The White House/Flickr

Hyperbole has become an expected part of political campaigns. Most candidates exaggerate both their own accomplishments and their opponents’ failures. But with Donald Trump, it is not only difficult to exaggerate, it might not be necessary—as this ad demonstrates.

That video touches on this president’s overall failure in response to the coronavirus crisis. When it comes to his initial response, this ad breaks it down well.

When that ad was released in mid-March, the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. was just over 5,000. As I write this, the number has grown to 54,000.

Lately, the president has basically told the people who are at the epicenter of this virus in New York to “drop dead,” while he suggests that governors need to kiss his ass to get what they need from him. As most of the media attention is focused on the outbreaks in New York, Washington, and California, the number of cases in New Orleans is exploding, causing health care workers to describe the scene as a “war zone.” In the face of all of that, the president has chosen this moment to suggest that it’s time to open things up, which would put at least hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

That is why it is impossible to exaggerate the level of failure when it comes to Trump’s handling of this crisis. It is true that he didn’t create it. But at every turn, the combination of his incompetence and malevolence has been an utter disaster.

We’re still in the midst of this crisis, with the depths of its destruction still unfolding. But the one thing we know for sure is that we can count on this president to do the wrong thing. We’ve always known that about him, but in this crisis, the reality is overwhelming. So I am reminded of the warning Representative Adam Schiff leveled a mere six weeks ago when he talked about “midnight in Washington.”

Speaking to Republican Senators, Schiff said, “You will not change him. You cannot constrain him. Truth matters little to him. What’s right matters even less. And decency matters not at all.” Republicans knew all of that when they voted against removing Trump from office. And so, as Schiff said, “your name will be tied to his with a cord of steel and for all of history.”