What I wrote at the Washington Post: "What to do about a president who says he won’t be tested for the coronavirus?" There is an upside but it would not be appropriate to write about it.

"What to do about a president who says he won’t be tested for the coronavirus?"

There is an upside but it would not be appropriate to write about it.

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At this place everything is appropriate. The upside is Trump might have the coronavirus thing and it's going to kill him. That would be fun to watch.

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Washington Post - What to do about a president who says he won’t be tested for the coronavirus

By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
March 13, 2020

Publicly, President Trump says he will not be tested for the coronavirus, although last weekend he met with and took a picture standing next to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, who tested positive on Thursday. Trump also attended last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he came in contact with people who were exposed to a person who later tested positive. In short, we can’t know for sure whether or not the president is carrying the virus. If he is, he could potentially spread it to others, including people in high-risk categories (the elderly, which includes many senators, and those with compromised immune systems).

My colleague Philip Bump writes, “Given Trump’s demonstrated interest in limiting the number of proved cases and calming investors, it’s worth wondering whether avoiding a test is focused more on playing down the threat than ensuring Trump’s health.” Bump adds, “Again, there’s no indication that Trump has been exposed to the virus, just that he has been in contact with people who were in contact with someone who later tested positive for the illness. But Trump, like many others in government, is also in a high-risk group for the disease.”

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Moreover, by refusing (if we believe the denials) to get tested, he poses a possible threat to others and sends a powerful message contradicting health officials’ pleas for self-quarantine. He is, of course, in frequent contact with the vice president and Cabinet members. To be blunt, Trump is setting a horrendous example — yet another failure of leadership — but by also putting at risk others in the line of succession, he imperils the political stability of the United States.

What should other responsible adults do? I do not suggest this lightly, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is next in line after the vice president, should decline to meet in person with either Trump or Vice President Pence. It is not necessary that she make a public to-do about this, but she simply should talk by phone if needed. (It is far from clear how much contact she has with them anyway, so this might be no big deal.)

The Post reports, “President Trump plans to declare a national emergency this afternoon during a 3 p.m. news conference, according to a senior administration official.” After an Oval Office speech that was roundly criticized, Trump is struggling to recover. (“The administration has been taking increasingly aggressive steps to contain the outbreak after criticism that not enough is being done to address the public health threat facing the country,” The Post says.)

One step Trump could take as he tries to rescue his credibility would be to start modeling appropriate behavior. That would include getting tested and following whatever instructions doctors give to patients who have been exposed but are asymptomatic. (Several Republican congressmen and senators have self-quarantined.) So long as Trump continues to lie (e.g., claiming tests are available to everyone), blame others (the Obama administration!), fuel the disinformation loop whereby Fox News parrots his falsehoods (Disclosure: I am an MSNBC contributor) and act irresponsibly with regard to others, he will not succeed in stabilizing his presidency. This is one crisis he cannot manage by puffery and denial.

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The coronavirus thing is not a problem for me. Where I live (the middle of nowhere) it's virtually impossible for me to get sick from it, and I still have all my monthly income without having to work for any of it.

The coronavirus is thinning the herd and I'm OK with that.