Donald Trump has been throwing around coronavirus statistics for months. In late February, it was "15 people" infected that Trump mused would soon be "down to close to zero." By late March, the White House task force warned that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans might die in the pandemic. Another month later in late April, Trump played up the idea that "if you lose 65,000 people," it might not be that bad compared to worst-case scenarios. By May, Trump just started shooting off casualty stats like a Gatling gun, often contradicting himself within a 24-hour span. "We'll be at 100,000, a hundred and ten," he said the morning of May 8, only to revise downward later that day to "95,000 people, ultimately."
But on the day most of America finally mourned the 100,000 milestone, Trump was nowhere to be found. Nothing from his infamous rapid-fire Twitter feed. No events planned, no moment of silence, nothing to honor the dead.
Around 5:30 PM ET Wednesday, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden sent out a missive to America, promising the heartbroken that "the day will come when the memory of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes."
A little over an hour later, Trump tweeted out segments from Lou Dobbs Tonight in which Dobbs declared Trump "arguably the greatest president in our history."
By Wednesday evening, the digital version of most of America's mainstream newspapers shared in the nation's heartbreak.
But not Trump. As of around 9 PM ET on Wednesday, the nation had heard nothing from its commander in chief. And by 9 AM ET on Thursday, Trump had retweeted an article comparing the wearing of masks to slavery. Still, in terms of acknowledging the massive loss of life, nothing other than his prebuttal to the milestone.
“For all of the political hacks out there, if I hadn’t done my job well, & early, we would have lost 1 1/2 to 2 Million People, as opposed to the 100,000 plus that looks like will be the number,” Trump tweeted out Tuesday. "I acted very quickly, and made the right decisions."
Shorter Trump: It could have been worse.
And the reality is, it is indeed going to get worse.