The Patriot Post® · Trump Extends Guidelines

President Trump met for hours over the weekend with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and the rest of the great team he assembled on the Coronavirus Task Force. After reviewing new data, it became clear that his aspirational goal of having the country back in business on Easter weekend had to be adjusted.

So, the president extended the period of social distancing through the month of April. He repeated that he will regularly review data and make adjustments as appropriate.

Predictably, the same media that attacked him for even suggesting the aspirational Easter goal attacked him for changing his mind. The media that has attacked him for not locking down the country attacked him because he suggested he might quarantine New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to stop people from spreading the virus.

The only fact you can rely on is that the media will attack any decision Trump makes, hoping that the virus and this economic crisis will prevent him from continuing to lead us and prevent him from stopping the leftist agenda that was being forced on us.

Here’s what you need to know: Contrary to the media’s hysteria, President Trump is not ignoring the advice of medical experts. He’s listening to them and acting on their recommendations.

But he’s also not going to ignore his impulse to want the best for America. That’s the kind of president we need right now, not a Jimmy Carter lecturing us about our “malaise.”

Reassuring Our Children

There was a beautiful moment during Friday afternoon’s press briefing when Trump was asked what parents should say to their children who are confused by the sudden changes to their daily routine. Here’s what the president said:

I would say that you are a citizen of the greatest country anywhere in the world. And we were attacked like nothing that’s happened possibly since 1917… And we’re winning the battle and we’re going to win the war…

And I would say that they have a duty to sit back, watch, behave, wash their hands, stay in the apartment with mom and dad … and just learn from it… But again, they should just sit back and be very proud of our country, because we’re doing it for them.

The president expressed similar sentiments during his send-off Saturday afternoon for the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which is now docked in New York City. Trump said this:

The battle in which we’re now engaged has inflicted many hardships on our nation and our families… But through it all, the world has witnessed the unyielding resolve of our incredible American people. We are not only a country of vast resources; we’re a nation of colossal strength, towering spirit, soaring patriotism, and exceptional character. And you’re showing it to the entire world…

We are one family, bound together by love and loyalty — the eternal traits so perfectly embodied by the extraordinary men and women aboard this ship… With the courage of our doctors and nurses, with the skill of our scientists and innovators, with the determination of the American people, and with the grace of God, we will win this war…

Facts vs. Models

When all of this started, “experts” in Great Britain and here in the U.S. were predicting that as many as 2.2 million Americans might be killed by the coronavirus. Many of us were very skeptical of that figure and wondered whether it was helpful to panic people with “gloom and doom” predictions. Those who raised doubts were roundly attacked by the media and left, which seem to crave bad news.

This weekend, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he thinks it is possible that 100,000 to 200,000 Americans will succumb to this virus. Even that, however, is based on modeling, and Dr. Fauci added:

There are things called models, and when someone creates a model, they put in various assumptions. And the model is only as good and as accurate as your assumptions… I’ve never seen a model of the diseases that I’ve dealt with where the worst-case scenario actually came out. They always overshoot.

Yet, as tragic and heartbreaking as the new figures are, they are a fraction of what we were being told just a few weeks ago. But of course the media has now completely forgotten the 2.2 million figure and is citing the 200,000 figure as evidence of the failure of the Trump administration. And, again just for perspective, the 2017-2018 flu season killed 60,000 people.

Clinton’s Carping

Hillary Clinton is taking a lot of heat for what I guess she thought was a really funny tweet. Friday afternoon, Clinton tweeted a New York Times headlines declaring that the U.S. leads the world in coronavirus cases and proceeded to mock Trump’s promise to make “America First.”

Hillary’s disgusting attack is so typical of the left. This president wants to make America great, but the left is so eager to tear us down. Yet again, some on the left are standing on corpses of fellow Americans in order to get a better shot at Trump.

Will somebody who loves her please tell Hillary to stop it now?! Does she have any idea how it looks as she pours out this bile in the middle of a national emergency?

Here’s what you need to understand: As the world’s third-most-populous country, we’re going to be in the top of many categories due to our sheer size and the openness of our society.

For example, what are the most populous nations ahead of us? China and India. China’s coronavirus figures are bogus. No one trusts them. The same Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that lied to its own people is lying to the rest of the world. And as far as I know, Hillary has never attacked the CCP.

The same goes for Russia, Cuba, and North Korea. But no one is suggesting that we adopt the North Korean model. As for India, there are vast rural areas that will never be accurately tested and tracked.

Meanwhile, we have dramatically ramped up testing and we’re freely reporting our results. It was announced at Sunday’s White House press briefing that nearly 900,000 COVID-19 tests have been completed, which we told you weeks ago would result in dramatic increases in reported cases and dramatic headlines.

Bum of the Week

Every day I am struck by the number of heroes who are stepping up: People helping those who are sick, Samaritan’s Purse sending hospital supplies to New York, the doctors, nurses, and first responders who are treating a surge of patients.

And then there are the bums. Let me nominate the bum of the week: billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman. He went on CNBC recently and ranted like a maniac for nearly 30 minutes, screaming, “Hell is coming!” As he spoke, the market dropped hundreds of points.

It has now come out that he made $2.6 billion by shorting stocks, betting that stocks you don’t own will drop in price. So Ackman got richer the further the market dropped, and went on CNBC and did everything he could to make sure it fell even further.

I hope CNBC thinks twice about allowing Ackman on again.