In his column for the New York Times, economist Paul Krugman said that Donald Trump has proven himself to be the worst kind of executive "who is utterly incompetent yet refuses to step aside," making him a "nightmare" for the entire country -- at least until he can be voted out of office.
According to the Nobel prize laureate, using working in an office as an example, 'Such bosses have the reverse Midas touch — everything they handle turns to crud — but they’ll pull out every stop, violate every norm, to stay in that corner office. And they damage, sometimes destroy, the institutions they’re supposed to lead."
That, he wrote, describes Trump perfectly.
With the coronavirus still raging and the death total increasing every day, the economist said the president --whose intransigence when it comes to dealing realistically with the COVID-19 pandemic -- has been a disaster both healthwise and economically.
Writing "God help us," he's the president, Krugman asked, "Has any previous president failed his big test as thoroughly as Trump has these past few months?"
According to the columnist, as abysmal as the Trump administration's efforts been in dealing with the health crisis, their refusals to recognize the continuing damage to the economy is equally devastating -- but with longer-term implications.
"Trump, his officials and their allies in the Senate have been totally committed to the idea that the U.S. economy will experience a stunningly rapid recovery despite the wave of new infections and deaths. They bought into that view so completely that they seem incapable of taking on board the overwhelming evidence that it isn’t happening," he wrote before adding, "Trump has completely botched his job, bringing unnecessary pain to millions of Americans and unnecessary death to thousands. He may not care, but voters do. So he should be trying to turn things around, if only as a matter of political and personal self-interest."
Unfortunately, he notes, the president is too self-involved to do the right thing even if he knows he's going to lose the election before adding that the president now appears willing to make the situation even worse.
"There will be an election on Nov. 3. But what Trump can do, if he loses, is claim that the election was stolen, that there were millions of fraudulent votes, that the results aren’t legitimate," he wrote. "And anyone who doesn’t think disgruntled Trump supporters would try to sabotage a Biden administration — including its efforts to deal with the pandemic — hasn’t been paying attention."
"This is what happens when you put a horrible boss in charge of running the country. And nobody can say when, if ever, the damage will be repaired," he concluded.
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