# The Politics of Covid-19

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politics-of-covid-19/849375>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [March 13, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politics-of-covid-19/849375 "2020-03-13T00:00:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 3

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-politics-of-covid-19/849375/3 "2020-03-13T03:30:01Z")

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> [@MulderMuffin](#):
>
> It was somewhat refreshing to see the president admit last night that Covid-19 is a real thing- and a real threat. I was finding it odd that the only lawmakers to publicly announce that they were self-quarantining were not just Republicans, but staunch Trump allies. I wonder if that has any part in forcing him to see that there might be a public health emergency brewing.
> 
> First we had Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, Doug Collins, Mark Meadows, and Paul Gosar self-quarantining after CPAC. Why were they not afraid to go against Herr Trump and his scoffing that the “Chinese Flu” was a big old Democratic scare scam designed to make him look bad, and it would just miraculously go away?
> 
> He was refusing to cancel rallies; he was mocking Democrats for cancelling their rallies just two days ago. He was showing zero concern about the Brazilian delegation he met with over the weekend that came down with Covid-19 after returning home. I wonder what changed to make him appear all somber and grave on TV last night, actually admitting that this is a public health emergency?
> 
> Today Rick Scott and Lindsey Graham went into self-quarantine due to interaction with the Brazilian delegation at Mar-a-Lago last weekend. Pretty soon his whole inner circle will be able to have a quarantine party together. How’s Nunes feeling?

I think part of it is that he is the President of the United States. Other politicians can go into self-quarantine, but that isn’t a realistic option for this or any president. If there is panic now, what will happen if the President is shown to be hiding in a bunker?

I understand that a reasonable response would be how bad would the panic be if the President got the virus and died, but I think that is where the line in the sand is drawn. Someone has to show leadership (and it doesn’t matter whether anyone thinks it is poor leadership) and the President must be that person, even at the risk to his own health.

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