The Banter Brief: Trump Gives Up, Biden Can Take Florida, And A Great 90's Movie

Trump wants you to die for the sake of the stock market.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Banter Brief — the only weekly round up you need to read before the weekend!

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1. Most Important Story Of The Week

Trump stops caring about Coronavirus

(image via Getty)

This past week was an important one in American history - it marked the official end of the Trump Administration’s efforts to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic seriously. As Peter Barker in the New York Times noted today: “Confronted with America’s worst public health crisis in generations, President Trump declared himself a wartime president. Now he has begun doing what past commanders have done when a war goes badly: Declare victory and go home.”

Mike Pence told reporters this week that that the administration is preparing to wind down the pandemic response team and transfer it back to federal agencies in late May or early June.

Donald Trump is not only urging states to reopen for business, but explicitly acknowledging that Americans will die. “I’m viewing our great citizens of this country to a certain extent, and to a large extent, as warriors,” Trump said at a photo op in a mask factory in Arizona (pictured above, where he wasn’t wearing a mask). “They’re warriors. We can’t keep our country closed. We have to open our country. Will some people be badly affected? Yes.”

Yes indeed.

The Coronavirus death tolls is edging towards 75,000 Americans as of today, and according to all credible experts, the crisis is getting worse, not better. A recent internal Trump administration report leaked by the Times revealed that after the states reopen, the country should expect roughly 200,000 daily cases by June, a 70 percent increase from the current number of 25,000 cases a day.

The message is clear: Trump is willing to sacrifice you for the sake of the economy, and his re-election.

Go Deeper With Banter Members:

Donald Trump Wants You...To Be Cannon Fodder In His War

Trump has given up on trying to stop people dying from Coronavirus. He now wants you to die so he can get reelected, says Bob Cesca

2. Poll Analysis

It is extremely difficult to extract a coherent narrative about what is going on from polls at the best of times. The combination of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Tara Reade story, and the imploding jobs market is making it even harder to assess the chances of Trump’s re-election seven months out. One thing appears to be clear though: the number of battleground states is expanding, and Biden is going to benefit from this. This is perhaps the most notable story this week:

Florida, which has a tantalizing 29 electoral votes and would basically seal the deal for Biden. He's up by a few percentage points in a RealClearPolitics average of recent polls. Trump, who won the Sunshine State by barely more than a single percentage point in 2016, is also seeing slipping support among older voters, a voter group he dominated in 2016, taking 53% of the 65-and-older vote to 45% who voted for Clinton.

This is why the Biden campaign is putting significant resources into the state. If they take it, they win.

3. Quote Of The Week

“Americans are facing not just a conventional presidential election in 2020 but also, and most important, a referendum on reality and epistemology. Donald Trump is asking us to enter even further into his house of mirrors. He is asking us to live within a lie, to live within his lie, for four more years. The duty of citizenship in America today is to refuse to live within that lie.”

- Peter Wehner writing in The Atlantic

4. What to Watch

The Fugitive

Harrison Ford plays Richard Kimble, a doctor accused of killing his wife who escapes the law attempts to find his wife’s killer. Hunted by the relentless Deputy Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), Kimble must use all his wits to survive and solve the crime that unjustly sentenced him to death.

If you are over the age of 35, you’ve almost certainly seen this superb crime thriller. Even if you have, it’s time to rewatch it and recall a time when action filmmaking didn’t rely on special effects to create compelling cinema.

It is one of Ford’s best performances, and director Andrew Davis expertly drives the story along with flawless cinematography and superb pacing. The Fugitive isn’t necessarily a classic, but it’s damn good and a perfect piece of escapism during these difficult time. You can rent it on Amazon Prime for $2.99, sit back, and enjoy movie making at its absolute finest.

5. Good News

In the battle to prevent and treat Coronavirus, medical teams around the world are discovering more and more as the data set (unfortunately) gets larger. This from New York’s hospital system (via the WaPo):

Treating coronavirus patients with blood thinners could help boost their prospects for survival, according to preliminary findings from physicians at New York City’s largest hospital system that offer another clue about treating the deadly condition.

The results of an analysis of 2,733 patients, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, are part of a growing body of information about what has worked and what has not during a desperate few months in which doctors have tried dozens of treatments to save those dying of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Thus far no cure, and no vaccine ready to roll out to the public, but more weapons to keep people alive and give hope to the rest of us.

See you next week!

Correction: This article originally stated that “the country should expect roughly 200,000 daily cases by June, a 70 percent increase from the current number of 1,750.” It has been updated to reflect the fact that the number of daily cases currently is 25,000.

Read the latest for Banter Members:

Donald Trump Wants You...To Be Cannon Fodder In His War

Trump has given up on trying to stop people dying from Coronavirus. He now wants you to die so he can get reelected, says Bob Cesca

To Republicans, Coronavirus Deaths Are Now Simply The Cost Of Doing Business

In America, dead school children are the cost of unfettered gun rights, and dead grandparents are now the cost of keeping the Dow Jones afloat, says Ben Cohen

How To Thrive During COVID-19 By Jared Kushner

"As my father was always fond of saying, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you richer." by Rich Herschlag

Matt Taibbi Is Destroying His Reputation One Tweet At A Time

Taibbi is now citing media outlets with a history of White Nationalism to disprove Trump's ties to Russia, says Ben Cohen.