A merely worthless speech would have delivered nothing. And make no mistake, there was plenty of “nothing” there.

He offered no guidance or policy on how to prevent the spread of the disease inside the United States. Should your town cancel its St. Patrick’s Day parade? What about theatrical productions and sporting events? Classes at schools and colleges? Nothing. He offered no explanation of what went wrong with the U.S. testing system, nor any assurance of when testing would become more widely available. His own previous promises of testing for anyone who needs it have been exploded as false. So what is true? Nothing. Layoffs are coming, probably on a very large scale, as travel collapses and people hunker down at home. Any word for those about to lose their jobs? Only the vaguest indication that something might be announced sometime soon.

Trump did say in this Stephen Miller-Jared Kushner production of “reassurance” to Americans that there would be no co-pays for coronavirus testing. The problem is that in this country, thanks to a complete lack of preparation and direction from the administration, there are virtually no tests to be found (although Tom Hanks apparently found one in Australia).

And as Frum points out, there is truly something pathetic in the spectacle of an American president, who reflexively blames everyone but himself for everything, pleading for an “end to finger-pointing.” No one has pointed more fingers than Trump. Remember just two weeks ago, when this was all a Democratic-inspired “hoax,” concocted to make him look bad? Pointing fingers is all he has ever done, all his life.

But after the empty, vacuous words had mercifully ended, Frum notes, the real blame for the escalating crisis remained visible, sitting there, stupid, clueless, and in plain sight. The plain fact is that Trump’s ineptitude has made the crisis worse by orders of magnitude.

More people will get sick because of his presidency than if somebody else were in charge. More people will suffer the financial hardship of sickness because of his presidency than if somebody else were in charge. The medical crisis will arrive faster and last longer than if somebody else were in charge. So, too, the economic crisis. More people will lose their jobs than if somebody else were in charge. More businesses will be pushed into bankruptcy than if somebody else were in charge. More savers will lose more savings than if somebody else were in charge. The damage to America’s global leadership will be greater than if somebody else were in charge.

In the end, it all comes back to the venal, malevolent character of the man who Americans foolishly put into this position of authority.

There is always something malign in Trump’s incompetence. He has no care or concern for others; he cannot absorb the trouble and suffering of others as real. He monotones his way through words of love and compassion, but those words plainly have no content or meaning for him. The only thing that is real is his squalid vanity. This virus threatens to pierce that vanity, so he denied it as long as he could.

Now that a very uncomfortable reality has set in, Trump’s true character has been laid bare. As Frum states, any Americans looking for hope or assurance were left staring into the abyss. Americans need to face the fact that our leadership, as Frum writes, is “as empty as the glazed eyes of the man who spoke from that office tonight.”

Not convinced? Watch what Trump did after he thought the cameras were turned off.

x Trump immediately after his #COVID19 speech, when he didnÃ¢ÂÂt realize the cameras were still onÃ¢ÂÂyou have to see this for yourself.



WATCH Ã°ÂÂÂ¨Ã°ÂÂÂÃ°ÂÂÂ¼Ã°ÂÂÂ¨pic.twitter.com/DEpaqE4L85 Ã¢ÂÂ Leah McElrath Ã°ÂÂÂ³Ã¯Â¸ÂÃ¢ÂÂÃ°ÂÂÂ (@leahmcelrath) March 12, 2020

Not an ounce of self-reflection, not one iota of concern: This is the character of a true sociopath.