Wishing the Trumps a speedy recovery

I wish Melania and Donald Trump a speedy recovery. I wish everyone who’s contracted COVID-19 a speedy recovery.

I don’t want Trump to face a comeuppance at the hands of a virus. A virus doesn’t even fit the full definition of “alive”, nor does it judge you on your fitness to lead, the legality of your acts, or the decency of your character. It doesn’t even have motivation; it simply self-replicates by stumbling into unfortunate cells.

I want Trump to face justice at the hands of people — first, the electorate, and then a court of law. People can understand what he did and judge him by his actions: the lies, the cruelties, the incitements, the grifting, the outright crimes.

I want Trump to recover and lose the election.

I want his die-hard fans to at least think “Okay, maybe the disease is real, and I should treat it as such, and take proper medical precautions.”

I want us to do the work to bring the virus under control.

I want America to live up to its ideal of being a beacon of light and hope for the world, and — to borrow a phrase from Lincoln — listen to the better angels of our nature.

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Of course, I am assuming that the announcement is true. It’s a very telling thing about this presidency that I feel compelled to say this.