Let’s have some morbid Halloween fun.
In 1963, Philip K. Dick wrote The Man In The High Castle, a book set in a world where Germany and Japan won the Second World War and the United States has been divided between those two world superpowers.
In the spirit of that novel, let's imagine for a moment if Donald Trump had taken a different response to COVID-19.
March 11: In a primetime address to the nation, Trump says the United States is under attack by a biological weapon from China called COVID-19. He orders an immediate national lockdown, mobilizing the National Guard to aid local police forces to restrict the movement of residents to essential services only. He says all traffic from China will be suspended in seven days and urges Americans in China to either come home or go elsewhere. He implores Americans to come together and look after one another in this time of crisis. He concludes his address with a chilling vow that once the United States is done protecting itself and its allies from harm, China will pay for what it has done.
March 18: The U.S. closes its borders to all commercial and personal traffic to and from China. With the number of cases in Europe soaring, Trump closes American air and sea ports to non-essential travel from everywhere in the world, including Canada.
March 25: Trump doubles down on his assertion that China is to blame for the coronavirus by informing NATO and other allies that "you're either with us or against us" in fighting COVID-19. He urges Congress to quickly pass his new TrumpCare health plan.
April 1: Trump warns Americans there are dark days ahead but encourages everyone to take care of each other and respect health experts and law enforcement. He praises Democrat governor Andrew Cuomo for his efforts.
April 8: As the death toll in New York hits 1,000 per day, with images of mass graves and tractor trailers filled with bodies, violence breaks out across the country against Asian-Americans. Trump urges calm but also says he understands the frustrations Americans have towards Chinese people.
April 15: With the number of Asian Americans being attacked and killed across numerous states soaring and Chinese businesses being looted and burned, Trump says he is talking to the governors of states with significant Chinese populations about setting up safety camps where they can stay for their protection. He rejects any comparison with Japanese internment camps during the Second World War.
April 22: Trump states that he will not speak to Chinese president Xi Jinping or engage in any diplomacy with China without a full, unconditional apology for COVID-19 and an agreement that China will pay the health care costs of the United States and its allies, as well as reparations for the economic damage.
April 29: Trump slams Democrats and mainstream news media outlets for questioning his leadership, stressing that he is following the advice of public health experts on the risks of COVID-19.
May: With the number of new cases and deaths falling rapidly in New York, across the country and much of the world, Trump uses his statesmen status on COVID-19 to work on a careful reopening of the national and global economy while also imposing massive, long-term trade sanctions on China and its allies. In the wake of George Floyd's death, Black Lives Matters protests take to the streets. Trump tells protesters he will not tolerate super spreader events like mass rallies, no matter how peaceful they are, and there will be a time later to worry about racial injustice. The movement fizzles out under public pressure and social media shaming.
June: When Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden accuses Trump of using the pandemic as a power grab, Trump calls Biden and the Democrats unpatriotic Chinese puppets who would have let hundreds of thousands of Americans die instead of following public health advice. Trump's personal popularity soars while Biden's plummets.
July: Frustrated by the sanctions and Trump's refusal to engage in talks, China nationalizes American business interests in the country and threatens to imprison remaining Americans for their safety. In response, Trump nationalizes all Chinese businesses operating in the U.S., urges its allies to do the same and dispatches the National Guard to round up all Chinese passport holders, even if they are dual citizens and regardless of how long they have been in the United States, and send them back to China.
August: Trump marks the milestone of 30,000 American deaths due to COVID-19 with a national day of mourning and the release of previously classified documents from U.S. intelligence and security services revealing the extent of Chinese spying and espionage efforts in the country over the past 20 years.
September: With the number of new cases low across the country thanks to continued intense public health efforts, kids return to school. Trump dispatches Navy destroyers to the South China Sea because “our friends in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan need protection from the evil Chinese empire.”
October: Chinese and American fighter jets exchange fire in international air space. Trump retaliates with a massive cyberattack that knocks down China’s electrical grid for a week. He then threatens China that the next time they attack Americans, “Shanghai will burn.”
November: Trump easily wins re-election and retains control of the Senate.
Scared yet?
Not to worry.
Trump is going to get shellacked on Tuesday night, to the great disappointment of Nathan Giede.
I also have a bet with Art Betke, made earlier this year that if Trump won, I would put a picture on the front page of me wearing a Make American Great Again shirt.
I have a nice Biden/Harris 2020 shirt on order for Betke to wear.
Hopefully he smiles for his front page photo, which will appear in The Citizen on Jan. 21, the day after Biden is sworn in as the 46thpresident.
