Image : Michael Harriot ( Twitter/The Root/G-O )

Trump’s old tweets prove he’s a hypocritical idiot.

That’s it. That’s the lede.

What?

OK. After writing this article comparing Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis with his previous statements, The Root’s Managing Editor Genetta Adams just informed me this lede is not enough. All I can think of is an old joke about a young black airplane pilot flying his first commercial flight out of Mississippi. (Or maybe it was Alabama. Or America.)


As he greeted the passengers on the flight, he could hear the whispers from the passengers worried because they had never seen a black pilot. To calm their racist fears, he got on the intercom and assured them that he had flown thousands of flights after graduating first in his class from the best flight school in the world. Still, the uneasy passengers never relaxed. Then, halfway through the trip, the plane encountered a storm.

“Oh Lord, save us from this nigger pilot!” the passengers scream.

The black pilot gets back on the intercom and tells the people not to worry, he’s smart and capable. Just as he finishes his calming speech, the plane encounters more turbulence.


“Oh Lord, save us from this nigger pilot!” they cry out again, in unison.

Even though he is insulted, the pilot lands the plane safely and without a hitch, much to the relief of the passengers and the embarrassment of the all-white crew. The passengers explain that their outbursts were due to anxiety and had nothing to do with the color of the pilot’s skin. Even the all-white crew tries to insist that the passengers aren’t racist.

Before the next flight out of Mississippi, the pilot is informed that there’s going to be another storm, so he gets an idea.

He gives one of his white male flight attendants his uniform. The flight attendant, dressed as a pilot, greets each passenger as they board the plane while the pilot is in the cockpit ready to take off. Of course, they encounter the storm again. As the pilot guides the plane through the turbulence, the passengers panic again. As the inclement weather jostled the travelers through the air, the crew members ran to the cockpit to gloat.


“See?” they said smugly. “The passengers would have panicked regardless of your skin color. Why do you have to make everything about race.”

“I can’t really hear anything,” the pilot replied, barely able to hold on to the steering wheel. (Plane’s have steering wheels, right?) “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m kinda busy here trying not to crash this motherfucker.”


To prove their point, the all-white crew decided to turn on the two-way intercom so the pilot could hear the passengers. Just before he exited the turbulence, the cockpit’s speakers blasted the frantic prayers of the entire plane. The black pilot was the only one who noticed the passengers’ prayers were slightly different.

“Oh Lord,” they screamed in unison. “Save us from this storm!”

Anyway, here’s what Trump has previously said about Barack Obama, leadership, science, medicine and shouldering responsibility during a crisis.




On Vacations

Since the first COVID-19 death was reported on Jan. 11, 2020, Trump has held nine rallies, visited Mar-a-Lago five times and played at least seven rounds of golf. Let’s see what he has previously said about that kind of behavior.



Mishandling It From the Start

One of the sparks that caused the spread of the coronavirus was the Trump administration disregarding the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and allowing infected patients to travel on commercial flights, the Washington Post reports. He further overruled the CDC’s advice warning seniors not to fly.


I’m sure he has never said anything about that.



Politicizing a Crisis



After more than two months of inaction, Trump held his first press conference on Feb. 29, 2020. He immediately criticized Democrats and the press for politicizing a national crisis. Surely, Trump wouldn’t even think of criticizing out great nation’s leadership during a catastrophe. It would be downright un-American.


Oh wait...look what I found.


Let’s look at what he said in 2014, as the Obama administration faced the Ebola crisis:



Trusting the Science

Trump claims to have a “natural instinct for science.” Well, let’s look at what he previously regarded science and research, including what he said during global outbreaks.




Hiring the ‘Best People’

Way back in 2017, officials warned that the U.S. was ill-prepared for a global pandemic after reducing funding to the CDC and dismissing the National Security Council’s infectious disease experts.


He put noted not-scientist Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus crisis after criticizing the Obama administration for having the CDC and its Ebola experts consult with national security experts.



Taking Responsibility

Trump famously said the coronavirus crisis was not his “responsibility at all” because it was an unavoidable situation that no one could have expected.


I’m sure he didn’t blame Obama for the same kind of problems.



See how easy it is to criticize the pilot when you’re sitting in the back seat?

O, Lord, save us from this idiot president...

And this storm.