From zero to 100...

...in 3 months!

Gotcha!

You thought this post would be about the performance of some Formula 1, say Mercedes, or Ferrari...

No, this is about how fast the US President Donald J. Trump has increased the numbers of COVID-19 fatalities in that country that would be acceptable as a victory at the time of upcoming elections.  He would, of course, deflate the numbers during any debates between him and the presumptive nominee of the Democrats, come this summer and fall.

Deflating the numbers! you ask. You remind me that he has always inflated the numbers or size, be it the crowd at his Inauguration in January, 2017, the number of women whose ******* he has grabbed, the size of his you-know-what, the length of the ”Wall”  he (check that – “He”, as He is the master of all He surveys!) has built between the United Mexican States and the United States of America, the “achievements” of His  administration in containing COVID-19 and on and on.

Yes, you are right, but you forgot He is the one who said He cannot be held responsible for what is happening in His country, no matter He is the chief executive. Recall that the chief executive of Volkswagen did not shy away from claiming that the buck stops at his desk in the aftermath of the “emissions scandal” involving cars of Audi and other brands; he just built on Truman’s truism, when he had to take the call on dropping the bombs on Japan.

But He suffers under no such convictions. He would “deflate” the numbers at the first opportunity it would of use to Him. He is the first and only truly Utilitarian President of the United States of America, when utility is very tightly circumscribed, for Him and only Him.

Ask Him about the size of the desk He uses in the Oval Office. He would spread his arms wide and claim it is so “Yuge!” Yet, Trump’s desk (supposedly called the “Resolute Desk”) is only so big, not really that big to accommodate the nearly 70,000 dead (bodies) from COVID-19 (as at the time of writing).

I think it was sometime in late January or early February, 2020 that Trump said the virus would magically fly off (I am reminded of the conjurer David Copperfield doing similar things) and the USA would be left with (wiping off tears!) zero fatality.

Now, to reality. It is biting; it is biting Him. And, He bites back – not at the virus but everyone else that is within reach of His teeth. Gone are so many from His cabinet, it is decidedly bereft of talent. Check that, it is bereft of people who have a habit of telling the truth. Tell me, have you seen or heard from Dr. Fauci on TV in recent times? No. What about Dr. Brix? Sidelined with a permanent smirk on her face when you do see her on TV.

In India, there was a time, and I am old enough to remember, when Indians were hankering for the Presidential type of governance (vis-a-vis the Parliamentary style). At that time, truth to be told, there was no Trump in the White House. So, the truism, a known devil is better than an unknown angel had no purchase.

But now, we have one, and it is Yuge! This one example that went from the Trump-claimed zero fatality to the now aspirationally claimed limit of hundred thousand (when it would go any higher, ask him – note that He has now come down from His lofty perch and has become a mere “him” – he would, as is his wont, spread his arms wide and say, “Don’t hold me responsible”.

Trump is as resolute as the desk he works at, The Resolute Desk, start riding the town in his Limousine 1, and  is about to begin his jaunts on Marine 1 and Air Force 1, and refuses to own any responsibility for anything.

So, beyond 100,000 fatalities, it is hands-off for Donald J. Trump. From zero to 100,000 is taxing enough.

Raghuram Ekambaram