Franklin Delano Roosevelt said during his first inaugural address in 1933 that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Celebrities in 2020 have a much different message: Be afraid.
Trump: Don’t be afraid of Covid
Shortly before President Trump returned to the White House after receiving treatment for Coronavirus at Walter Reed Medical Center, he tweeted, “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.”
Then after returning by helicopter, he recorded a video message from the White House balcony where he reiterated the message to the American people. “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid. You’re gonna beat it. We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines, all developed recently. And you’re gonna beat it.” He then reiterated the point, saying “don’t let it dominate – don’t let it take over your lives. Don’t let that happen,” Trump said.
A slew of celebrities tweeted in response.
Actress Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games”) tweeted “Stay afraid.” Similar sentiments were expressed by Ava DuVernay, Chris Evans, Leslie Odom, Mandy Moore, Josh Gad, Colin Hanks, and Jamie Lee Curtis, among others.
People should take appropriate precautions by washing hands frequently, social distancing, and wearing masks to help prevent spreading the disease to others, which can be carried by someone who does not know they are infected if they are asymptomatic. But there’s ongoing debate over how much to allow the coronavirus pandemic to continue to affect all aspects of life; even the World Health Organization recently reversed its position on lockdowns and said that large-scale lockdowns as a primary means of control are a bad idea, because they hurt the poor.
Russell Brand breaks down Trump’s triumph over coronavirus
British comedian and actor Russell Brand was apparently fascinated by the way Trump responded to getting and beating Coronavirus, so he posted a 16-minute video brilliantly analyzing the president’s response, and he discussed how Trump turned the negative of getting Covid into a personal triumph.
Brand said that Trump appearing on the White House balcony after taking the helicopter back from Walter Reed was, “another example of Trump’s intuitive understanding of the way the media operates.”
“Trump has known that he can have a direct relationship with the electorate that bypasses conventional media gatekeepers,” Brand said.
Brand also said that the president’s instruction to not let Covid dominate your life is, “such an interesting use of language.”
“He’s sort of positioning himself as a gladiator versus Covid,” Brand said, and pointed out that the way the president speaks is more effective than parsing fine points.
“He’s got an instinctive understanding I think of the type of messaging that will work,” Brand said.
Brand said that most leaders would have reacted to a brush with Covid as a kind of chastening event, and that people would rightly want to laugh at Trump for having been dismissive of Covid only to then get infected. But instead, Trump was able to come back with a retort of, “Don’t let it dominate ya, the same way as I didn’t let it dominate me,” Brand said.
Brand said that Trump is presenting himself as a sort of “Covid hero.”
Brand continued his analysis by playing clips from a second video released by Trump that was recorded later on the White House lawn while the president was still recovering.
Brand said that his is fascinated by the efficacy of Trump’s communications style, because he feels disenfranchised by the political options that are offered as an alternative to Trump. He also said that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson seemed a little cowed after contracting the virus, but not Trump.
Brand said that Trump is using his brush with coronavirus as a divine hand upon his shoulder, a blessing from god, and that Trump clearly knows his audience.
“What a fascinating communicative style,” Brand said.
Brand then talked about how Trump’s promise to get everyone the treatment he got, for free, shows his populist appeal.
In the video, Trump said that it wasn’t the public’s fault what happened, it was China’s fault.
“When it comes to political rhetoric, thanks to the media age we live in, thanks to the capitalist times that long, long preceded this apotheosis of it in the form of Donald trump, that kind of language is what’s effective. Simple stories. This isn’t your fault you got this disease – it’s China’s fault,” Brand said.
“The way he talks, the stuff he says, it’s not a coincidence,” Brand said.
Trump knows that his comments about this being China’s fault are going to be controversial – he’s not a typical politician where an apparatchik will rush in and warn them about the polls and media coverage and then issue a statement to clean it up, Brand said.
Brand said that Trump’s experience with Covid was a perfect example of his ability to simply situations in ways that his opponents cannot match, and that it typifies Trump’s, “ability to reduce complex ideas to simple narratives.”
Watch Russell Brand’s full analysis:
As if to emphasis Brand’s points, the president danced to the Village People’s “YMCA” at a recent post-Covid campaign rally.
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