Picture a dusty old western town, tumbleweed rolling down the dirt and wind-swept covered main thoroughfare, with the likes of a saloon, sheriff’s office, horse stable and blacksmith, hotel and like commercial shops aside both sides of it, with wooden walkways in front of all, maybe a horse or two tied up on the hitching posts there. Then comes along a horse-driven wagon, similar to what we see in various parts of the Villages south of State Road 44 with the words. “The Villages” on them.
But instead of that signage, you see “Doctor’s Medicinal Cabinet-Sure to Cure All” coming down the street. And instead of the word “Doctor’s”, insert the word, “Trump’s” with a man in the wagon seat with a top hat and big bow tie. And that is what we all had last night (April 5) with Trump’s unscheduled presser that wasted the public’s time and the doctors, like Fauci and Birx, that had to do their obligatory appearance with him because he added nothing to what we already knew.
Trump continues to hawk his outlandish idea of pushing the drugs, Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, on an unsuspecting public, including no doubt Villagers, when those drugs have yet to be scientifically proven or tested to combat the coronavirus. He is, and has always been, a consummate snake oil salesman instead of being a leader, leading the public with dignity, honesty and honor (like Queen Elizabeth did in addressing her nation the same day). He even denied Dr. Fauci the opportunity to answer a reporter’s question about the efficacy of these pharmaceuticals. True, the drugs are proven to treat malaria and lupus. But Trump, who admits to not being a medical doctor, keeps telling those viewers that wasted their time watching his press conference, “What do you have to lose?” The answer to anyone reading this Op-Ed should be very, very clear: your health and life!
Some days back, I wrote an Op-ed titled, “Trump is a Clear and Present Danger to all Villagers.”
That garnered hundreds of comments as I understand it, some tantamount to evidently interpreting my words as wanting to take away their first newborn grandchild. Most, though, understood my message. But with Trump now hawking a drug totally unproven to treat the virus on unsuspecting (gullible?) Americans, he continues being an even more clear and present danger to our health and safety than ever before.
Maybe he doesn’t mind having blood on his hands when this disease is finished ravaging our country, even those in our state and geographic region. And this does not even address his knowledge of the virus weeks before he took any action to save the thousands who have been infected and died, and to be infected and to die.
Isn’t finally the time for all of us stand up and defy his incredulous statements on using a drug that no medical doctor would even prescribe? What hangs in the balance is only our lives.
Miles Zaremski is a resident of the Village of Dunedin.
