Trump has turned us into the 'United States of Idiocracy' — and letting us die: conservative columnist

On Tuesday, writing for The Washington Post, conservative columnist Max Boot slammed President Donald Trump for turning America into the "United States of Idiocracy" amid a deadly global pandemic.

"The only thing 'Idiocracy' really got wrong was its timeline," said Boot, referring to the Mike Judge film depicting a future in which everyone in America is stupid. "It has taken just 15 years, not 500, for America to become an idiocracy. Don’t believe it? Look at our response to the coronavirus pandemic."

"In other wealthy democracies, coronavirus cases have been plummeting," wrote Boot. "In the United States, they have risen 80 percent over the past 14 days. On Monday, the United States reported more than 40,000 new cases, while the European Union, which is more populous, had fewer than 6,000. The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in the United States is approaching 130,000, more than twice as many as in any other country."

Boot listed off the litany of Trump's leadership failures, from suggesting Americans inject themselves with bleach, to holding a rally in Tulsa with no social distancing.

"The presidency’s idiocy is matched by that of Republican governors in states such as Florida (where coronavirus cases increased by 277 percent in the past two weeks), Texas (+184 percent) and Arizona (+145 percent)," wrote Boot. "They were slow to declare lockdowns and quick to end them. They also refused to impose statewide mask mandates — and, in the case of Texas and Arizona, tried to prevent municipalities from imposing their own rules — even though studies show that wearing masks can reduce transmission by as much as 85 percent."

This stupidity, Boot wrote, has filtered down.

"An Ohio state legislator said, 'I don’t want to cover people’s faces' because 'we’re created in the image and likeness of God,'" wrote Boot. "A Palm Beach, Fla., woman complained that masks 'throw God’s wonderful breathing system out the door,' while a fellow Palm Beach resident denounced mask advocates for 'practicing the Devil’s law.' A North Carolina woman burned a mask, complaining that it represented 'nanny state overreach.' Wait till these freedom-lovers find out about speeding laws, seat-belt laws and drunken-driving laws, which restrict their 'right' to get wasted and careen down the highway at 95 mph without a seat belt."

"We can and should hold our leaders responsible, but ultimately, we have no one but ourselves to blame," concluded Boot. "Nobody forced so many Americans to act so recklessly — first by placing their faith in a president who doesn’t deserve it, and now in ignoring widely publicized scientific findings. We are living — and now dying — in an idiocracy of our own creation."

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