White House Briefing 3-20
President Donald Trump, shown here at a March 20, 2020 briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, has acknowledged he withheld and misstated information on the public health threat because he didn't want to cause an economic panic.
A United Methodist Insight Column
Like many Christians on social media these past 24 hours, I harbor a bucketful of conflicting emotions about the announcement that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The activist in me, thinking of the now nearly 210,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19, wants to shout, “Aha! Karma!” Of course this is foolish, because
- we know how infectious coronavirus has proven;
- we know that President Truman and his staff have been slipshod at best about the hygiene practices the rest of us use to avoid coronavirus; and
- President Trump still travels frequently and attends indoor gatherings with large numbers of people, any of whom could be asymptomatic coronavirus carriers.
In other words, the president and first lady probably caught the coronavirus because of inadequate coronavirus hygiene, not from some spiritual retribution.
The political animal in me wants to doubt the truth of the announcement of the president’s coronavirus diagnosis, musing instead that this is actually the “October surprise” campaign strategy designed to gain sympathy for the candidate. Upon reflection, I find this, too, possible but improbable. From the first, President Trump has downplayed the severity of the illness, especially its highly infectious nature. I have to doubt that he and his advisers would risk losing supporters by such a flip-flop.
The Christian in me – and this is the hardest admission to make – struggles to pray for President and Mrs. Trump with the same compassion I have for others who suffer from the coronavirus. This is where the proverbial rubber hits disciples’ road: we’re commanded to pray for our enemies, and to forgive without limits just as God forgives us. Those teachings sound very commendable until we’re confronted with the reality of actually having to behave with such restraint.
Given what we now know about how President Trump downplayed the public health threat when first informed of the coronavirus, and how badly the public health response has been botched by his administration, I seethe with anger and frustration at the thought that more than 200,000 Americans have died because President Trump has acknowledged he withheld and misstated vital information. Jon Alsop reports in his The Media Today column for Columbia Journalism Review :
“Driving Misinformation: Researchers at Cornell University analyzed thirty-eight million English-language articles about the coronavirus and found that Trump has been the ‘single largest driver of misinformation’ about the pandemic. Mentions of Trump have made up nearly forty percent of the ‘misinformation conversation’ around COVID. Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Noah Weiland, of the Times, have a write-up.”
In fact, an article in the latest issue of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists uses a database from Johns Hopkins University to determine that half of the American deaths from COVID-19 could have been avoided had the Trump Administration instituted the same level of public health procedures enacted by Germany, Canada or Japan.
Think of it: some 100,000 Americans killed by COVID-19 would still be alive today had the political powers-that-be acknowledged the pandemic’s severity and took stringent measures to defend against it. (By the way, another article in same issue of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists cautions “Keep Your Mask On: Why a Coronavirus Vaccine Won’t Be the Panacea Many Hope For.”)
Nonetheless, I have joined in communal prayers for health of President and Mrs. Trump, along with everyone suffering from COVID-19. After all, President Trump’s age, 74, puts him at higher risk for COVID-19 complications because of the way the human immune system ages, according to an article on The Conversation. While Christians’ prayers may be inconsequential to the Trumps, we at least will have been faithful to our calling and will keep from besmirching our souls with ill-wishes against the president. As with so much else these days, we simply will have to live through this latest episode until we can determine what affect it will have on U.S. society.
Media Mentions as of Oct. 2, 2020
Faith leaders offer prayers as President Trump tests positive for COVID-19 – Religion News Service
Biden campaign labels racism as religious issue at post-debate event – Religion News Service
Most congregations are doing all right during COVID-19. But the future is uncertain. – Religion News Service
Spreading faith and disease – The New York Times *
*Paid subscription required.
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.