Of Ego, Denial, and Selfishness

President Trump’s weekend SUV drive-by, and his hurry to get back out on the infection, er, campaign trail are just the latest episodes of recklessness, starring a man whose fragile ego cannot bear the spectacle of sickness, which it equates with weakness. In an effort to present strength, he endangered himself and the others in the vehicle, who now must leave their families and quarantine for fourteen days. Unaffiliated infectious disease experts at Walter Reed deemed the hermetically sealed car the riskiest environment this side of an invasive medical procedure. It is just another example of the carelessness he regularly displays. For his security detail, whose health is jeopardized, it’s an act of selfishness. For the country, it is just another Sunday in this epic disaster. The selfishness of the unbridled id, combined with the insecurity of the insatiable ego, have left us here.

I know what it is to be deathly ill. I would not wish that on anyone. Ask anybody who has knocked on death’s door. They wouldn’t wish grave illness on anyone, including their in-laws. Sadly, this episode was inevitable. Spinning the CDC‘s recommendations, and flaunting a mask-less and distance-less intimacy, could only end in mass-infection. The CDC has, until this sad spectacle, been the world’s gold-standard in handling infectious disease. It’s not just another casualty of the Trump ego, or just another diminishment of the US in the world’s eye, The CDC, whose sound medical recommendations he has blocked and spun for political advantage, could and should be saving lives—it should not be relegated to the back bench.

On Sunday, his doctor, a Naval officer who must obey his Commander-in-Chief, appeared in front of Walter Reed Medical Center with a phalanx of other white-coats. Political theatre intended to be a show of medical confidence and strength was laughable for its evasion and lack of specificity. Now, his insecurity has turned medical doctors into spin doctors. Compromising trust in the unbiased nature and competence of our top doctors is not an effective pandemic solution.

Even now, when the president could be serving as an example to the rest of us, he chooses to play the tough guy. There is no transparency or even any real attempt at honesty. We have no idea when he was infected, or how many people he may have infected. There is no current effort at contact tracing by an administration that won’t even follow its own rules.

We have seen this before. Woodrow Wilson’s final fifteen months in office were executed by his wife who kept him under wraps from 1919 until the end of his presidency in 1921 after a debilitating stroke. It is likely that Nancy Reagan executed many of the decisions of the Office of the President when Ronald Reagan’s dementia became too big for her to ignore, but not big enough, from her perspective, to share with the country.

And most famously, FDR was much more incapacitated than his public ever knew. The victim of a previous epidemic—polio—he was, for all intents and purposes, a paraplegic. In those days, the Washington press corps played along and kept presidents’ personal secrets.

These are not those days. The advent of television forced some amount of honesty, and a great deal of spin, on our leaders. The advent of social media has given new meaning to the phrase, “the shot heard round the world. “ In this time, there is no place to hide.

Somewhere, the peoples’ right to know intersects with a very public leader’s right to privacy. Fundamental to this discussion, is the fact that this president in particular, lies. He lies when he doesn’t have to. He lies as naturally as you and I breathe. He has lied so routinely and so often that now, when truth-telling would help the nation make sense of a crisis, he remains unwilling, or, more likely, unable, to speak the truth.

We should never be surprised by stage-managed shows of strength. Whether it’s Putin pulling off his shirt and riding a giant palomino bareback, or Kim Jong-un displaying his missile might, it’s always a sign of the worst in autocratic leaders.

Let us wish the president, the first lady and all of those who have been recklessly infected—be they willing accomplices, well-intentioned pols and citizens caught in the sweep of history, or the sycophantic followers whose need to curry favor with the boss is almost as great as his need for loyalty at any price—a speedy and full recovery. As I write this, the number of White House employees with Covid-19 stands at an eye-popping 35.

A legitimate election that removes all doubt and not coincidentally, removes this president from office, is just the tonic this sick country needs.