But bear with us and consider for a moment a special condemnation of Trump’s Chief Economic Advisor, Larry Kudlow.
You see, we have very low tolerance for people who screw up time and time again, yet always seem to float to the top.
So Kudlow’s pronouncement as the U.S. recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases ever is particularly infuriating. That:
“Some places might’ve been overexuberant.”
Because no one’s been more “overexuberant” than Kudlow himself. It was he who said in February/March Cornavirus was under control:
And more recently:
“We know how to deal with this stuff now, we’ve come a long way since last winter and there is no second wave coming.”
So now he has the gall to shift the blame and chide others for being wrong?!
And it’s not just a cute thing to say with a little air of arrogance and self-righteousness. (Although it does fit with the President’s narrative of merely “putting out embers” now). It’s a life and death thing.
So why’s Kudlow still around? Easy. Maybe because the President constantly pulls the same garbage himself. Like when Trump tells Fox “I’m all for masks” and gets screaming headlines about his “change of tone” even though he did not change his tone, saying at the same time:
“If people feel good about it they should do it.”
In which he’s pretty clearly referring to a group of people who do not include himself. So, exactly the same as what he’s been saying all along. Trump saying he’d have “no problem” wearing one:
“If I were in a tight situation with people.”
So only in a situation he’s not likely to ever personally be in. Which is not even the point. The point is the President maybe ought to consider setting an example.
Especially as even the Governor of Texas has now just mandated the use of face masks. (That same governor, Greg Abbott, had previously prevented mayors and other local officials from mandating masks in their cities and towns, and also sued to prevent Texans under the age of 65 from being able to use COVID-19 as an excuse for getting an absentee ballot. And anyone over the age of 65 in Texas can get an absentee ballot anyway. He’s also been trying to get the Supreme Court to overturn Obamacare in the middle of all this.)
Especially since there are still no vaccines nor standard, effective treatments for COVID-19. So masks are pretty much still all we got.
Anyway, the President’s chief economic advisor is not even an economist. Kudlow’s specialty is public relations. He made a career for himself out of cheerleading for Wall Street: exhorting people to buy stocks, and politicians to cut taxes.
And now Trump’s got him. Yet another equivocator and deflector of responsibility for anything. And parroting whatever the President’s saying is not a bad way to keep your job under this President. But what service does it really provide the American people? Also, when you’re not responsible for anything you don’t have to do anything about anything. That includes working to correct your mistakes, since you’ve made none in your eyes. Except we guess at least in this case, you can still make little quips that transfer your own utter incompetence onto those who might’ve had the temerity to follow what you and your boss were noisily advocating. They, like Texas Governor Abbott might not be entirely guilt-free themselves right now, far from it, but are struggling on the front lines.
Kudlow meanwhile gave them a slap on the back and sent them into the fray, invoking the President’s wishes as he did. And now he continues his happy talk, while hanging resolutely back.