At some point between Saturday and today, depending on who you ask, the number of people the United States has lost to COVID-19 hit 200,000. For a normal person who experiences human emotions, this would register as a tragic, catastrophic event. But Donald Trump, of course, is not normal, and like a true sociopath, is so devoid of empathy that he can’t even muster up the energy to fake caring about the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have died, many of whom have friends and family who will vote this November. Obviously, that’s why he’s still giving himself a 10 out of 10 on the pandemic response and on Monday night, told supporters in Ohio that the virus—which, again, has killed more than 200,000 people and infected almost 7 million—“affects virtually nobody.” But that was just the president’s off-the-cuff, fecal-matter-of-the-mouth response. What’s the White House’s official comment on the matter? Kayleigh McEnany is happy to answer that question.
Asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta on Tuesday, “What do you say to Americans who are outraged about [the country hitting 200,000 deaths] and blame this administration for so many lives lost?” McEnany, who cut her teeth shilling for the Republican National Committee, responded: “As you’ve heard several doctors in the task force note from this podium we were looking at the prospect of 2 million people potentially perishing from the coronavirus in this country. We grieve when even one life is lost, but the fact we have come nowhere near that number is a testament to this president taking immediate action.”
In other words, 1.8 million more people are going to have to die before the Trump administration entertains the prospect of taking this virus seriously and maybe taking a shred of responsibility for allowing it to gain a foothold in the country and run rampant thereafter. (Just fucking with you—they’ll never do that.) Also, the 2 million projected deaths were if the government did absolutely nothing to stop the coronavirus—luckily for the country, various governors and local officials did—so it’s not really something to brag about. Also, for those of you keeping up at home, the White House is still claiming that Trump “never downplayed” the virus, despite the fact that not only is he on tape admitting as much, he confirmed his decision to downplay it in a room full of people earlier this month.
Anyway, just 200,000 deaths, woohoo, party time! Somebody get a cake and streamers, the White House is celebrating tonight!