Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Follow us:

THIS ISN’T A PAYWALL

Common Dreams will never be locked behind a paywall because we believe our journalism should remain freely available to everyone ― not just those who can afford to pay. By becoming a sustaining monthly donor today, you can help make sure our work remains free for those who aren't able to chip in.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

US President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo: Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  (Photo: Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images) 

Is the Trump Death Cult Growing or Shrinking?

Will Americans who have fallen sway to this cult begin to wake up, or will the Trump cultists be able, using Facebook and lies on Fox News and the media, to get even more Americans into their cult?

Thom Hartmann

Donald Trump just guaranteed more Americans will die. 
 
Trump has been saying for some time that he wishes there was less testing for coronavirus in America, because that would reduce the number of cases that we find, which would improve, in his mind, his numbers compared to other countries.
 
So yesterday the Centers for Disease Control, under pressure from the White House, revised their guidelines to say that you should only be tested if you were physically sick. They made the decision while Anthony Fauci was unconscious under general anesthesia having minor surgery on his throat.
 
This decision will make it harder for people to get coronavirus tests, and will make it very difficult for people who are not hospitalized to have their insurance companies pay for those tests.
 
This is crazy. Half of people who get this disease and more than half of young people who get it, don’t have symptoms but are still wildly infectious. 
 
Apparently Trump is betting that the massive spread of disease from this policy won’t happen until after the election, as there is a 1- to 2-month delay between initial infection and hospitalization and death.
 
Maybe he’s thinking that he can leave all these dead people to Joe Biden. Or maybe he just doesn’t care as long as it makes things seem better over the next month or two and thus wins him the election, which is the most likely explanation.
 
This administration has politicized everything from policing to national security to public health, and Americans are dying, both here and overseas, as a result.
 
To describe the modern Republican Party as a “death cult“ is pretty accurate.
 
Whether it is tearing children from their families and letting many of them die or be sold, promoting policies that caused nearly 200,000 Americans to die from this virus, or encouraging deadly violence against people protesting racism, Trump and the GOP are all in on brutality, violence and death.
 
They even had serious conversations in Cabinet meetings about installing "flesh piercing" spikes on the border wall, using a "microwave heat ray" against people seeking asylum in the United States, and building moats with alligators while shooting migrants in the legs for the TV cameras.
 
The question now is, "Will Americans who have fallen sway to this cult begin to wake up, or will the Trump cultists be able, using Facebook and lies on Fox News and the media, to get even more Americans into their cult?"
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Thom Hartmann
Comments

We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Latest News

See all
Sens. Ron Johnson and Rick Scott walk to a hearing

On Social Security's 87th Birthday, Progressives Warn GOP Wants to 'Take a Chainsaw to It'

"We need to pass Social Security 2100 to protect and expand this vital service," said the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Jake Johnson ·

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) speaks and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) listens during a press conference in Washington, D.C. on December 9, 2021.

House Democrats Request 'Damage Assessment' Following Recovery of Classified Docs

"Former President Trump's conduct has potentially put our national security at grave risk," Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Adam Schiff wrote to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Kenny Stancil ·

Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on August 10, 2022 in New York City.

Violent Threats Against FBI Soar as Trump Lies About Mar-a-Lago Search

Menacing messages posted online "include a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters" and "general calls for 'civil war' and 'armed rebellion,'" officials warned.

Kenny Stancil ·

make_billionaires_pay

'Biggest Win for Tax Fairness' in Decades: Progressives Cheer Reforms in IRA, Demand More

"While this bill establishes desperately needed changes to our tax laws and IRS funding, it is still a far cry from the systemic changes that we need in our society to rectify the hold the rich still have on every level of our economy."

Kenny Stancil ·

April Verrett, president of Service Employees International Union Local 2015 (center), and supporters attend a rally to urge Congress to protect Medicaid and invest in home care on May 5, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

'Care Can't Wait': IRA a Good Start, Progressives Say, But More Is Needed

"Americans deserve a full loaf of bread," said health justice advocate Ady Barkan.

Kenny Stancil ·

Common Dreams Logo

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.