"It Is What It Is"

I will not mince words here. I have absolutely no pity for what Trump is going through. He brought it on himself. Please spare me with all the phony "thoughts and prayers" drivel. This wasn't Reagan being shot by John Hinkley, Jr. This was Barney Fife shooting himself in the foot with his own gun.

For the last eight months, this president has refused to take the Coronavirus seriously. First he compared it to the flu, even though he knew it was far worse. Then he insisted it would "magically disappear" once it got warmer, even though his own officials told him the opposite. Instead of harnessing the full resources of the federal government to combat the pandemic, he picked fights with Democratic governors, blamed China and the WHO and attempted to muzzle scientists within his own administration who were pleading with the public to take proper safety precautions.

And now many parts of the country are entering what experts fear is a second wave, and as recently as this week's debate, in what was one of the lowest points in American presidential politics, Trump was mocking Joe Biden for wearing a mask in public. He might very well have infected Biden at that debate. To paraphrase Marie Antoinette, let him inject bleach.

This man knew his personal assistant Hope Hicks was sick Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, the White House was made aware that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and still he went to two different campaign events, exposing dozens to the virus. Just last weekend, Trump held a Rose Garden event to announce his Supreme Court nominee. Virtually none of the attendees were wearing masks. Now some of those people have tested positive.

For a president who was desperately trying to change the subject away from the worst pandemic to hit the United States in over a century, and who did everything humanly possible to undermine those who took it seriously, Karma finally caught up with him. If there was ever any doubt in your mind that this virus doesn't give a shit who you are, Trump removed it completely.

So how does this change the trajectory of the race? In a word, it doesn't. Prior to yesterday, the Coronavirus was the number one issue on voters minds. It still will be, especially now that Kal El has met his Kryptonite. If anything, the more cautious and responsible approach that Biden has been employing from day one, and which Trump belittled at every turn, has finally been vindicated. And with motor mouth sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, the country will get a chance to see what a real president looks like. Kamala Harris will eat Mike Pence's lunch next week at VP debate, while Trump seethes at Walter Reed Hospital.

In an interview he did back in August with Jonathan Swan of Axios, Trump said of the people who have died from Covid-19, "It is what it is." 

In the next few days those words could well come back to haunt him.