The first “confirmed” death from COVID-19 in the U.S. was on February 29. Some 60 days later, the U.S. passed the grim milestone of 60,000 “confirmed” deaths on April 29. The Trump body count surpassed the 61,000 deaths by August 4 forecast by the model touted by the White House on April 9, with 61,717 … Read more
I have done political science empirical research for years that frequently involves examining polling data. In recent years I have observed this troubling fact: Americans are not as divided as frequently lamented by the media. There is, in fact, remarkable agreement among a large majority of Americans on most “divisive” issues. But in poll after … Read more
Update to Trump and his associates stand to profit from an unproven treatment he promotes for COVID-19. So it turns out that “Dr. Trump’s miracle cure” really is snake oil that is toxic to patients, and likely killed some patients before the Covid-19 did. The Associated Press reports, More deaths, no benefit from malaria drug … Read more
Peter Kafka in an interview with journalism critic Jay Rosen recently wrote at Vox, Trump’s denial of his coronavirus failings will be “one of the biggest propaganda battles in American history”: Americans don’t trust the government, and they don’t trust the media. That trend has been evident for years, but the Trump era has accelerated it. Now … Read more
Donald Trump cannot hold his Nuremberg-style MAGA cult rallies during the coronavirus pandemic when his own administration has issued social distancing guidelines to keep public gatherings to 10 people or less. But his campaign has found a work-around for his sycophant MAGA cult followers to hold their own campaign rallies in praise of “Dear Leader,” … Read more