In his column for the Daily Beast, conservative Matt Lewis ripped into Donald Trump's inner circle for downplaying the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic until they get it -- at which point they are quickly admitted to a hospital for the best medical treatment.
Using the recent announcement that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was recently rushed to Walter Reed Medical Center after being infected with COVID-19 as a jumping-off point, former Republican Lewis lashed out at the real "sickness" that has infected Trump's White House: the hypocrisy.
Writing, "Trump’s lawyer needs a doctor. If you saw him gallivanting across the country for the past month trying to overturn the election, it should come as no surprise to you that Rudy Giuliani, once revered as 'America’s Mayor,' was hospitalized for COVID-19 this week. Giuliani, a potential one-man superspreader whose recent visit forced the entire Arizona legislature to close up shop, is being treated at Georgetown University Medical Center," Lewis added with disgust, "For the rich and powerful, there’s always room at the inn."
As the columnist notes, Trump's White House is largely to blame for the spread of COVID-19, with the president and his spokespeople pushing fake cures and downplaying the death totals. But when Giuliani or Trump campaign adviser Chris Christie or HUD head Ben Carson are afflicted they immediately enter a hospital while most Americans are forced to ride it out at home until it becomes life-threatening.
"It goes like this: Having tempted fate by refusing to social distance or wear masks, Trump and his team contract the virus. Next, they receive world-class medical treatment. Last, they quickly recover," Lewis wrote before adding that their actions are making the health crisis worse as the growing death totals can attest.
"It's not a victimless advantage. Their miraculous recovery reinforces the resentment of every hoohaw who won't wear a mask and throws a fit at a bar in Staten Island because last call comes early at 10 p.m. The problem with these quick recoveries is that they demonstrate (to people who are the most susceptible to this message) that COVID-19 isn’t really a big deal," he wrote. "Except, it is a big deal—at least, it is for those of us who aren’t friends with Donald Trump."
Admitting that he doesn't begrudge people who have become infected with COVID-19 treatment for the virus, Lewis wrote the quality of treatment quickly handed to Trump's people is galling.
"Deaths are at an all-time high right now. And the irony is that these high-profile recoveries (save for Herman Cain, the sole cautionary tale) do reinforce the notion that COVID is like catching a cold—that it’s a minor inconvenience for the vast majority of us. It’s the latest lie from a party that has gotten all too accustomed to lying," he explained before adding, "Should America’s rebranded 'working-class' party be led by elites who tell the working class not to worry about a deadly virus, while exploiting their access to medicines the working-class can't get? The Republican Party is sick. It’s contagious. And sadly, nobody is working on a vaccine."
You can read more here.
