1/x To people claiming #Election2020 will be Trump vs. Coronavirus ... it won't. A brief thread....
3/ 100,000 American deaths from #COVID19 would also be more than 15 9/11s. Just sayin'....
4/ And that 100,000 dead would not include an estimated 1 million survivors with permanent pulmonary lesions, per the current estimates.
In short: 100,000 Americans dead from #COVID19 would be an horrific - and avoidable! - human disaster.
In short: 100,000 Americans dead from #COVID19 would be an horrific - and avoidable! - human disaster.
5/ But it WOULD NOT doom #Trump's reelection chances.
First, the notion that most of those 100,000 dead would be Trump voters is both ugly and, current data say, false. This is not a 'Boomer Remover.' It kills young people too.
First, the notion that most of those 100,000 dead would be Trump voters is both ugly and, current data say, false. This is not a 'Boomer Remover.' It kills young people too.
6/ Given the disproportionately urban concentration of cases (because it spreads faster in dense populations) and the longstanding structural health care bias against POC, any small age-bias would likely be offset by other biases.
7/ So the net electoral split of those 100,000 dead would likely be negligible.
Plus, again, it's ugly to even think of 100,000 American dead that way.
And the political effect? Well....
Plus, again, it's ugly to even think of 100,000 American dead that way.
And the political effect? Well....
8/ Trump would argue that 100,000 Americans dead from #COVID19 is "not much worse than a seasonal flu." (In 2018-19, about 61,000 people died of seasonal flu.) "Many people say I handled this well," he'd claim. "It was nowhere near as bad as the hype."
9/ And with epidemiologists' projections as high as 3-6 million, 'merely' 100,000 American dead *would not be* "as bad as the hype."
Even though it would still be more than the rest of the world combined, based on current projections.
Even though it was avoidable.
Even though it would still be more than the rest of the world combined, based on current projections.
Even though it was avoidable.
10/ Some nitwit would Tweet that, with 'only' 100,000 dead, #COVID19 killed only 1/6th as many people as heart disease "but we don't ban Valentine's Day!"
Trump would retweet that absurdity ...
... and his supporters would read it as a meaningful rebuttal.
Trump would retweet that absurdity ...
... and his supporters would read it as a meaningful rebuttal.
11/ So no, #Election2020 WILL NOT be #Trump vs. #COVID19. He can easily spin away 100,000 dead, or 500,000 dead, or a million dead ...
... and his supporters will buy the spin.
... and his supporters will buy the spin.
12/ Given all that, #Election2020 will come down to Turnout vs. Suppression. Period.
Plan to vote. Plan to register voters. Plan to help others' vote.
That's the ONLY way we'll defeat #Trump.
Plan to vote. Plan to register voters. Plan to help others' vote.
That's the ONLY way we'll defeat #Trump.
13/ And in the meantime ...
... stay home, wash your hands, and wash any packages you receive.
End of Thread.
... stay home, wash your hands, and wash any packages you receive.
End of Thread.
Note: Yes, I oopsed. 100,000 American deaths from #COVID19 would be more than 30 9/11s. My apologies.
