Trump never had coronavirus

Last week, the White House announced that Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, tested positive for coronavirus. On Friday, Trump went to Walter Reed Medical Center for-what we were told-were further tests and observation. His doctors were concerned enough to admit him to the Presidential suite to allow closer monitoring of this lethal virus.

And America went for it: hook, line and sinker. America, including the usually curious media, bought the story of Trump’s positive test. They wished him well, told the world they were sending thoughts and prayers his way, and reminded us that we should all wish the best for him.

Not me: I have not and will not be fooled again.

Donald Trump, as president, has lied to the American people more than 22,000 times. You read that correctly: 22,000 lies from the Commander-in-Chief. His lies have ranged from his own medical history and health to international mysteries. There is nothing this man hasn’t lied to the American people about. Nothing.

Now, Donald Trump has lied about testing positive for coronavirus.

Trump has a long history-a lifetime history, actually-of lying about his health. He lied about having bone spurs in his foot (he can’t even remember now which foot it was supposed to be) to avoid serving in the military, to avoid Vietnam. Prior to the 2016 election, he had his personal doctor sign a letter-a letter that Trump himself wrote-stating that if elected, Trump would be the ‘healthiest person ever elected to the office.’ And his trip to Walter Reed in the Fall of 2019 is still shrouded in mystery, as he has never released the reason why he was there. Trump lies, and deceives, as a way of life: as a pathological liar, he is incapable of telling the truth.

Why then, have so many Americans been so easily fooled this time? Why has the media been so quick to accept that Donald Trump, Liar-in-Chief, tested positive for coronavirus?

Part of the reason is proof: the media will tell you that in order to report a story you must have at least two verifiable sources; two separate, reliable sources must provide evidence of a fact prior to it being reported. It is quite possible that there are national reporters working right now to find evidence of this charade, but they will never find it. Trump knows you can’t prove a negative: it is impossible to show evidence that doesn’t exist. It will be unverifiable because the documents and witnesses necessary to prove-and publish-such a story will never be found. It is the same mechanism Trump has used repeatedly in his presidency.

Trump promised, as far back as 2011, that if he ran for president, he would release his tax returns. He repeated this again, numerous times, during the 2016 campaign, but he added that we would have to wait until the ‘audit’ was complete. Here we are, in 2020, and the Trump taxes have still not been released: in fact, Trump has fought releasing his taxes all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Trump has also been clever in his meetings with Vladimir Putin. As Head of State, our president meets with other heads of state, and will often discuss secret, yet important, issues. Those meetings are recorded, sometimes only through the notes of the interpreters, and are kept under lock and key. But Trump refused to share his discussions with Putin, and actually destroyed the notes taken by the interpreters. Trump deliberately kept his meetings with Putin secret even from his own Cabinet members.

Now Trump claims he had coronavirus, a lethal killer that has claimed the life of more than 210,000 Americans. He claims he tested positive, went to the hospital, got aggressive treatment, and was able to return to the White House on the third day: just like Jesus.

Trump is looking triumphant, strong, and has already tweeted that we should not be afraid of coronavirus.

But Donald Trump is doing what Donald Trump always does: he is lying.

The party for Amy Coney Barrett at the White House was a superspreader event, and you can be sure that the dozen or so people who have reported testing positive for coronavirus are in fact positive: they have it. But Trump, never wanting anyone to get more fanfare than him, chose to jump on this pony and lie to the American people about having it himself.

Why?

Why would Donald Trump lie about testing positive? And how can it be proved that he lied?

Trump lied for many reasons, but there are clues to his thinking. He just completed a terrible debate performance against his opponent in the upcoming election-an embarrassment even for him. The story of his paying only $750 in federal taxes was banging like a gong on his re-election campaign. Whatever Trump’s reason, we know from watching this man for years that his modus operandi is to distract away from negative stories about him: whenever Trump feels the heat, he changes the channel. (The last time Trump was this desperate was after the Access Hollywood tape was released. His response was to have Roger Stone get thousands of Democratic emails released, throwing the media off the story about him.) Trump uses this fight-or-flight response to protect himself, and getting people to believe he tested positive for coronavirus-I must say-is a masterful tale.

The media won’t be able to prove Trump lied without evidence, and they won’t find that evidence. There is none. And that is exactly what Trump knows: nobody will be able to prove it, so no story like that will ever be published. Anyone who publishes anything resembling a claim to this falsehood will be sued-by Trump-for slander. He knows it can’t be proved, so it won’t be published.

But this is where we have become fools: we, the American people, have seen this man lie in everything he does. From the lies about the size of his Inauguration crowd, to lies about coronavirus being a hoax, Trump lies whenever he opens his mouth.

Instead of us having to prove Trump lied, we should require that Trump prove to us that he actually contracted coronavirus. After all his lies, all his deception, all his hiding everything, all his tactics to hide the truth, we should demand proof he actually contracted coronavirus.

we should demand proof he actually contracted coronavirus

Donald Trump can not be trusted: he has proven that during his public life. He should be required to earn our trust, to show us the evidence, not the other way around. Trump should be required to provide the positive tests-the swab with the coronavirus and his DNA; the blood work; the lung scans; and all the other medical data. Trump should be required to show where the IV was in his arm (the medication he reportedly received would have been given to him via IV). Trump should be required to show us-as a minimum, pictures of himself taking oxygen, in a hospital gown in a hospital bed, with an IV in his arm. Where are these pictures, where are these scans, where is the evidence?

Trump will promise to release it, like his tax returns.

Don’t hold your breath waiting, America. Donald Trump is as phony in sickness as he is in health. He never tested positive for coronavirus, and he will never show America his medical records, his tax returns, or anything else.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. We know who Donald Trump is: if we fall for this lie, we are fools.

©Timothy J. Sabo