J’accuse Donald Trump!
J’accuse Donald Trump de COVID négligence!
The House has passed an article of impeachment and the Senate voted 55–45 to go ahead with impeaching Donald Trump for an insurrection during which 6 people died. And rightly so, in my opinion. This was a terrible crime striking at the heart of democracy. Yet his actions and inactions concerning the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in far more deaths. It’s impossible to know how many would have died whatever he did, but he must responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, particularly if you count those who continued to die after he left office because the pandemic was so rampant — more Americans than died in World War Two. One study last October put it at 130,000–210,000 avoidable Covid-19 deaths. Just compare the death rates for each country. By the time Trump left office, the U.S. had exceeded 400,000 coronavirus deaths and 24 million COVID-19 cases.
I’ve written a series of articles describing a representative sample of his failings from the day news of a novel virus emerged to the day he left office:
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 1: He was warned
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 2: He downplayed the situation
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 3: He took no responsibility
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 4: Reopen the states, however many it kills
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 5: Maybe I’m immune
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 6: We’ll have a vaccine by election day. Riiight.
- Trump’s lethal failure to face the COVID pandemic. Part 7: A superspreader coup attempt
As you listen to the arguments in Senate, including by those who actually aided and abetted him and so should not be jurors at his trial, keep in mind that this is a man who does not care a jot for others. He does not care what damage he does, and nor do those who vote to acquit. He may have failed to retain his presidency through a coup, but if he is acquitted he will have succeeded in a coup against democracy and got away with all his largest crimes.