was coming up from downstairs. I said – I’ll check on it. I went down stairs and saw that on the back deck of the first floor a little fire had started – whoever lived there had thrown lit charcoal from his grill into a tin can and it had somehow ignited the side of the building. I knew Casey and Jeanie would be out on the deck looking down to see what it was.  I didn’t want them to panic or to break up the party so I shouted up to them it’s nothing – some left over charcoal – I can handle it –  and I waved them inside like this. I really thought I could handle it – really – I had no idea the fire was burning inside the walls – there was a hose nearby – it took  me a few minutes to get it and hook it up and bring it around. Well you know what happened – as I was spraying the wall putting the fire out it had already crept up unseen within the rafters and suddenly broke out trapping the people at the party – it was terrible seeing what happened.”

He would never go beyond the point of pouring the water from the hose on the fire – he’d never talk about the friends he knew who were badly burned and died because he tried not to cause a panic and didn’t want to break up the party. He didn’t have to. The fire and its effects were headline news for days to come.

On March 30 during the Trump mini-rally on the White House lawn he was asked by Jim Acosta of CNN “what do you say to Americans who are upset at you over the way you downplayed this crises the last couple of months.” Acosta then spelled out what Trump has been saying: “We have it very much under control in this country. The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. It’s going to disappear. I’t like a miracle. It will disappear. On March 4 we have a very small number of people in this country infected on  March 10 we’re prepared. We’re doing a great job. It will go away. Stay calm. It will go away.”

Trump answered, “it will go away. I want them to stay calm and we are doing a great job . . . stay calm, it will go away . . . the statements I made are – I want to keep the country calm – I don’t want panic in the country – I could cause panic much better than even you – I could cause panic that would make you look like a minor league player – because you know what I don’t want to do that – I want to have our country be calm, and strong and fight and win – it will go away . . . ”

Trump didn’t deny making the statements. Obviously he couldn’t. He justified them by saying he wanted people to be calm. He was like Freddy – he didn’t want a panic, he wanted the party to go on.

He lied. People believed him and did nothing to protect themselves. They relied on Trump’s lies and are now dying.

12 Comments

  1. It’s a President’s role both to inform and reassure. In “The Art of the Deal,” Trump speaks of his belief in the use of “truthful hyperbole.” He’s a huckster making a pitch. I’m sure he could pass a polygraph.

    • Brian:

      I remember as a young attorney talking to the lawyer who represented Mafia lieutenant Larry Baione who was charged by the Feds for receiving stolen property. He was caught cold handling the contraband. He took a polygraph test to show he had no knowledge the goods were stolen. He passed it. Fortunately, no one bought it least of all the jury. There are people who can convince themselves of anything so they believe their falsehoods, others are so emotionless that they just do not react like the rest of us when lying, or some who lie so much that being confronted with a lie doesn’t affect them.

  2. If Kraft and Baker can pull-off a million-mask caper in a few days, why can’t Trump and Kush get the goods to the people. The troops on the line will soon become the highest group of victims and we will be left without any protection. Someone must put an end to this national tragedy. This mad man should not be allowed to continue.

    The latest ploy looks like they are playing three-card Monte with vital supplies and allowing gross profiteering with the national treasure. I get it that it is a great challenge. It will become impossible if the lives of Americans are to be decided by the highest bidder. Bidding for goods that we already paid for.

    • Hutch:

      The admiral in charge admitted that we were bringing in supplies and giving them to private companies to distribute and that the states could bid for the supplies from the companies. He said they did it because the companies have the capability to distribute the goods effectively. I wonder why the admiral didn’t think the military could distribute them and cut out the profit making private companies?

  3. China lied not Trump. They caused the outbreak. An Italian doctor said 95% of the infections could have been avoided if the Chinese were forthcoming. Trump is saving lives with his actions. Thousands of hospital beds, masks and medicines. Why is California much less effected than NY? Is it the weather? Is it public transportation? Is it congestion? Too many people in a confined area? There are almost 400 thousand Chinese nationals in our colleges. What % of them went home after the 1st semester ended in December and came back in mid January. How many carried the virus with them? They may be the main source of the disease.

  4. William M. Connolly

    (1) The guy in your example didn’t lie: he was mistaken. You understand the difference.

    (2) You understand the difference between offering hope, FDR: “Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself”, Obama, “the seas will stop rising”; “you can keep your doctors” and lying?

    3. Up until March 10, everyone acted as if it were low risk. All the Colleges were open. No stores were shut down. All the Governors, with their Public Health Departments, staffed by physicians and scientists, were complacent. All the Presidents of all the Universities, with all their medical schools and scientists, had the same information the Trump Administration had. All the Presidents/Prime Ministers/Chancellors of Europe had the same information. They all believed it would subside without drastic measures.
    Says who. Says WHO, which did not declare a PANDEMIC until March 11, 2020.

    4. When the CDC on February 19, described the situation as “low risk” were they lying?

    5. Was NANCY PELOSI lying when on February 24 she called on everyone to congregate in Chinatown:
    “That’s what we’re trying to do today is to say everything is fine here,” Pelosi said. “Come because precautions have been taken. The city is on top of the situation.”

    6.. Was Mayor Bill Di Blasio lying when he said (on Twitter) on March 2, 2020: “Since I’m encouraging New Yorkers to go on with their lives + get out on the town despite coronovirus, I thought I would offer some suggestions” He then suggested three movies playing on March 5.

    7. Did Doctor Deborah Birx, (Trump’s appointed Top Medical Advisor, a world renowned public health expert who specializes in AIDs and Immunolgy) lie when she said that most doctors early on looked at coronavirus in Wuhan and its province, 80,000 cases among 40 million or 80 million people, and thought that it was more like SARS, a limited virus, rather than the pandemic it became. At the same conference, both Dr. Birx and Dr Faucia said they did not have the data to act otherwise from what they did. And throughout February up until about February 25, the CDC was saying “low risk.” Was everyone at CDC lying?

    8. Did all the journalists lie? Remember it wasn’t until the second Presidential Debate in February than any question was asked about Coronovirus, and a total of 4 minutes was given to it towards the end of the debate. (See reply post)

    9. Was the CDC lying on February 25 when it warned that Schools May Have to Close and There was a Shortage of Masks?

    10. Did Trump lie when he banned travel from China (Jan 31), limited it from Italy, banned it from Europe; Did HHS Secreatary Azar lie when he declared a national Public Health Emergency (Jan 31),. Did Trump lie when he established a Task Force, appointed Mike Pence to lead a task force, declared a National Emergency, invoked the Defense Protection Act, and throughout followed every suggestion of his health advisors?

    11.SOME NEWS ORGANIZATION WILL PUBLISH AN ACCURATE TIMELINE OF TRUMP’S ADMINISTRATIONS TIMELY ACTIONS and compare them to the actions of every country in Europe and every Governor and every mayor and the Presidents and Provosts of every University, etcetera.

    12. But I ask you and I ask the Boston Globe, what did you recommend on FEB 29, 2020, when the United States had 24 cases of Coronavirus and 1 (one) death?

    • William M. Connolly

      Here the exact questions from the February 25 Presidential Debate (four minutes devoted to Coronavirus: that’s how concerned the journalists were.) Gayle King: (04:58) (4:58 of Part III; Part III began about 9:30 P.M., the debate at 8;00 P.M.)

      Gayle King: (04:58)“As we were coming over today, there was breaking news from the CDC about the coronavirus. So far, there have been 2,700 deaths globally, and so far in this country there have been no deaths, but the CDC says this: “It’s not a matter of if the virus will spread here, but when.” The question to you is this: would you close the borders to Americans who have been exposed to the coronavirus in order to prevent an outbreak here in this country? :
      Norah O’Donnell: (06:48)
      Senator, thank you. Mr. Vice President, we reached a turning point today, with the CDC warning schools that they must prepare, that they might have to close. Members of the Trump administration saying we don’t have enough medical masks if necessary. What would you do?
      Then at 9:06, She switches to a new topic.

    • Trump lied. Face it. If.people followed his lies don’t blame them, blame him.

      • william m. connolly

        Did he lie today when he said “it will be over” and “everything will be beautiful”?

        Matt, as I said before, I simply don’t agree with your definition of a lie. Did Pelosi and Di Blasio lie? Did the CDC lie on FEB 19 when they described the risk as “low”?

        Who lied: John Hopkins when it predicted two million deaths or the epidemiologist from Washington State who predicted 81,000 or Doctor Birx who said in January she and many scientists thought it would be like SARS (774 deaths worldwide) or the Boston Globe that said on February 29, masks don’t protect you and no one knows whether this virus will be mild and effect very few, or only small parts of the country, or disastrously overpack the morgues?

        • William:

          We all know it will be over some day. Trump lied because early in January he received information spelling out the dangers of the virus but he kept telling lies up into March about it. Why we arguing about this. He admitted it. He said he did it so as not to cause a panic. The question is not whether he lied is past. Or, do you suggest he was lying when he admitted he lied?

  5. wa-llahi! How many have to die to make Americans understand that Glorious Leader has to go? He must be relieved of the burden of governance, not in November, but, right now. His mean spirited incompetence is killing people. The boot-lickers that surround him must go, also. It’s difficult to countenance the possibility that he might coast to electoral victory on the strength of the moron vote. Remember, half the folks in the country are of sub-normal intelligence. Trump is a two-digit IQ president who attracts imbeciles like shit does flies.

    • William M. Connolly

      Khalid: 50-60% of Americans think he’s doing a good job managing the Coronavirus Crisis, despite the constant negative MSM commentary.
      On an earlier point you made: I’ll share this:

      Pew Research, a 2009 survey of 2,533 scientists from AAAS, the world’s largest general science organization, ideological self-rating: 52% liberal, 35% moderate, 8% conservative. Inherent biases, even among scientists. In Academia, it’s worse, and as you said, among the liberal arts (social sciences, history, political science), far worse…

      In contrast: Gallup 2010 (general population): 2010. Gallup finds 42% of Americans describing themselves as either very conservative or conservative. This is up slightly from the 40% seen for all of 2009 and contrasts with the 20% calling themselves liberal or very liberal.
      Today, “Polling data from 2019 show that America is “center-right” politically, with 37% describing themselves as “conservative,” 35% saying they are “moderate,” and only 24% stating they are “liberal.”.